| Thousands of gypsies have been trying
to emigrate to Canada and Britain. They say they are fleeing persecution(迫害),
but most have found they are not welcome in these countries either. Gypsies have
never had a home. Europe has experienced enormous upheavals this century. Wars, revolutions, separations and elections have changed the political map of the continent countless times. And with each change, power has shifted, creating new winners and new losers. But for one group -- the gypsies -- change has always meant losing. With each upheaval, the gypsies have been left worse off than they were before. Yet they have survived to become Europe's largest minority. Moreover, they have succeeded in preserving their culture and their way of life in the face of genocide (种族灭绝), political persecution and poverty. In other cases where minorities have survived similar persecutions -- like Jews during World War Ⅱ, or blacks in South Africa -- their cause has received international support. By contrast, the gypsies' success at preserving their culture is not regarded as an achievement at all. Instead, it' s viewed as proof they are both unwilling and unable to change, and therefore irredeemable (不可救药的). Indeed, in 1993, the president of the Slovak Republic attacked their way of life and said steps should be taken to limit the extension of this socially unacceptable and mentally backward population. If such a thing had been said about any other minority, the political protest would have been enormous But, bemuse the Slovak President was referring to gypsies, there were few complaints, except from a few small organizations who try to protect gypsies' rights. |