The Welsh government consultation on the need for a strategy for Roma in Wales comes to a close today, and the question of whether there needs to be a dedicated policy must be answered with a demand that the term ‘migrant Roma’ be replaced as incorrect, both historically (all populations in Wales following the Neolithic builders of Parc Cwm, Pentre Ifan and Bryn Celli Ddu are migrant Celts, Roman, Irish, Anglo-Norman, African Caribbean, South Asian and English), and separated from Irish Travellers, English Romanichals and Scottish Gypsy-Travellers in Wales, none of whom are defined as ‘migrant’. Roma in Wales who, in one or two generations (very short in Roma populations) will be Welsh Roma, are related to Romani populations through language, culture and ethnicity and associated with Travellers, through the long-recognised composite “Gypsy, Roma, Traveller History Month” annually celebrated in Wales and attended by Welsh government ministers and assembly members. Wales, as part of the UK, has accepted the call for inclusion of Roma through the EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies 2020. Roma in Wales should be part of the Welsh government’s own ‘Travelling to a Better Future’ for Gypsies and Travellers. As Jane Hutt AM said in 2012 at the national Gypsy, Roma, Traveller History Month event, “The Welsh Government is committed to greater equality and inclusion for all people in Wales including the Gypsy, Roma and Traveller communities.” A coordinated, coherent national strategy for Gypsy, Roma, Traveller communities in Wales will address this commitment effectively…”
Please download the pdf here: Roma Wales Consultation
Written Statement – Gypsy, Roma, Traveller History Month
Follow this link for more information: Written Statement – Gypsy, Roma, Traveller History Month
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