Figure 1.--The photo shows a Finnish Gypsy family. It was taken near the town of Oulu probably during 1960s. |
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There are also small mumers of Romani (Gypseys). Finland's Gypseys used the term Romani. There are about 7,000 Gypseys in Finland, although estimates vary widely. They reportedly first reached Finland (mid-16th century). We are not sure who they reached Finland, but we expect migrants from Sweden. From the beginning the Gypseys were a destinctive group with their unique clothing and customs. They also has secialized trades. They thus have stood out. And they avoided assimilation, including school for the children. Laws were passed restricting their lives. Government policies have varied over time. Authorities attempted to assimilate them.
Some children were even taken away from their parents and raised in government run orphanages. Such actions continued into the mid-20th century. There were also private acts against the Gypseys. Some of this was racialm prejudice, but in other cases the decrimonation was caused by the Gypseys involvement in illegal actions.
The last decriminatory laws was repealed in 1883. Even in the second half of the 1980s. Gypseys in Finland have continued to resist assimilation. Finland has passed a law giving all Finnish citizens the right to their own culture and equal protection under the law. Many Finns look down on Gypseys. As a group, they tend to have lower literacy rates, less education and economic resources, and higher levels of poverty than the general Finnish population. The Gypsey until recent years have spoken their own anguage. It survived in part as a way of maintaining its community.
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