Keep Us Strong WikiLeaks logo

Currently released so far... 97115 / 251,287

Articles

Browse latest releases

Browse by creation date

Browse by origin

A B C D F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

Browse by tag

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
ETRD EAGR ETTC EAID ECON EFIN ECIN EINV ELAB EAIR ENRG EPET EWWT ECPS EIND EMIN ELTN EC ETMIN EUC EZ ET ELECTIONS ENVR EU EUN EG EINT ER ECONOMICS ES EMS ENIV EEB EN ECE ECOSOC EK ENVIRONMENT EFIS EI EWT ENGRD ECPSN EXIM EIAD ERIN ECPC EDEV ENGY ECTRD EPA ESTH ECCT EINVECON ENGR ERTD EUR EAP EWWC ELTD EL EXIMOPIC EXTERNAL ETRDEC ESCAP ECO EGAD ELNT ECONOMIC ENV ETRN EIAR EUMEM ENRGPARMOTRASENVKGHGPGOVECONTSPLEAID EREL ECOM ECONETRDEAGRJA ETCC ETRG ECONOMY EMED ETR ENERG EITC EFINOECD EURM EENG ERA EXPORT ENRD ECONEINVETRDEFINELABETRDKTDBPGOVOPIC EGEN EBRD EVIN ETRAD ECOWAS EFTA ECONETRDBESPAR EGOVSY EPIN EID ECONENRG EDRC ESENV ETT EB ENER ELTNSNAR ECHEVARRIA ETRC EPIT EDUC ESA EFI ENRGY ESCI EE EAIDXMXAXBXFFR EETC ECIP EIAID EIVN EBEXP ESTN EING EGOV ETRA EPETEIND ELAN ETRDGK EAIDRW ETRDEINVECINPGOVCS EPEC ENVI ELN EAG EPCS EPRT EPTED ETRB EUM EAIDS EFIC EFINECONEAIDUNGAGM EAIDAR ESF EIDN ELAM EDU EV EAIDAF ECN EDA EXBS EINTECPS ENRGTRGYETRDBEXPBTIOSZ EPREL EAC EINVEFIN ETA EAGER EINDIR ECA ECLAC ELAP EITI EUCOM ECONEFINETRDPGOVEAGRPTERKTFNKCRMEAID EARG ELDIN EINVKSCA ENNP EFINECONCS EFINTS ECCP ETC EAIRASECCASCID EINN ETRP EAIDNI EFQ ECOQKPKO EGPHUM EBUD ECONEINVEFINPGOVIZ ENERGY ELB EINDETRD EMI ECONEFIN EIB EURN ETRDEINVTINTCS EIN EFIM ETIO ELAINE EMN EATO EWTR EIPR EINVETC ETTD ETDR EIQ ECONCS EPPD ENRGIZ EISL ESPINOSA ELEC EAIG ESLCO EUREM ENTG ERD EINVECONSENVCSJA EEPET EUNCH ECINECONCS ETRO ETRDECONWTOCS ECUN EFND EPECO EAIRECONRP ERGR ETRDPGOV ECPN ENRGMO EPWR EET EAIS EAGRE EDUARDO EAGRRP EAIDPHUMPRELUG EICN ECONQH EVN EGHG ELBR EINF EAIDHO EENV ETEX ERNG ED
KMDR KPAO KPKO KJUS KCRM KGHG KFRD KWMN KDEM KTFN KHIV KGIC KIDE KSCA KNNP KHUM KIPR KSUM KISL KIRF KCOR KRCM KPAL KWBG KN KS KOMC KSEP KFLU KPWR KTIA KSEO KMPI KHLS KICC KSTH KMCA KVPR KPRM KE KU KZ KFLO KSAF KTIP KTEX KBCT KOCI KOLY KOR KAWC KACT KUNR KTDB KSTC KLIG KSKN KNN KCFE KCIP KGHA KHDP KPOW KUNC KDRL KV KPREL KCRS KPOL KRVC KRIM KGIT KWIR KT KIRC KOMO KRFD KUWAIT KG KFIN KSCI KTFIN KFTN KGOV KPRV KSAC KGIV KCRIM KPIR KSOC KBIO KW KGLB KMWN KPO KFSC KSEAO KSTCPL KSI KPRP KREC KFPC KUNH KCSA KMRS KNDP KR KICCPUR KPPAO KCSY KTBT KCIS KNEP KFRDCVISCMGTCASCKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG KNNB KGCC KINR KPOP KMFO KENV KNAR KVIR KDRG KDMR KFCE KNAO KDEN KGCN KICA KIMMITT KMCC KLFU KMSG KSEC KUM KCUL KMNP KSMT KCOM KOMCSG KSPR KPMI KRAD KIND KCRP KAUST KWAWC KTER KCHG KRDP KPAS KITA KTSC KPAOPREL KWGB KIRP KJUST KMIG KLAB KTFR KSEI KSTT KAPO KSTS KLSO KWNN KPOA KHSA KNPP KPAONZ KBTS KWWW KY KJRE KPAOKMDRKE KCRCM KSCS KWMNCI KESO KWUN KPLS KIIP KEDEM KPAOY KRIF KGICKS KREF KTRD KFRDSOCIRO KTAO KJU KWMNPHUMPRELKPAOZW KEN KO KNEI KEMR KKIV KEAI KWAC KRCIM KWCI KFIU KWIC KCORR KOMS KNNO KPAI KBWG KTTB KTBD KTIALG KILS KFEM KTDM KESS KNUC KPA KOMCCO KCEM KRCS KWBGSY KNPPIS KNNPMNUC KWN KERG KLTN KALM KCCP KSUMPHUM KREL KGH KLIP KTLA KAWK KWMM KVRP KVRC KAID KSLG KDEMK KX KIF KNPR KCFC KFTFN KTFM KPDD KCERS KMOC KDEMAF KMEPI KEMS KDRM KEPREL KBTR KEDU KNP KIRL KNNR KMPT KISLPINR KTPN KA KJUSTH KPIN KDEV KTDD KAKA KFRP KWNM KTSD KINL KJUSKUNR KWWMN KECF KWBC KPRO KVBL KOM KFRDKIRFCVISCMGTKOCIASECPHUMSMIGEG KEDM KFLD KLPM KRGY KNNF KICR KIFR KM KWMNCS KAWS KLAP KPAK KDDG KCGC KID KNSD KMPF KPFO KDP KCMR KRMS KNPT KNNNP KTIAPARM KDTB KNUP KPGOV KNAP KNNC KUK KSRE KREISLER KIVP KQ KTIAEUN KPALAOIS KRM KISLAO KWM KFLOA
PHUM PINR PTER PGOV PREL PREF PL PM PHSA PE PARM PINS PK PUNE PO PALESTINIAN PU PBTS PROP PTBS POL POLI PA PGOVZI POLMIL POLITICAL PARTIES POLM PD POLITICS POLICY PAS PMIL PINT PNAT PV PKO PPOL PERSONS PING PBIO PH PETR PARMS PRES PCON PETERS PRELBR PT PLAB PP PAK PDEM PKPA PSOCI PF PLO PTERM PJUS PSOE PELOSI PROPERTY PGOVPREL PARP PRL PNIR PHUMKPAL PG PREZ PGIC PBOV PAO PKK PROV PHSAK PHUMPREL PROTECTION PGOVBL PSI PRELPK PGOVENRG PUM PRELKPKO PATTY PSOC PRIVATIZATION PRELSP PGOVEAIDUKNOSWGMHUCANLLHFRSPITNZ PMIG PREC PAIGH PROG PSHA PARK PETER POG PHUS PPREL PS PTERPREL PRELPGOV POV PKPO PGOVECON POUS PGOVPRELPHUMPREFSMIGELABEAIDKCRMKWMN PWBG PMAR PREM PAR PNR PRELPGOVEAIDECONEINVBEXPSCULOIIPBTIO PARMIR PGOVGM PHUH PARTM PN PRE PTE PY POLUN PPEL PDOV PGOVSOCI PIRF PGOVPM PBST PRELEVU PGOR PBTSRU PRM PRELKPAOIZ PGVO PERL PGOC PAGR PMIN PHUMR PVIP PPD PGV PRAM PINL PKPAL PTERE PGOF PINO PHAS PODC PRHUM PHUMA PREO PPA PEPFAR PGO PRGOV PAC PRESL PORG PKFK PEPR PRELP PREFA PNG PGOVPHUMKPAO PRELECON PINOCHET PFOR PGOVLO PHUMBA PRELC PREK PHUME PHJM POLINT PGOVPZ PGOVKCRM PGOVE PHALANAGE PARTY PECON PEACE PROCESS PLN PRELSW PAHO PEDRO PRELA PASS PPAO PGPV PNUM PCUL PGGV PSA PGOVSMIGKCRMKWMNPHUMCVISKFRDCA PGIV PRFE POGOV PEL PBT PAMQ PINF PSEPC POSTS PHUMPGOV PVOV PHSAPREL PROLIFERATION PENA PRELTBIOBA PIN PRELL PGOVPTER PHAM PHYTRP PTEL PTERPGOV PHARM PROTESTS PRELAF PKBL PRELKPAO PKNP PARMP PHUML PFOV PERM PUOS PRELGOV PHUMPTER PARAGRAPH PERURENA PBTSEWWT PCI PETROL PINSO PINSCE PQL PEREZ PBS

Browse by classification

Community resources

courage is contagious

Viewing cable 06BUCHAREST841, A VISIT TO THREE ROMA VILLAGES REVEALS ENDURING

If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs

Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
  • The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
  • The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
  • The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
To understand the justification used for the classification of each cable, please use this WikiSource article as reference.

Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #06BUCHAREST841.
Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06BUCHAREST841 2006-05-19 14:02 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED Embassy Bucharest
VZCZCXRO0817
PP RUEHAST
DE RUEHBM #0841/01 1391402
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 191402Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY BUCHAREST
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4468
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BUCHAREST 000841 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED, PLEASE HANDLE ACCORDINGLY. 
 
STATE DEPT FOR EUR/NCE - WILLIAM SILKWORTH 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM SOCI RO
 
SUBJECT:  A VISIT TO THREE ROMA VILLAGES REVEALS ENDURING 
POVERTY AND PREJUDICE 
 
REF: 05 BUCHAREST 1761 
 
BUCHAREST 00000841  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
1. (U) Summary: In April, Human Rights officer visited three 
Roma communities in Mures County, Transylvania, the most 
ethnically diverse and yet ethnically divided county of 
Romania.  Although less than 20 kilometers apart, each 
community demonstrated dramatically different levels of 
development, and distinctly varied experiences in terms of 
inter-ethnic relations and Roma integration.  A repeated 
assertion by Romanians, ethnic Hungarians, and Roma in the 
region was that the term "gypsy" is used just as frequently 
to describe an economic class type -- those at the lowest 
rung of the socio-economic ladder -- as it is to describe a 
distinct ethnic identity.  All commented that alhough 
Romania has progressed economically since the fall of 
communism, tis particular sector has "stayed behind."  Some 
ocals blamed the lag on Roma themselves while others 
attributed it to discrimination and "hatred" frm non-Roma. 
Despite claims by the central governent that conditions for 
Roma are improving, mostethnic-Roma Romanians still live 
largely segregaed from mainstream society, many of them in 
absolutely destitute conditions. End Summary. 
 
2. (U) In April, Human Rights Officer visited three vastly 
different Roma villages in Mures County, Transylvania. 
Bordering the ethnic-Hungarian Szekler Land, Mures County is 
the most ethnically diverse county in Romania.  According to 
local contacts, the two largest ethnic groups in Mures 
Country -- ethnic Romanians and Szeckler Hungarians -- co- 
exist peacefully.  These same contacts emphasized, however, 
that this was not the case for the ten percent Roma 
population living in Mures.  In Hadareni village, for 
example, three Roma men were killed and 14 Roma houses burnt 
in 1993 when relations broke down between non-Roma and the 
Roma community in that locality.  This situation has become 
even more tense in recent months following several court 
rulings requiring reparations for the 1993 violence. (ref) 
The three nearby Roma communities had not experienced the 
same degree of violence as in Hadareni.  Rather, PolOff 
observed three contrasting views of relations between Roma 
and non-Roma populations, and a broad variance in socio- 
economic conditions for Roma in Mures, ranging from absolute 
poverty to nouveau riche. 
 
3. (U) One Roma community was dominated by three wealthy 
Roma clans which competed among themselves and excluded 
other Roma groups.  In another village only four miles away 
from the county capital of Targu Mures, marginalized Roma 
families live on the outskirts of a wretched village at the 
end of a dirt road.  In a third village with an ethnic- 
Szekler majority, most Roma families lived side-by-side with 
ethnic Hungarians in relative "peace"; the villagers, 
however, still preferred "minimal association" with their 
Roma neighbors.  Villagers appeared to liberally use the 
term "gypsy" in conversations with Poloff to refer to those 
at the bottom of the economic and social ladder rather that 
an ethnic group per se. 
 
The Tri-Clan Craciunesti 
------------------------ 
4. (SBU) Craciunesti village is a model of Roma wealth.  The 
majority of residents in Craciunesti village are Roma, and 
since 1989 have purchased or constructed numerous large 
houses, many with intricate metal roofs, an easily 
identifying characteristic of affluent Roma homes.  One 
local journalist informed Poloff that what appears to be an 
infusion of Roma money had driven up property values.  He 
claimed that a house in this small rural community would now 
easily cost USD120,000, almost five times the average 
housing price in the area of USD25,000, because "the gypsies 
are buying."  Local villagers nearby alleged to PolOff that 
"those gypsies got rich overnight" and are willing to pay 
"any price for their mansions."  The source of this 
unexplained wealth remained the subject of considerable 
speculation.  Some residents claim that the Roma obtained 
money by selling silver they had stolen or saved before 
Romania's 1989 revolution.  Others claimed it came through 
organized crime.  None could conceive that the Roma had come 
upon this wealth honestly. 
 
5. (SBU) Moreover, the wealth had not increased the social 
status of the Roma in the villagers' eyes.  They vehemently 
insisted to Poloff that they had no desire to "live with 
these mafia gypsies."  The villagers stated that three Roma 
clans -- the Burceas, the Rostas, and the Kocsas -- had 
built huge houses, along with new asphalt streets, and then 
 
BUCHAREST 00000841  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
named the streets after themselves.  They barred from entry 
to the village other Roma clans and fought among themselves, 
bringing a heretofore unknown level of violence to the small 
community.  None of the villagers said they had befriended a 
Roma.  Several said they were considering moving out of the 
area. 
 
The Levezeni Village of Shacks 
------------------------------ 
6. (U) No further than four miles from the modern Mures 
County capital of Targu Mures, conditions in the village of 
Livezeni could not have been more different.  A group of 
Roma lived in abject conditions in makeshift mud shacks at 
the margin of an already poor village.  Families with six 
children were crammed into a mud house the size of a single 
room that provided no heat, no electricity, no water, and no 
sewage; "windows" could not be closed because there was no 
glass.  An ethnic Hungarian Targu Mures resident informed 
Poloff that these Roma families made a "living" by going 
through garbage sites in Targu Mures.  Their means of travel 
were carts drawn by similarly malnourished horses.  Local 
residents explained to Poloff that these Roma live in a 
permanent vicious cycle -- no one would give them work or 
associate with them because they are Roma; without work, 
their living conditions continued to deteriorate, especially 
during the harsh Transylvania winter. 
 
The Szekler-Hungarians' Foi 
--------------------------- 
7. (U) In the ninety-percent Szekler-Hungarian village of 
Foi (Folyfalva in Hungarian), Roma villagers lived in 
relative harmony next to ethnic Hungarians.  Although some 
Roma villagers still lived in houses built from mud, others 
had built themselves brand new homes.  A villager in Foi 
informed Poloff that the so-called Roma middle-class earned 
a decent living through "trading."  They acquire goods from 
elsewhere and sell them at flea markets or weekend fairs. 
He complained, however, that "the gypsies just do not know 
how to save" -- all the money earned during the summer is 
apparently quickly spent during the winter.  By early 
spring, they are "out of money again."  He also accused the 
Roma of "never paying taxes," as profits from their goods 
sold at fairs were not declared as earnings.  Although the 
Roma villagers spoke Hungarian fluently and mingled with 
other Foi villagers, their lifestyle remained stigmatized. 
Non-acceptance and likely a lack of understanding between 
the two groups appeared to underpin a subtle but real 
segregation of the two ethnic groups. 
 
8. (SBU) Further aggravating the situation, according to 
Roma advocate Istvan Haller of the respected NGO Pro Europa 
headquartered in Targu Mures, is the fact that many 
"integrated" Roma choose to deny their Roma ethnicity. 
Haller lamented to Poloff that instead of proudly displaying 
their heritage, well-to-do and educated Roma often choose to 
hide their ethnicity because of the negative connotations of 
the term "gypsy."  Haller claimed that this denial further 
reinforces the vicious cycle of stereotyping Roma -- and the 
myth that Roma are either "poor because they are lazy," or 
"rich because they are the mafia."  The term "gypsy" has 
negatively evolved in some parts of Mures County to describe 
anyone who lives in poverty, chooses not to work, or engages 
in illicit activities.  Haller believed that a nationwide 
government-sponsored campaign is necessary to improve the 
social image of the Roma ethnic group and debunk this myth. 
He opined in frustration, however, that the Romanian 
government -- despite repeated declarations to the contrary 
-- is doing precious little on any positive outreach 
campaigns. 
 
9. (SBU) Comment: The prejudice against Roma in these three 
Transylvanian villages mirrors the prejudice which exists 
across Romania towards this minority that represents an 
estimated eight percent of the total population. 
Irrespective of Romania's level of social and economic 
development, mainstream Romanians still frequently express 
overtly prejudicial attitudes or more subtle, but deeply 
entrenched,  bias towards the Roma.  Many educated and 
ostensibly sophisticated contacts of PolOff, for example, 
routinely refer to Roma by the pejorative term "crow." 
These same interlocutors frequently express the sentiment 
that Roma are, in some fundamental but undefined way, not 
fully "Romanian."  This mentality also reflects that social 
attitudes toward Roma are often based on social class as 
much as, and in some cases more, than ethnicity. 
Regrettably, political leaders are reluctant to openly 
 
BUCHAREST 00000841  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
confront this prejudicial attitude.  And more often than 
not, the leaders of many Roma clans are also unwilling.  One 
local European Commission diplomat observed to PolOff that 
Romania as a whole had made tremendous progress over the 
past 16 years in terms of human rights and economic 
development.  In the same breath, however, he noted that 
Roma had somehow fallen still further behind.  Addressing 
this issue, he stressed, "will be a big problem not just for 
Romania, but for Europe," especially after Romania joins the 
EU.  While the challenges facing large segments of Romania's 
Roma community, such as poverty, discrimination, and inter- 
clan violence, are neither unique to Romania nor the region, 
no country has a higher percentage of Roma in its 
population.  The challenge of the Roma community is one feat 
Bucharest can ill afford to ignore. End comment. 
 
10. (U) AmEmbassy Bucharest's Reporting telegrams, as well 
as daily press summaries, are available on the Bucharest 
SIPRNet website:  www.state.sgov/gov/p/eur/bucharest 
 
Taubman