| The largest concentration of Gypsy populations are found in eastern European countries such as Romania, with 1.3 million; Bulgaria, 600,000; Czech Republic, 250,000; and Slovakia, 300,000. But Gypsies are a global ethnic minority and can be found living in 140 different countries around the world. Most Gypsies assimilate into the population of their host countries and very often prefer to live on the country’s social security system rather than accept low-paying jobs. This frequently leads to anger against the Roma, as the conditions in which they live can be compared to ghetto environments and breeding grounds for poverty, crime, begging on the streets, and living in shacks usually built ad hoc and near railways. The Roma who are most visible to the settled communities of eastern Europe today are those who continue to perpetuate the negative image of Gypsies, mainly through criminal occupations such as pickpocket, con artist, modern-day pirate, and train robber. ▲ ▲ ▲ Bang, Bang Relief washed over me because the concern of getting to the station on time, boarding the correct train, finding the overnight sleeper car, and getting situated in my compartment was all behind me. Hlavní Nádraží station in Prague, at night, had given me an eerie, otherworldly feeling while I waited on the platform for the worn-looking Soviet-era train to finally lumber into the dark, cavernous station. The old train station, referred to in English simply as Main Station, has two levels. The upper level, where I waited, was covered by a huge steel arch that was open on either end; I could look out and follow the trains as they left or entered the station. There was no color in the scene, and I got the sensation that I was a background extra in a black-and- white World War II motion picture. In this film, an agent wearing a trench coat, with the collar turned up, approached me and asked me, with suspicion in his eyes, “Please show me your papers.” Then he ordered, “Come with me. We have some questions to ask you.” Standing in the center of my sleeper compartment, facing the large window with its red, sun-drained, coarse fabric curtain fully pushed over to one side, I stretched my arms and easily, and at the same time, pressed the palms of both hands against the walls of the tight space. The length, from window to door, was roughly twice the width. Against the wall to my right were two bunks, a bottom and a top bed. They were covered with the same durable-looking reddish fabric that the curtains were made from. I was pleased to see that the cushion on the bottom bunk, where I would be sleeping, had been made up with a clean sheet over a thinly padded quilt, which served as a mattress. There was a single pillow, and it too looked freshly changed. On the opposite side was an undersized writing table, and above the table was a narrow steel shelf, its eggshell-white paint chipped and scratched. Over the shelf, where one might place a book or some personal items, was a frameless mirror secured tightly to the wall. A single-bulb light fixture, yellowed with time and heat, was positioned above the door and provided the only light for the tiny space, barely enough to read from while one was seated or lying in the lower bunk. |
| Gypsies on the Train (continued) |