Undesirable gypsies

Because there is very little common land left in western European countries, gypsies in these states have difficulty in finding camping sites and when they do, they are usually driven off by the local community within a short time; in general, society associates gypsies with petty crime, theft, confidence tricks and begging. Because of constantly moving, gypsy children tend to have an inadequate education, which confines them later to traditional gypsy occupations, such as being musicians, horse dealers, hawkers, blacksmiths, coppersmiths, fairground entertainers, and beggars. Regarding theft, gypsies have a different code of morality, though this is very strict. This may be that it is a crime to steal from someone poorer than yourself (the tradition in Serbia) or that it is a crime to steal something you do not need (the tradition in England). Those who want to leave the nomadic life may meet discrimination in housing and employment. For those who remain nomadic, their isolated and close-knit society makes it difficult for public authorities to administer a reasonable and acceptable standard of social welfare.

Of the estimated world population of 1,000,000 gypsies, more than half live in Romania and Hungary and at least 150,000 in Bulgaria, Macedonia and Yugoslavia. According to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, in 1998 there were eight million gypsies in Europe, although statistics are unreliable for such unregistered, unfixed people.