A Roma Nation? Constructing Romani identity in the context of extreme displacement. Issue 4 (14th February 2019)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Webb, Emily
• Is Part Of: Nations and nationalism. Volume 25:Issue 4(2019)
• Page Start: 1190
• Page End: 1211
• Publication Date: 2019-02-14
• Subjects: diaspora -- displacement -- Gypsies -- homeland -- Roma; Nationalism; 320
• DOI: 10.1111/nana.12504
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1354-5078

Abstract

Abstract: The process of displacement has affected the articulation of collective identity among the Romani diaspora. The nation state persists as the main vehicle through which diasporic identities are formulated. A challenge to this is when a diaspora has lost its homeland as its territorial reference point. This article reflects on the way in which the Romanies – a 1, 000‐year‐old diaspora – confront traditional understandings of diasporic identity as combining the ideas of a loss and longing for a homeland. It explores the limits and possibilities of building a collective Romani identity in the context of extreme displacement, with reference to narratives of identity and belonging articulated by the Romani diaspora in Britain.