Romanian Gypsies

On this hot and sticky mid-summer's day in Bucharest, I am on a tram making its way through the busy streets. A couple board with two young children. Their skin is much darker than everyone else's, and the adults have badly drawn tattoos on their arms of initials alongside cupid's heart. They are unkempt and the other passengers on the tram look away. The children scamper in front of a woman approaching an empty seat and clamber on to it. Instantly recognisable, this family is among the 5-10% of Romanians who are Gypsy (Roma or Rroma) people. Of any country, Romania has the largest proportion of Gypsy people--more than two million.

The politics of social identity and nationality …