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A NEW GYPSY CHURCH WITH OLD TRADITIONS
The emerging Dom churches and faith groups in the Middle East have begun to assume a long-held Dom social function.
The Dom community leader traditionally holds council meetings to discuss issues confronting the people. The issues
range from local government relations to giving advise on family matters. Among many Dom this social function is now
neglected leaving the people to forge ahead without the benefit of collective counsel. These gatherings were significant
also for the preservation of Dom traditions and values.
In at least three communities this social void is being filled by the new Dom churches. The people are finding the
relevance of Christ's teachings and the appropriate application of them to their lives through their gatherings. Their
meetings are not characterized by a sermon delivered by a designated individual. Instead, scripture is read and general
discussion follows as collectively they seek to understand and apply the teachings to their lives. Some of the "real-to-life"
issues they seek to apply God's word to include "should women marry outside their communities?" "Is divorce acceptable?"
"Should Gypsies beg in the streets? If not, how will some of our people survive?" "What does everyone think about education
for our families?" "What is our responsibility to the needy people in our community?" "How should we respond to the ill
treatment we experience from others?"
Church gatherings as a religious event are new to the Dom, but the way in which they have shaped their fellowships is enabling
them to reclaim one of their long-held traditions--community counsel. Contemporary, relevant, yet traditional are qualities
many churches throughout the world strive to achieve. It appears the Dom churches are beginning well!
THE CONTAINER VILLAGE
We drive through a seaside town whose residents are primarily the ethnic majority of this country and a
large number of foreigners who have come here to live. Shops, supermarkets, government offices, and
medical care are all nearby. We do not stop in town because we are on our way to visit one of the
smallest, and most discriminated against, ethnic minorities on the island.
We drive on until we pass the town’s large garbage dump, and just beyond that a large cemetery.
Slowing, the driver turns onto a small road that leads downhill. Obscured from the highway, but
coming into view as we drive down, are 16 aluminum-clad shipping containers, each approximately
20’ x 8’ in size and fitted with one door and several small windows. There are no trees here to
shade these metal boxes from the intense heat or to provide the eye relief from the surrounding bleak
landscape. We arrive at what is called, appropriately enough, the “container village.” These
containers are the homes of approximately 16 Gypsy families, provided to them as refugee housing by
the government. This may sound kind and generous of them, until one compares it with the accommodations
(adequately-sized apartments in town) provided the majority ethnic group refugees. If you do not live in
town, transportation can be a real problem, particularly if you are very poor as these people are.
Arriving at the container village, friendly Gypsy women and smiling, curious children surround us.
They are happy to see us because they know we’ve brought furniture and clothing, items they greatly need.
We unload the truck, then one of the ladies invites us in for coffee. We step inside her home, where there
is a small living room, an incredibly tiny kitchen, an even tinier bathroom, and one small bedroom. One
couple and their children live in this container. Despite its smallness, it is very clean, tidy, and
homelike.
A local, retired Christian couple, Stephen and Knar, arrive and join us for coffee. While our hostess
prepares the coffee, they explain how they have been striving to help meet both the physical and spiritual
needs of these families for several years. Knar states that she has found that the Gypsies are receptive
to the Gospel, and that those who are Christian exhibit a simple faith. The couple lament that there
aren’t any other volunteers who speak the Gypsies’ language that could spend more time with them. Just
as we are on our way out, our hostess presents one of our group with a “thank you” gift, a lovely potted
plant she has grown, one of her few possessions.
Fear, superstition, suspicion, and prejudice contribute greatly toward making the Gypsies social
outcasts in their own country. They are shunned and generally forced to live apart from their fellow
countrymen, the majority of whom are of another ethnic group. This, in turn, generates fear and distrust
on the part of the Gypsies towards outsiders. However, when individuals recognize and attempt to help
meet the Gypsies’ needs for the basic necessities of life, and ask nothing in return, then trust is more
likely to develop. Probably nothing, though, compares to the simple act of visiting in their homes and
having coffee with them, or vice versa. A time of friendship and fellowship becomes a time of reaffirmation
for the Gypsies as to their value as human beings and members of society.
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