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The "traveling people"
in France |
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- I heard the emergency call given by the Catholic chaplains
regarding the gypsies; they have a close experience of the daily
lives of these families. Courageously they protested against
the repressive laws presently in preparation and directed towards
the Gypsy people.
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They suffered tremendously during the 1940-1945 war; they
are undergoing again an unfair discrimination. They are scared
because they feel that their own existence is in danger. Wherever
they go, they are not welcome and they are not wanted. |
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- They are pressured to integrate themselves while they
have this beautiful vocation of living without having a permanent
home. They pass and they never stay. A fixed location would mean
death for them.
Rather than to blame the local authorities who did not want to
set up a "parking camp space" as specified by law,
they are penalized for parking on private lands and then they
are fined for that.
In this difficult situation the small Catholic community of the
"traveling people" feel also humiliated by the silence
of the bishops, a more unbearable silence since they need help
and recognition.
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Repression against the Gypsies also concerns us! When the
law penalizes the weakest of citizens, we should be careful because
it might be our turn tomorrow to be penalized. |
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