Who are the Romani (or 'Rromani', if you prefer) people? Well, to put it bluntly, we are the race of people (yes, I said race, as in a real ethnicity) commonly known as 'Gypsies'. There are more than twelve million Romani located in many countries around the world. There is no way to obtain an exact number since they are not recorded on most official census counts. Many Romani themselves do not admit to their true ethnic origins for economic and social reasons. The Romani are a distinct ethnic minority, distinguished at least by Rom blood and the Romani, or Romanes, language, whose origins began on the Indian subcontinent over one thousand years ago. No one knows for certain why the first Romanies began their great wandering from India to Europe and beyond, but they have dispersed worldwide, despite persecution and oppression through the centuries.

There have been several great migrations, or diaspora, in Romani history. The first was the initial dispersal from India about a thousand years ago. Some scholars suggest there may have been several migrations from India. The second great migration, known as the Aresajipe, was from southwest Asia into Europe in the 14th century. The third migration was from Europe to the Americas in the 19th and early 20th centuries after the abolition of Romani slavery in Europe in 1856-1864. Some scholars contend there is a great migration occurring today since the fall of the Iron Curtain in Eastern Europe.

Because of their different appearance and misunderstood habits they were soon branded and persecuted as enemies by European society. Soon the Gypsies were driven into a life of mobility. Many times they would escape into the forests for refuge and those who looked upon this assumed this habit to be a carefree and chosen lifestyle of the Gypsies, and so, one of the very first stereotypes of the Gypsies had developed. Many to this day mistakenly and foolishly believe that they can become a Gypsy if they choose to lead a nomadic lifestyle. Soon this nomadic stereotype became widely accepted among the gajze, and Gypsies became what the gajze thought they were.

So, by what method are these people identified as Gypsies? Simple, the answer is misguided generalizations and sterotypes of what Gypsies are. There are many Gypsies who have given much and are continuing to add much to this world. There are Gypsies who are actors, factory owners, lawyers, teachers, and so forth. Yet, because of the many negative generalizations against Gypsies, these successful people fear losing their place in society once they have exposed themselves as Gypsies. However, the media chooses to avoid those Gypsies who are brave enough to be noticed. A Gypsy scam makes much better headlines in the media than a Gypsy teacher taking an active role on behalf of his people, for instance.

In the last few years, the Romani issue has been addressed by various non-governmental organisations, national as well as international. Different approaches - economic, social, political, cultural, and others - have been applied in the hope of improving the living standards of the Romani, of promoting a more just social policy, of strengthening Romani cultural identity, or of encouraging Romani political participation. Solutions have been sought in the context of the struggle against racism and nationalism, as well as in the context of enhancing cultural pluralism. These recent projects are fragments of a growing all-European Romani movement that is now only in its formative stage. The shape of this movement is still amorphous and incomplete. There still exists no significant internationalised human rights strategy initiative to monitor the human rights situation of the Romani and to provide legal defense in cases of human rights abuse.

The Romani people have been known by many names, including Gypsies (or Gipsies), Tsigani, Tzigane, Cigano, Zigeuner, and others. Most Romani have always referred to themselves by their tribal names, or as Rom or Roma, meaning "Man" or "People." (Rom, Roma, Romani, and Romaniya should not be confused with the country of Romania, or the city of Rome. These names have separate, distinct etymological origins and are not related.) The Romanies recognize divisions among themselves based in part on territorial, cultural and dialectal differences. Some authorities recognize five main groups: Kalderash are the most numerous, traditionally coppersmiths, from the Balkans, many of whom migrated to central Europe and North America; Gitanos (also called Calé) mostly in the Iberian Peninsula, North Africa, and southern France; associated with entertainment; Sinti mostly in Alsace and other regions of France and Germany; often travelling showmen and circus people; Romnichal (Rom'nies) mainly in Britain and North America; and Erlides (also known as Yerlii or Arli) settled in Southeastern Europe and Turkey. Some groups, like the Finnish Romani population (Kaale) and the Norwegian and Swedish Travellers, are hard to categorize. Each of these main divisions may be further divided into two or more subgroups distinguished by occupational specialization or territorial origin, or both. Some of these group names are: Machvaya (Machwaya), Lovari, Churari, Rudari, Boyash, Ludar, Luri, Xoraxai, Ungaritza, Bashaldé, Ursari and Romungro.