User:ReimyLi/Ionel Rotaru

[Lead Section/Summary here]

Ionel Rotaru (1918-1982) was a Romani activist who envisioned the creation of a Romani state, which he labeled as "Romanestan".

Early Life
Ionel Rotaru was born in Bessarabia, now located in modern-day Moldova, in 1918. He had a middle-class upbringing living with his parents, three brothers, and two sisters. His family was literate; his father was an engineer, while two of his brothers held jobs as an architect and a journalist. During World War Two, he was a conscript in the Romanian Army before fleeing west in 1946 as the only surviving member of his family, the rest of them executed by the Nazis. He escaped to Italy, then Egypt, before settling in France in 1947. It is unclear whether he entered the country illegally. Before reaching Paris, he struggled to maintain a job, bouncing between various occupations and cities. He worked as a sailor in Marseille, a miner in Lens, and once in Paris, he was a porter in the Les Halles market for an unspecified period. At some point, he got married to his wife and moved into a one-bedroom apartment on 75 Rue Victor Hugo. During his time in France, he experienced moderate amounts of success in his artistic career, which continued even as he advocated for the Romani people.

Supreme Leader of the Gypsies
In May 1959, several French newspapers reported that the Gypsies had crowned their supreme leader with the title of Vaida Voevod III in Enghien-les-Bains, a small town north of Paris. Ionel Rotaru, now proclaimed as Vaida Voevod III, staged this coronation, with engaging photographs distributed to the press. These images depicted Rotaru and the former Voevod participating in a symbolic transfer of title, mingling their blood from their wrists. The Declaration of the Rights of Man played a significant role in the event, as well as symbolism associated with the colors blue (for the sky) and green (for hope) on his sash. The theatrical nature of the ceremony intrigued Romani intellectuals in Paris who considered themselves ‘the real Bohemians’.

Rotaru already had a support base among the Roma immigrants in Paris from Romania and other countries before this event. He had initially assisted the immigrants with issues of immigration, and was becoming increasingly involved in helping individuals with reparation claims against West Germany. The Romani intellectuals of Paris joined forces with him in support of this cause. Rotaru received significant assistance from two half-brothers, Jacques and Louis Dauvergne, who had mixed French and Rudari Roma backgrounds and adopted the political names Vanko and Léulea Rouda. Vanko, a paralegal, was granted substantial time by his law firm to work on Roma cases pro bono. Together, they established two organizations: the Organisation Nationale Gitane and the Communauté Mondiale Gitane (CMG).

Communauté Mondiale Gitane
Throughout his activism, Ionel Rotaru created various associations with the intent of supporting the Romani people. The Communauté Mondiale Gitane (CMG), also known as the World Community of Gypsies in English, is the most notable and successful –and the first international Romani organization. Despite not formally reigning as a king, Rotaru established a transnational network through CMG to advocate for Romani rights. This network extended beyond the Iron Curtain (link to Wikipedia) to Poland, where the first office was established. Rotaru also reached out to other countries in the West to form more offices, including the UK, Ireland, Canada, Germany, and Austria. In these countries, he sought to address the concerns of various marginalized groups, such as travelers, tinkers, and other subgroups stigmatized by their nomadic lifestyles. This effort was emphasized through a publication called La Voix Mondiale Tzigane [maybe move La Voix Mondiale Tzigane to publications?], which urged collaboration among these marginalized groups. By the end of its time, CMG had 45 international offices scattered across the globe. (double check this citation)

Most of CMG’s activities were conducted in Rotaru’s home in Montreuil, Paris, where he received journalists and constituents, drafted statements and speeches, and engaged in advocacy efforts. This upset the French government, as a physical office did not exist for CMG. Another maneuver that provoked the French government was the two demands that CMG addressed to UNESCO: first, seeking institutional aid for Romani literacy due to their educational exclusion, and second, advocating for international recognition of Romani cultural heritage, including music and language, which was endangered due to historical persecution. The most pressing matter regarding these demands was the recognition of the Romani genocide, accompanied by claims for compensation for survivors. The German branch of the CMG played a crucial role in gathering data and documentation for these claims, challenging previous rejections that argued Romani persecution was due to reasons other than race. Despite Rotaru's many failed applications, his efforts highlighted the suffering and historical neglect faced by Romani victims of the Third Reich.

On February 26, 1965, just before a visit from the German Chancellor Erhard, the French government forcibly dissolved the CMG, citing non-compliance with regulations regarding foreign membership. Following this dissolution, a new group emerged, comprising members with French citizenship, led by Vanko Rouda, the former co-founder of CMG. This new group, known as the Comité International Tzigane (CIT) from 1967 onwards, continued the advocacy efforts for Romani rights and recognition.

[write about the successes of CMG]

(add references/citations)

(maybe split into own section)

Passport Trial
[to be added]

(persecution, imprisonment, hunger strike, erasure from public)

International Romani Union
Ionel Rotaru's founding of the Communauté Mondiale Gitane led to the eventual creation of the International Romani Union. After most of CMG's work was taken over by the Comité International Tzigane (CIT), the CIT was eventually renamed and became the International Romani Union.

https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Gypsies_of_Eastern_Europe/FUdnDwAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=ionel+rotaru&pg=PT125&printsec=frontcover (more information on organizations like CMG and other efforts by Rotaru)

Romani Flag
Ionel Rotaru played a significant role in the adoption and revival of the bicolor flag as a symbol of Romani identity and leadership. The bicolor flag, featuring green and blue stripes, appeared in Rotaru's sash when he asserted his leadership of the Romani people. Rotaru's interpretation of the flag's symbolism was outlined in his charter, where he explained that green symbolized "land covered in vegetation" and a "world without borders," while blue represented the "cosmos and liberty." Interestingly, Rotaru provided a unique explanation for the horizontal display of the flag, linking it to the vertical flagpole, which symbolized "the line of profundity of our thinking."

By 1961, Rotaru openly declared the bicolor flag as the state flag of Romanestan, with blue now interpreted specifically to represent freedom.

(check citations from Flag of the Romani people)

La Rhapsodie Roumaine
[to be added]