Yeniche (people)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The Yeniche, or Jenische, are the third-largest population of nomadic people (or "Travelers") in Europe, living mostly in Germany, Austria, Switzerland, and parts of France. They are some of the most geographically widespread in Western Europe. The term Yeniche generally refers to those living in France and Belgium, while Jenische refers to those in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. The Jenische have been concentrated mostly around the Rhineland.

Mostly through important taboo systems, the Yeniche also differ culturally from the Roma and are considered a different group, though they may fall under a more generic but often more loosely defined category of Gypsy. They have their own proper Yeniche language.

[edit] Switzerland

Until the 1970s, the Swiss government had a semi-official policy of institutionalizing Yeniche parents as "mentally ill" and having their children be adopted by more "normal" Swiss citizens, in an effort to eliminate Yeniche culture. The name of this program was "Kinder der Landstrasse" ("children of the country road"). Over 2000 children were taken from their parents and institutionalized in orphanages, mental institutions and even prisons. The records of what the Swiss government supported through the organization Pro Juventute are sealed in the national archives. They will be unsealed in 2050. Today 35,000 Jenische live in Switzerland, mostly concentrated around Graubünden. Only 5,000 of them currently live the traditional traveller lifestyle.