COLUMN ONE : Gypsies Feel Curse of Hatred : The collapse of Stalinist rule has loosened the restraints on extremism against Europe's most despised ethnic group.

December 20, 1991|CAROL J. WILLIAMS | TIMES STAFF WRITER

LOCATION: Two-thirds of Gypsy population lives in Eastern Europe, concentrated in Balkan states. Romania has largest number, 3 million by some estimates. Demographers estimate nearly 1 million in Yugoslavia, 800,000 in Czechoslovakia, at least 500,000 in both Hungary and Bulgaria, 250,000 in old Soviet Union and smaller numbers scattered throughout Europe.

LANGUAGE: Romany, an Indo-Persian language still spoken by many Gypsies, has at least 17 dialects. Written language was developed only after World War II, for both Cyrillic and Latin alphabets.

HISTORY: Gypsies were enslaved in Balkans when they arrived 600 years ago. Gained their freedom, under pressure from the West, only in latter half of 19th Century when states emerging from Turkish rule sought international recognition. Although freed, they were rarely allowed to settle among other Europeans, forcing them to roam in caravans in search of work. They were forcibly settled and given work in construction and heavy industry during Communist period, but most of those jobs have disappeared in shift to market economies.