Upon learning that I speak Spanish, the first question my roommate asked me was what I thought of Mexicans. Obviously, the States' racial and ethnic tensions are known well beyond its borders. But Europe, divided ethnically for most of its history, is beginning to experience diversity - and its challenges - to a greater degree than ever before thanks to the European Union.
As the movement of people grows to include more countries in Europe, states that have traditionally been ethnic ones are experiencing growing pains. The case of France is one that most School of International Service students are well acquainted with.
I experienced the power of racial profiling and prejudices firsthand when I took a weekend trip to Budapest, Hungary.
My travel companions and I left Krakow on a night train, planning to arrive at our hostel in the morning and start seeing sights immediately. Our plans were interrupted when a thief stole my purse in transit. I was left without a passport, a ticket or money, in addition to several other items.
Prior to exiting the train, one man caught my attention. One of the girls in his compartment had been translating for me with the conductors, and she'd obviously told him the story of what happened. He did not want to tell me he was sorry for what had happened or sympathize in the slightest. He wanted to tell me it was a Slovak who took my bag. A Slovak gypsy, he said. Not a Hungarian.
I thought it was strange someone would stop me to say that, but I thought it was probably just the prejudices of the older generation, so I brushed it off.
A visit to the police station, however, proved that this was not an isolated case of racial profiling or ethnic prejudice. The translator there informed me that it was most likely an Albanian, a Romanian or a gypsy and that they would be on the lookout for people who fit those descriptions.
I was stunned, not only because they would think that, but that they would say that. Using the word gypsy is not an appropriate way to characterize the Roma - it's extremely derogatory - and I was very surprised they would express such sentiments to an outsider, especially since it was just as possible for an American to have stolen my purse as a Hungarian, Romanian or Slovak.
Nevertheless, the statement was in itself a commentary on the status of racial and ethnic relations in Europe. While the EU continues to forge its way with progressive liberalism, each of its nations must become acutely aware that the United States is by no means the only country on the world stage that has its token marginalized characters.
Some European nations are still keeping such people behind the curtains and in doing so are ignoring the reality of what it means to become a European union. What they do not realize is that to capitalize on the power and significance of being united, minorities will need to play an important role and be treated as equals, rather than extras, in the formation of a single Europe.
