East European Roma
Since the break-up of political systems in Eastern Europe, Roma families have travelled to Ealing. They now constitute the second largest Gypsy Traveller group in the borough.
Roma families have a very strong allegiance to their traditions, which can be traced back to northern India and ancient Persia (modern Iran and Iraq). Their first language is Roma, and their second language is generally that of their point of departure eg Polish, Czech, Slovak, Albanian, Romanian or any of the languages of the former Yugoslavia.
Oral traditions are strong and many adult Roma speak at least
four languages. Children generally learn to speak English very
quickly, and add an oral ability in English to their families'
multilingual repertoire.