By Dr David Murphy.
Following the announcement of the Irish State’s recognition of Traveller ethnicity in March, several other groups were in touch with Travellers’ Voice magazine to offer their congratulations to Irish Travellers. One of the groups was the European Yenish Union; Yenish activists also went through a similar experience of lobbying the Swiss government for ethnic recognition, here’s a bit of information about this interesting European ethnic minority.
The Yenish in Switzerland are a people with nomadic origins, numbering approximately 35000, with between three to five thousand living a nomadic existence. During the winter months families live in Swiss municipalities where children go to school, but during the summer months, families travel in extended clan groups with private tutors to continue their children’s education.
The Yenish speak their own language and have a distinct culture and patterns of marriage that are unique to their ethnic group. The Yenish language was first documented in the 18th century and is derived from German but features many variations, including using original words and unusual metaphors to express points of view. There are also many Judeo-Latin, Romani and Yiddish derived words in the Yenish language and many Yenish phrases have entered into everyday German conversation in a manner similar to the way we use Cockney phrases.
The Yenish are also one of the largest nomadic populations in Europe with numbers estimated to be around 700,000, with 200,000 living in Germany as well as significant populations in Holland, Belgium, France and as far afield as Pennsylvania in the US.
Yenish people claim that they are descended from the ancient Celtic Helveti tribe who settled in the mountainous regions of Switzerland and engaged in warfare with the Roman Empire in the century following the birth of Christ. Some scholars dispute the ancient origins of the Yenish, saying that the Yenish as a people date back to the beginnings of the 19th century. It would be interesting to see if these modern claims could be challenged through genetic research, as happened with Irish Travellers who can confidently date their origins back to medieval if not ancient times.
Kinder der Landstrasse / Children of the Road.
The treatment of the Yenish by the Swiss state is similar to the discriminatory treatment of nomadic groups around the world. In 1926 the Swiss set up a foundation named the Oeuvre d’entraide aux Enfants de la Grand-route (Assisting Children of the Highway) headed by Alfred Siegfried to (in Siegried’s words) “prevent the foundation of undesirable families” who were later characterised as “mentally deficient.” This led to horrendous persecution with families being forcibly separated and the children adopted, a policy that continued until 1973. During the fifty years of the Ouevre’s existence, reporter Laurence Jourdan claims, “over six hundred Yenish children were forcibly taken from their parents.” The film Kinder der Landstrasse (Children of the Road; 1992) documents this tragic period in Yenish history and it has many similarities to the Magdalene Laundries’ scandal in Ireland and the forced assimilation of Travellers who were separated from their families at a young age.
In 1986 Councilor Alfons Egli made an apology, on behalf of the Swiss Federal Government for their contribution to the ill treatment of the Yenish people. However it wasn’t until 1996 that the Swiss government conducted an official investigation into the Oeuvre and in 1998 it was revealed that there was still over 100 people still in institutions as a result of the actions of the Oeuvre.
In 1972 the mistreatment of Yenish people by the state gained international recognition following the publishing of Yenish people’s stories in the Beobachter newspaper. There was an international outcry and great shame at the mobilisation of the state, church, business and educational institutions who facilitated and ignored the forced adoption of Yenish children. The 1948 UN Genocide Convention defines the forcible transferring of children of a “national, ethnic, racial or religious group to another group” in the intent to destroy, in whole or in part; as genocide” and this, along with public shame and pressure brought an end to the forced adoptions and the beginning of a programme of reparations for survivors.
In 1975 the Yenish were officially recognised as an independent ethnic group, and in 1992 the Yenish language was included in a protective European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. This charter ‘recognises the Yenish language as an expression of cultural wealth’ and demands that Swiss policy and legislation tries to protect, promote and preserve it. In 1995 the Swiss government set up the Foundation for the Future of the Swiss Travelling Community.
Yenish protests in 2014:
Another similarity the Yenish in Switzerland share with Irish Travellers is a lack of suitable accommodation for nomadic members of the community and in 2014 this situation led to a dramatic confrontation in the Swiss capital city of Bern. Yenish protesters occupied a plot of land in the city in protest at the lack of suitable accommodation. This led to a confrontation with Swiss police and tearful scenes as families were removed from the area.
Some famous Yenish People:
Stephan Eicher was born in 1960 and became famous in German speaking countries through his music in the 1980s. Eicher is multi lingual and sings in French, German, English, Swiss, Italian and Romanche. His first success was the song Eisbär on the album Grauzone which he composed with his brother Martin.
Mariella Mehr was born in Zurich 1947 and is a survivor of the Ouevre (state forced adoption of Yenish children). When she was young, Mehr was transferred between 16 different orphanages as well as spending periods in mental institutions and prison. Inspired by her own experiences, Mehr writes about, and from the perspective of societies’ outsiders and people who have experienced damaging and oppressive treatment. Mehr began working in journalism in the 1970s writing about Roma, Yenish and social justice issues. Mehr is the author of over 12 books including Kinder der Landstrasse (Children of the Road) an autobiography which describes life in the state orphanages. Mehr has won multiple awards for her writing and in 1998 was awarded an honorary Doctorate from the University of Basel.
Rafael Van Der Vart is a footballer who was born in Holland in 1983 and grew up in a trailer park where he perfected his skills. Van der Vart said in an interview about his childhood “That was the way my family lived. My father was born there and it is a lifestyle. Maybe it is not a normal lifestyle but I always liked it. I always played football on the street. It was an easy life, then I was 10 years old and went to Ajax and played there for almost 12 years”. Van de Vart has played for some of the best teams in the world including Ajax, Real Madrid, Tottenham Hotspur, Hamburger SV and 13 years on the national team for Holland.
Yenish on Film.
1957: Es geschah am hellichten Tag
1979: Das gefrorene Herz
1992: Kinder der Landstrasse (Children of the Road is about the states forced adoption program)
2008: Hunkeler macht Sachen (A gritty crime thriller).
