The socio-cultural and economic status of gypsies living in Bolu

This study aimed to review the relevant literature on the socio-economic attributes, family structure, and educational status of Gypsies who, in spite of having been scattered all around the world, have maintained their culture in the societies they have migrated to since the time they appeared in history. Having left their homeland, which is believed to be India, Gypsies have used Anatolia as a passage to other lands. Still maintaining their daily lives in various parts of the country in much the same way, Gypsies have preferred jobs such as musicianship, scrap dealing, ironworks, and basketry. As a result of economical problems they experience, these people who are known to have little education have mostly been forced to start working in order to help their households financially without having completed the obligatory basic education, which has also led to early marriages. Based on the fact emerging from the preliminary interviews conducted with the Gypsy families living in the province of Bolu that they bear great resemblance to the general populace of Gypsies living in Turkey, a survey was created. The findings of the survey were analyzed through SPSS package software and the results were interpreted with the help of additional focus group discussions and individual interviews carried out in order to set grounds for future studies and projects.