The State of Massachusetts should be ceded in order to create a homeland for Roma people

Once again, thanks to my opponent for a well-informed and thought-provoking response. Firstly, I should be clear that in the process of championing the cause of a homeland for the Roma I was, indeed, conscious that I this would present me with the opportunity to highlight the injustices that the creation of a Jewish homeland has heaped upon innocent Arab families. I will not "insult your intelligence" by pretending otherwise, but the raison d'ï¿½tre of this debate was, and remains, the creation of a Roma nation. Now, to address my opponent's response: while his arguments against my just and fair solution to the Roma housing crisis may seem superficially convincing, I will demonstrate that they are, in fact, no more than the protestations of a "nimby". http://www.urbandictionary.com... Had I suggested that the homeland should be in Macedonia rather than Massachusetts, I rather suspect my opponent may not have been quite so forthright in his opposition to the plan. The trouble is, the Roma people, like Australian Aborigines, the Ainu of Japan, Native Americans, the Yuan Zhu Min of Taiwan, Polynesian Hawaiians, the Kurds of Turkey, Iraq and Iran and countless other stateless ethnic groups, have to deal with widespread prejudice and discrimination and are often driven to the edge of society by the mainstream population, and are often forced to live in appalling conditions. http://lazykitty.net... http://www.freewebs.com... If these minorities were granted their own homelands, not only would they be happy, but so would their former "hosts". For example, the majority of Italians want to see all Roma, even those with Italian citizenship, deported (where to?) and their law courts uphold people's "right" to discriminate against Gypsies. http://www.guardian.co.uk... http://www.guardian.co.uk... Of course, it's not just Italy, in Britain, where the slang word for Roma travellers is "Pikeys", there are road signs erected to inhibit their movements. http://www.digitaltoast.co.uk... http://www.urbandictionary.com... As we have already noted, the Jews have been granted a homeland, and although its location is extremely controversial, not many people would deny that they have a right to self-determination within the framework of an independent sovereign state. All I am suggesting is that the Roma should enjoy the same right. To deny this would be to assert that Jewish people are superior to Romany people, and only seriously deluded fascists like Hitler, have ever suggested that one race is inherently superior to another. My opponent claims that Roma people already have a homeland in India and wrote: "If they want to go back there, they can". This is not true, as they would be very unlikely to obtain a visa, never mind an Indian passport. The 5 million gypsies that live in India, that he referred to are, by the way, the Lambanis (or Indian Gypsies) who are nomadic and widely discriminated against. As I mentioned previously, and will demonstrate later, India would be wholly unsuitable as a homeland. Indeed, I would expect the 5 million or so Lambinis to emigrate to the former state of Massachusetts once the Roma nation is established there. Also, it is not true to say that the Roma don't want to settle down. In his coronation speech in 1937 Janos I, King of the Gypsies in Poland, said the Roma were tired of travelling and called for the creation of a Romany homeland. http://books.google.com... So this leaves two questions unanswered. Why Massachusetts and how will this scheme be implemented? Ideally, the Roma homeland would be established on an uninhabited tract of land that was unclaimed by any country. Unfortunately, the only place on Earth that fits the bill is Antarctica, which is incapable of sustaining independent human civilisation, and is, anyway, protected. Therefore we need to look for an alternative location, ideally with access to the sea for trade, agricultural land for food production and a pre-existing urban infrastructure with a developed transport system. Let's take two potential host countries: India, as proposed by my opponent, and the US, as I propose. Q - Which country has the most land to spare? A - The US, with only 31 people per sq. km against India's 386 per sq. km, America has well over 10 times more capacity. Q – Which country can most afford to donate the land? A – The US, with an average per capita GDP is $45,800 against India's $2,600, Americans are over 17 times richer than Indians. Q – Which country has the better infrastructure? A – The US, with 14,947 airports America has 43 times more airports than India's 346 and produces 4,062 trillion kWh of electricity against India's mere 666 billion. https://www.cia.gov... https://www.cia.gov... Of course, I could go on and on, but character limits prevent me from doing so. Now, how will this scheme be implemented? First and foremost, I don't expect the current inhabitants of Massachusetts would need to be forced to leave, rather they would choose to rather than live under Roma jurisdiction, given the Gypsies' unconventional interpretation of law and order. Since the present population of the state are mainly US citizens, they will be free to relocate anywhere in America and, furthermore, will be allowed to keep all their transportable possessions and financial assets. Some may even choose to emigrate to the towns and cities in Europe and other locations that the incoming Roma have vacated. My opponent finally pointed out 5 differences between the Roma and the Jews, all of which I accept apart from the Jews not being from present day Iraq. Although the Jews did emigrate en masse millennia ago, the Jewish people originated along the banks of the Euphrates and although many left, many also stayed and there was still a sizeable Jewish population in Iraq until quite recently. http://www.tworca.org... Nevertheless, none of the facts listed negate the Roma's right to an independent sovereign state and the freedom from oppression that that will bring. In conclusion, since Massachusetts represents only 1/484th of mainland United States of America's total land area, donating the state to the Roma would not be a great sacrifice and I feel the American people would like to demonstrate to the world their sense of generosity and commitment to social justice by supporting the creation of a homeland for Roma people on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States. Thank you.