Her name is Maria. She is 6 years-old, and was found last week in the Tabakou Gypsy settlement near Farsala, Greece. The authorities in the area were conducting a drug and gun raid, when they spotted Maria and noticed the astonishing lack of resemblance that she bore compared to the people that claimed to be her parents. Maria, who has blonde hair and blue eyes, appeared in sharp contrast to her dark-skinned parents in the Roma camp where she was found.
In fact, a DNA test revealed that Maria has no biological relationship to her "parents", Hristos Salis, 39, and Eleftheira Dimopulou, 40, who now face 20 years in prison—if convicted—for child abduction. The Roma couple is also being accused of providing false documents, while Salis has also faces charges for drug-related offenses and for the possession of an illegal firearm.
Maria, who has been dubbed by the Greek media as "the blonde angel" was "filthy and terrified" when social services took her to the Smile of the Child charity in Athens, where she has been cared for while her case is analyzed. A video posted to the internet portrayed a pitiful scene in which Maria was being forced to dance on the streets for money, but both her so-called parents and their Roma community deny the accusations that she was being forced to work, saying instead that she was loved by everyone.
The two have given the authorities and the media different stories of how the child came to be under their care, the most probable one being that she was abandoned by her mother shortly after her birth because she could not take care of her. Other residents of the Gypsy camp claim that a Bulgarian family had made an arrangement with the couple to look after their daughter. The lawyers representing Dimopulou and Salis insist that "there has been no kidnapping, no robbery, no trafficking. They did not buy the child". In fact, the defense is describing it as an "adoption that was not exactly legal, but took place with the mother's consent".
At the risk of sounding overly cynical, informal adoption amongst these communities is not uncommon—so why all the attention? Would Maria’s case have attracted such international concern if she had not been found in a Gypsy camp, or is this more prejudice against the Roma people? The media is feeding off the image of Maria as "the blonde angel" and her dark-skinned so-called parents, when, unfortunately, there are hundreds of other cases like hers, and not only amongst the Roma communities. The case of Maria has raised the alarm in Europe on the growing suspicion that there is a trafficking ring between Greece and Bulgaria. The local police in Athens are investigating hospitals and childcare agencies for possible child trafficking.
In the meantime, Greek authorities have asked Interpol for assistance in solving Maria's case, but the girl's DNA has produced no match in Interpol's database. Interpol has said that it would make its database available to authorities in countries where someone claims to be related to the child. So far, there have been 8000 calls from all around the world asking about Maria, and a few cases of missing children are being seriously considered in connection with her case.
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Photo Friday: Greece's Mystery Girl Raises Questions
October 25, 2013
Her name is Maria. She is 6 years-old, and was found last week in the Tabakou Gypsy settlement near Farsala, Greece. The authorities in the area were conducting a drug and gun raid, when they spotted Maria and noticed the astonishing lack of resemblance that she bore compared to the people that claimed to be her parents. Maria, who has blonde hair and blue eyes, appeared in sharp contrast to her dark-skinned parents in the Roma camp where she was found.
In fact, a DNA test revealed that Maria has no biological relationship to her "parents", Hristos Salis, 39, and Eleftheira Dimopulou, 40, who now face 20 years in prison—if convicted—for child abduction. The Roma couple is also being accused of providing false documents, while Salis has also faces charges for drug-related offenses and for the possession of an illegal firearm.
Maria, who has been dubbed by the Greek media as "the blonde angel" was "filthy and terrified" when social services took her to the Smile of the Child charity in Athens, where she has been cared for while her case is analyzed. A video posted to the internet portrayed a pitiful scene in which Maria was being forced to dance on the streets for money, but both her so-called parents and their Roma community deny the accusations that she was being forced to work, saying instead that she was loved by everyone.
The two have given the authorities and the media different stories of how the child came to be under their care, the most probable one being that she was abandoned by her mother shortly after her birth because she could not take care of her. Other residents of the Gypsy camp claim that a Bulgarian family had made an arrangement with the couple to look after their daughter. The lawyers representing Dimopulou and Salis insist that "there has been no kidnapping, no robbery, no trafficking. They did not buy the child". In fact, the defense is describing it as an "adoption that was not exactly legal, but took place with the mother's consent".
At the risk of sounding overly cynical, informal adoption amongst these communities is not uncommon—so why all the attention? Would Maria’s case have attracted such international concern if she had not been found in a Gypsy camp, or is this more prejudice against the Roma people? The media is feeding off the image of Maria as "the blonde angel" and her dark-skinned so-called parents, when, unfortunately, there are hundreds of other cases like hers, and not only amongst the Roma communities. The case of Maria has raised the alarm in Europe on the growing suspicion that there is a trafficking ring between Greece and Bulgaria. The local police in Athens are investigating hospitals and childcare agencies for possible child trafficking.
In the meantime, Greek authorities have asked Interpol for assistance in solving Maria's case, but the girl's DNA has produced no match in Interpol's database. Interpol has said that it would make its database available to authorities in countries where someone claims to be related to the child. So far, there have been 8000 calls from all around the world asking about Maria, and a few cases of missing children are being seriously considered in connection with her case.
