Breaking news: Unidentified 4 year old girl found in Roma camp in Greece (title edited by MNHQ)

[YourHandInMyHand]

Unidentified 4 year old found with couple who are not her parents.

www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/who-four-year-old-blonde-girl-found-2467385

news.yahoo.com/greece-trying-identify-girl-found-roma-camp-151038923.html

The Irish authorities do not look good. What a dreadful experience for the family in both incidents.

It's now being reported that a Bulgarian woman might be the mother:
www.theguardian.com/world/2013/oct/24/woman-bulgaria-girl-family-greece-maria

Looking at the photos of her other children, there is certainly a resemblance to one of them, at least.

I know what you're saying but I just think if they hadn't removed her and the DNA results had been different, then abuse was uncovered everyone would be asking why she was removed immediately.

Abuse isn't always apparent, so surely better to be cautious then regret later.

greece.greekreporter.com/2013/10/24/little-blond-girl-marias-biological-parents-found-in-bulgaria/

Definitely see some resemblance to the little boy in the picture. I agree it was best to be cautious even if this does turn out to be innocent.

Interesting link. What a sad story. Even tho the parents have been found it's still not clear how she ended up with the Roma family. I'm inclined to believe she was sold as the Roma family and Maria's biological brother are both claiming this. Sad that they couldn't afford Maria but went on to have more children.

I'm glad it doesn't appear to be anything really sinister.

It's a tough call. It's easy to say it's best to be cautious, but consider the impact of removing a child from her family, even temporarily. It's traumatic and could well do damage. If it turns out to be nothing then that seems incredibly unfair to inflict on a child.

Binary perhaps they can't afford contraception either, if they are so poor.

(Ridiculous that that should be the case anywhere in the world now, but unfortunately it is)

"..According to the newspaper, the family has three to ten children". That is very vague.

Hope this has a happy ending for Maria. Wonder if she wouldn't be better off staying with the family who have brought her up rather than with the family who left her behind but perhaps they really didn't feel they had any other option. It all sounds strange to me.

People's circumstances change I suppose. Maybe at that time they couldn't afford to feed Maria, but since then their situation has improved? Who knows.

Binary perhaps they can't afford contraception either, if they so poor.

Yes you're right. I hadn't really considered that. I was more thinking that it was sad for Maria that she was away but then kept subsequent children.

Sorry that last sentence was pap. I meant to say that she was given away but her younger siblings weren't.

The real mother is also of Roma origin btw.

Is this orgy of reaction nearly over? What a load of rascist bullshit from start to finish.....child abduction, blonde angel, is it Maddie. It terrifies me how quickly people can be whipped up into sheer nonsense and prejudice. And when do the apologies ever come?

People assumed child abduction because the thought of a mother willingly giving her newborn away to another family like an excess puppy is so abhorrent. It's not as if they kept in touch, either. Mum didn't even know what Maria looked like.

Who breeds then gives away their babies to virtual strangers, probably never to be seem again? "I was going to go get Maria but then I had two more babies". Wtf?!?

It's not racism to be repulsed by all this - the reaction would be the same if it were Eskimos or Russian who did it.

It is poverty and discrimination that makes people do such things - 'breed' as you put it and give children away or sell them. It is not sensible to judge by what appears to be the norm for those who are enfranchised in our wealthier countries.

i really hope they don't allow that woman to have the child. she is clearly not fit to have her.

In many parts of Eastern Europe (Ukraine and Belarus) it is perfectly acceptable to hand your child in to an orphanage if you cannot be bothered looking after him/her, or cannot afford to feed him/her. You can pick them up any time you like, or you can just leave them there if you don't want them back...yes, it's true.

It is not just orphans that get accepted into an orphanage. Lots of shocking practices happen in various parts of the world that we would not accept here in the UK or western world.

telsa has a valid point, even if we are all shocked at how much the 'norm' this is in other quarters.

It is sad, but not unusual in the context of poor communities with no settled place of residence.

Appalling over-reaction all round.

" the thought of a mother willingly giving her newborn away to another family like an excess puppy is so abhorrent. "

yes all those abhorrent people who have their children adopted to give them a chance at a better life how ignorant and offensive to anyone who has had to make that very difficult decision. never mind those who were forced into it by abusive partners or parents.

"It's not as if they kept in touch, either. Mum didn't even know what Maria looked like. "

a lot of adoptions go like this. many adopted children never know their birth family. the birth families don't know what those children look like either.

"It's not racism to be repulsed by all this - the reaction would be the same if it were Eskimos or Russian who did it."

what if it were a british woman? I doubt the reaction would be the same at all.

nonsense. and having your child adopted is patently different to just dumping it in greece. i think it was quite clear the poster was referring to the circumstances in this case not to people who have their children adopted properly.

Adoption in the manner of this girl is common globally. Adoption agencies are a thing for rich westerners.

It's not better or worse necessarily, it's just different.

Nice to see all the 19th century 'gypsies stealing babies' stories still alive, child kidnapped by authorities in Ireland (the fuckers), and international headlines on the basis of 'thieving gypsies have blonde child'. The assumption was that the child must belong to some poor heartbroken middle class Westerner. When it turns out that she was the child of another gypsy the tune changes dramatically and the focus changes to the living arrangements of birth and adoptive families.

there is a difference between having your child adopted through official channels or through trusted family members and dumping a child in another country in squalid conditions.