18.06.2014 Rroma and blonde children: racial prejudices remain

The Greek newspaper Greek Reporter reports on a new case of possible child abduction. Neither the authorities nor the journalists seem to have learned anything from the case of the blond Rroma girl Maria. Instead, they continue to set out from racial prejudice and criteria: a begging Rromni in Rhodes is accused to have kidnapped and abused a blonde, blue eyed, male infant that was with her. Prosecutors demand a DNA test as well as a clear proof confirming the woman’s motherhood (compare Zikakou 2014). The idea of Rroma as child traffickers exists since centuries, as critical literary studies have shown. They are the projection of distrust on the Rroma, who just arrived in Europe, and were accused of paganism and a criminal disposition. These prejudices are an expression of uncertainty in contact with a new group of people who through their mere presence question the rigid power structure of medieval society. However, Rroma converted shortly after or even before their arrival in Europe to Christianity and clearly demonstrated their willingness to integrate.