No Happy Ending?
So it looks as if there may be no happy ending for the little Roma girl, Maria, who was taken away from her 'parents' in Greece - only to discover that her real mother who has now been traced to Bulgaria had given her away in the first place - whether for money or not remains to be seen.
In any event, the future for Maria looks bleak since the prospect of being brought in care, by the state, is nightmare for any child - in any country - never mind one where social services are pretty underdeveloped.
I heard someone on the radio yesterday arguing that it was quite common, in years gone by certainly, for children to be handed over and brought up by other relatives - if a child's parents could not cope.
But the situation here is quite different, of course, because Maria's mother lives in another country and the circumstances of the Greek couple acquiring the little girl are highly suspicious to say the least - was she, for example, used as an attractive and photogenic member of an organised begging gang.
Who knows, but the words of Maria's adopted Greek 'mother' are clearly not to be trusted - since she initially told the authorities that she had given birth to 6 children within 10 months.
The underlying problem is extreme poverty and the isolation of the Roma people from the rest of society - the position of women is that they are often treated as chattels to be sold off as young brides at a very young age - with no education or skills and with no future other than to have 8, 9 or even 10 children.
When I visited Roma settlements in Slovakia 10 years ago now, there were hardly any adult men around - only women struggling to bring up very large families, often with another child on the way.
In any event, the future for Maria looks bleak since the prospect of being brought in care, by the state, is nightmare for any child - in any country - never mind one where social services are pretty underdeveloped.
I heard someone on the radio yesterday arguing that it was quite common, in years gone by certainly, for children to be handed over and brought up by other relatives - if a child's parents could not cope.
But the situation here is quite different, of course, because Maria's mother lives in another country and the circumstances of the Greek couple acquiring the little girl are highly suspicious to say the least - was she, for example, used as an attractive and photogenic member of an organised begging gang.
Who knows, but the words of Maria's adopted Greek 'mother' are clearly not to be trusted - since she initially told the authorities that she had given birth to 6 children within 10 months.
The underlying problem is extreme poverty and the isolation of the Roma people from the rest of society - the position of women is that they are often treated as chattels to be sold off as young brides at a very young age - with no education or skills and with no future other than to have 8, 9 or even 10 children.
When I visited Roma settlements in Slovakia 10 years ago now, there were hardly any adult men around - only women struggling to bring up very large families, often with another child on the way.
So as well as finding ways to integrate the Roma people into wider society - which is hugely problematic in countries like Slovakia and Bulgaria - there is a strong case to be made that Roma culture needs to face up to a number of difficult issues, especially the role of women and young girls.
Happy Reunion (22 October 2013)
I worked closely with Roma communities in Slovakia over a three year period between 2002 and 2004 - as part of a big social inclusion project funded by the World Bank and European Commission - which aimed to improve people's skills, employability and job prospects.
Now there is no doubt that Roma people, with relatively few exceptions, live on the margins of society across Europe - more often or not they are housed in Roma-only camps or ghettos where services are poor and poverty is rife.
But as in any other community, there are individuals who exploit difficult situations - sometimes in a criminal way - which give the Roma people more generally a bad name and a terrible reputation.
And that seems to be what's happened with the little blond girl - Maria - who was removed, quite rightly, by authorities in Greece after they discovered that she was not related to the couple she was living with - who claimed, falsely, to be Maria's parents.
According to the Greek charity - Smile of the Child - Maria was being used to beg in the streets and the BBC reports that Maria's 'mother' claimed to have given birth to no less than 6 children during a 10 month period.
Not all Roma people are such liars and abusers of course - I would go back to Slovakia in a minute given the chance, but I hope this little girl is reunited with her real family although that will not necessarily be an easy task.
Greek police appeal over mystery blonde girl
Police say 'Maria' was likely to have been kidnapped in 2009, as Catharina Moh reports
Greek police are trying to discover the identity of a young blonde girl who was found living on a Roma settlement with a family she did not resemble.
DNA tests revealed the child, called Maria and aged about four, was not related to the couple she lived with.
The little girl is now being looked after by a charity. Her photo has been released to help find her family.
Officials believe she may have been a victim of abduction or child trafficking.
Police are appealing internationally as the girl looks like she might be from northern or eastern Europe.
The charity, Smile of the Child, told the BBC that the girl was frightened and neglected when she arrived in their care but that in overall good health and was now more relaxed.
It said it had received many calls since the appeal was launched.
A spokesman for the British couple Kate and Gerry McCann, whose daughter Madeleine went missing in Portugal in 2007, said the case gave them "great hope" that she would one day be found alive.Raid
Police raided the Roma camp, near Farsala in central Greece, to search for drugs and weapons.
The little girl was allegedly being used to beg on the streets
They noticed the lack of resemblance between the blonde-haired, green-eyed, pale-skinned little girl and her parents, and found further discrepancies when they investigated the family's documents.
The couple had registered different numbers of children with different regional family registries.
The woman claimed to have given birth to six children within a 10-month period.
When questioned about how they came to have Maria, the couple gave "constantly changing claims," Thessalia Province Police Director Vassilis Halatsis said.
"The girl might have been abducted from a hospital, or given up by an unmarried mother," the officer said.
"So far we do not have a declared disappearance of a child of this age in Greece. Through Interpol, we will request assistance from the other European countries."
The 39-year-old man and his 40-year-old wife have been arrested on suspicion of abducting a minor.
The president of Smile of the Child, Kostas Yaaopoulos, said the girl was being used to beg on the streets.
They noticed the lack of resemblance between the blonde-haired, green-eyed, pale-skinned little girl and her parents, and found further discrepancies when they investigated the family's documents.
The couple had registered different numbers of children with different regional family registries.
The woman claimed to have given birth to six children within a 10-month period.
When questioned about how they came to have Maria, the couple gave "constantly changing claims," Thessalia Province Police Director Vassilis Halatsis said.
"The girl might have been abducted from a hospital, or given up by an unmarried mother," the officer said.
"So far we do not have a declared disappearance of a child of this age in Greece. Through Interpol, we will request assistance from the other European countries."
The 39-year-old man and his 40-year-old wife have been arrested on suspicion of abducting a minor.
The president of Smile of the Child, Kostas Yaaopoulos, said the girl was being used to beg on the streets.
