Seven Arrested in Illegal Adoption Ring in Greece
“Police say seven people have been arrested in northern Greece for allegedly being part of an illegal adoption ring that sold babies from Bulgaria to childless couples in neighboring Greece.
The arrests were announced Wednesday in Trikala, a city 330 kilometers (205 miles) north of Athens, after police officers posing as an adoption-seeking couple negotiated the sale of a 21-day-old baby boy for 10,000 euros ($12,800).
The suspects included the boy’s Bulgarian mother, a lawyer and notary public from Greece and two other Greek suspects accused of organizing at least 10 other illegal adoptions since 2007.
Illegal adoption in Greece typically motivated by frequent procedural delays and the country’s relative affluence compared to its Balkan neighbors”
Greece: 7 Arrested in Illegal Adoption Ring [ABC News 9/24/14 by Associated Press]
REFORM Puzzle Piece
Well, it’s not like the Maria Ruseva case didn’t reveal that child trafficking was common and accepted in Greece.
http://www.theguardian.com/world/video/2013/oct/22/greece-roma-police-girl-maria-video
If it weren’t for the chance detail that Maria was albino and her purported parents Rom, the case would never have come to international attention. Police noticed the “blonde angel” in a Roma encampment while conducting a raid for another reason. Had the APs been white and affluent, no one would have suspected a thing.
It’s noteworthy that Maria was NOT returned to her Bulgarian Roma parents. Rather than provide financial aid to give her desparately-poor birthparents the means to care for her, Maria– and several of her genetic siblings– have been placed in foster care. Their parents will have to somehow find jobs which pay a living wage– despite a tanking economy, anti-Rom prejudice, and the father’s mental illness– before they get their kids back. Whether Maria will be one of them wasn’t mentioned.
http://www.novinite.com/articles/155139/Bulgarian+Social+Workers%3A+We+Are+Not+Taking+Away+Maria+Siblings
I haven’t been able to find any follow-up on the story, so there’s no way to know if Maria’s birthparents were able to beat the odds and get their kids back. I guess the story isn’t as newsworthy when the kidnapped child is Roma rather than a pale-blonde Caucasion with affluent parents.
http://www.natashafolk.org/the-mysterious-story-of-maria-how-the-international-media-promote-stereotypes-of-the-romani-people-or-gypsies/