4/4/98 Eleftherotypia [M. Dede], page 15.

The special educational project related to the various Roma communities in Greece resulted in the compilation of an informal dictionary of useful words in Greek and Roma. It is to be used by the residents of the town of Karditsa and will make it easier to approach the Roma campers of the wider area of the town and to learn more about them.

A very positive report, which explicitly speaks in favor of the initiative. The latter is seen as a very good way for the Greeks to get to know the people who are in the social margin. Against xenophobia and racism.

8/4/98 Ethnos [D. Iatropoulos], page 20.

The initiative of the primary school in the Sofades neighborhood of Karditsa to offer free breakfast to all Roma pupils who attend school classes is seen as a shameful act. Just before the year 2,000 it is real shame to try to entice "real" Greek citizens in order to make them attend basic education. Even though so many years have passed, it seems that nothing has changed for the Roma yet. If it had not been for Manoussakis’ TV series dealing with the Roma, we would have still ignored the presence of this ethnic group in Greece. It is the state authorities’ responsibility to deal with this matter. However, this should not be done by political exploitation of the Roma community with a view to the forthcoming elections.

A very positive report, criticizing the official attitude towards the Roma. It emphasizes the deep problems in the educational field that the Roma community is faced with nowadays.

12/4/98 Eleftherotypia [D. Nanouris, Y. Stergiou], page 92 - 93

In the early hours of Holy Thursday Roma from all over Greece gathered in the Ano Liossia camp. All of them dressed up, they went to a special shelter where an old Roma woman keeps a picture of Virgin Mary, coming from the Western Aegean coasts of Turkey. They prayed and offered various precious objects, so that their secret wishes come true. Outside there were barbecues, wine-drinking and dances till late at night. The women gathered together and helped dress up a young girl dedicated to Virgin Mary (that is why it is required that the woman is young and a virgin). The woman received many gifts, especially money, whose total must not be less than one million drachmas.

Every year the festival goes to a different area, in order to accommodate all Roma nomads. It takes place in quiet places, away from the city centers. Sociologist Y. Georgiou says Roma honor all saints, especially Saint George and Virgin Mary. Events like this give the chance to all Roma to meet after a long time and, to some of them, to choose their future husbands and wives.

10/4/98 Eleftheros Typos [V. Moissis], page 31

Some 200 policemen raided the Roma camp of Evosmos in search of drugs and guns hidden by Albanian refugees and used for various criminal acts. Two Kalashnikovs, 124 bullets, a carbine, a Russian bomb, a knife, and 76 pounds of hashish were found during the police raid. Apart from that, some 1.35 million drachmas, 16 tape recorders and a motorcycle were confiscated as products of drug smuggling, and 16 Albanians, four Roma and one Italian were arrested. Also, 99 illegal refugees from Albania, who have been living the camp, are about to be deported from Greece. Police director Dalamagikis says that the police did not use any violence during the operation. The main reason for that was that the absolute majority of the Roma campers cooperated with the policemen, in order to help them "clean" the area.

10/4/98 Nea, page 16

Regarding the incident mentioned above. This report also stresses the fact that the Roma campers have contributed to the success of the operation. They were the first to inform the police that many Albanian criminals had been using their camp as an undercover for their acts.

10/4/98 Ethnos [M. Ritzaleou], page 18.

Again treating the above mentioned incident, as well as the Roma’s contribution to the operation.

Both of these are neutral reports, without making any comments.

10/4/98 Paratiritis.

Photos of well-dressed Roma, who are dancing and singing all night during the Muslim Fete of Bairam.

A very positive report, transmitting the atmosphere of tolerance and mutual respect. Another important point is that the article refers to people who are a minority in two respects. They are the Muslim Roma who live in Western Thrace.

13/4/98 Eleftheros Typos, page 22

The Roma campers of Evosmos decided to "clean up" their camp from all Albanian refugees who had been living in the camp for the last few months. They destroyed the Albanians’ shelters and called the TV reporters in order to make public their willingness to get rid of the Albanian presence in the area, as well as their position on the recent rise of criminality in Greece.

13/4/98 Eleftherotypia, page 58

Regarding the incident mentioned above. The expulsion of all Albanians who have found refuge in the Evosmos Roma camp.

14/4/98 Ethnos [M. Ritzaleou], pages 1 and 17

The passionate love of a non-Roma man for a beautiful Roma woman resulted in a kidnapping and a subsequent successful marriage. This is not another possible happy end of the famous serial "Whispers of the Heart." It is a true life story. Twenty-seven years ago Mr. Santorinaios, a member of the local board of the town of Serres, fell in love with an attractive Roma woman and married her against all social prejudices. He confesses that with this act he endangered his family relations (he has not spoken to his father for five years). However, he has gained a new, big and adorable family. He has his two kids and all the Roma community on his side. He also admits that if it had not been for his love, he would have never come so close to the Roma, facing their problems and their everyday life. His wife, Antonia, says that she was convinced that he was truly in love with her only when he proved in practice that he was willing to share his life with her and the other Roma. Mr. Santorinaios claims that Greeks are still very suspicious of Roma and tend to see the latter as inferior to them. Commenting on the TV series "Whispers of the Heart," Mr. Santorinaios admits that he is a fan and expresses his desire to see the two protagonists living together. Such an outcome would be a new message for Greek TV standards.

14/4/98 Nea, page 26

From the very first moment of his career (1956) up to his death (1988), the Roma origin singer Manolis Angelopoulos was faced with the racist behavior of some Greek media and artists. Many of them referred to his identity in a rather humiliating way, calling him "Gypsy" and "populist." Against the background of this attitude, he seemed to deal with all this with remarkable patience and dignity. He was lucky enough to see that the ordinary people, the massive audiences, adored him and put him on the list of the most popular singers. Neither his success, nor this acceptance on the part of the audience were enough to eliminate the racist feelings which some people had for him. Ten years later, on the occasion of the anniversary of his death, a whole issue of the Nitro magazine is dedicated to him, and a TV program in honor of his contribution to Greek music is also going to be produced. This initiative is better than nothing at all, even more so nowadays when racism is knocking on our doors more than ever.

14/4/98 Nea, [V. Loubrinis], page 39

Three more episodes of "Whispers of the Heart" are planned to be shot till the end of June ’98. Mr. Manoussakis, director of the serial, confessed that from the mere beginning he was convinced that this work was going to be a success. Still, he never expected it to break all rating records. Apart from the serial, a book, with the same title and the same story, written by the scrip writers S. Abdoulos and M. Ritsoni, has been published recently. Mr. Manoussakis explains that the end of the story in the book is much different from the end he has planned for the serial. He admits that he had to alter the script many times, due to the unexpected success and the unpredictable attitude of the Roma. The last example of this was the "open air" union of the Roma protagonists. In the TV series they were going to have a sort of referendum in order to decide whether to abandon their homes and move to another area. According to the scenario half of them had to vote in favor, while the rest had to vote against the proposition. However, the Roma protagonists were unable to "synchronize" themselves. Consequently, they were all shouting against the resettling of their camp… obviously influenced by everyday reality!

16/4/98 Eleftherotypia [M. Dede], page 51

Dimitris Doussas’ book on the Roma communities in Greece is a scientific study of the problems that these people encounter on an everyday basis, of their culture, traditions and believes. The acceptance or rejection of the Roma community on the part of society at large are based on a number of different factors. Some teachers who deal with Roma pupils share a lot of prejudicial concepts. From 1810 until 1978 the Roma in Greece were deprived of Greek citizenship. They did not have any human, political, social and economic rights. Consequently, they were also deprived of the right to education. The educational problems of the Roma community have not gone into history yet. Statistics speak for themselves. In Crete (in the town of Hania) more than 750 Roma pupils do not go to school, simply because there is no school for them. In Kato Ahaia 93% of the men and a 100% of the women have not finished primary school, and no single Roma has ever gone to high school, let alone the university. In Ano Liossia out of 1,067 people only 194 have been to school. Only one man has finished high school, and 82% of the population are totally illiterate. In Votanicos 95% of the Roma kids do not attend school.

17/4/98 Eleftheros Typos, page 6

21/4/98 Ethnos, page 68

Mr. Manoussakis, director of the TV serial "Whispers of the Heart," and the actors in the series are about to be honored by the Thessaloniki Roma Cultural Association for their battle against racism and social exclusion.

18/4/98 Eleftherotypia, [V. Sioutis], page 70

The Prime Minister’s office dealing with "Quality of Life" is about to launch a project for the creation of a nation-wide system for social care. The Roma communities will get a great part of the budget for this project. The Ministry of the Environment gave 20 mill drachmas to the administration boards of Menemeni, Thiva and Messini, so that new Roma camps are built. Another 20 mill have gone to Didimotiho, 30 mill - to Messologi, 35 mill - to Zevgolati and 35 mill - to Examilia in Korinthos and 40 mill - to Serres. As regards the Roma educational problems, there is a project for introducing a special card for all children of the Roma campers, as well as some other projects for their professional orientation.

24/4/98 Kathimerini, [M. Katsounaki], page 15

On the occasion of the showing of the film "Gadjo Dilo" in the Greek cinemas, the director Tony Gatlif speaks about his latest movie. It is dedicated to the Roma of the world. "Roma are beyond borders. No matter what kind of borders: political, national, cultural. This may be one reason for their rejection." (…) "Roma are expelled from every single European country, where the sense of owning something is rather deep. They have no land; they are constantly moving; they face all kinds of landlords and owners. Still, they have history. They are Europeans. They have been living in Europe for more than five centuries. Whenever Europe needs them, they are on her side. They participate in wars. They have given victims in every war but all this remains unnoticed. Roma are always the victims."