1/8/98: Ethnos, page 18.

‘‘Born into a police station’’.

A 33 year-old Roma woman brought into life a healthy and beautiful boy. The very extraordinary, in this particular case, was that the incident took place into a police station. The Roma woman was pregnant but according to her estimations the baby came one month earlier than expected. As she hadn’t been examined by a doctor, during the period of her pregnancy, she could, only, roughly estimate the possible date of birth. Yannoula Kalogeropoulou was arrested, two days before the incident, for trading hashish - she was caught with 12 grammars of hashish, while trying to sell it - and led to the police station of Drapetsona. When she felt the first pains she called a policeman to let him know about her situation. He called for an ambulance but there was no much time left... The baby was rather hasty and came into life within five minutes. When the ambulance came, Yannoula had already given birth with the help of the policemen, who were dealing, for the first time, with such a case. One of them called a doctor (gynecologist) in his mobile and, following, his instructions was able to carry out the whole operation. Few minutes later, when the ambulance came, the two protagonists of this story, the mother and the son, were transferred to the closest hospital. When asked about the reasons for her detention into the police station, she answered that she had no other means to live her family (she has five more kids) but trading hashish, explaining that she is all alone without any support from her husband who is in prison.

Also: Eleftherotypia [G. Kioussis], page 53. ‘‘Policeman gynecologist’’

Nea, page 18. ‘‘Policemen gynecologists’’

Eleftheros Typos [B. Beskenis], page 3. ‘‘Born in the detention cell’’

Humorist reports, with a very sensitive approach of the whole incident. The Roma protagonist is being dealt with compassion and understanding. Her portrait is that of a woman who fights for her family doing the best she can to raise, all by herself, her children.

8/8/98: Eleftheros Typos [G. Pitsakis], page 13.

‘‘Fisherman attacked by armed Roma’’

Roma living in the area of Nea Kios (Nafplio, Peloponissos) seem to be following their own ‘‘far west’’ rules, using guns and scaring people whenever they feel disturbed by something or someone. They almost killed two persons, one fisherman and his daughter into their store, when they intruded with arms and set fire against them. Few hours before, the fisherman had realized that Roma kids had been stealing the clothes of some tourists in the local beach. He run after them, together with some of the tourists, caught them and made them return the stolen clothes. It is more than sure, that the Roma who attacked the fisherman were those who had send the kids to steal the clothes. Around 15 people, all armed with guns, started setting fire against the fisherman who was, at last, wounded. Same luck for his daughter, who was also in the store at that time, helping him. All non - Roma residents of the area started demonstrating against the presence of the Roma into the city and the villages nearby, claiming that they feel very unsafe and uncomfortable with this coexistence. Up to now, police hasn’t managed to catch them.

Very negative report. Roma are presented in a very biased way, as people who do not hesitate to use guns and set fire against innocent citizens, when this serves their interests, people who like to take revenge, in the worst provocative way and exploit their kids by making them beggars and thieves. In this way, Roma are portrayed as, by nature, potential criminals who want to have always the upper hand within the world of crime and create problems to the non - Roma peaceful citizens.

8/8/98: Ethnos, page 17.

‘‘Roma invasion’’.

Regarding the incident mentioned above.

Neutral and biased report without further comments.

13/8/98: Eleftherotypia, page 47.

Eleftheros Typos, page 21.

Two underage Roma youngsters were caught by policemen few minutes before they robbed a taxi driver. In the police station, during the investigation, they confessed that that they had already committed six robberies and that they had taken around 150. 000 drachmas. Three more members of the same band, all Roma, haven’t been arrested yet.

Neutral reports. Eleftherotypia publicizes the names of the suspects while Eleftheros Typos, respecting the fact that they are underage, simply mentions their initials.

13/8/98: Athinaiki, pages 26-27.

‘‘The Prefecture of West Attic made the integration of Roma come true’’.

The Prefecture of West Attic has launched a pilot program aiming at bringing closer the non-Roma to the Roma residents of the western suburbs of Athens by helping the latter integrate into Greek society. For these reasons they have been already planned several seminars which will be addressed to the employees, policeman, instructors and social workers of the Prefecture, with a view to sensitize them towards the special needs of the Roma people who live in the wider area. The organization of a Roma bazaar is one of the prevailing ideas for what should be the first step towards the institutionalization of various cultural exchanges between Roma and non-Roma, as well as the elimination of any kind of discrimination. It is worthwhile mentioning that such a program takes place for the first time in Greece. It is funded by the Ministry of Interior as well as by the European Union.

Very positive report, supporting the initiative and the goals of this particular program and acknowledging the need for a more human and sensitive approach of the Roma.

22/8/98: Eleftherotypia, page 16.

With a letter to the Greek Minister of Public Order, the Greek Helsinki Monitor and the Minority Rights Group (Greece) condemn the unreasonable prolongation of the administrative examination regarding the L. Bekos and E. Kotropoulos case. The latter, minor Roma, had been physically abused by police officers during their detention in the police station of Messolongi. According to the denunciations of the two organizations, the administrative examination is still in process, in spite of the fact that it should have been finished by the end of June 1998. Two GHM and MRG members were called to give their testimonies to the police with a three months’ delay while, in the meantime, the two Roma victims had been threatened, in very many ways, by the same policemen who ill-treated them, to drop the case. In addition, the two organizations also denounced the inertia shown by the ministry of Public Order regarding the case of A. Jelal, a 29 year-old Roma killed by policemen (1/4/98) in an area near Thessaloniki. The ministry did not order administrative examination - with a view to clear up the conditions under which A. Jelal was shot by policemen - nor even a forensic doctor’s opinion following the examination of the buried body. It is clearly stated into the letter that anyone could easily come to the conclusion that the ministry is not very keen to investigate the crimes committed by its minions of the law.

Very positive report, adopting the doubts and the skepticism of the two NGOs.

25/8/1998: Eleftherotypia [M. Dede, I. Sotirhou], pages 32-33.

‘‘A whole world behind the children of the traffic lights’’.

The social worker, M. Lemou, runs the ‘‘Center for the Children and Family Support’’ in Athens. It is a center where Roma children who live in the wider area can resort to, alternatively or complementary to Greek public school. In their majority, those children do not go to school, or go from time to time. They spend many hours in the traffic lights selling flowers, handkerchiefs and cleaning the car glasses. They have a Muslim family background and they live in extreme poverty. This why they strongly believe that their place is in the street and not in school. Some of them long to play and paint, some others to learn how to read and write. These motives drive them to the center of M. Lemou. Many of them want both to help their families and learn some useful things that would enable them escape their cruel reality: illiteracy, poverty, marginalization. Some that have already learnt to read and write feel extremely happy and helpful to their families. They can read signs, find the right bus, the right street… A complete different world. Which they very much like.

A very sensitive and rather optimistic report, emphasizing on the hard reality of a great number of Greek Roma and their everyday problems: poverty, exclusion, illiteracy.

Roma living in the camp of Liossia do not share any feeling of optimism. They have spoken so many times about their problems. Journalists, politicians, organizations know better than them their everyday difficulties. Every three months they have their garbage collected. They pay fines because they lack driving licenses, due to the fact that the majority of them are illiterate. They have toilets without running water and children without school. Dirty as they are where can they send them? Many of them do not wear clothes nor shoes. School is a luxury under this perspective and reality. The mayor of Liossia does not allow them even to bury their relatives in the cemetery of the area…