From The International Herald Tribune: Europe ponders where, and if, the Roma can fit in BY DAN BILEFSKY | INTERNATIONAL NEW YORK TIMES PARIS — The cluster of Roma, handcuffed and caged-in behind glass walls in court, listened in silence as prosecutors accused them of selling child brides for up to about $270,000 in cash, valuing them based on their ability to steal. In a case that has riveted France, the prosecutors accused three family clans from Croatia of grooming girls and boys as young as 11 to steal as part of a gang that committed 100 robberies in France, Belgium and Germany in 2011. One 20-year-old witness told the court he had stolen about $600,000 in cash and jewels for his parents, or more than $7,000 a month, since the age of 13. Less skilled thieves could face punishment, including beatings by Roma elders. All but one of the 27 accused were convicted on Oct. 11 in Nancy, in eastern France, of forcing the children to steal, and received sentences from two to eight years. At the top of the network was a 66-year-old woman, a grandmother. The case highlighted an increasingly rancorous debate here and across Europe about what some politicians call, rather ominously, the ‘‘Roma question,’’ a reference to the nomadic people, also known as Gypsies, who came from India to Europe centuries ago. An estimated 11 million are scattered across Europe. At a time of fiscal austerity, policy makers are raising a thorny question: after centuries of persecution and living on the fringes of society, can the Roma ever integrate into Western Europe? nytimes/2013/10/20/sunday-review/are-the-roma-primitive-or-just-poor.html Get the best global news and analysis direct to your device – download the IHT apps for free today! For iPad: itunes.apple/us/app/international-herald-tribune/id404757420?mt=8 For iPhone: itunes.apple/us/app/international-herald-tribune/id404764212?mt=8 nytimes/2013/10/20/sunday-review/are-the-roma-primitive-or-just-poor.html
Posted on: Sun, 20 Oct 2013 23:01:20 +0000
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