Crime, social deadlocks choking Roma camps
A camp near Aspropyrgos in western Attica. [Yiannis Liakos/Intime News]
Roma settlements have long been allowed to develop on the outskirts of Greek cities into ghettos, and, in some cases, hotbeds for serious crime.
In the first 20 days of November alone, 1,900 Roma were arrested and 600 apprehended. But why did part of the community move from delinquency to serious crime and who is responsible for social exclusion?
Speaking to Kathimerini, several people from the camps said they feel that they themselves are the first victims of criminal networks. To break up the ghettos, a plan is needed that moves beyond conventional approaches.
