The following from the article you posted boggles my mind.
She claimed she could not bring Maria back with her as the Greek authorities required she pay ‘hundreds of euros’ for a birth certificate for her daughter, which she could not afford.
She said: ‘I gave birth to Maria about four and a half years ago. I can’t remember the exact date.
‘I cared for Maria for seven months but I had to come back to Bulgaria look after my other children.
‘I left my daughter with my room-mate. She is also Roma. When I left Maria I asked the woman to send her to Bulgaria. But she hasn’t. I cannot remember her name, it was four years ago.
‘I missed Maria but I don’t have any money so I did not know what to do. I called the woman several times and I knew she was safe and well. I don’t know why she kept her so long, why they did not send her back to me."
How on earth does a mother not remember the exact date she gave birth to one of her children? Also how does a mother not remember the name of the woman she left her small child with that was supposed to send the child to her after a while?
This whole thing is getting more and more fishy.
MOO
It can be hard to understand out of the cultural context. But Gypsies do not think in a linear fashion, in general. Some tribes/clans are much like people in other areas of the world, and do not keep track of birth dates or age.
Also, kids often go from home to home, family to family, as long as they stay within the tribe, it;s okay to them. Remember, these people are pretty much all interrelated.
For example, in my family, one aunt had to travel to Japan, twice, for 6 month periods to dance. She left her daughter two times, once at age 8 months and one at age 2, and her son, once at age 6 months, with another aunt. The kids grew up calling her "Tata" and "Mama" (which upset their mom a bit) and even after their mom returned, they spent much of their time with their aunt.
A second cousin of mine was sent from the U.S. at age 8 to live with her Gypsy family in Moron for a year. A whole year without seeing her parents.
And my family is not as poor or traditional as these. These people appear to have dozens more kids, their clan is very large and they live in very dire poverty, so there is probably a lot of "adopting out" of bio kids that a person cannot provide for, to another family.
It's really hard to explain the culture but it is an absolute mistake to try to understand them through the narrow prism of one's own culture.
They would think Americans are sadistic abusers for allowing tiny babies and toddlers to sleep alone, in a room by themselves, or to be put on a rigid feeding or sleeping schedule, or yanked from the breast before age 2 or 3. Or to circumcise infant boys. They would find that insane and cruel.
They would find the practice of treating pets better than some humans, as criminal.
That's their prism. This is ours. Neither is "truth". Both are simply perception.
