[ALBSA-Info] Intolerance and racism in the Balkans

[Agron Alibali]

Greek town rules: Gypsies not wanted 
By Elena Becatoros, Associated Press, 5/31/2000 02:42 
NEA KIOS, Greece (AP) They are not allowed into the
supermarket or pharmacy. Their children are afraid to
go to school. 

Gypsies simply are not wanted in town and an official
document from town hall says so. 

Suspicion and discrimination are nothing new for
Greece's Gypsies, also known as Roma. But the move by
Nea Kios stands as a possible test case on how far
Greek communities may go in deciding where and how
Gypsies and perhaps others can live. 

The bans also come at a particularly sensitive time in
Greece, where the powerful Greek Orthodox Church
insists the nation's cultural and religious identities
are under direct threat. 

Immigrants, many from the Balkans and Eastern Europe,
now comprise nearly 10 percent of the population in
Greece a nation that was almost completely homogeneous
a decade ago. 

Last year, a town in northern Greece imposed a
dusk-to-dawn curfew on foreigners who are mostly
Albanian and other communities banned alcohol sales to
immigrants. 

''In general, there is a discussion in Greece that
shows great xenophobia,'' said Christina Rougeri of
the Greek Helsinki Monitor, a human rights group. 

In Nea Kios, a town of 3,000 people 60 miles southwest
of Athens, all the opinions and theories about growing
intolerance carry a tangible urgency. 

Gypsies claim that those who dare a foray into the
main square risk being beaten and having their
vehicles smashed by angry mobs. Some of the Gypsy
families have lived for years on land they bought on
the edge of town. 

''They smashed up his car,'' said Maria Kalamioti, who
claimed her husband was dragged from the vehicle and
beaten and her 9-year-old son was injured by flying
glass in an attack in early May. 

The white pickup truck, its windows and windshield
smashed, stands just outside her tent. 

The trouble began as a parking dispute. Officials say
Gypsies blocked the car of the deputy mayor outside
the town hall. An argument ensued and tempers rose. 

After the alleged attack on Kalamioti's husband and
son, the town imposed new rules. 

''We state that we do not desire the presence, passage
and residence of Gypsies in our municipality until the
situation is resolved,'' says the ruling, which also
contains thinly veiled threats to any residents who
decide to sell more land to Gypsies and shopkeepers
who continue to serve them. 

The ruling also invites ''all Gypsies who have bought
fields in the area, if they cannot conform with the
rule of law, to return their properties.'' The town
has said it could help buy back the land provided the
Gypsies leave. 

Gypsies have called it outright discrimination. 

But Nea Kios officials insist their move was the only
solution after residents alleged that Gypsies were
responsible for frequent theft, random gunfire and
dangerous driving in the town square. 

''We want to live with them as long as they abide by
the rules we all live by,'' said the president of the
municipal committee and spokesman for local
authorities, Giorgos Maninis. 

Maninis also claimed there have been widespread
reports of drivers being held up at gunpoint and
robbed if they drive past Gypsy areas. Gypsies have
denied the allegations. 

''We have to take a stance and fight for the people
who voted for us,'' he said. ''It's not as if the fly
of racism suddenly stung a whole community.'' 

A ''protection force'' has also been created to inform
police and the town hall of any incidents. Maninis
insists the force is not armed. 

''I don't have a problem with the Mayor,'' said Eleni
Karagouni, a Gypsy who bought land in the area a year
ago and is now building a house there. ''Why does he
have a problem with me?'' 




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