“Gypsy” children robbed

50 percent of Norwegian gypsy children are under the care of Child Welfare Services, an author claims

Photo: Anglos / Wikimedia Commons

Susanne Tunge Østhus
The Foreigner

“We cannot lose more children. Our people will disappear,” Solomia Karoli told Klassekampen, Monday, Nov. 10.

Karoli underlined that Norway’s smallest minority should be called gypsies, and not Roma. This is due to the misleading translation from the Romani language, according to her. “It [Roma] means ‘men,’ directly translated,” the publication quoted her as saying.

In her newly released book, “Norske sigøynerbarn: Etnisk rensing og barnerov?” she has published an anonymous list of 33 children from Norwegian gypsy families that CWS officials have assumed care of. She expresses extreme concern. According to her, this move is hugely problematic for these children in later life.

“An end must be put to gypsy children being robbed of their childhood. They fall between two stools. They are not accepted in their own community when child welfare services take them, Norwegians will not accept them either. They [the children] hate themselves and their own origins. This is something I know everything about,” Karoli said.

Karoli asserts that the CWS have taken 65 (of some 120) gypsy children in Norway. 60 are at risk of being taken away.

There are no accurate numbers of how many Roma children who are under the social services. This is because neither Statistics Norway (SSB), nor Bufetat (the Norwegian Directorate of Children, Youth and Family Affairs) base statistics on ethnic, religious, or cultural background categories, reported NRK.

A 2013 survey by Den Norske Romforeningen showed that 39 gypsy children were placed into CWS care over a period of ten years.

This article was originally published on The Foreigner. To subscribe to The Foreigner, visit theforeigner.no.

It also appeared in the Nov. 21, 2014, issue of the Norwegian American Weekly. To subscribe, visit SUBSCRIBE or call us at (800) 305-0271.