General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: Looks like Maria will be back in the loving arms of her family soon [View all]moriah
(8,311 posts)I know my roommate's kids' bedroom is nowhere near that neat.
Still, unless they have concrete evidence that a particular old pervert was stalking her and waiting for the right time, it is a bit of a stretch to call traditional dowry and marriage practices that any Roma child in that particular area would likely experience "grooming for child marriage". If this family is her biological family of origin, it's likely she'd have experienced similar pressure to marry at way too young of an age.
Given the epidemic of Roma children in state care in Europe, the tendencies of state agencies to cut minority children completely apart from their cultural heritage when they go into care, and the extreme importance that Romani place on belonging, on the Roma/gadjo dichotomy... it's unsurprising that many would prefer their children to go to another Roma family that was better off than they were, if they felt they had to give up a child.
None of this is good. None of it.