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Woman in Bulgaria says girl found living with family in Greece may be hers Woman in Bulgaria says girl found living with family in Greece may be hers
(35 minutes later)
A woman in Bulgaria says police have questioned her about whether she is the mother of a girl found to be living with an unrelated couple in Greece. A woman in Bulgaria has said that police have questioned her about whether she is the mother of a girl found living with an unrelated couple in Greece, and that she is willing to do a DNA test and take the child back if she is proved to be hers.
She says she is willing to do a DNA test and take the child back if the girl is hers. Greek authorities took custody of the girl, known as Maria, after finding her while raiding a Roma camp for illegal weapons and drugs. The child stood out to police and others on the scene because she was blonde and fair-skinned, and looked nothing like the couple who claimed to be her parents.
Sasha Ruseva, 38, says she was working in Greece a few years ago when she had a baby girl and left her with another family in the Roma community because she did not have enough money to keep her. She spoke to Bulgarian TV on Thursday. The case of the girl, who is believed to be five or six years old, has gained international attention and drawn what some say is unwarranted and unfair attention to the Roma community in Europe, many of whom live in poverty and have been linked to crime.
Greek authorities took the girl, known as Maria, after judging that the blonde child did not look like the couple she was living with. After a DNA test proved Maria wasn't the daughter of the couple, they were arrested and an international search was launched to find her biological parents. The search apparently led to central Bulgaria, where police tracked down Sasha Ruseva in the town of Nikolaevo.
Speaking to Bulgarian TV, the 38-year-old said she gave birth to a girl while working in Greece several years ago, but that she had to leave the child with another Roma family because she didn't have enough money to take her home. Ruseva has had eight children.
"I intended to go back and take my child home, but meanwhile I gave birth to two more kids so I was not able to go back," Ruseva said, insisting that she did not get paid for giving up the girl.
Police in Bulgaria declined to immediately comment on the case.
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