It looks as though the mystery of the 4-year-old girl in Greece has been solved. A DNA test proved that a Bulgarian Roma couple, Antanas and Sasha Ruseva, is little Maria’s parents.
“Analysis proved that Sasha Ruseva is the biological mother of the girl named Maria,” Bulgarian Interior Ministry Chief Commissioner, Svetlozar Lazarov said. “It also showed Atanas Rusev as the biological father.”
Sasha admitted that she had given birth to a baby girl four years ago in Greece while she was working as an olive picker. She gave the baby away because she did not feel she could care for her because they were so poor.
“I didn’t take any money,” Sasha said. “I just didn’t have enough money to feed her. 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.”
Maria has been placed in the custody of the organization, Smile of the Child, since last week when a Roma camp was raided and she was discovered peeking out from under a blanket. She had poor hygiene and was living in filth. The couple who were claiming to be her parents were arrested.
“Now that they’re in prison there’s not much they can do,” their lawyer, Costas Katsavos, said. “But provided what we said is borne out, that it was not an abduction, then logically they will be released from prison and they will be able to enter a proper adoption process … They truly and ardently want her back.”
Maria’s biological family regrets ever giving their child away and her mother says she “was a fool to leave the kid there”.
“I like her very much, she looks very much like me and I want her back home. We will take care of her and I can help my mother,” Minka Ruseva, Maria’s 14-year-old sister, said.
As of now, Maria is remaining in one of the Smile of the Child homes until the matter can be resolved.
“We are dealing with the humanitarian side of this issue, looking after a young girl,” director of the charity, Costas Yannopoulos, said.
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