This World

Gypsy Child Thieves (2009x4)

Air date: Sep 02, 2009

Across Europe children are being forced onto the streets to beg and steal. They come from one of the poorest communities in Europe - the Romanian Gypsies. For centuries Gypsies have lived on the margins of society and faced brutal discrimination. Many have resorted to stealing and begging to survive. But in the last 20 years, organised crime has taken over. And since 2007, when Romania joined the EU, Gypsy children have been trafficked and exploited on a much larger scale. In an attempt to understand what is happening to these children Romanian film-maker Liviu Tipurita embarks on a journey through Europe which takes him inside the closed world of the Gypsy community, and talks to the authorities and institutions meant to be dealing with this disturbing phenomenon.