A firestorm of controversy erupted in late July 2008 after reports emerged that southern Italian sunbathers went on with their weekend while the lifeless bodies of two drowned gypsy, or Roma, girls lay on the beach nearby. The two girls were reportedly part of a group of four Roma who had gone swimming.CNN: Italian Outrage over Roma Drowning Photos (July 21, 2008)
The Controversy
The drownings occurred during a period of intense controversy surrounding the Roma in Italy. Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi's government recently initiated a crackdown against illegal immigrants in Italy, and many in the Mediterranean nation reportedly blame the Roma for escalating street crime. In the incident in Naples, a photographer who snapped images of the dead girls lying on the beach described the attitude of the sunbathers as indifferent.CNN: Italian Outrage over Roma Drowning Photos (July 21, 2008)
References
Fast Facts
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Gypsies preferred to be called by ethnic designation RomaPro-Roma Site: Romani.org
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Photos of sunbathers enjoying day near dead bodies published in Italian newspaperCNN: Italian Outrage over Roma Drowning Photos (July 21, 2008)
