–

TO GO WITH AFP STORY: ” ROMANIA-GYPSIES-POVERTY”
Roma children play at the courtyard of their house in Slobozia village, 450 kms northeast of Bucharest, in the northern historical region of Moldova, one of the poorest regions of Romania, 02 May 2006. Roma organisations claimed that around 1.5-2 million gypsies live in Romania, most of them in extreme poverty, without any income or access to social services as schools or hospitals. Romania hopes to join EU on 01 January 2007. AFP PHOTO/DANIEL MIHAILESCU