Alessandra Mussolini: ‘When a child enters Italy, he is like ours’

published in issue 4475 page 6 at 2009-07-20

Alessandra Mussolini: ‘When a child enters Italy, he is like ours’

After last week’s scandal caused by the two Romanian children adopted by Italians, the chairwoman of the Italian Parliament’s Commission for the rights of the child, comes with fresh controversial statements.

According to Mediafax, Alessandra Mussolini declared in Bucharest, last Friday, that whenever a Romanian child enters Italy without family, he may be adopted, even though Romanian legislation forbids international adoptions. Italian legislation allows international adoptions, so it also encompasses Romanian minor citizens, she added.

Alessandra Mussolini also said Romania should have courts for children, even though their creation would imply big costs.

According to the Italian politician, between 1,700 and 2,000 Romanian minors live unattended in Italy and they risk disappearing, as they can be easily recruited by organized crime groups. In retort, Bogdan Panait, state secretary with the Romanian Office for Adoptions urged the Italian government – through the person of Mussolini – to inform Romanian authorities about all the Romanian children in Italy. (A. M.)

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