Gypsies in Greece
Gypsies have long been marginalized in Greek society, often living in poverty; photographer Nikos Economopoulos captures their daily lives
Nikos Economopoulos is continuously working on a series of in-depth stories on Greece and the Balkans.
Poverty, Muslim communities and the orthodox church are some of his main themes. In his photographic panorama of contemporary Greece, the situation of the gypsies is symbolic.
With a population of 300,000, the gypsies are Greek citizens but victims of growing racism, while facing worsening poverty with the arrival of “new” immigrants from Albania and the ex-Soviet Union. Most Greek gypsy women and children live by begging, while the men are season workers or wandering musicians. The majority are Orthodox Christians, while approxiamately 25,000 are Muslim.
Though they have been present in Greece for centuries, they were only recognized as Greek citizens in 1979. Theoretically, they have equal rights to schooling and healthcare. In reality, they live on the edge of society and on the whole remain illiterate.
