Young Romanian mother sent home by social services is back in Helsinki

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Mihaela Stoica, a Romanian mother who had been flown to her home country three months ago by Helsinki social services, has returned to Finland, where she is seeking political asylum.
      Her four-month old son, who was born in Helsinki, is being cared for by his grandparents in Transylvania.
     
The mother, one of a growing group of Roma from Romania who have been begging on city streets in Finland, was sent home to Romania for child welfare reasons.
      As a citizen of a member state of the European Union, she has the right to stay in another EU country for three months, and begging on the street is not a crime.
      However, Helsinki officials have said that children begging in the streets would be taken into care.
      Helsingin Sanomat has learned that the woman has been housed at a refugee reception centre in Helsinki.


Previously in HS International Edition:
  Romanian beggars set up camp on open land between highways (20.5.2008)
  Helsinki Deaconess Institute to set up street patrol to connect with beggars from Eastern Europe (7.5.2008)
  Romanian beggars now spread across the country (28.4.2008)
  Helsinki sends beggar mothers back to Romania on child welfare grounds (11.2.2008)

Helsingin Sanomat