The Roma population, mostly arriving from Romania and the Balkans has flocked to Italy, especially Florence, causing social upheaval. It's difficult to not feel empathy for them. It's mostly women and children who beg on the streets, usually in front of churches. Apparently, the Italian government has proposed (or may already be doing) fingerprinting of all gypsies, supposedly to get an accurate number and provide appropriate social services and to make sure the children attend school. But skeptics say it's for more sinister reasons, and they cite the fact that gypsies were among the first victims of the Nazi regime. In any case, it's definitely a social problem. Sometimes the women engage a tourist in conversation while the children pick pockets. Our guide in Rome said there is a new ploy by gypsies in hotels. They show up at breakfast, engage someone in conversation, while someone else grabs your purse or bag under your chair. It's hard to know where the balance lies between humanitarian attitudes and public health and safety. Europe is dealing with it to some extent, but as long as there are huge wealth gaps in EU countries, this problem will probably persist.
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