“15-20 Roma gathered and attacked me, demanding to know why I call them gypsies,” said Afroditi Latinopoulou, referring to the verbal confrontation she experienced at the port of Tinos at the hands of a group of Roma.
Speaking on Wednesday morning (12/8) on Mega TV, the president of Voice of Reason and Member of the European Parliament, Afroditi Latinopoulou, described the incident: “I went to Tinos with my mother on a pilgrimage. It was a very sacred, private moment — nobody knew about it. When we went to the port to return to Rafina, 15-20 Roma gathered and attacked me, demanding to know why I call them gypsies. What followed were verbal attacks, insults, threats, and aggressive gestures.”
After video footage of the incident was shown, Latinopoulou added: “What you just saw is a very brief excerpt from the 45-minute attack that my mother and I endured. They didn’t stop for a minute — the threats continued nonstop. This is not the first time Roma have engaged in such behavior, criminal acts, and abuse. Once again, they are showing their true character in front of children, while their women stood there laughing. That is the reality of the situation.”
“My mother was terrified”
Afroditi Latinopoulou also spoke about her mother’s reaction, who was present during the incident. As she described: “I hadn’t done anything. I was sitting with my mother. There were people around us. We were just sitting and talking. Suddenly, one of them approached me and said, ‘Look, we need to have a calm discussion — we’re not all the same.’ I told them plainly: if you don’t commit crimes, if you don’t marry off your underage children, if you don’t steal electricity, commit theft, robbery, and every other crime in the Penal Code — then the conversation is over. I have nothing to discuss with you. I’m not addressing you.’ The conversation never even began — an attack started immediately after that. Precisely because they are incapable of having a rational discussion. That’s something that was heard — not just in this video, but more broadly. I kept saying, ‘You are incapable of having a conversation, because that’s what you are.’ And then the attacks you saw continued — and many, many more followed. As for my mother, who was standing right next to me and had never been in a situation like this before — she is not obligated to deal with this. She is not a public figure, she is nothing of the sort. She is an ordinary citizen, just like I am. She was terrified. She was scared. Because when you see 25-30 people closing in around you — and one of them actually moved to hit me, before another one stopped him — that is something that terrified my mother. She was frightened. She was holding my hand the entire time. You can see it in the video — she was stroking my hand throughout the whole ordeal.”
“There was no political condemnation”
Afroditi Latinopoulou made clear that she “does not tolerate such behavior,” while also noting the absence of any political condemnation of the attack. In her closing remarks, she stated: “As you saw in the video, no one came to help. In fact, people who were sitting nearby moved away. And do you know why? Because that’s the society we live in — a society where lawlessness reigns and every offender, every criminal, enjoys immunity. There were many people there, and in that moment they were all wondering exactly what they should do. But I do not tolerate such behavior. Not for my own sake — but for the sake of every citizen who simply wants to catch their ferry, get to where they’re going, or stand outside their home, in their neighborhood, anywhere — without being bullied and attacked. And here I ask: where is the condemnation from the left-wing groups, from the so-called ‘progressives’ and ‘sensitives’? Where are the political parties to take a stand? Where are all those who supposedly care about women’s rights from morning to night? Where are all those who claim to care about women and how they are treated — especially by so-called vulnerable groups, who are not vulnerable at all, while all the others living next to illegal encampments are the truly vulnerable ones? Where are all these people? Dead silence.”
“There is no equation between perpetrator and victim. There is no equation between perpetrator and victim. Above all else, I am a citizen — just like everyone else. To carry out such a vulgar, brazen attack in front of me and my mother — and I place my mother above everything, along with all the anguish she went through and all that fear — this is something that should have been universally condemned, and first and foremost by those who supposedly spend their days and nights claiming to care about women. And this tolerance that exists across the political spectrum — because I am the only one who calls things by their real name, the only one who calls gypsies gypsies, illegal immigrants illegal immigrants, criminals criminals,” Latinopoulou emphasized.
“Lawlessness and immunity enabled by the Mitsotakis government”
Concluding on the matter, she said: “They turned around and said: ‘Are you Greeks any better?’ I said it in the video I posted on my personal social media too. They say: ‘Are you Greeks any better?’ I said: ‘Please — what are you then?’ They said: ‘We’re not Greeks — we’re gypsies.’ They say it themselves. They say it themselves. And not just to me. There are videos on social media where they say it openly. This mockery right in our faces — when they impersonate DEI employees, when they pose as accountants, when they steal people’s property, break into homes and carry out hundreds of millions of euros in total theft — and yet we pay for them with our taxes, supposedly for their integration. This is not simply a matter of mockery. It is a state of lawlessness and impunity that exists because of the government of Kyriakos Mitsotakis and New Democracy. In this country, which New Democracy has governed for seven years, if you are a gypsy, an anarchist, an antisemite, a pro-Palestinian activist, an illegal immigrant, a criminal, an unwashed anarchist, a rights activist, or a leftist, you can do whatever you please. And what makes it truly tragic under Kyriakos Mitsotakis is that you face no accountability whatsoever. There are no consequences.”
