In October 2013, the Irish Police, or Garda, made a statement regarding a minority group living under its jurisdiction. It was not declared openly by one of the organization’s representatives, but tacitly by the actions of its officers: “You, the Roma, do not belong here.”

Having observed a fair-skinned, fair-haired child in the care of Romani parents, the Dublin police removed the seven-year-old from the couple’s care. The liberation from her supposed abductors was short-lived, however: DNA testing revealed that what had actually taken place was a state-sanctioned kidnapping of a child from her parents.

Worse still, while the Dublin case was yet unresolved the Gardaí chose to repeat their mistake in Athlone. Reports followed that same week of a two-year-old boy taken into protective custody under similar circumstances. He, too, was returned to his family when DNA testing revealed the mistake.