THE SLOVAK Catholic Charity reported that many of the inhabitants of the flats in the Lunik IX neighbourhood are moving to Belgium.
Those who decided to stay are building illegal dwellings in the vicinity of the infamous development.
“We have received information from our sister organisation Caritas Belgium that they have noted a wave of Roma families from Lunik IX,” the Slovak Catholic Charity’s spokesperson Lukáš Melicher said, as quoted by the SITA newswire.
The staff of the Caritas organisation in the Belgian city of Gent have asked their Slovak counterparts about what was happening in Slovakia that could be behind the massive flow of Roma into Belgium, the Charity’s General Secretary Radovan Gamulak confirmed, as quoted by SITA. The Belgian social workers report the Roma cite housing problems as the main reason for leaving Slovakia for Belgium.
The Slovak Catholic Charity has only limited capacities to help the Roma find housing. They are excluded from EU funds.
“We have worked for a long time in the area of Roma integration but the government won’t give us money to construct apartments,” Gumulak said, as quoted by SITA.
Source: SITA
Compiled by Michaela Terenzani from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information
presented in its Flash News postings.
