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There are 11 segregated areas in the city of Miskolc. THis past fall city leaders initiated a campaign to “eliminate the ghettos.” As part of that campaign they began offering residents of these areas – the vast majority of whom are Roma – small sums of money to leave the city and not return. “It’s a trap,” Gulyas Ferenc told me. “You can’t buy a house or even rent long-term with this money.” Three times a month, he said, municipal leaders come to the settlements to inspect. “They are very aggressive. If you have a problem with your papers, they put you out in the street. People who don’t have family to go to end up in homeless shelter.” Continue reading IMG_2428