Persecution of Roma in Hungary

Via Harry's Place

"When we got there all the adults were standing outside their houses, guarding the place, frightened, angry, fed up. About 30mins before we got there the Gárda marched through the main street again, with weapons, chanting words of hatred. The parents grabbed their kids out of bed (around 10pm) and ran to relatives a few streets furthe"

"We were there until around 3am, talking to people, who havent slept for weeks, and told us what has been going on. Their kids are afriad to go to school and some havent been for 2 weeks now – as a result, the state can withdraw their family aid! The teachers and the director at the school are also threatening the kids, saying things like you’ll all die, we’ll kill you, we’ll call the gárda if you dont behave. The gárda gets entry to the school and the kindergarden- which is when parents run there to take their kids. So most of them dont take them anymore. The kids cant sleep, many of them pee themselves; kids are running home after the gárda was chasing them, crying, peeing their pants, refusing to leave the house again. The whole community is terrorized."

The Roma are the most vulnerable minorities in Europe. No other minority is as openly harassed and persecuted, with impunity, as they are. They do not seem to be organized, or to have any lobby that would plead their case to the authorities or report these occurrences to the international media.