Living on margins, Hungary's Roma feel especially exposed to coronavirus

FILE PHOTO: People take part in a protest over the Hungarian government's stance on the segregation of Roma schoolchildren, in Budapest, Hungary, February 23, 2020. REUTERS/Bernadett SzaboBUDAPEST: Leaders of Hungary's Roma people said on Tuesday the coronavirus pandemic posed a grave threat to the already precarious status of the marginalised minority, with many Roma feeling abandoned by the nationalist government.

"From the very first moment, the economic crisis has had a huge impact especially in segregated rural areas," said Erno Kadet, a rights activist at Hungary's Roma Press Centre."They have zero savings, zero buffer ... The government ignores them." Orban's Fidesz party said people linked to Hungarian-born billionaire George Soros, who promotes liberal causes, helped Roma launch lawsuits, prompting a petition protesting that Fidesz's stance could promote hatred between Roma and non-Roma.

"This reminds me of the fall of Communism, when Roma were the first to be fired," Buza wrote on Facebook."We need unity and solidarity from everyone in these hard times." Northeastern Hungary, where hundreds of thousands of Roma are concentrated, has been mostly spared so far from the pandemic, according to government figures. About half of Hungary's 817 confirmed COVID-19 cases have been from the Budapest capital region, and 38 people have died.

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