Hungary: Day One of Orbán’s latest decree sees 120 Romani refugees cast onto the streets
23 August 2024
In yet another move breaking with Europe’s solidarity with Ukraine, Hungarian Premier Viktor Orbán – dubbed ‘Putin’s most useful idiot’ – signed a decree which stipulates that from August 21, only those refugees coming from "administrative units of Ukraine directly affected by military operations" are entitled to housing support. Transcarpathia is not one of those administrative units, and most Romani refugees in Hungary hail from there. So, the very same day the decree went into force, 120 Romani women and children were evicted from their collective shelter in the village of Kocs, because the state subsidy for the property-owner dried up.
According to 444.hu, after a night on the streets, the women and children were taken by bus to temporary accommodation in the nearby town of Dorog by the Catholic Order of Malta charity. But the refugees can only stay there for one week. According to the Helsinki Committee, which is closely monitoring the situation, it is unclear what will occur after the week is up, and they just don’t know what will happen to refugees from other accommodation facilities in the country.
In a press statement urging the government to reconsider this decree, the UNHCR warned that up to 3,000 vulnerable Ukrainians could lose access to subsidized accommodation,
“including families with specific needs and vulnerabilities, pregnant women, older persons with chronic diseases, and households with a large number of small children, most of whom are enrolled into local kindergartens and schools. Many face significant barriers in securing alternative housing due to lack of financial means but also reluctance of owners to rent.”
The regime is not listening, and the European Commission ‘is looking into it’
A European Commission spokesperson on migration said that they were “aware of this decree and we are looking into it,” but would not comment on whether this new decree contravenes the EU Temporary Protection Directive. The Commission confined itself to vague rhetoric about “standing united in providing protection for all those fleeing Putin’s bombs” for as long as it takes; and needing to get in touch with the Hungarian government.
Hungarian government minister Gergely Gulyás claimed the decree was in line with measures in neighbouring countries, and was a response to some 4,000 people in state-funded shelters who he alleged, refused to take jobs even when work was available. He also accused ‘Soros organisations’ of encouraging refugees to refuse to leave their accommodation.
Notwithstanding the fact that most of the refugees targeted by this decree are mothers and their children, the allegations that they are workshy is a clear racist dog-whistle, as everybody knows that the decree will primarily impact Romani refugees from Transcarpathia, the poorest and most vulnerable.
The UNHCR’s call on the government to take adequate measures to prevent anyone from becoming homeless or forced into destitution will fall on deaf ears. For Orbán, it has long been a point of principle to inflict hardship on migrants, refugees and asylum seekers. For Orbán, since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, it has also been a matter of pride to undermine European unity and solidarity in the face of Russian aggression. In the case of this latest decree enacted by Putin’s ‘most useful idiot’ (Foreign Policy), it is the poorest and most vulnerable Romani refugees that are caught in the crossfire.
