Situational Picture on the Roma of Two Segregated Settlements

The development of Central and Eastern European cities significantly differ from that of the Western European ones. Roma communities have long been an integral part of Slovak cities, but the degree and quality of their integration vary depending on the given city. In Slovakia, approximately half of the Roma have to some extent been able to adapt themselves to the majority society. These Roma live in the cities integrated with the local population. The other part of the Roma minority though lives isolated in some parts of the cities, on their edge or besides them. These communities are characterized by social and ethnic isolation, which may differ in individual cases. The Roma communities have established so-called urban ghettos, which are, compared to the city as a whole, less integrated. Among those living in ghettos, there is typically a high rate of unemployment, cultural segregation, exclusion from the official city life, deepening social isolation related to rejection on part of the mainstream society.