Lunik IX Roma settlement: potable water monitored by police and segregated by wall in Košice, Slovak Republic

Last update:
2019-09-01

Lunik IX Roma settlement: potable water monitored by police and segregated by wall in Košice, Slovak Republic

In 2005 Roma people were forced to live in hazardous and unhealthy environmental and housing conditions in a segregated settlement in Košice’s called Luník IX just on the outskirts of the town

Description:

In 2005 Roma people were forced to live in unsafe, hazardous and unhealthy environmental and housing conditions in Košice’s called Luník IX settlment, situated just on the outskirts of the town[1]. Thus the new settlement became a segregated Roma community as a result of specific interventions by the local government to remove and to separate Roma Lunik IX from the non-Roma residents in Lunik VIII --- by a physically built segregation wall in 2013 [1] [2] [3].

Currently, the unemployment rate in Lunik IX is nearly 100 percent and, as a result, most tenants are unable to pay water, gas, or electricity bills [1]. They suffer from "energy poverty", in a case of blatant environmental racism. Also, there is only one tap in the settlement when approx. 2500 Roma residents of the settlement can collect running water. Access to water is monitored by police [1].

In 2014 a group of Roma-rights activists [refused to reveal their identities] from the Czech Republic, Austria, Sweden, Switzerland, Spain, and one from Slovakia, demolished part of the wall separating the infamous Lunik IX housing estate from other nearby neighbourhoods. “Stop segregation” was written next to the hole. However, the gap they created was promptly filled by local authorities the next day. “The wall was illegally constructed without a building permit and we did a good thing for the Roma community by destroying it,” one of the activists from Switzerland stated [4].

Regarding the anti-racist and ant-segregation activism, the mayor of Košice stated how it is a "fence" and not a "wall" . And argued how no construction permit was needed. His office reported the plans to build the wall in accordance with the law, the mayor claimed [4]. Regional police spokeswoman said that the “perpetrators” [activists] caused about €150 worth of damage to the wall. The police treated the matter as a public offence [4].

The settlement furthermore has an accumulated waste that reaches up to the first floor of the buildings; this is due to government's denial of regular maintenance and waste service collection [1].

Roma community persist living in this extremely marginalised and discriminated settlement. Young Romani children have died in fires and freezing cold in the settlement as well [2]. European Roma Right Centre (ERRC) called again in 2016 upon the authorities with an open letter [5] to allocate resources and adhere to a fixed time frame to ensure that residents of Luník IX, the surrounding settlements and all Roma living in segregated housing conditions have access to adequate and safe water, sewage, heating and living conditions in order to to prevent further fatalities [2].

(See less)

Basic Data

Name of conflict:	Lunik IX Roma settlement: potable water monitored by police and segregated by wall in Košice, Slovak Republic
Country:	Slovak Republic
State or province:	Košice
Location of conflict:	Lunik IX
Accuracy of location	HIGH (Local level)

Source of Conflict

Type of conflict. 1st level:	Water Management
Type of conflict. 2nd level:	Urban development conflicts Water access rights and entitlements
Specific commodities:	Electricity Water

Project Details and Actors

Project details	The city, the largest in eastern Slovakia, received £51million when it was named the European Capital of Culture 2013 alongside Marseille, France. The money is to be invested into the city's infrastructure, creative industries and tourism --- but not for the Roma. Instead the Roma were pushed on the outskirts, into a ghetto, surrounded by wall and controlled water access by the police [1]. The construction of the wall costed between 10 000 and 13 000 euros [5]. International Roma Rights Activists [refused to reveal their identities] gathered together and demolished one part of the built segregation wall. However, the local government and the police criminalised the act of protest [5].
Level of Investment for the conflictive project	13,000
Type of population	Urban
Affected Population:	5,500
Start of the conflict:	01/01/2005
Relevant government actors:	The mayor of the Košice.
Environmental justice organizations (and other supporters) and their websites, if available:	European Roma Right Center (ERRC) Open letter to the Prime Minister of Slovakia http://www.errc.org/uploads/upload_en/file/slovakia-letter-of-concern-maslickovo-english-25-january-2016.pdf

Conflict & Mobilization

Intensity	MEDIUM (street protests, visible mobilization)
Groups mobilizing:	International ejos Ethnically/racially discriminated groups
Forms of mobilization:	Media based activism/alternative media Official complaint letters and petitions Public campaigns Property damage/arson Direct action to demolish a section of the wall

Impacts

Environmental Impacts	Visible: Fires Potential: Soil contamination
Health Impacts	Visible: Accidents, Occupational disease and accidents, Deaths, Other Health impacts
Other Health impacts	Lack of water and sanitacion; lack of energy ("energy poverty") in winter
Socio-economical Impacts	Visible: Loss of livelihood, Violations of human rights, Loss of landscape/sense of place

Outcome

Project Status	In operation
Conflict outcome / response:	Criminalization of activists Migration/displacement Repression
Proposal and development of alternatives:	There is no alternative being proposed for the discriminated and segregated Roma. The environmental conditions and the water cut off monitored by the police is the "solution" the Slovak government implemented.
Do you consider this an environmental justice success? Was environmental justice served?:	No
Briefly explain:	No, the eviction and the segregation wall has been built, which as a consequence constructed a ghetto were Roma have to live in. The environmental conditions both uncollected waste and controlled water cut offs is a highly discriminated and racist act against the Roma in Linuk IX.

Sources & Materials

[1] WINTER WITHOUT HEATING OR HOT WATER FOR ROMA IN LUNIK IX
[click to view]

[2] AFTER DEATH OF FIVE SMALL CHILDREN, INTERNATIONAL ORGANISATION CALLS SLOVAK AUTHORITIES TO TAKE IMMEDIATE ACTION
[click to view]

[3] Mail Online 2013: Slumdogs of Slovakia: This city was given £51million when it was named European capital of culture... so why are Roma children still living in such horrifying squalor?
[click to view]

[4] Activists demolish part of Roma wall. Slovak Spectator. 2014
[click to view]

[5]
[click to view]

[5] The European Roma Rights Centre (ERRC) Open Letter to Slovak Prime Minister.
[click to view]

Meta information

Contributor:	Ksenija Hanacek ICTA-UAB resercher
Last update	01/09/2019
Conflict ID:	4291

Related conflicts

Roma settlements adjacent to the industrial copper plant complex Krompachy, Kosice, Slovak Republic

Comments