Jarovnice, a town in Eastern Slovakia, is the home to a Roma community, that is still confronted with exclusion, relocation, persecution and disrepect.
There are about 300 slums in Slovakia.The largest slum in Central Europe is that of Jarovnice that is inhabited by 5.570 people of which 4.500 are members of the Roma minority. The majority of the Roma face poverty and unemployment and have to live without electricity, sanitary facilities or a functioning canalizsation system.
The relationship between the Roma people and the other citizens of Jarovnice is characterized by mistrust and intolerance. The vicious cycle of poverty, unemployment and discrimination is aggravated by an alarming rate of criminality, alcohol and drug abuse. The level of education among the Roma minority in Jarovnice is extremely low, because children – often stemming from illiterate families - face difficulties in following regular education and drop out of the school system after the 4th class. There are schools for children with special needs that are visited exclusively by Roma children. However, these schools do not offer the children any prospects and contribute to a system of exclusion. This leads to a certain resignation both among parents and children of the Roma community.