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('Steve' Attila Kopias, The City is for All): Mayor Mate Kocsis and the Fidesz dominated local government of Budapest VIII. District
declared war on the homeless people.
(Demonstration in front of the City Hall 8th district, Budapest, October 6, 2011) Mate Kocsis specifically said:
"There is no homeless issue,
here is public order issue.
If we do not crowd out the homeless,
they will supplant us living in the VIII. District."
(Mate Kocsis): Other towns are not only ignorant
and do not take their part of the common problem,
(Session of the body of representatives 8th district, Budapest, October 6, 2011) but rather they send their own wretched
either to Budapest or in particular into the VIII. District.
As the Mayor ordered police patrols
are on a 24-hour call in the public places of the district with one purpose, ('Poor people are not criminals')
to penalize and scare away
people living on the streets.
What happening is nothing more than the operative laws
which, you know, a representative body, and otherwise every acting person
shall take an oath to enforce and comply with - are being enforced.
(Laszlo Salgo, Superintendent of Police, Budapest, 8th district): The police is much more active and present on the streets,
one thing we have reached with this is that the area is more clean.
(Beza Bene, The City is for All): He (the mayor) would like to see those people
who are not become homeless in District VIII.
would disappear from here.
They harass the homeless people.
(Dr. Attila Lapossy Office of the Parliamentarian Commissioner for Civil Rights): The Parliamentary Commissioner expressed his deepest concerns
about specific police operations, raids and the series of measures
in relation to public law enforcement in Jozsefvaros (VIII. District).
These people disappear from those who could help them.
There will be a lot more who will freeze to death this winter.
(Stefania Kapronczay Hungarian Civil Liberties Union): The public order defense action in Jozsefvaros
was originally based on a Budapest city order,
which impose a fine of up to 50 thousand HUF (220$)
in case someone is habitually resident in the street,
with other words homeless.
When the Municipality made this regulation
- and ordered the sanction of the habitual residency in the streets -
the Ombudsman examined it.
He said in summary that the regulation sanctioning homelessness
as a status and by that the legislature created a status offense.
This regardless of the constitutionality of its mandate is itself
serious violation of fundamental human rights,
such as the right to human dignity or the principle of equal treatment.
(Demonstration at the Parliament, Budapest, Oktober 17, 2011) After 20 years of democracy it cannot happen again in our country
that people are not imprisoned for crimes they committed,
but because they are in a certain situation.
In the district in nearly two weeks police penalized homeless in 300 cases
for habitual residency in the streets.
Now we are here because they might have to go to prison from Monday.
The Parliament is currently discussing a bill
which would fine repeated homelessness
up to 150 thousand HUF (660$) or punish by imprisonment.
That is, if a man caught twice within half a year
as habitually resident in the street.
HCLU believes that these provisions are unacceptable and inhumane.
It would be unacceptable even if we did not know
that there is about 5500 hostel bed for
about 8000 homeless people in Budapest according the lowest estimate.
Even if everyone could sleep in a hostel the order would still violate
basic human rights by punish simply because of certain situation.
In addition, the government has no homelessness strategy.
The financial service system for homeless and the housing policy
is not affected by substantive changes.
(Zoltan Guraly, Council of "Ten" The Helpers of Homeless People's Association, Budapest): Prevention should be an important element of the homeless policy.
You see now there is no prevention, so while the attendance is working on
to somehow return the homeless to living conditions
with housing and to survive at all.
In the mean time this cannot be caught
in the acts and practices,
so "homeless manufacturing" continues daily.
In the last 20 years, with the construction of homeless shelters
and with the amortization, and sale of social rented
dwellings the bases of homelessness has been created.
Change is needed.
Today's homeless attendance,
if you look at Western European standards is in the 1930's.
The same type of dormitories,
big hotels, and public accommodations
characterized Western Europe until about the seventies.
I would appreciate the most if
in the forthcoming soon
the homeless shelters would close.
I want that all governments
and all the people would work towards
an affordable social housing system.
I talked to many social workers and I know some
who are not doing it only for the salary,
but because they also wish to have a more just society in Hungary.
They also say that they should not actually work with the homeless,
but it would be the thing if they could help all homeless people
to find work and provide good quality housing.
We demand that mayor Mate Kocsis,
the Fidesz-dominated VIII. District government,
all districts of Budapest,
Istvan Tarlos Mayor of Budapest
and the Budapest City Council
stop the undue harassment,
fines and imprisonment of the homeless in Jozsefvaros immediately.
Furthermore to annul all the orders
that criminalize the homeless people
and to rescind the bills for such presentations.
In addition, we demand that Mate Kocsis
Member of Parliament, and the Fidesz's parliamentary majority
to destroy the punishing ability of the habitual residency of public places,
withdraw the proposed aggravating bills
and not to accept more anti-homeless laws.
(Viktor Orban Prime Minister of Hungary): We cannot leave anyone by the road.
For the Hungarian people, the home, the safe nest of your own family
is the most important thing.
That is why we Hungarians were willing
to work for this more so than anything else if we need to.
Self supporting homes, private housing, free life is possible only together.
We will take more and more steps to ensure
that everyone is able to stand to his feet, and be able to stay standing
and no one loses the cover of himself and his family's head above.
Exciting and difficult times are ahead.
subtitles: Balog Peter Benedek, Kalocsai Kinga, Kerenyi Mate �