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'This is not how we imagine order' Demonstration by The City is for All (AVM) against the criminalization of homelessness.
I don't want to be a criminal and I don't have the right to be one either.
Besides, this is not why I spent years studying. I wasn't born into this world to become a criminal.
Adrienn Szigeti, activist, AVM This afternoon Parliament will vote about the modification of the Petty Offences Act,
which includes the penalization of living on the street.
It can take various forms.
We had a discussion about this before the demonstration
where a lawyer gave homeless people some information on what to expect.
Well, people who came here today
László Kardos, activist, AVM can take away some booklets on legal issues
and we are also handing out leaflets that spell out our rights
and give tips on where to get help.
We also distribute invitations to our upcoming events.
Máté Varga, coordinator, Citizens' Participation Week Obviously if there is a problem in society, we have to look for solutions together.
Those involved should all sit down together and discuss what to do.
This is what is not happening at all.
What this new modification is going to cause is...
well, I hope it's not the imprisonment of poor people or that they will have to pay fines.
One thing is certain: it will not solve the problem itself,
namely that these people need a place to live.
This modification is very strongly against homeless people.
Gyula Balog, activist, AVM It seeks to penalize homelessness,
which, in principle, should not be penalized at all.
What it will do is increase the level of aggression in society.
Tessza Udvarhelyi, activist of AVM, anthropologist This law was declared anti-constitutional by the constitutional court in November 2012.
In response to this, rather than accepting that homelessness is not a criminal issue but a social problem,
the government decided to include the possibility of penalizing homelessness in the constitution.
Since March 2013, the Hungarian constitution is the only one in the world
that makes it possible to punish homeless people for not having a home.
Last week I was astonished to hear the head of a homeless services institution
speak publicly about the new regulations concerning homelessness.
Anna Bende, activist, AVM, social worker She said that she was completely in favor of the modification
because she thinks homeless people today won't go to these institutions
only because they have trouble keeping the rules of communal coexistence.
This may make us believe
that homeless shelters are wonderful places,
which people avoid only because they love living in the street.
Everyone is busy preparing for the elections in 2014,
whereas they should be busy preparing for winter.
Homeless people have no warm places to go
-- shelters fill up fast and people live in the streets instead.
They should be helped rather than persecuted
Mrs. János Fetter, Betti, activist, AVM There are 10 thousand homeless people living in Budapest.
There are altogether 6,000 places in shelters,
which means that there are 4,000 in the street.
My question is: where are they planning to put 4,000 people after this law is passed?!
What are they going to do with them?
In the winter, facilities are used at 140% of their full capacity.
There are people sleeping under beds, in the bathroom, on the floor...
I'm here because I find it outrageous that poverty is considered a crime
and homeless people are considered criminals.
This is a pseudo-action:
the government apparently can't or won't solve the problem of poverty
and finds it easier to pretend the whole problem doesn't exist.
It is easier for them to lock up the most helpless people in jail.
Mrs János Fetter, Betti What are they going to do with these people?
Put them in prison? There aren't as many prison cells!
There will be robbers and murderers at large just so that homeless people could be imprisoned?!
Tessza A new element of this modification is that it makes it possible to set up so-called homeless-free zones.
So if it is passed today,
it will be possible to designate certain areas within the city where homeless people are not allowed to live.
Mrs János Fetter, Betti I don't drink alcohol, I'm clean, I mind my language
and still the other day as I got on the tram in my somewhat worn, not trendy clothes, people drew away from me...
When my hair is freshly washed, the rubber band will slip off it
so my hair was loose, but it was all shiny and clean
and there was this man sidling away right into the other end of the tram.
I called out to stop him, 'don't run away from me, I'm not harmful or anything'.
Tessza The City is For All is not fighting for the right for people to live on the street.
It's a rumor that people like to spread about us,
just like the one about us demanding free housing.
What we do fight for is that the government,
rather than spending all this energy on persecuting people,
should work towards finding real solutions to the problem of homelessness
by drafting a feasible housing and social policy.
Mrs János Fetter, Betti Some mayors are more humane than others and that's it.
In some districts the new regulations are already being applied,
while in District 10 the deputy mayor has proven
that it's possible to approach the problem differently and find places for homeless people to live.
Reporter: What would you rather do right now than participate in this demonstration?
Adrienn Szigeti: I would be glad to be sitting in a warm and cozy room
having a conversation with friends or reading
-- all the things that I can't do the way things are.
László Kardos What we need is for as many people as possible to come and help us -- to help us achieve our goals,
or, rather, each of us our own goals, which, in turn, helps the others in their struggle.