“I am deeply committed to integration, but first changes in mentality must come,” Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány stressed at a conference on the education of Roma people on Wednesday.He said “to be a Roma brings several disadvantages, as poverty and being Roma go hand in hand, and prejudices must also be combated.”
He then quoted from a recently completed survey which verifies the benefits of multi-racial classes, noting that the progression of Roma pupils’ reading skills improves in integrated classes, without affecting the performance of non-Roma pupils.
Ethnic minority rights ombudsman Ernő Kállai said “the majority of society has to be persuaded that integration also serves their interests.” However he commented that “Roma parents and children must be made to realize that grants and aid will not replace determination and the thirst for knowledge.”
The National Roma Authority, with effective support from the Local Governments Ministry, wants to solve the accommodation problems of 40 families by implementing a social housing project, Magyar Hírlap reports. Meanwhile some 5,000 flats are expected to be built at Ft 8 million each during the current government term."
Source: Hungary Around the Clock.
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10.01.2008