However, the Roma community faces a lot of discrimination in housing, employment, and education. Therefore, it is quite difficult to exit the poverty cycle. It is why places like Lunik IX exist.
The Roma population largely exists in Central and Eastern Slovakia. Bratislava, the capitol city, does not have many Roma, so lawmakers do not encounter often this community need. Additionally, throughout other ares of Central and Eastern Slovakia, Roma live in their own villages and small towns where they are more self-sufficient.
My friend Hannah (another Fulbright from the United States) is living close to one of these villages, so I discussed with her the differences between the Roma populations in our two areas. She said that her school is integrated (has both white Slovak and Romani students). She volunteers at a local YMCA where almost all of the employees are Romani and activities are conducted in both Romani and Slovak languages. Finally, she said Slovaks in her town do not have a negative view of the Romani because they personally know the people and see them daily.
Košice is quite different from both Bratislava and smaller towns, which is why I think this community need exists. There is not another city in Slovakia facing the same situation that Košice does, so Košice is left to try and fix the ever complex situation on their own. The teachers at my school told me that Lunik IX was originally apartments built for high-up military families and intended to be a nice, well-off area. The government then reallocated (changed its mind) and gave the new apartments as housing for Romani families (a minority group in Košice).
