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DECEMBER 2012 BACK ISSUE Lunik IX is an apartment complex in the southwestern suburbs of Košice, Slovakia. Originally built as homes for middle-class families with a capacity of 2,500 people, the Slovakian government started to resettle thousands of Slovakian people affiliated to the Roma minority there in the 1990s. Today Lunik IX is home to an estimated number of between 6,000 and 8,000 Roma making it the largest Roma community within Slovakia. Over the years Lunik IX has evolved into an urban slum. The unemployment rate is nearly 100%,  inhabitants aren’t able to pay their water, gas or electricity bills. The waste disposal isn’t working; inhabitants throw their trash out of the windows. Everything that isn’t nailed down has been stolen and resold.  Several buildings are in an unacceptable condition; at least one complex is at risk of collapse. The problem of waste disposal has reached epic proportions, even starting to harm the town’s ground water. Fresh drinking water is only supplied for a few hours a day. Lunik IX is overcrowded, more and more flats become uninhabitable, and winter is long and cold. Open fires inside the flats, rat plagues, diseases, malnutrition and poor hygiene standards are among the fatal threats to the children of Lunik IX. by Michael Biach A young Roma girl sitting at the entrance of one of the apartment buildings in Lunik IX. Roma kids play at the back of one of Lunik IX’s apartment buildings next to a layer of garbage, several metres thick. The apartment buildings of Lunik IX where up to 8,000 Roma live under harsh conditions. A teenage Roma girl stands in a recently abandoned flat in Lunik IX. More and more apartments become uninhabitable. Roma boys in Lunik IX. Ten year old Kevin has got his name tattooed on his right arm. A Roma boy playing in the streets of Lunik IX. A group of Roma kids sitting next to an entrance of one of the apartment buildings in Lunik IX. Inside a recently abandoned flat in Lunik IX. More and more apartments become uninhabitable. At least one complex is at risk to collapse. The waste disposal isn’t working; inhabitants constantly throw their trash out of the windows. A teenage Roma girl sitting on a balcony of one of Lunik IX’s abandoned flats. The garbage thrown out of the window has already reached the first floor. A Roma girl stands next to one of Lunik IX’s apartment buildings where tons of garbage lies in the backyard. Adults and kids gathering to collect tap water. The running water is cut off and tap water is only available during certain hours and organized by the police. A young Roma boy on his way to collect tap water, which is only available during certain hours. Apartments of Lunik IX. A group of Roma kids gathering in Lunik IX. Teenage pregnancy is the norm.
A Roma boy plays with his dog in the backyard of one of Lunik IX’s apartment buildings. Next to him lies tons of garbage which is thrown out of the windows by the inhabitants. A Roma boy plays in the streets of Lunik IX. Poor hygiene standards and malnutrition are among the fatal threats to children in Lunik IX. Back to current issue