For eviction about 120 Ukrainian refugees from the aid centres in the village of Kocs Hungary was supposed to happen on Wednesday morning. According to Radio Free Europe, the people without shelter come from Zakarpattia Oblast w Ukraine – an area which – according to the new Hungarian decree – is not part of the area “directly affected by war operations”.
Hungary introduces new law on refugees from Ukraine. First victims are here
The amendment to the act, which came into force on August 21, was to deprive some refugees of the state-funded assistance they were entitled to. The American radio station's website reports that many children were among those who had to leave the shelter. Some of the refugees they had to spend the night under the open sky.
– Since the publication of the government decree, we have been constantly alerting interested parties and civil society organizations, hoping that some solution will be found. This should not happen in a rule of law state. – said Magdolna Szecsi, an expert on equal opportunities at the Civil College Foundation.
She added that most of the people who were left without shelter were Transcarpathian Romawho have already integrated into the local community. They have found jobs and sent their children to school. However, they still cannot afford to provide themselves with housing without state aid.
Roma from Ukraine exposed to consequences of draconian law
Government Decree No. 134i.e. an amendment to the law on assistance to refugees, changed the law in force in Hungary from 2022, i.e. from the beginning of the invasion Russia to Ukraine. According to the new legislation, a Ukrainian refugee will receive state support – free accommodation and financial support – only if his last official address in Ukraine is in the area “directly affected by warfare”.
Budapest has compiled a list of regions that have been affected by the fighting. So far, there are 13.
Even before the amendment came into force, human rights organizations warned that those most at risk of its effects were representatives of the Roma ethnic minority from the western part of the Transcarpathian region.
Their situation is complicated by the fact that many of them have dual Ukrainian-Hungarian citizenship. This makes do not qualify for asylum elsewhere in European Union.
Hungarian Government Commissioner for Ukrainian Refugees Pál Norbert ruled that the decree was “reasonable and fair.” He also suggested that refugees who wanted to secure their future in Hungary, they had enough time for that.
Source: Radio Free Europe, Magyar Nemzet
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