Slovakia: Romani family rejected by neighbors before they even move in

News server noviny.sk reports that the Štrkáč family recently bought a new home in the village of Oščadnici near Žilina, but their future neighbors disagree with their moving in, allegedly because they are Romani. Everything began on the day after the family bought the house and began reconstructing it.

The former owner called them to say she had heard people in the village were bothered by the fact that they are Romani. Jana Štrkáčová later found out that her new neighbors had visited the mayor to complain.

"What do I regret most? When your child asks why we can't move in and you have to tell him it's because we're black and we're 'gypsies'," she told TV JOJ.

"They came to see me with their concerns, on the basis of rumors that were probably unfounded and unjustified, that as many as 40 inadaptable citizens would be moving in there. That is probably not true in this case," Mayor Marián Plevka told TV JOJ.

"Are they saying I'm not able to buy a house because I am a 'gypsy' woman? Nobody gave me the money for it," Štrkáčová told TV JOJ.

"I had to earn that money through honest work," the new homeowner said. Her husband also works and for that reason they have been able to afford a mortgage.