JPRS-EER-89-066
8 JUNE 1989
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JPRS-EER-89-066 CONTENTS 8 JUNE 1989
POLITICAL
….
HUNGARY
Homeless Estimated in Tens of Thousands [NEPSZA VA 6 Apr] 60
8 June 1989 ECONOMIC 60
HUNGARY
Homeless Estimated in Tens of Thousands
25000190a Budapest NEPSZAVA in Hungarian
6 Apr 89 p 5
[Interview with sociologist Peter Gyori, co-founder of
"For the Homeless," by Katalin Torok: "Living Under the Starry Sky? Yes: There Are Homeless People"; date and place of interview not given]
[Text] A social committee called "For the Homeless"
was formed on the last day of February. As can be read
in its founding document, Hungary, too, has large numbers
of people afflicted with homelessness or its imminent
danger, therefore, the undersigned want to help
with the enforcement of the right to a home because the
homeless are unable to protect their own interests.
I talked with sociologist Peter Gyori, one of the seven
founders, about their important and extremely sympathetic
goals.
[Gyori] During the course of my work, I spent a great
deal of time with the homeless and at Budapest's five
temporary workers's hostels. Four of them were built
during past regimes, the "People's Hostel," for instance,
was built by the city in 1912. After the war, or more
precisely, after 1949, no one dealt with this problem
anymore, thinking that the socialist system would dissolve
it and poverty would be eliminated. In our regional
cities, the idea of building such hostels was not even
raised. In Budapest, the conversion of a decayed tobacco
factory building "established" the hostel on Kaiman
Konyves Boulevard in the 1069's. The total of five
temporary hostels can accommodate 915 persons.
A Minuscule Chance
[NEPSZAVA] Is this sufficient for a city of 2 million
people? At any rate, what is the number of the homeless,
for I feel that it is very difficult to keep track ofthem and
at least statistically to "catch them...."
[Gyori] Unfortunately, their number is much greater
than the capacity of these hostels. One of our objectives
in forming our social committee was precisely to make
public administration deal with this issue, for until now
the tacit understanding was that since these people do
not report anywhere anyway, they cannot be registered
and, therefore, their problem does not need to be dealt
with. I can only guess at their number: There may be
several tens of thousands nationwide. There are many
more so-called potentially homeless people. I am referring,
for instance, to people released from prison who
have no place to spend even their first night. They have
no stable point in their lives which could perhaps give
them a minuscule chance to normalize their lives. I also
include among them the so-called favor home users, i.e.,
those renting beds or rooms or living with causal
acquaintances. Many among them grew up under state
care, and live in extremely uncertain conditions, never
knowing when their bed leases might be terminated,
sending them to the streets. With these the number of
homeless swells to 300,000-350,000.
[NEPSZAVA] I understand that the rent in temporary
hostels has significantly increased recently.
[Gyori] That was one of the concrete reasons for setting
up our committee. As of 1 November 1988, the rental
fees were raised five-fold. I think this is a typical example of the nontreatment of a social problem.
A Minimal Living Space
[NEPSZAVA] What is the rent in a hostel?
[Gyori] It varies in each. The rent ranges between 250
and 800 forints. The monthly rent for a room with three
or more beds was raised from 80 to 400 forints. Rooms
with a single bed are the most expensive. These "rooms"
are actually 1.5-by-2-meter cubicles.
[NEPSZAVA] A person's living space is, therefore, not
larger than the size of a small double bed.
[Gyori] Exactly. At the time of the increase, Tibor Ungi,
a resident of the Kaiman Konyves Boulevard hostel,
wrote us, the national steering committee of the TDDSZ
[Democratic Union of Scientific Workers], a letter. In it
he stated that the drastic rent increase sends part of the
people, living marginally to begin with, under the starry
sky. Tibor Ungi also visited Representative Miklos Vida
with his problem since the Kaiman Konyves Boulevard
hostel is in the latter's voting district. Miklos Vida took
the matter seriously, inviting to the residence of the
National Assembly's Vice President the responsible
authorities, i.e., a representative from the Ministry of
Social Welfare and Health and the Capital City Council,
and seven of us: among others, myself, Szabolcs Bognar
DD who is known to have been occupied for a long time
and with an honorable devotion, with one-time state
foster children DD and sociologist Geza Gosztonyi, head
of the Theresa City Family Help Center. Miklos Vida
was to have questioned the minister about the rent
increases but that did not come about after all; I think he
was hindered by the flood of events. Our experience has
been that the responsible authorities, especially Dr.
Maria Foldi, head of the Capital City Council's sociopolitical department, are urging and encouraging our activities.
Inhuman Treatment
[NEPSZAVA] What are the goals of the newly formed
social committee?
[Gyori] We have made preparations for long-term activities. First of all, we would like to make people aware that the problem of homelessness exists and that, therefore, people who will deal with it are needed. There is a need for more shelters, for the existing ones cannot
house all the homeless people. Especially not now when
more and more companies feel compelled to close their
workers' hostels!
Other shelters should also be established. Of course, I am not thinking of new investment projects. Even in the
past, there were so-called warming rooms in the capital.
There people could stay for a day, literally warm themselves, and receive a bowl of soup. Some of Budapest's air raid shelters could be put at the disposal of the managing organs for such a purpose. Another concrete proposal of ours, for which we can also offer help, is to introduce adequate social care at the existing shelters; this task could be carried out by professionally supervised caretakers and mid-level health workers. For at present, untrained attendants dominate the scene, and
often "treat" the residents, generally repeatedly
wounded persons, under inhuman conditions, and actually hold them in check.
We sent 150 copies of our first report on the situation to
the Capital City Council, to the ministries, to a group of
supporters at court, and to the various organs of mass
communication. I am happy to report that I received a
lot of feedback. May the places and the officials "be
born" who will work on this pressing problem and who
will help those who spend the night at railroad stations
and loiter in underground cellars. I am confident that the
responsible authorities will prepare a program for the
above objectives and will acknowledge and work on this
hitherto silently existing problem. Our committee consists of experts, and we are willing to help at any time.