21st Annual Smithsonian Magazine Photo Contest People
Beautiful Roma girl

Force. Prostitution. Drugs. Alcohol. Everyday life in the Roma slum. Also for children. In Slovakia, around ten percent of the population are Roma. They live in slums next to the villages. People say: white and black people. The “white” live in houses. The “black” in the barracks, ruins or shacks. Sometimes two families share a room. They have no bathroom, no toilet and no running water. Often there is only one light bulb hanging on the ceiling. The children are left to fend for themselves early on. They go to school with the other Roma children – not with the white children. It is a two-class society. Even the children know the difference and know that they are “just” Roma. Roma children from whom no one expects anything. Nobody trusts them to do anything. Children who don't get a chance from the start.

Photo Detail
Date Taken: 01.2023
Date Uploaded: 10.2023
Photo Location: Svinia, Slovakia
Camera: LEICA SL (Typ 601)
Copyright: © Manuela Federl