International solidarity with homeless people in Hungary
We invite our
friends all over the world to join our struggle against the criminalisation of
homelessness in Hungary.
The 2010 election brought a comprehensive
authoritarian and punitive turn in Hungary: constitutional democracy was
essentially abolished; labour rights were curtailed; entitlement to welfare
benefits was restricted and a harsh workfare regime was implemented;
asylum-seekers became subject to an unjustifiable detention regime;
increasingly severe penal policies were introduced with disproportionate
sanctions; the surveillance of state employees was authorised on an unprecedented
scale. Since the transition to capitalism in 1990, the poverty rate and the
level of income inequality have never been as high as now.
Despite years of advocacy and protests,
homelessness became a punishable offence in Hungary. In November 2012, the
Constitutional Court struck down a law that criminalised street homelessness,
arguing that the state should address homelessness as a social and not a
criminal issue. In response, the governing party decided to change the
Constitution itself, enabling local governments to punish “habitual residence
in public spaces”. Homeless people can already be subjected to compulsory
community work, monetary fine and imprisonment in most parts of Budapest, and
several local authorities outside of the capital are also criminalising
homelessness.
We, homeless and ally members of The City is for
All are asking you to help us abolish this inhumane piece of legislation and
express your solidarity with homeless people in Hungary.
If your time and resources allow, please organise a
solidarity demonstration on one of the days between 13-15th of February,
ideally in front of the Hungarian embassy or consulate in your country. If you
do so, please send us pictures or videos so that we can publicise on our
website and Facebook-page the international protest against the ongoing war on
poor people in Hungary.
We hope that you will find a way to support our
struggle. If you have any question regarding the event to be organised, the
documentation, or the criminalisation of homelessness itself, please contact us
at avarosmindenkie@gmail.com.
Further
information:
* infographic video on the
“homeless-free zones” in Budapest (with English text and subtitles)*
* English translation of the main
legislation on criminalisation
* video of our most recent civil
disobedience action against criminalisation (with English subtitles)
* video of our most recent street
protest against criminalisation (with English subtitles)
* a video on criminalisatoin by
the Hungarian Civil Liberties Union