Now, unemployment among the Roma is down to 20 percent, no children are sent to separate schools and three Roma residents are in college. Slovakia, a country of about five million people, officially has 150,000 Roma citizens, though Mr. Ravasz said the real number was closer to 450,000. Of those, Mr. Ravasz said, only about 10 or 20 have mayors like Mr. Ledecky. Advertisement Continue reading the main story“We grew so fast and started making a profit, so we kept expanding,” Mr. Ledecky said. For one thing, the village’s own Roma residents have proved vigilant about keeping out illegal shanties, eager to protect their own neighborhood and steady jobs.

Source: New York Times September 09, 2017 12:33 UTC