Homeless people living in the streets of Budapest now fear they would be soon sent off their grounds and face punishment as parliament on Monday night (September 30) passed a law that would enable local councils to ban the homeless from their streets. The new law says it aims to ensure 'public order, health, and cultural values' by empowering councils to ban the homeless but human rights activists claim it in fact criminalises homelessness and sweeps the problem under the carpet. The government says enough shelter places are available for all homeless but many say they fear the shelters because theft is rampant in most places. "They [the government] just wants to divert the attention of the society from the robberies and corruption, and instead go after the homeless," homeless 'Zoltan', who has lived in the streets for more than 10 years, said. "We rather freeze outside or go into the woods but we cannot go into the shelters as it's not safe, it'd be safer to live in a barn," he added. The government argues that the new law is in the best interest of the homeless as they risk freezing to death by sleeping rough in cold temperatures. Still, many homeless refuse going into shelters and would rather see some cheap but safer renting options. "At the shelter, if we want to go for a smoke one of us stands guard because everything gets stolen, it's so dangerous there," homeless Laszlo Szollosy-Toth said. Debate around the homeless issue intensified last year when fines were introduced for sleeping in the street and homeless could even face prison though in practice it did not happen. The move provoked widespread criticism. Critics said the law was unenforceable and hostels lacked sufficient places. Budapest has an estimated 7,500 homeless, and Hungary around 10,000, according to a survey by the Menhely Foundation who deal with homeless care. The Constitutional Court over-ruled the law at the end of last year and the homeless returned to the subways and streets. After the Constitutional Court over-ruled the law last year the ruling Fidesz party looked for new ways to keep people off the streets. In March this year parliament amended the Constitution to include such possibilities. The new law passed last night is built on that Constitutional amendment. Opposition parties criticised the law saying it worsens the homeless situation rather than helps finding a complex solution. "These people on the edge of the road would need helping hands and not being kicked into the ditch. You know very well that this law will not solve the problem of homelessness," opposition LMP party MP Gabor Vago told parliament before the vote. The government says that they are spending more and more on homeless care and have increased shelter places. "We have created 700 shelter places in Budapest, we would like to accommodate every homeless under a roof. While under the previous Socialist government hundreds of homeless froze to death in the streets in the past one year only one person, which is of course more than it should be. We would like if no homeless person froze to death in the streets in Hungary therefore we created more than 700 places in Budapest too," state secretary of the Interior Ministry, Karoly Kontrat told parliament. The government also stressed in a statement on Monday that they have supported various new shelters and new programmes that aim to help the homeless integrate into society. Civil organisations argue that instead of opening more shelters a comprehensive solution should be found. A group of homeless people and activists of 'The City Belongs to Everyone' held a protest outside parliament. They claimed that it was not true that there were enough shelter places and those that existed did not provide safe and dignified accommodation. "Instead of recognising that the homelessness is not a police question but a social one, the government decided to write the possibility of punishing the homeless into the constitution. Therefore, since this March, the Hungarian Constitution is the only one in the world that makes it possible to punish the homeless for not having a home," activist Tessza Udvarhelyi told the protesters. The activist group said they planned more protests if the law would not be repealed.

• published: 03 Oct 2013
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