Haunting photographs tell the story of an ethnic minority in Slovakia that struggles to survive.
Europe is estimated to have 10-12 million Roma (Gypsies), many of them concentrated in former communist countries. More than 70% of Europe’s Roma live in poverty, and they are often victims of discrimination. According to the 2011 census, the Roma community were estimated at 105,738, around 2% of Slovakia’s total population.
Photographer Matt Kollasch admits he didn’t know much about the lives of “Gypsies” until he visited Slovakia. Like many Americans, his perception of this group of people was limited to stereotypes that portrayed wild and boisterous bands of men and women wearing loud clothes and gaudy jewelry, drinking, dancing, and disrupting as their wagons rolled into town.
His first trip to Slovakia opened his eyes to the reality of the Roma, an ethnic minority that is impoverished, misunderstood, and neglected — a stark contrast to the way much of the world perceives them.
Photographers Matt Kollasch and Sandy Carter collaborated on this project, shining a spotlight on the Roma of Slovakia.
