The mayor of the town of Jelšava is unhappy with the findings of the 2013 Atlas of Roma Communities, claiming property prices have fallen in the central Slovak town since the study published its findings, among which was the fact that Jelšava was found to have Slovakia’s highest proportion of Roma inhabitants.
Town Mayor Milan Kolesar made it clear that he doesn't question the importance of collecting such data, however since the findings were released the town has experienced a cut in property values and further hampered access to mortgages. According to the document, 40.1 percent of the people living in Jelsava are Roma. “The heart of the matter is how the counting in the individual towns and villages was approached. I, for one, have instructed our personnel to count people literally one by one so as to ensure that the figures are accurate. That said, when talking to colleagues I learnt that not everybody was so meticulous”, said Kolesar. “We're well aware of the reality, and we know that the number of Roma in our town has been on the rise on a long-term basis, but this isn't happening only here. In fact, we might well not occupy the top spot”, said the mayor. The 2013 Atlas of Roma Communities was compiled within the framework of the UN Development Programme in cooperation with the Roma Studies Institute at Prešov University, the Office of the Government Proxy for Roma Communities and the Slovak Towns and Villages Association (ZMOS). Kolesar added that life in the town is similar to that in other areas. “We live alongside the Roma here and it's all respectable. We do indeed have unadaptable Roma here as well, just as is the case with other towns. But it should be ensured that the people who have stayed here aren't affected by the release of such information. This triggers more frustration and depression in them”, said the mayor.
