Through a prayer, weвЂ™d like to seek reconciliation between the Slovaks and the Roma, and also the Church, because we have harmed each other and that has to end. вЂњBut we needed to integrate them and thatвЂ™s whatвЂ™s happening now. вЂњThe Roma have been segregated from the majority many times in the past and we didnвЂ™t want to see it,вЂќ Zatkulak said.

Roma have long suffered racism and discrimination in Slovakia and elsewhere in Central and Eastern Europe, and continue to face huge hurdles in employment and education. вЂњEven if he says just a few words, his presence will be a big boost for all those living here, the socially disadvantaged and poor people who need such support.вЂќДЇor Peter Zatkulak, one of four priests who belong to the Salesians of Don Bosco, a Catholic congregation that moved to Lunik IX in 2008, the popeвЂ™s arrival is a chance to restart relations between the Roma and the rest of the population. вЂњItвЂ™s a huge honor for us,вЂќ said Lunik IX mayor Marcel Sana, who has been a local resident since he was 2. Most lack basics such as running water or sewage systems, gas or electricity. A fitting place to go for the вЂњpope of the peripheries,вЂќ Lunik XI is the biggest of about 600 shabby, segregated settlements where the poorest 20% of the countryвЂ™s 400,000 Roma live. KOSICE, Slovakia (AP) - Pope Francis is paying a visit next week to a neighborhood in Slovakia most Slovaks would not even think about going, which until recently even the police would avoid after dark.ДЇrancis will make the visit to the Roma community in the Lunik IX quarter of SlovakiaвЂ™s second largest city of Kosice one of the highlights of his pilgrimage to вЂњthe heart of Europe.вЂќДЇrancis will be the first pontiff to meet the most socially excluded minority group in Slovakia.

Nobody here but us trees