Szendrőlád - 2011

Szendrőlád is a village in Borsod-Abaúj-Zemplén County in northeastern Hungary

More than 60% of the population identifies as Roma. It is one of the poorest villages in Hungary, with high unemployment rates.

The men who live there almost only have casual jobs, and the women stay at home with the children. They live in extreme poverty. They illegally obtain firewood from the surrounding forests because they don't have the money to buy it.

Women give birth to their first child very early, at the age of 15-16, further increasing the number of hungry mouths. The support they receive from the government is very little, even if one of the parents works. Yet these children are cheerful.

They play soccer or make toys for themselves from garbage from the nearby stream. When they saw me with my camera, they immediately ran to me. After asking permission from their parents, I took a few photos of them. It's been fourteen years now.

I'm planning a trip to the village because I'm curious to see what has changed since then.

I'm curious to see how the people I met then live. I've always been interested in the plight of people who live less than average lives. I think this is why I must be travel to them again.

Black and white photo of a woman with three children. One child is sitting in a stroller, while the woman holds the hand of another child. The path they are walking on is rural, with bushes and trees in the background.
Three children smiling, sitting outdoors, black and white photo
Black and white photo of two children, a boy and a girl, smiling and looking off to the side.
Black and white photo of a young girl laughing, with a house in the background.
Black and white photo of two children standing outdoors, one smiling and the other looking serious, with another child in the background. The setting appears to be a rural area with grass and dirt.
Black and white photo of a group of children, with one boy prominently in the foreground, their faces partially shadowed.
Black and white photo of three children outdoors, two in the foreground with serious expressions, and one in the background wearing a white shirt, possibly rural setting
Black and white photo of two children outdoors near a house and trees
Black and white photo of a girl smiling in the foreground, with blurred figures playing with a soccer ball in the background, taken outdoors.
Black and white photo of two boys in a yard; one boy is doing a cartwheel, while the other stands with hands on hips. Several rural houses and trees are visible in the background.
Black and white photo of a smiling kid holding a ball, standing outdoors with sunlight and shadows creating patterns on the ground.
Black and white photo of two smiling children outdoors.
Black and white photo of a girl holding a baby with people and houses in the background.