The inhabitants of the North-Hungarian village of Farkaslyuk witnessed the slummification of the once flourishing mining village after the factories had shut down. The reopening of the mine closed during the regime change was a spark of hope in Farkaslyuk, but there is still no work and the neighborhood’s poorest mine for coal on the spoil bank in order not to freeze to death during the winter.
After more than 20 years, the bricks blocking the entrance of the Farkaslyuk Mine, shut down in 1990, are being knocked down. According to the hopes of the entrepreneur and the locals, the reopened mine would create more than a thousand jobs.
Day by day, the poor of Farkaslyuk and the neighborhood visit the spoil bank in the middle of the village to dig up scrap coal and metal as well as pieces of ties that were excavated along with the earth from the former mine.
After 40 years and four days of employment as mine rescue operator, László Balázs retired in 1990, when the mine was shut down.
A Roma youth tattooed the names of his children on his skin. Following the massive downsizing, hardly any jobs remain in the neighborhood.
A Hungarian youth practicing with an air gun. Whoever has the means looks for a job elsewhere in the country and only comes to visit the family on holidays.
A sack of coal weighs several dozen kilos; its black market price is 3 USD. Those who are lucky enough to dig at the right spot can collect 5-6 sacks of coal in one day, which is sufficient for only a few days of heating.
The former mine is just a monument today, a place to hang out for youth who cannot go to the nearby town of Ózd for entertainment.
A Roma youth blowing smoke rings at home. With no work opportunities, most local youth can expect no more than futurelessness and public work.
Since they cannot be penalized, families send children to cut trees for heating in the winter.
All that remains from the once flourishing mining village is the nostalgia, especially cherished by the remaining workers of the former plant.
As the inhabitants were stealing electricity, the provider removed even the pylons from around the houses at the end of the Roma settlement in Farkaslyuk. The inhabitants moved out, then plundered and took apart the houses.