THE SITUATION FACING ETHNIC MINORITIESIN 
EACH COUNTRY (SLOVAKIA)

THE ROMANY POPULATION IN SLOVAKIA

A wide spectrum of minorities lives in the Slovak Republic except the Slovak nation majority. From the last census in 2001 we know, that from the total number of 5.379.455 citizens the minority representatives present 14,2% of the population. The Hungary minority presents the greatest ratio, then Romany, Czech, Russinian, Ukrainen, German, Polish, Bulgarien, Russian, Croatian minorities. The Slovak Republic Constitution and the Slovak nation politics are a garantee for the national culture development, keeping its identity and the mother tongue for the particular minority representatives.

A migration of the population is one of the phenomenons, which have a global character and became a part of nowadays´development period of the Slovak Republic. The main reason is especially citizens´ escape from the country of origin or the country of the last permanent settlement because of a persecution from the rasist, religion, national, political, war or ethnical reasons. Foreigners present a big group, which reasons for migration is based on bad economical and life conditions. The migration policy principles of the Slovak Republic accepted by the Slovak government would be a solution for this problematics. The Ministry of
Interior in cooperation with the Ministry of Social affairs and family, The Ministry of Eaducation and Finances together with the towns´ authorities, the High Commisaire´s Office (UNHCR), the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) and other non-governmental organisations provide the refugees´ integration to the particular society. Its success depends on the refugees´ implementation on the labour market, gaining the equivalent social accomodation, creating the conditions for the language education and the further education opportunities, respectively going through the requalification courses and by the positive public opinion to accept the refugees into the communal authorities and by citizens.
Approximately 300.000 people of the Romany population lives in Slovakia, nevertheless the results of the population census in 1991 and 2001 showed the number 85 000. Romanies are the second biggest minority in the Slovak Republic. Experts accept the hypothesis the reason for not claiming their nationality is the Romany minority and ethnic identity crisis, caused by the years of the assimilation and perceiving it as a sign of inferiority (Gyarifášová, Krivý, Velcic et all, 2001). The Romany community is strongly inner differentiated , there are 2 main groups: settleted Romany community (Rumungri) and migratory Romany community (Olašskí – Vlach Roma). The rest of the German Sintovia present. a separate group. The Romany communities have different languages and dialects.

The different culture of the Romany minority and their life-style are percieved in a negative way by the major population and there is a general opinion that the majority of Romany population do not want or know how to addapt the social norms. This leads towards the social distance from the major Romany population (Gyarifášová, Krivý, Velcic, 2001).

The major population relation and the attitude towards the Romany minority are longterm considerably worse than towards the other inhabitant groups.

According to the act accepted in 1958 „Concerning the permanent settlement of migratory persons“ the national committee were supposed to help them in an addaptation to the settled way of life and under the threat of punishment forbade these people to live their migratory way. Because of the bad results in 1965 the socialist government decided to use force and started scattering and evacuation of Romanies´ from the places with the high concentration. This was not really a good solution and the problems were growing. The situation has started changing after the political regime change in 1989. During following period a lot of unsuccessful strategies for the solving the Romany problematics have been implemented. There are 4 categories:

• Materialistic philantropism (a change of beeing will led to a change of consciousness)
• Agressive rasism
• Charity philantropism (help to the diseffective)
• Ostrich separatism (mutual isolation)
  

The Romany liberisation with the other minorities has been presdented confirming the Preambula of the basic wrights and freedoms in 1991. This time the press and literature is published in the Romany language, the Romany culture starts been presented (theatre, folk traditions, TV, radio). The opportunity to study has been started, pedagogical and social assistents for the Romany minority has been educated and trained, the independent Romany secondary art school, Romany political parties and nongovernmental organisations have been established to help the Romany minority in different areas. All the society changes had a negative influence also in the Romany community: remarkable worse social situation, unemployment, a disability to adjust to the nem market mechanism and to compete on the labour market.

Employment

The Romany population in Slovakia from the point of view of economic structure according to the class and qualification present a homogenous group. Most of them belong according to a socio-professional status to the category of the nonqualified workers among low income population in Slovakia. Lots of them live in an area with high rate of longterm unemployment, with poverty and low potential for business and low flow of the capital investment. The main problem that influences the high unemployment is their low qualification, no interest of employers, low working morality and lack of job opportunities in the counties with the high rate of the Romany population (Vašecka, 2000).

A term „underclass“ is the right term to describe the Romany population situation, who lives in the Romany settlements (longterm unemployment, fragmentised carrier, dependance on the social allowances). This environment „underclass“ is understood as a anomic typicle for the total resignaiton and low respect to the authorities, low social control, reliability on the state social allowance system and disappearing the working ethics (Vašecka, 2000).

Housing

Housing conditions of the Romany minorities in segregated and integrated regions are very different. Most of them live in an unsuitable and under standard buildings in towns and countryside. The typical feature is that the housing facilities are overcrowded. The worst situation is in the most isolated and segregated settlements. The main problems which influence this unpleasant housing situation are: unsuitable social conditions, Romanies´no interest to solve their housing problems, unsolvency and arrears of payment and services connected with the using of appartments and nondifferenciated approach to the apartment allocation.
An access to the comunal equipment and public services is very limited or not even exisating in the most of the marginalized settlements. The biggest issues are nonsufficient accesss to the electricity (power), water, drainage and trash collection.

Health welfare

Statistic datas on the Slovak population health welfare are not differenciated according to the ethnic group or nationality correspondence. There are some datas giving us information about the differences between the health condition of the Romany minorita and the majority and generaly the health state of the Romany minorita is worse than the health state of non-Romany population in Slovakia. The reason is an unhealthy lifestyle, the bad eating habits, smoking, alcohol and drugs addiction, bad housing conditions, overpopulation, non-drinfing water consumation, problems with the trash collection and licvidation and living clode to the area of the environmentally contamined areas.

The health situation is especially allarming in the Romany settlements. Epidemies like joundice, tuberculosis, meningitidis and scabies occures.
The attitude to the health service is negatively influenced by the geographical distance to towns, bad road conditions and also bad communication between Romany peoples and health service emploees. The use of the health services is not sufficient. The situation is getting more problematic because of the medicine prices increasing and the cultural tabu of the Romany populaiton.

Media and the Romany populaiton

After 1990 the Romany periodical and nonperiodical press started been published, e.g. Romano Lil Nevo as the most professional Romany magazine.

Slovak media pay a minimum attention to the minorities problematic. It is connected with the proportion of the presentation of the minorities issues in the TV and radio news broadcasting. The campaigns, sensations and causality are dominant. Inhabitants get mostly the information about the thefts, ilegal activities, migration abroad of the Romany minority and the forms of their positive discrimination. The media cooperate on confirming of the negative Romany attitude at the majority population.

Romany population´s migration to the EU countries

Within tha last decade the topic of the Romany migraiton is very actual and the permanent departures of the small Romany groups became self-evident. Majority of them asks for the asylum in countries like Gelgium, Danmark, Czech Republic, Germany and Finland. The majority population is stressed out by the threat of the new visa obligation implementing.

The EU commissioner for EU spreading Gunter Verheugen confirmed, that it is not possible to combine automaticly the Romany migration issues with the rase discrimination.

The Romany political scene

At present there are some registered and lots of unregistered Romany political parties in Slovakia, but majority of them are only local organisations, representing the particular groups of the Romany population. To reach the higher authority they create bigger parties and after some interior conflicts often fall apart again.

The Romany discrimination and the rase-motivated violence

The Romany minority in Slovakia often becomes a vicime of the various discrimination forms, mostly on the non-institutional level. The rasism of the majority society against the Romany minority is usually latent, radical or extremely rasistic. The most common form is the latent one and it influences their everyday life ( in contact with the state authorities, in means of public transportation, in restaurants, healths centres, while entering an occupation or as consumers.

Organisations working in the fiels of the human rights regularly point out the brutality of the police towards the Romany minority and the permanent victimisation.

Bibliography

Gyarfášová, O. – Krivý, V. – Velšic, M. et la: Country in Movement. Report on Political Opinions and Values of the People in Slovakia. Bratislava, IVO 2001
Romany Poverty and Social Care of them in the Slovak Republic. Bratislava, the World Bank – INEKO – S.P.A.C.E. 2002.
Jurová, A.: Development of the Romany Population. Status in Slovakia and Questions of their Integration into Society. Bratislava, SAV 2001.
The Romany Community in Spain and Slovakia. Progresses and activity strategies. Madrid, ASGG 2001.
Vašecka,M.: The Romany Population in Slovakia. Bratislava, IVO 2002