Banska Bystrica Several separate conversations struck me as we visited with villagers and others around central Slovakia, and both came together around the issue of social benefits, or what we would call welfare payments to out of work or otherwise financially imperiled families. On one hand, the classic, and racialized, discrimination is obvious when Slovakians …
Category: ACORN
The Edifice Complex and the Tension between Intake and Outreach
Banska Stiavnica The small city of Banska Stiavnica was a rich, mining city in its heyday. The symbol of the city is two lizards, and the legend has it that a shepherd in the mountains saw them run under a rock. Turning over the rock, he saw one was covered in silver dust and the …
Village Life and Roma Settlements in Slovakia
Banska Stiavnica We trudged in the snow finally in Slovakia, but the temperature was tolerable, especially for the middle fat of February, though it was easy to see that the challenges of living in some of the shelters we visited were extreme and the stories we heard of forced relocations were enraging. Our first visit …