SVD of Slovak Province

Fr.Pavel Kobliha, SVD

Report 12


For many centuries the area of today’s Slovak Republic was centre of interests of many nations. Romans, Germans, Turks and Hungarians. All of them wanted to conquer the territory between the Danube and High Tatras and settle there. But none of them were able to subjugate Slavs and stay here forever. But right because of these interests Slovakia is influenced by many nations now and they take part in Slovak citizenship. The biggest minority group, with about 10% of inhabitants, is Hungarian minority. They inhabit mostly the southern part of Slovakia, along the boarder with Hungary. The fact is that they have their own political party, which is widely supported also by non-Hungarians, and has its place in coalition. However, in real life, there are different relations between Hungarian and non-Hungarian people. In minds of Slovaks is deeply engraved, that we had to live under pressure of Hungarian reign for many years. And so people behave. Though, when one gets any closer contact with them, he realizes that they are like other normal people. What a surprise!
Ethnic groups:With our EU entrance is joined the discussion about some racial problems with gipsy ethnic group. Actual problem is illegal interruptions of young gipsy girls. However is the truth, everybody knows how these people live, in what conditions. We know it, and people from abroad know it as well. But they believe this is because of big discrimination and generally bad social conditions for ethnic groups in Slovakia. I think, maybe as most Slovaks that they caused it themselves. They have this way of life simply in their blood. So, the fact is that every employer rather employs a guy with a good social hinterland, and whom he can trust. So then the bigger half of gypsies does not have any job. It means no nice income, what reflects in bad home and social hinterland. This is a very simple view, but we can call it vicious circle. Anyway, there live many other minorities in Slovakia. For example Czechs, Germans, many other Slavs tribes, like Croatians, Slovenians, Russians, Ukraine’s, and polish people and so on. The newest minority which is rising are people from East Asia. We can see “Chinese” shops on every corner.

Racism is not widespread in Slovakia. The fact is that over centuries, the inhabitants lived an isolated existence and were not used to meet people of other races, except for Roma (Gypsies). Slovakia has never had colonies so that people from Africa and other continents apart from Europe were practically never seen here until well into the 20th century. Their lifestyles and social institutions, including slavery, were totally unknown to people here.
The Roma people (as Slovak Gypsies prefer to be called), form a relatively important minority group in Slovakia. Their problem is a very high unemployment rate, reaching 100% in some settlements. This is the main cause of their low living standards, which in turn bring about high crime rate and misuse of social resources. As a result a gulf developed between them and the majority population. However, racist physical attacks are few and far between.
The number of foreigners of different skin coloring increased during the past years mostly due to students from African and Asian countries. Many of them have learned the Slovak language, married local people and happily raising families. They have very nicely integrated into the society.
When shopping in open-air markets, you will see many vendors of bargain-price Asian clothes and electronics. almost exclusively they have some from Vietnam. They can speak little more than a few phrases in Slovak, other than the prices of their goods, but many people like to do business with them, because their goods are cheaper than similar articles in regular shops.

The Vatican championed the rights of gypsies, admitting its own past prejudices and calling on governments to improve the shunned nomads' lot. Presenting a new document on gypsies, Cardinal Stephen Fumio Hamao said while they had a right to their identity as a traveling people, they frequently met with "indifference or opposition“.
The report - Guidelines for the Pastoral Care of Gypsies - said gypsies were a people "abandoned by men but not by God" and outlined the "special pastoral approach" that the Catholic Church intended to adopt to help them
Key objectives were education and professional training for the population, as well as equal rights for men and women, it said .
"Of course they, too, have duties" towards the society in which they live, Cardinal Fumio Hamao said.
In this connection, the guidelines referred to the need to encourage "honesty and righteousness" in those who lived on the fringes of the law, helping them to abandon drug trafficking, theft and other routes to "easy money“.

War and terrorism in Slovakia /Muslim threats?

So far, touch wood, there were no terrorist attacks in Slovakia. Because Slovakia is a very small player on the international scene and there are no cities with over half a million inhabitants, the risk is not as high as in some other countries and cities. (For instance: the Czech Republic). Nevertheless the threat of terrorism is taken seriously and all necessary preventive measures are in place.

Social Ministry with the drug and alcohol addicted:

Following the rehab program, it is used to restore the former addict's ability to focus on real life goals and to return a level of self-control to the individual. This greatly improves the former addicts' ability to face the realities of life and reduce the need for drugs to escape the difficulties of life. Often, an addict commits harmful acts, both to themselves and their loved ones that traps them into further drug use.

Our “Novy Svet” rehab campus, in which Br. Maros Butala, (svd supervisor) works, is a comfortable house aimed at healing and appropriate for all ages. The addicts are treated with respect and are allowed to be themselves. Fr.Pavel is a spiritual director of these addicts. Br.Maros is a supervisor and Mr. Ladislav Nemeth is in charge of all rehabilitation centre. Of course there is a whole team of people working with them. A group of at least two people are necessary to provide the weight to break through the denial of the addicted person. An especially effective member of the confronting group is the employer or supervisor.