World Ark Magazine - November/December 2008 - (Page 44)

HE POINTS TO THE LAND, BEHIND THE HOUSE AND BOUNDED By THE RAILROAD TRACkS, t Communists, too, attempted to assimilate the Roma by lumping them in with the proletariat, assuming control of Roma-owned land and tightly restricting their movement. Estokova, who works daily with this still-segregated population, concludes, “Assimilation was not really successful here.” The present government is trying a different approach: integration. “Integration is when you are keeping your habits and your customs, only living among other people,” explains Kulikova. The national government, with additional funding from the European Union, set up a system of field social workers to ease Roma integration efforts. But in a bureaucratic twist, funding for these social worker positions recently lapsed, and now 600 social workers are unemployed while thousands of Roma go underserved. This is only the latest in a long history of the government failing the Roma people. As Kulikova explains, “All politicians love the Roma before an election—hugging, hugging. But they have short attention spans.” sterilized between 1999 and 2002. “The problem is with unemployment and social payments,” Josofsky says. Jobs are rare, and those that do exist are not filled by Roma, either due to a lack of skills or outright discrimination in hiring. As a result, more Roma apply for social payments to survive, which in turn plays into old stereotypes and inflames old prejudices. The mayor explains that non-Roma villagers are increasingly dissatisfied that the Roma and not they themselves seem to always be the recipients of social payments. he roma’s Growing Numbers Tibor Josofsky became mayor of Drahnov six years ago, presiding over a time of unprecedented population growth in the village. From 2001 to 2006, the village’s population jumped by almost 200 to 1,243 during a time when many were leaving rural Slovakia for jobs in the city. Most of the rise in Drahnov’s population came from the increase in the birthrate, and most of these births were Roma, the mayor says. Roma now make up 70 percent of the village’s population. The whole discussion around birthrates and family planning is a minefield for the Slovakian government because of past wrongs still festering. The Nazi and Communist regimes forced sterilization on some Roma. In the Communist era, women were paid to be sterilized or threatened with the withdrawal of social benefits. The Slovakian government recently came under attack again for the continuing sterilization of Roma women. Just last year, a court ruled that three Roma women were illegally Some of the non-Roma here say that the Roma have no word in their language that means “future.” It’s not true, but it is indicative of a common belief that the Roma live only in the present, never planning for the future. But Bodor looks always to the future. He dreams of a healthy herd, of breeding goats and selling the offspring. He plans and builds toward this goal alongside a friend who shares the same dream. Jan Balog, known affectionately as Janci, is a short, round man with a broad smiling face whose land borders the same field where Bodor pastures his goats. On this day he wears teal denim pants and a matching jacket. He leads us outside to show us his goats, and he and Bodor walk to the edge of the field, pointing alternately at each herd, absorbed in conversation. “We are cooperating closely,” Balog says. “We exchange information from the veterinarian, or what we learned at trainings.” Just a few years ago, Balog lived in the city in a block of apartments built by the communist government. Now, with tutelage from Bodor, he has goats, two cows and a pig. Balog’s husbandry skills are such that he has been entrusted with the Heifer project’s breeding buck. Balog explains his success this way: “I love animals, and therefore I take care of them.” Balog leads us inside his remodeled house, stopping so we can remove our shoes. His daughter brings a plate of his first batch of goat cheese for us to sample. Just this A Friend and teacher 44 November/December 2008 | WORLD ARK www.heifer.org http://www.heifer.org

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of World Ark Magazine - November/December 2008

World Ark Magazine - November/December 2008 Contents Letters For the Record The Good Life Asked and Answered Finding Peace in Africa Sierra Leone on the Mend The Roma: A People Apart Mixed Media Heifer Bulletin Heifer Spirit Calendar First Person

World Ark Magazine - November/December 2008

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