{"id":15748,"date":"2018-06-20T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2018-06-20T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.adra.sk\/svetovy-den-utecencov-adra\/"},"modified":"2018-06-20T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2018-06-20T00:00:00","slug":"svetovy-den-utecencov-adra","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.adra.sk\/en\/svetovy-den-utecencov-adra\/","title":{"rendered":"World Refugee Day: numbers, facts, stories"},"content":{"rendered":"

In the second half of June, the workers of the jubilating humanitarian and development organization ADRA Slovakia showed the public how their project supports STEP 3<\/a> directly to clients who have been forced to leave their homes. Thanks to ADRA's support, these people are trying to start a new life and stand on their own feet in safety - here - in Slovakia. Every year on World Refugee Day, we remember their stories, learn about their cultures, and thus sensitise the public (distinguish concepts from impressions).<\/b><\/i><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Every June 20, all over the world, we commemorate the courage and strength of all people on the run - from war or persecution. On the occasion of the celebration of World Refugee Day in Bratislava, visitors to the Sunday Parade in the Old Market Hall had the opportunity to get to know the work of ADRA workers.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>Slovakia, which <\/span><\/span>implement activities and <\/span><\/span>initiatives to support refugees and refugee women in the Slovak Republic. However, there is a need to look at the issue of refugees and migration in more detail - through understandable data and the right terminology.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Migration in numbers<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

Slovakia has never been one of the traditional destination countries for migrants. Until recently, our republic was almost exclusively a country of origin for migrants, from where our citizens have migrated abroad for various reasons. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In 2017, exactly 2 706 foreigners illegally crossed the border or illegally stayed on the territory of the Slovak Republic.<\/span><\/span><\/b>They probably reached us by the most frequented route for people smuggling - the route across the Mediterranean Sea, that is, from Turkey across the sea to Greece, Macedonia, Serbia, Hungary and on to Europe. Tens of thousands of border crossings are recorded every year in Greece along this route. That is why ADRA Slovakia has been working in this country to help address the situation and support people on the run.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

In recent years, the number of asylum applications has stabilised at a few hundred per year. <\/span><\/span>The number of asylum applications in the Slovak Republic stopped at 166 in 2017.<\/span><\/span><\/b>Last year, the Slovak Republic granted asylum to three dozen people. The most frequent applicants for asylum in the Slovak Republic were citizens of Afghanistan, Vietnam, Iraq, Syria and Pakistan. Out of a total of almost sixty thousand applications since 1993, 849 persons have been granted asylum and 709 persons have been granted subsidiary protection as an additional form of international protection.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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The migrant label has taken on a negative colour<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

In the media we often see how the word migrant is automatically confused with undocumented immigrant or refugee, which may be one of the reasons why it has acquired a negative connotation and why the Slovak population is afraid of the phenomenon of migration.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The term asylum seeker is often confused with the term refugee\/asylum seeker. However, there is a difference. An asylum seeker is a person who claims to be a refugee and seeks international protection from persecution or serious injustice in their country of origin. Every refugee\/asylum seeker is actually an asylum seeker to begin with. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Migrant or foreigner <\/span><\/span>however <\/span><\/span>definitely <\/span><\/span>Exit <\/span><\/span>your country from<\/span><\/span>reasons that <\/span><\/span>unrelated <\/span><\/span>s <\/span><\/span>by persecution<\/span><\/span>. <\/span><\/span>He wants <\/span><\/span>For example <\/span><\/span>Study <\/span><\/span>v <\/span><\/span>Abroad<\/span><\/span>, meet again <\/span><\/span>s <\/span><\/span>family, <\/span><\/span>or improve <\/span><\/span>its economic <\/span><\/span>Prospects <\/span><\/span>\u2013 <\/span><\/span>moved voluntarily to another country for at least three months. <\/span><\/span>In 2017, the number of foreigners and foreign women with a residence permit in Slovakia was: <\/span><\/span>1041. <\/span><\/span>Their share in the total population of Slovakia is less than 0.02\u00a0<\/span><\/span>%.<\/span><\/p>\n

The representation of foreign men and women in the population - compared to other EU countries - remains low. It should also be noted that <\/span><\/span>41 % of the number of foreigners and foreign women in the Slovak Republic are people from the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Austria and Ukraine.<\/span><\/span>After Ukrainians, migrants from Serbia, the Russian Federation, Vietnam, China and the Republic of Korea have the largest representation in Slovakia among foreigners from non-EU countries. Thus, there are no \u201ewaves\u201c of migrants from the Middle East or North Africa, as some tabloid media or social networking sites misinform us.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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<\/h3>\n

Two basic forms of international protection<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

The granting of asylum and subsidiary protection are two of the main forms of international protection. Slovakia grants subsidiary protection where the applicant has not been granted asylum, but there are serious grounds for believing that he or she would face a real threat of serious harm if returned to the country of origin (<\/span><\/span>inhuman and degrading treatment, serious threat to life or human dignity, torture, death penalty).<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

People with international protection are provided by NGOs (e.g. in the framework of cooperation between Marginal and ADRA Slovakia under the STEP 3 project) with services such as: social, psychological, legal assistance and counselling, as well as financial support. Participation in the project is voluntary, but everyone participates in the project because there is no state integration programme in Slovakia yet. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Persons granted subsidiary protection have access to the labour market and education under the same conditions as citizens of the Slovak Republic, but in the case of health care there is a problem due to a different reimbursement regime and access to the social system is limited.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Illegal migrant as a term does not exist<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

We often come across the term \u201eillegal migrant\u201c in the media. However, we need to take this out of our vocabulary as soon as possible. Because this term does not exist. For example, because, legally speaking, we can describe an act or an act as illegal, but not a person - a migrant or a migrant woman.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As our society and language evolves, it would be desirable for organisations and the media to stop using this pejorative and dehumanising label. A more apt term would be: migrant<\/span><\/span>\/\u266a migrant \u266a<\/span>without a valid residence permit. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

At present, it can be said<\/span><\/span><\/b>about three to four million<\/span><\/span><\/b>migrants without a valid residence permit in the territory of the European Union. This is a tiny percentage, given that the European Union is an area with over five hundred million inhabitants. The proportion of male and female migrants now arriving in Europe may be unprecedentedly high, but it is still small compared to the total population of the EU. For example, Lebanon, for example, with an area five times smaller than Slovakia and a population of around four million, has already welcomed over a million people from Syria onto its territory. Turkey already has almost two million refugees on its territory...<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Discussable quotas and a society that refuses<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

In May 2015, the European Commission adopted the European Agenda on Migration. The document put forward 10 points to respond to the immediate crisis and to tackle the migration challenge. Key actions were the Common European Asylum System and the relocation quota system. According to the document, published in May 2017, Slovakia was to relocate 471 people from Italy and 314 from Greece.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Slovakia voted against the quotas proposed by the European Commission from the beginning. In December 2015, Slovakia even filed a lawsuit with the EU Court of Justice against the quotas. The Court rejected Slovakia's demands in September 2017, confirming that the temporary allowances for redistributing refugees in the EU are in line with European law. The court's decision meant that the obligation to relocate refugees from Greece and Italy stands. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Prior to the approval of the voluntary quotas, Slovakia decided to accept one hundred relocated persons and one hundred resettled people in solidarity. By September 2017, Slovakia had received sixteen people in relocations from Greece (five Syrian mothers and eleven children). Slovakia has received one hundred and forty-nine Christian men and women from Iraq under resettlement. <\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

The number of migrants and beneficiaries of international protection in the V4 countries is relatively low compared to the old EU Member States, with a maximum share of less than 5% of the total population. Despite this fact (according to Eurobarometer results<\/span><\/span><\/span>: on attitudes towards migration in the Slovak Republic)<\/span><\/span>, V4 societies are consistently one of the opponents of a common migration policy at EU level and people are mostly against all kinds of immigration. Older people in particular are afraid of the unknown and are against foreigners, even though they have never met any in their neighbourhood... This attitude needs to change. Through sensitive intercultural activities.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

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\u00a0<\/p>\n

Find a new job in Slovakia thanks to ADRA Slovakia<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

ADRA workers<\/span><\/span>in mid-June, they presented the STEP 3 project to the visitors of the Sunday Parade on the occasion of the World Day of Refugees and Refugee Women <\/span><\/span>titled \u201e<\/span><\/span>Integration of people with international protection in the Slovak Republic\u201c, co-financed by the European Union from the Asylum, Migration and Integration Fund (AMIF). <\/span><\/span>They work with people who have been granted international protection (asylum, subsidiary protection) in Slovakia. Currently, they work with one hundred and twenty clients of different ages and from different parts of the world, who are slowly finding a new job in Slovakia.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Sunday's parade ended with an Umbrella March through the streets of the Slovak capital. The event was organised by the Milan \u0160ime\u010dka Foundation and the Slovak Humanitarian Council, while several Slovak NGOs, including ADRA, participated in the programme of the event.<\/span><\/span>ADRA Slovakia offered a tasty and varied multicultural programme for children and adults at its stand.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Together with clients from the STEP 3 project, the workers presented \u201eWorld Desserts\u201c from Afghanistan, Cameroon, Somalia, Syria, but also from Moldova and other countries. For the children, the Slovak ADRA, which celebrated its 25th anniversary the day before, had prepared a canvas bag painting workshop.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

Former refugee women from the STEP 3 project and their stories full of hope<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

With its presence the event <\/span><\/span>Sunday parade <\/span><\/span>Zahra, a client who gained citizenship with her family last year, also supported the project, which can be considered a great success. This 18-year-old teenager <\/span><\/span>successfully studying at an English bilingual high school, <\/span><\/span>she takes up Indian dance, wants to study medicine, supports the needy in Slovakia. <\/span><\/span>She is currently teaching Roma children in Lozorno how to dance.\u00a0<\/span><\/span>At the ADRA booth on a Sunday in June, she painted beautiful henna designs on the hands of passers-by. This is a really positive example that shows that integration projects like this are worthwhile.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Another client, Larysa from Ukraine, proudly presented her profession - guiding in Bratislava. She prepared a fantastic borscht for the celebration of the 25th anniversary of the Slovak ADRA, as well as for the celebration of the World Day of Refugees and Refugee Women.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

As you can see, it was not only a public presentation of work activities, but an opportunity to meet clients who are trying to start living and working in Slovakia. This is a great opportunity to sensitise the local population to the topic in a non-violent way.<\/span><\/span>, which often arouses unnecessary and unjustified indignation. Visitors to the Sunday Parade thus <\/span><\/span>get to know people who were on the run and now have international protection in Slovakia - through presenting their culture, listening to their story, tasting their food. The ADRA Slovakia integration project clearly shows that this type of support and assistance has both meaning and positive results.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

\u00a0<\/p>\n

How to teach about migration<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/h3>\n

Migration is not and need not be a problem. This movement of people within a continent or between continents has always been there. If migration is properly managed and regulated - it benefits both the societies where the migrants are and where they come from. Indeed, it is a great opportunity - cultural and economic - for all concerned, but it cannot be seen as a problem. <\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

A few years ago, the IOM - International Organization for Migration workshop produced the Instructional Material \u201eWe are Here at Home Too\u201c, which is aimed at female and male educators. It provides them with flexible and user-friendly material with background information, activities and links to other resources, so that they can easily integrate the topic of migration and the integration of migrants and migrant women into education. It also includes the documentary film \u201eWe are home here too\u201c, which portrays the attitudes of the Slovak population towards migrants and migrant women.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Through the personal stories of a Palestinian doctor, a florist from Ukraine and a businessman from Vietnam, it presents the life of migrants in Slovakia. Several other Slovak and Czech NGOs have also prepared methodological guides - to make migration more understandable, responsible and ethical from an early age. So that people do not react with hatred and rejection towards their neighbours who are not guilty of any wrongdoing towards them and who differ from them only by a different language, culture or skin colour.<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n

Text by Boba Markovi\u010d Baluchov\u00e1, <\/span>Photo: Dominika Nagyov\u00e1, ADRA Slovakia<\/span><\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

V\u00a0druhej polovici j\u00fana pracovn\u00ed\u010dky jubiluj\u00facej humanit\u00e1rnej a\u00a0rozvojovej organiz\u00e1cie ADRA Slovensko uk\u00e1zali verejnosti, ako podporuje ich projekt STEP 3 priamo klientky a klientov, ktor\u00ed boli n\u00faten\u00ed opusti\u0165 svoje domovy. V\u010faka podpore zo strany ADRA sa toti\u017e t\u00edto \u013eudia sna\u017eia za\u010da\u0165 nov\u00fd \u017eivot a postavi\u0165 na vlastn\u00e9 nohy v bezpe\u010d\u00ed \u2013 u\u00a0n\u00e1s \u2013 na Slovensku. V\u00a0Svetov\u00fd de\u0148 […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":11,"featured_media":15749,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"ngg_post_thumbnail":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[293,1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-15748","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-novinky","category-uncategorized"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adra.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15748","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adra.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adra.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adra.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/11"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adra.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=15748"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.adra.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/15748\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adra.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/15749"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.adra.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=15748"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adra.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=15748"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.adra.sk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=15748"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}