US embassy cable - 04BRATISLAVA740

UNCLAS  BRATISLAVA 000740 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/RPM HEATHER TROUTMAN 
DEPT PLEASE PASS TO CSCE COMMISSION - ERIKA SCHLAGER 
BUDAPEST for USAID MONIQUE NOWICKI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, ELAB, PHUM, SOCI, LO 
SUBJECT: GOS ROMA STRATEGY: SOCIAL TERRAIN WORKERS 
 
REFTEL: BRATISLAVA 215 
 
This is the first in a series of cables on current GOS 
activities to address Roma issues. 
 
1. Summary. Six months have passed since the February 
lootings in eastern Slovakia, as Roma protested changes to 
the welfare system. The response of the Roma community 
shocked Bratislava, and the GOS immediately initiated steps 
to soften the impact of reforms (reftel).  The GOS continues 
to improve its on-going programs and outreach efforts to the 
620 Roma settlements, most recently with renewed commitments 
to the pivotal Roma Terrain Worker program.  Terrain workers 
provide various kinds of assistance to Roma living in 
settlements, from helping fill out paperwork to relaying the 
importance of education and preventative healthcare.  At a 
recent national roundtable on the future of this program, 
the government discussed steps to assume greater 
custodianship for its continuation. End Summary. 
 
What is a Social Terrain Worker? 
-------------------------------- 
 
2. Currently, Slovakia has approximately 90 social terrain 
workers, trained and funded under various pilot programs 
managed by NGOs and the Roma Plenipotentiary's Office. 
Social terrain workers, modeled on a successful Czech 
program, are assigned to a number of Roma settlements 
throughout eastern Slovakia. The terrain workers, many of 
whom are themselves Roma, help socially-disadvantaged Roma 
resolve problems and promote greater communication with town 
officials. During the February lootings (reftel), no 
community where terrain workers operated reported any 
disturbances.  The pilot project is ending, and now there is 
an urgent need for the government to commit to the 
continuation of this successful project by taking on more 
administrative responsibilities. 
 
MOL Commitments 
--------------- 
 
3. Partners for Democratic Change (PDCS), the implementation 
partner for USAID's Roma Integration Program, recently 
organized a national roundtable to discuss the future of 
this program. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MOL) 
committed to providing the salaries for 53 social terrain 
workers in 33 communities; 12 are still in the approval 
process, and another 9 to 10 will be approved in conjunction 
with a new health center program.  The MOL is currently 
signing contracts with the respective local governments, 
which will receive subsidies to employ the social workers. 
The MOL is not providing funding for social terrain 
coordinators previously managed by the Plenipotentiary's 
office, and it remains unclear which agency or ministry will 
be responsible for their overall management and training. 
Klara Orgovanova, the Roma Plenipotentiary, recently told 
press that there is a need for as many as 400 social terrain 
workers in Slovakia's Roma communities. 
 
 
Writing the Job Description 
--------------------------- 
 
4. The different stakeholders -- the terrain workers, NGOs, 
and government officials - also discussed administrative 
concerns, such as the terrain worker's official job 
description and the necessary educational requirements for 
employment.  Although supportive of the project, the 
Director of Family Policy Peter Guran (MOL) stated that 
terrain social work should include other socially 
disadvantaged groups, for example the physically handicapped 
or the elderly, which would require a higher level of 
specialization.  Both Orgovanova and Jana Kviecinska, the 
Director of the Government Office for Human Rights, opposed 
the requirement of a university degree on the basis that no 
current terrain worker meets this criterion.  Furthermore, 
it would be extremely difficult to attract such specialists 
to work in Roma settlements. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
5. The Roma Terrain Worker project is one of the most 
important and successful GOS programs currently operating in 
Slovakia.  While conveying government policy to Roma 
communities, the workers also inform the GOS about the 
concerns of the Roma.  This will help to avoid future 
upheavals, which could further divide Roma and majority 
communities as happened last February in the East. The 
dialogue at the national roundtable showed government 
 
commitment to creating mechanisms for more effectively 
resolving the problems in settlements, but it is still at 
the beginning stages.  The MOL must still reach a consensus 
on lingering bureaucratic issues, but annual salaries for 
the workers have been provided and the profession of "social 
terrain worker" was officially entered in the listing of 
occupations in Slovakia. 
 
WEISER 
 
 
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