GOS ROMA STRATEGY: SOCIAL TERRAIN WORKERS

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?
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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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