It's well-nigh impossible for foreigners in Slovakia who don't speak Slovak to learn about matters vis-a-vis daily life and fundamental rights and obligations arising from their being in Slovakia, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reported on Thursday. Relying on findings from its survey among migrants - particularly from outside the European Union - who have been faced with violence in Slovakia, IOM said that the low degree of preparedness of Slovak authorities to communicate in anything other than Slovak, forces foreigners to seek help from speakers of Slovak.
At the same time, however, this makes them vulnerable towards people who do speak Slovak and may use this knowledge towards exerting control over or abusing the migrants. “The language deficit generally translates into an isolation of migrants and exposes them to abuse,” said IOM. Other issues such as an underprivileged work relations, scope and kind of social contacts and one's status vis-a-vis authorities are also ranked among risk factors relating to migrants' exposure to violence. The results were extrapolated from questionnaires filled out by around 700 adult foreigners who come from outside EU-member countries but currently live in Slovakia. Some 20,000 foreigners from non-EU countries currently legally registered to be living in Slovakia.
George Christopher
