Roma of Slovakia
Walls of Separation
With the fall of the “Iron Curtain” the people of Central Europe have witnessed life without limitations and a new kind of freedom for now over three decades. But sadly, not all walls in this region of the world have come down. There are new walls being erected across Europe which are dividing people groups, cultures and societies, leaving thousands of wonderful people hurt in the process. Slovakia is witnessing major divisions and tensions between the predominantly Slav majority and the Roma minority. (Roma people are also known in English as “Gypsies”)
Throughout most of this region the Roma are perceived as an undesirable underclass. In Central Europe, feelings are particularly strong as poverty is deeper and ethnic Gypsy populations are much larger.
Many nationals are offended by the ghettos in larger cities which often comprise of rundown public housing projects and the various settlements scattered throughout the country; made up of a series of self-constructed shanties, lacking running water, sewage, or heating.
With approximately 75 percent of Roma males not having employment; with numbers of Roma children segregated in the schools and many of the Roma men and women having very little or no formal education or working skills, enormous problems have developed among this beautiful people.
Building Bridges
For centuries, governments in this region have attempted to reform the Roma and force them to conform to laws and societal norms, but to no avail. The only thing that has proven to bring about major transformational values in the individual lives and villages of the Roma people is the life-changing message, the gospel of Jesus Christ.
A government official in the eastern city of Sabinov, Slovakia, said at a dedication of a New Roma Church in his city. “As a government, we have done many things to try to change the Gypsy problem in our country, but the only thing that I have seen that has been able to transform the heart and poverty of the Gypsy people, is the work of the church.”
That is why we are here! We want to be God’s hands and feet to help bring about a change in the lives of the Roma people that will affect them spiritually, educationally, physically and socially. As global workers, it is our mission to destroy the walls that divide these various people groups and build bridges of hope and restoration to all people.