A Situational Analysis of Selected Aspects of The Living Standards of Excluded Roma Households in Slovakia

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A SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS OF SELECTED ASPECTS OF THE LIVING STANDARD OF HOUSEHOLDS IN MARGINALIZED ROMA SETTLEMENTS
A SITUATIONAL ANALYSIS OF SELECTED ASPECTS OF THE LIVING STANDARD OF HOUSEHOLDS IN MARGINALIZED ROMA SETTLEMENTS
A S I T U AT I O N A L A N A L Y S I S O F S E L E C T E D A S P E C T S O F T H E L I V I N G S TA N D A R D O F H O U S E H O L D S I N M A R G I N A L I Z E D R O M A S E T T L E M E N T S
Published by UNDP Europe and the CIS, Bratislava Regional Centre
In cooperation with the Institute for Public Affairs
United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) expresses its gratitude to the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Family of the Slovak Republic for financial support and collaboration in implementation of this project
UNDP 2013 ISBN: 978-80-89263-17-2 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system or transmitted, in all forms by any means, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise prior permission. Technical editing, graphic arrangement and production: Valeur, s. r. o., Slovak Republic The opinions and recommendations formulated in this publication do not always have to correspond unconditionally with the official position of the United Nations Development Program.
Author of the report is: Jarmila Filadelfiov
Field research was conducted by a team of researchers of IVO: Jarmila Filadelfiov, Oga Gyrfov, Miroslava Hlinkov, Martina Sekulov In the preparation of the methodology, field work and elaboration of the report cooperated Daniel kobla The following provided expert reflections and remarks on the text: Jan Grill, Sylvia Porubnov, Marek Szilvsi, Richard Filk The broader research plan was discussed among the UNDP team, consisting of: Andrey Ivanov, Jaroslav Kling, Ben Slay, Daniel kobla
Thank you to the following people for their help with data collection: Alena Adamkov, tefan Babindk, Adrian Berky, Magda Berkyov, Barbora Bukov, Jn eke, ubica illagov, Mria Demeov, Peter Dobrk, Eva Doktorov, Ladislav Duda, Igor Duda, Valria Dmurov, Slavomr Gajdo, Peter Gonda, Peter Gomolk, Iva Grejtkov, Irma Horvthov, Monika Horvthov, Karol Horvth, Ivan Horvth, Zuzana Kollrov, Janette Knapekov, Ingrid Kosov, Erika Kuick, Tom Palenr, Natlia Prhodov, Dana Pustulkov, Vladimr Sendrei, Monika Sendreiov, Juraj tofej, Marin Tri
CONTENTS
SUMMARY
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1. INTRODUCTION . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 1.1. The wider framework of the survey and of the submitted study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13 1.2. Focus of the study and methodology used . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 1.3. Structure of the surveyed households from marginalised Roma settlements by basic classifying attributes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 2. MEDICAL CARE: NEED, ACCESSIBILITY AND APPROACH . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 2.1. Which member of a family saw a doctor and with what kind of problem . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21 2.2. Spatial distance from medical services and strategies for overcoming it . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .26 2.3. Financial accessibility of a medical examination: total costs and the choice of medicines . . . . . . . . . . . . . .32 2.4. Social accessibility of medical care: tending to other children and the approach of healthcare personnel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .39 Appendix to chapter 2: Last time seeing a doctor . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .49 3. HOUSING AND POSSIBILITIES OF MODIFYING A DWELLING . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .60 3.1. Type of dwelling, its status and evaluation of living conditions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .62 3.2. Quality of dwellings by size and technical equipment . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .66 3.3. Modifications to a dwelling: types of repairs and costs expended . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .70 Appendix to chapter 3: Last repair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .86 4. MEALS: MEAL PLANS AND FOODS FROM DIFFERENT POINTS OF VIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .94 4.1. Eating before social benefits and after them . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .95 4.2. Disparity between favourite foods and most common foods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .107 Appendix 1 to chapter 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .116 Appendix 2 to chapter 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .134 Appendix 3 to chapter 4 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .142 5. INDEBTEDNESS OF ROMA HOUSEHOLDS FROM EXCLUDED SETTLEMENTS
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6. NEEDS AND DESIRES IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE FAMILY AND SETTLEMENTS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .165 6.1. Desires for own family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .165 6.2. Desires focused on local habitation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .172 Appendix 1 to chapter 6: Desires for the family . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .180 Appendix 2 to chapter 6: Requested improvements in communities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .182
7. BASIC FINDINGS . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .189 APPENDIX: ACCESSIBILITY OF BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICES FOR RESIDENTS OF MARGINALIZED ROMA COMMUNITIES . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .196 Structure of the sample of surveyed settlements by territory and type of spatial exclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .196 Distance of surveyed settlements from the home municipalities and centres . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .197 Surveyed Roma settlements by furnishing with basic infrastructure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .199 Surveyed Roma settlements by spatial accessibility of basic services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .204 Surveyed Roma settlements by possibilities of transport . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .210 Community work in a settlement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .212 Summary . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .213 MRC SETTLEMENTS LIST (name of village or town district) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .216 LITERATURE
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .219
SUMMARY
The goal of this research activity was to determine how much effort excluded Roma households must expend for resolving common situations and what kinds of obstacles and barriers they run up against including financial barriers. The research was very closely linked to the quantitative research of the UNDP on the living conditions of Roma households which was the first empirical input to the surveyed environment of Roma communities carried out in the scope of the resolved project. In the methodological sense the goal of this research activity was to develop the findings of questionnaire survey in greater detail and to capture more specifically the form of reality in the life of this group of citizens of Slovakia, especially its excluded part. The task was to provide a more specific image of what it means to live on social benefits and what form such a life take can in real life. At the same time the view was narrowed to the most basic needs; if measures which could help overcome exclusion and deprivation are to be found and properly set, it is necessary to look in more detail at how housing, nutrition and care of health appear in excluded households. For the recording of the selected situations from daily life and wishes and needs a special type of research instrument was prepared a logbook with the possibility of a free and as detailed recording of selected situations as possible. The logbook was supplemented by two short questionnaires for identification data. The first one contained a battery of questions which related to the different characteristics of the specific place of housing: aside from the type of settlement, it captured the distance from the home community and district centres, the barriers between the settlements and the home community, the basic infrastructure in the village and in the marginalised settlements, the spatial distance to basic facilities and services, the possibilities of transport and the presence of community centres and an assisting NGO in the settlement. The second questionnaire contained the characteristics of the household segmented into five areas: it tracked the type of household by work activities and family structure; dwelling by type, living conditions and official status; the size of the dwelling and its ownership status; the furnishing of a household with basic infrastructure; and finally the structure of the household by individual statuses of each family member. The size of the sample was set arbitrarily at 200 selected units.
MEDICAL CARE: NEED, ACCESSIBILITY AND APPROACH

In Roma communities medical care for children is given priority over adults. Adult members of a household see a doctor usually only with more serious illnesses, and they do not consult a physician with common illnesses such as colds or stomach problems. Aside from colds and respiratory illnesses, problems with the digestive system, such as, for example, stomach ache, vomiting and diarrhoea, are also among the common illnesses in Roma children. Preventive check-ups and vaccinations are almost solely a matter for children in excluded settlements; adults predominately go for control only upon the finding of more serious illnesses. Among the more serious illnesses in child patients congenital diseases and the need for controlling their progress were found, infectious diseases such as jaundice, for example, but also oncological diseases of children, with marked impacts on the financial situation of the family. A story in which the health problem of a child was a consequence of hunger was also found. In relation to adult members of excluded Roma households, these very often do not seek out medical attention with common colds or digestive problems; their reasons for seeing a doctor are longer-term and more serious illnesses, most often, for example, cardiovascular diseases and high blood pressure, followed by motor diseases, diabetes or injuries of different types. Adult residents of excluded Roma
communities who have common illnesses go only rarely to a doctor and few undergo preventive examinations. Aside from the subjective reasons specified as an irresponsible approach to their own health, the abnegation of health care consultations and checkups by specialists may be a result of the inaccessibility or worsening accessibility of such services. Only approximately one-quarter of households had primary medical care, a paediatric or general physician and dentist, located within one kilometre of their home; the largest portion (half) had it in a range from one to five kilometres, and for more than one-fifth of surveyed excluded households were more than five kilometres from a physician. Seeing a doctor, then, with a large portion of excluded households assumed the overcoming of a certain spatial distance and did so not only with settlements outside of village lands; sometimes medical care was distant even within a town. Households used different strategies for overcoming the distance according to the seriousness of the health problem, the financial situation of the household and other circumstances of family life. The provision of mandatory vaccinations or check-ups can mean in the absence of public transport from settlements or with insufficient financial resources for travelling a walk of several kilometres to the doctor and back. And in addition to overcoming the distance, it is often necessary to ensure care of other children in the household they must make the trip together with the mother or remain in the care of someone else. The monitoring of incomes and expenditures showed a notably stressful budget in the relatively large portion of excluded Roma households reliant on social benefits. Low total incomes at the same time mean surviving most of the month with very small sums of available financial resources. For the given circumstances making decisions on household consumption is markedly limited, and the covering of basic needs or unexpected basic expenditures, including the provision of necessary health care, can be also be threatened.
Overall, the sum expended for the most recent trip to see a doctor was significantly differentiated: it moved from zero expenditure up to 250 euro (the fee for an abortion), though sums over 30 euro occurred only in occasional cases. Several households complained in general that for them this was a lot, and they feel these expenditures to be a financial burden, especially if they are linked with more distant specialist examinations or with repeated health care problems. The most common way that excluded Roma households overcome the deficit in financial resources necessary for fees associated with examinations by a physician are loans. Most often members of the broader family help a sister, a mother-in-law, an uncle but primarily parents. Solidarity among relatives is very intensive during illnesses and in Roma communities the network of relatives takes a great share in ensuring health care. The lack of financial resources in the family budget of households from excluded settlements doesnt just have as a consequence only partial, delayed or no taking of prescribed medicines. Some surveyed households from excluded Roma settlements simply give up medical care completely due to problems with paying for medicines. Family roles are rather strictly divided in Roma communities, and the predominating model of a family is based on one provider the man; a Roma woman is confined to the domestic sphere. Sometimes the need for alternative care in the case of the main care provider seeing a doctor means on one hand involvement of Roma men in household care, but in the strictly divided family world this can also mean for the care-providing parent a loss of other opportunities, for example, the loss of an opportunity to bring some work income into the family. Seeing a doctor for a large proportion of households from excluded settlements also complicates or limits the need to provide care for other children in the household. The large problems found for excluded households that are predominately reliant on social benefits for financially covering transport to a doctor and health care services, including the securing of medicines, suggests the question of whether the
entire system of health care support for people in material need shouldnt be built in a completely different way than it is currently, with the two-euro co-payment for health care added to the benefit in material need.
HOUSING AND POSSIBILITIES OF MODIFYING A DWELLING

In households from excluded communities, living in poor quality dwellings, which often complicates the hygienic situation of households, adds to the image of their living conditions. According to a subjective evaluation walled family houses and housing units in excluded settlements are of varying quality from excellent to very poor for life and non-standard dwellings are almost always linked with disadvantageous conditions. The monitoring of the official status of a dwelling also indicated that the deeper the spatial exclusion of the place of residence, the higher the occurrence of unofficial buildings. At the same time, unofficial so-called black buildings significantly more often take the form of dwellings of non-standard building materials, and in the case of walled houses they are less frequent in excluded settlements. Unofficial buildings arise more easily in segregated settlements; at the same time these are not homes of the standard type and the residents of such dwellings themselves dont see their living conditions in a positive light. The linking of these three aspects indicates that the building of a non-standard dwelling in segregated environments is for its residents a starting point for calamity. This is for many poor households from an excluded environment the only way they are able in the given financial and social situation to ensure a roof over their head and to thus fulfil one of the most basic of living conditions. The ways of acquiring a dwelling are different according to the type of settlement and the type of dwelling. This means that the processes leading to ethnic segregation or separate housing are in reality different. It occurs by buying a dwelling in excluded
environments, further by building a dwelling in such settlements or by inheriting a house, by occupying an abandoned dwelling, but also by allocation of housing from a village or town. Households which got their current dwelling from the village or town had the highest share in the scope of separated settlements on the edge of a community. The findings indicate that local governments not infrequently located flats for the socially weak outside of a village. The situation from the viewpoint of the type of dwelling, methods of acquiring it and the ownership relation regarding a dwelling seem to be very disparate in excluded settlements. With many of the surveyed households the formal status of the lived-in flat or dwelling was not clear, which in and of itself does not create a good starting point for housing stability and the quality of life for household members. The subjective evaluation of living conditions, which were the most unfavourable for segregated settlements and non-standard dwellings, is also telling in this regard. Roma households from excluded settlements often inhabit non-quality dwellings, and the situation gets worse for segregated settlements. Not only are nonstandard dwellings shacks concentrated in segregated settlements, but they often remain without the most basic facilities. Cases were not unusual in which deficiencies were combined together, for example, over crowdedness with undersized technical facilities, etc. The quality of housing of many households from excluded settlements showed marked deficits and lagged significantly behind the common standards of housing in Slovakia. The majority of EU countries have accepted some type of housing policy which should support the development of housing on the whole, its accessibility for different groups of residents and ensure a certain quality of housing defined through minimal standards. Many of the conditions of housing found in excluded settlements decidedly do not satisfy standards. The unavailability of water in dwellings and the absence of sewerage, problems with energy
and methods of heating lag far behind any standard even minimal standards. Over-crowded housing and limited space reduces its residents chances at any development. The frequent occurrence of a situation when each member of a household not only does not have his or her own room, but not even his or her own bed, is alarming. The recorded stories of the last modification to a dwelling pointed to three basic associations: maintenance of a dwelling predominated over more principle improvements in the quality of dwelling; for many households even basic maintenance of a flat or house is financially inaccessible; an absolute majority of housing modifications are done by the households themselves, or with the help of relatives and friends, while paid services are used only exceptionally. Even the latest modifications carried out in the current dwelling did not show a stronger trend toward improving the existing quality of the housing in excluded settlements, although a few positive changes were recorded. Questions relating to social housing or integration play a key role in the social policy of the EU. The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union in Chapter IV article 34 states: In order to combat social exclusion and poverty, the Union recognises and respects the right to social and housing assistance so as to ensure a decent existence for all those who lack sufficient resources, in accordance with the rules laid down by Community law and national laws and practices. In association with housing the central governments of states, which develop their own housing policies, are primarily responsible. Slovakia faces many challenges in this regard, for example, how to renew the housing fund, how to plan and resolve the expansion of towns and villages, but also how to help the young and disadvantaged groups. Many households from excluded settlements decidedly belong to a disadvantaged group, as indicated by all of the monitored parameters of housing quality. The findings cry out for principle measures in the interest of correcting the existing status, especially taking into account the demographic development of this part of the
population and regarding the growing need for flats for the growing trend in the number of newly established families and their slender chances of obtaining housing themselves. One of the most important factors influencing methods of housing in the Roma population in general is their territorial distribution, or the measure of their concentration in individual regions. But an inseparable part of their housing is also the character of the settlement whether of the settlement or urban type. The characteristics of housing for the Roma are as follows: the concentration of Roma residents in the objectionable, old housing fund in the ownership of the state; segregation practices of villages; forced segregation, impossibility of renting a flat in another location due to racial prejudice of the owners; the origin of ghettoes; illegal occupancy of flats, housing in flats without a rental contract. Stories of the latest modifications to a dwelling not only brought the form, story and circumstances of this situation closer maintenance predominated over improving the standard of the housing, the do-ityourself performance of modifications, the giving up of modifications all together they at the same time also gave strong testimony regarding the diversity of the quality of housing in excluded communities, especially in regard to the marked deprivation in the housing of Roma households. The European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU SILC) monitors among the indicators of deprivation in housing deficiencies of lighting and the humidity in a flat, the absence of a bath and a toilet. The findings indicated that for dwellings in excluded environments this type of deprivation has such a clear-cut form that a combination of a higher number and other variables describing the state of housing would be required.
NUTRITION: MEAL PLANS AND MEALS

Many of the meal plans recorded showed that poverty and material deprivation in this environment is a widespread phenomenon. The daily fare of many of the surveyed households does not conform to the
nutritional value needed for healthy development. The deprivation of many of the surveyed households is connected with their exclusion from consumption, even from the consumption of foods. This means that in regard to the social consequences of long-term unemployment in this environment not infrequently there is a dramatic lowering of their level of living. Minimally in a certain period of the month before benefits come the characteristics of absolute poverty were indicated, when deprivation comes near to a certain physiological threshold, beneath which the most basic need, such as food, is not satisfied. Several of the meal plans were very poor and monotonous; sometimes very uncertain and bordering on hunger. At the same time the research probe showed that nutrition of Roma households from excluded settlement is on the whole not of very good quality. Their daily menus contain a limited number of meals per day, not many diverse foods and with less focus on fruits and vegetables or dairy products. Nonnutritious or then calorific meals predominate in meal plans, while healthy foods are more rare to exceptional. After benefits, the variety of meals in most of the surveyed households increased, but these are mainly calorific and meat dishes that are added to meal plans. Although with the arrival of finances to the household a great many change their daily meals, a large portion of them give priority to unhealthy and heavy foods, or social incomes are not sufficient for other types of meals. The situation before and after benefits is diverse in households, but a change of eating habits predominated, and a shift was recorded especially in segregated settlements in the compared two time periods of the month. An overall view at both meal plans showed that no great feast occurred after benefits, but meal plans in essence, at least after benefits, came close to normal eating. A missing number of meals per day were supplemented; children received standard food items; some households afforded themselves a favourite food meat and they ate a bellyful. Although the modes of food consumption found upon
monitoring this aspect were diverse, from permanently deficit up through permanently standard, a relatively large group combine in the month a longer period of deficit eating with normal eating after the acquiring of incomes, particularly in households reliant exclusively on social benefits. Even the view through the monitoring of favourite and most common meals identified closer the orientation to cooking heavy and non-quality meals in excluded Roma settlements. The research probe thus confirmed and in sample individual meals showed the dining habits in this environment. A comparison of favourite and most common meals indicated that the observing of consumption or the relinquishing of the original range of needs in the area of nutrition is in the surveyed environment widespread and grows along with spatial exclusion. Residents of segregated settlements are successful at preparing commonly favourite meals only to a small measure. The tendency predominated in the eating habits of households that the more demanding favourite meals were mainly if they are meat-based meals then households can only afford them occasionally in the course of the month, and commonly cannot afford them at all. Generally, they prepare a favourite meal only one time each month and do so after arrival of incomes into the family. The main meal on the meal plan in the period after benefits and the favourite meal were in the majority of cases identical. Through most of the month they experience limitations in food consumption which also acquires the form of clear-cut deprivation in nutrition.
INDEBTEDNESS OF ROMA HOUSEHOLDS

Empirical data from different empirical sources confirmed in terms of averages the stressed or deficit financial budget of excluded Roma households. The small incomes to these households cause a low level of expenditures and do so even with expenditures covering the most basic needs, such as food and housing. A large portion of households have problems paying for basic needs for its members and some of
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them are unable to do this despite frequently borrowing money. The worst balance was recorded in households without a working member, those with at least one young child and in multi-member households. From a comparison of total incomes and expenditures of excluded Roma households which managed to get recorded during one month, it followed than on average they are more or less equal. The remainder from the entire sum of incomes after subtracting total expenditures came out low (44.61 euro per household), and if a sum borrowed during the course of the month is not included in the total incomes the remainder is even much smaller (10.32 euro per household and not even 2 euro per one member). But if households were not indebted and didnt have to make loan repayments, the remainder of incomes would be 60 euro higher, or excluded Roma households could increase their other expenditures by this sum. The amount of income influences the principle way of managing households and the width of the period of the month through which they have financial resources available in a certain volume. The low overall incomes at the same time means surviving most of the month with very small sums of disposable financial resources. With households with the lowest incomes this means more than half a month with a sum lower than 10 euro per one member. With such financial resources decisions on household consumption are markedly limited, and covering basic needs and unexpected basic expenditures can also be endangered households go into debt in an attempt to provide them. The research probe into excluded settlement indicated that households from excluded Roma settlements are indebted to a high degree. Their debts originate differently; often the way is unpaid rent for housing or for services or energy associated with housing. But they also borrow for the securing of necessary health care, for making modifications to a dwelling or for the purchase of food. Typically, debts for these household arise due to satisfying basic needs or at least minimal consumption.
At the same time, it was shown that a large portion of these households has a payment calendar worked up for the liquidation of their debts. But as research assistants in the field pointed out, in several respondent households having a payment calendar, many families are unable to observe it. The research probe also recorded a certain group of families which had a special recipient for a portion of their social benefits. In some households an executory proceeding was imposed upon their inability to pay debts; in the end this occurred in several households. The chances of some families getting out from under their debts in some realistic time period was in practically negligible.
NEEDS AND DESIRES IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE FAMILY AND SETTLEMENTS

Work was found among the desires for the family in the responses of Roma households not only the most often but was inclined from different sides. Once the content and character of the work was emphasised, its spatial accessibility or formal work contract; other times the result of work a work income. A large portion of Roma households perceived a work income as one path to better living conditions and to a minimal life security. Many of the families also specified the use of potential work incomes they would like to invest into improving their housing conditions and strengthening their life security, families with children to their education and the future. The work desires to a larger or smaller measure confirmed all of the existing knowledge regarding the work activates in excluded communities. We recall the huge unemployment, the instability of jobs which are available to them, the absence of job opportunities in the nearby surroundings, the inaccessibility of permanent places for the unqualified labour force and the like. The desire to find a job is in the surveyed environments strong with the parental generation, and also has an important place in the dreams of the future for children.
11
Excluded Roma households devoted a great deal of attention to different aspects of housing their desires were very often linked with this particular area of life. This means that deprivation in housing in the surveyed environments is exceptionally strong. A general desire for health of family members and an improvement of the financial situation and the living level were also found to be frequent personal family desires. The absolute predominance of apparent desires had the character of common, basic items necessary for life; certain above-standard desires were really only exceptional (a car, a PC for the children). Desires aimed at improving life in the settlement of inhabitation were relatively varied; however, the specific things lacking in the settlement were predominately among them. Great emphasis was placed on job opportunities in the surroundings and flats for young families; they wanted a more peaceful and cleaner environment within the settlements, desired the completion of its technological infrastructure primarily roads and sidewalks, but also sewerage, a water main and the like. A considerable group of desires associated with children: they felt the need for leisure-time facilities or furnishings for children, like playgrounds and other equipment for games; nursery schools in the settlements were often requested. In addition, a variety of requests were recorded for services according those missing in the settlement. Roma residents from excluded settlements were also lacking in cultural events, and they expressed through desires an interest in improving relations with the majority. Many desires of Roma households implicitly gave testimony about the poor conditions of housing and their ties to the labour market. Exclusion from the labour market at the same time means exclusion from the possibilities to improve housing. Many surveyed households live in very disadvantageous conditions and there are too few solutions to their housing situation. They do not have the financial resources for the purchase of a flat or house exclusion from the labour market closes off such a possibility. At the
same time exclusion from the labour market for them means exclusion from loans and mortgages; several respondents emphasised that without work stable work they cant get loans. For many from the households the vicious circle closed: exclusion from the labour market and the absence of normal work opportunities; even simple physical survival on social benefits securing food is problematic. Exclusion from the labour market (not infrequently despite a skill or completed education) at the same time squanders the possibilities of adult children to become independent and establish their own household. This subsequently expands the parental family and leads to further overcrowding in already overcrowded dwellings. The capability of adult children to become independent is in excluded environments slim. What must happen in the next generation, when the housing space will still further narrow, is a difficult to predict. Although families cumulate resources and make up insufficient resources with self-help and mutual relief, these are not enough for overcoming the deficit. Despite the willingness and skilfulness regarding selfhelp solutions, the deep deficit of work incomes also closes off this possibility. Therefore, it is not surprising that housing was found to be the second most common area of wishes for ones family and the desire for housing for children in the settlement of residence also ended up relatively strong. Many excluded settlements lack standard technological infrastructure, and this begins with roads and pavements. The lack of roads and transport make spatial exclusion still deeper. On one side the request for improved hygienic relations in excluded settlements is talked about, but the existing technological infrastructure often doesnt create even the basic foundations for change. When searching for solutions it is not necessary to forget about variety each environment is different and requires different priorities. The desire to live otherwise and the desire to work is, despite the situation of long-term unemployment, also still present.
12
1. INTRODUCTION
1.1. The wider framework of the survey and of the submitted study
The so-called Roma question in Slovakia over the last two decades has become one of the key subjects of political discussions, a target of public policies and has also become a subject of interest to the European Union and foreign observers. Roma as a group are threatened by poverty and social exclusion. Many surveys identify Roma as the group most threatened by poverty and social exclusion (e.g. Vaeka Repov Dambazovi, 2000; Poverty of the Roma.., 2002; UNDP, 2006; UNDP, 2012) and many strategic government documents, for example, National Action Plan for Social Inclusion (NAPs/INCL) 2004 2006, National Report on Strategies for Social Protection and Social Inclusion 2006 2008, National Report on Strategies for Social Protection and Social Inclusion 2008 2010. These materials point to the fact that aside from regional disparities in the measure of poverty, unemployment, average wages and indicators of education and health status in Slovakia, inequalities also appear between the standing of the majority population and that of socially excluded and marginalised groups of Roma population. A prerequisite for removing poverty and social exclusion is ensuring access for all people to the resources, rights and services necessary for participation in society, combating all forms of discrimination which lad to exclusion. A new framework and opportunity for the prevention of social exclusion and for integration of the Roma population in Europe was created by (on the basis of the Communication from the Commission to the European Parliament, the Council, the European Economic and Social Committee and the Committee of the Regions) the EU Framework for National Roma Integration Strategies up to 2020 from 6 April 2011. The national strategies, worked up by governments of member states, created a framework which links the question of basic human rights and the question of human development. In such a framework specific interventions should be carried out on the regional and local level which would help improve the situation of the Roma. In the document the European Commission states that Many of the estimated 10-12 million Roma in Europe face prejudice, intolerance, discrimination and social exclusion in their daily lives. They are marginalised and live in very poor socio-economic conditions. The Communication further states that: Determined action, in active dialogue with the Roma, is needed both at national and EU level. While primary responsibility for that action rests with public authorities. According to the European Commission the social and economic integration of the Roma is a twoway process, which requires a change of mindsets of the majority of the people as well as of members of the Roma communities. First of all, Member States need to ensure that Roma are not discriminated against but treated like any other EU citizens with equal access to all fundamental rights as enshrined in the EU Charter of Fundamental Rights. (EU, 2011). On the basis of the mentioned communication, Slovakia developed its Strategy of the Slovak Republic for Integration of the Roma up to 2020 (ratified by the Slovak government on 11 January 2012), in which a large role is included for monitoring and evaluation on the level of programmes, policies and projects with the goal to utilise synergy through partnership with other state administration bodies, international organizations, scientific institutions and the Roma civil society. (Strategy of the SR..., 2012: 63) The UNDP project Statistical Monitoring of Living Conditions of Selected Target Groups of the Slovak Republic, carried out with the support of the Slovak Ministry of Labour, Social Affairs and Family in the years 2010 2015, which maps the living conditions of socially excluded groups of Roma population in Slovakia, stems from an understanding of social exclusion as a complex, multi-dimensional, multilayers and dynamic phenomenon. It comprises several research components, in the scope of which attention is given to all key areas of inclusion of the Roma, such
13
as housing, health, education, the labour market, the household income situation and material deprivation.
1.2. Focus of the study and the methodology used

The contents of this report are the result of a qualitative examination with the working name situational accounts, whose aim was to find out how much effort excluded Roma households must expend for resolving common living situations and what kinds of obstacles and barriers they run into including financial barriers. The research is very closely tied to the quantitative UNDP survey on the living conditions of Roma households (UNDP, 2012), which was the first empirical entry into the surveyed environments of Roma communities carried out in the scope of this project. In the methodological sense the goal of the presented research was to develop the findings of a questionnaire survey into greater detail and to capture a more specific form of the reality of the life of this group of citizens in Slovakia, especially its excluded portion. The task was to provide a more specific image about what it means to live off of social benefits and in reality what form such a life can take. At the same time the view was narrowed down to the most basic needs; if measures are to be found and properly set which could help overcome exclusion and deprivation, it is necessary to look over in more detail how housing, nutrition and care for health appears in excluded households. The research focused primarily on monitoring the course and resolution of selected situations from everyday life. During preparation of the research, everyday situations, such as seeing a doctor, housing and modifications to a dwelling, the range and depth of household indebtedness and its resolution, were gradually singled out on the basis of interviews with experts. But the greatest emphasis was placed primarily on the area of nutrition, for which the differences in eating between the periods before benefits and after benefits arrive, the differences between favourite meals and the most commonly prepared meals, the methods of providing sustenance
under the situation of insufficient financial resources for securing food for the household, were followed; an accompanying aim was the effort to record recipes for frequent and favourite meals in marginalised Roma communities. The monitoring of selected situations from everyday life was supplemented by the needs and desires of residents of marginalised Roma settlements, who were affected on two levels. On one hand, the wishes and desires in relation to their own family or household were surveyed; on the other hand, proposals and needs for changes in the place of inhabitation in specific settlements. For the recording of selected situations from everyday life and the wishes and needs a special type of research instrument was prepared a logbook with the possibility of free and as detailed as possible recording of the selected situations. The logbook was supplemented by two short questionnaires for identification data. The first one contained a battery of questions related to different characteristics of the specific settlement of the domicile: in addition to the type of settlement, it captured the distance from the home community and district centres, barriers between the settlement and the home community, the basic infrastructure in the village and in the marginalised settlements, the spatial distance from basic facilities and services, the possibilities of transport and the presence of community centres and NGOs assisting in the settlement. The second questionnaire contained the characteristics of the household divided into five areas: the type of household was monitored by work activity and family structure; the dwelling by type, living conditions and official status; the size of the dwelling and its ownership status; furnishing of the household with basic infrastructure; and lastly the structure of the household by individual status of each household member. With the combination of these three research instruments the possibility was created to monitor at least the framework differences between the individual groups of Roma households from excluded settlements. The research thus took the form of a combined survey: a qualitative survey linked with a certain possibility of
14
quantifications of a mutual comparison of individual groups of Roma households defined by attributes characterising the settlement or household. Also in this research, the research sample was made up of Roma households living in excluded settlements of different types: in segregated settlements, in settlements separated on the edge of a community and in concentrated settlements within a community. Only one type of household was selected from one excluded settlement and only in exceptional cases were two households chosen (if the settlements were non-homogeneous in terms of living conditions). The size of the sample was set arbitrarily at 200 selected units, from this one group was made up of households assigned to monitoring incomes, expenditures and consumption of selected types of foods (the logbook of the situational accounts and identification questionnaires were added to a logbook for monitoring the movement of finances and the consumption of foods); the same number of households from other marginalised Roma settlements were meant to make up the other sample.1. The reason for such a solution was partially an attempt at creating the possibility of linking data and information from the monitoring of incomes, expenditures and consumption of food with information from the situational accounts (the financial possibilities of the project enabled the very costly financial and consumer monitoring in the given 100 households); the second reason was an attempt to capture the daily life situations and methods of consuming meals in the widest circle possible within excluded Roma settlements (therefore, expansion by an equal number of selected units were involved). The majority of the data collection for this research ran in the year 2011 in the months of August (44.3%)
and September (46.9%), as determined by the project plan for field work. During October, the supplementing of missing households was carried out (8.8%), during which the regions of Slovakia were considered: geographic regions which remained uncovered by the survey were given preference; at the same time, emphasis was placed on the regions of eastern Slovakia. In the end result, a total of 192 logbooks were collected from Roma households living in excluded settlements. From this, 100 represented households monitoring incomes, expenditures and selected consumption, and 92 were from households from other marginalised Roma settlements.2 All of the collected logbooks representing the three types of excluded settlements were included in the analysis of selected daily situations, because during the check no serious doubts were found regarding their being filled out. The one deficiency was that not every household gave an answer to all of the monitored situations; the number of analysed cases for individual situations therefore differed in numbers the analysis was thus conducted only on those households that responded. The submitted report is divided by the individually monitored types. After a basic description of the sample, the use and accessibility of health care and experiences with the approach of healthcare personnel begins; this is followed by a description of housing and the possibilities and types of modifications to dwellings and an overview of the indebtedness of Roma households. A chapter devoted to eating habits then follows it offers an overview of meal plans from different angles of view and different aspects, and a special output is a collection of recipes of favourite or the most commonly cooked dishes. The
The selection of 100 households which were a part of the monitoring of incomes, expenditures and consumption took place on the basis of quotas (for more details, see Chapter 2) determined on the basis of results of a quantitative surveying of the living conditions or Roma households from 2010 (UNDP, 2012), which was a part of this project. The selection of an expanded sample of 100 additional households was a random affair (not in the sense of a random selection). Research assistants were to search for in the surroundings of their own income-monitored household additional excluded Roma communities which were not yet covered by the survey and to find typical households within them. The territorial distribution was also observed: the goal was to expand the research to additional uncovered regions in the interest of obtaining the final sample of Roma households from the widest possible circle of spatially excluded communities. Thus, to the overall planned number of 200; eight logbooks were missing, as their collection was not possible due to time reasons (the data collection had to finish by the end of October, in order to gather information from the relatively same period, in relation to society-wide conditions and legislative definitions).
15
chapter ends with a presentation of the needs and desires from the family perspective and from the perspective of the lived-in settlement.
Graph 1: Structure of the sample of 192 Roma households by region (in %)

4,1
1.3. Structure of the surveyed households from marginalised Roma settlements by basic classifying attributes3
According to the distribution in geographic space of the final 192 households which were analysed in the scope of this research, eastern Slovakia had the highest representation in comparison with the western parts of the country.4 The total sample for the survey of situational accounts of Roma households from excluded settlements consisted of 69.3% units representing the eastern region (Graph 1), with the Koice Region making up 40.1% and the Preov Region 29.2%. Central Slovakia was represented in the sample by 26.6% (Bansk Bystrica Region) and western Slovakia by 4.1% (Trnava and Nitra Regions). The research sample of Roma households representing excluded settlements covered a total of 25 districts of Slovakia. From them, 3 districts fell administratively in the territory of western Slovakia, 9 districts represented the central Slovakia region and 13 were in eastern Slovakia. In relation to specific settlements, the final sample included households from 132 excluded Roma settlements (in the case of settlements with a large differences in the living conditions between groups of households living in the given settlement, two typical households could be selected). From this, Western Slovakia was represented by 6 settlements, central
26,6
Western Slovakia Central Slovakia Eastern Slovakia
69,3
Note: Overall for the selection of households for this survey no quotas were set according to these indicators.
Slovakia by 38 settlements and the east by 88 settlements (a list of settlements is given in Appendix 1). According to the type of spatial segregation of settlements the sample of 192 analysed households in the scope of the survey of situational accounts was also distributed relatively equally, similarly as with the previous two research activities. On the basis of classification of researchers5 30.2% of the surveyed households were located in segregated settlements, another 39.6% were from separated settlements on the edge of a community and the remaining 30.2% of surveyed Roma households belonged to concentrated settlements within a community (Graph 2).
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The description of the sample in this case does not have the character of a check of its representativeness; it serves exclusively for the presentation of the representation of the individual groups of households in the created sample. Analysis during the description of the final sample of Roma households from excluded settlements shows, despite its small sample size, percentage values in the tenths of numbers; with meritorious subjects it is rounded to a whole number. We note that the goal of the research was to record in as much detail as possible the course of and solutions to individual situations, not quantitatively measure them. The presented numerical values serve exclusively for comparative purposes (a comparison of the differences between differently defined groups of Roma households); they decidedly to not correspond to the quantitative range of the give value indicator in excluded Roma communities. This is a result primarily of the real distribution of marginalised Roma settlements in Slovakia as well as the research preference to primarily cover during selection settlements from missing areas in the eastern Slovakia regions. As is presented in part 1 of this report, researchers classified visited settlements into individual types of housing according to subjective consideration; they did not have available exactly determined and specific criteria for classification.
Distance from the home community for segregated and separated settlements ranged from 200 metres to 5 kilometres. The most commonly found distance was 1 kilometre (more than 18% of all the surveyed households), then 0.5 km (nearly 15%) and after this a distance of 2 km (approximately one-tenth of the research sample). The average distance from the home community with settlements labelled as segregated settlements was 1.65 km, and for settlements separated on the edge of a community 1.09 km. In the structure of the surveyed Roma households from excluded settlements by the presence of a working member of members households without work activity greatly predominated. As can be seen in Graph 3.3, the share of households without a working member was 79.2% and the share of households with at least one working member was 20.8%. From them the most households were those where only one member worked nearly 16% while less than 5% of households had two working members; households with three working members made up just 0.5% of the total sample.
Graph 3: Structure of the sample of 192 Roma households by number of working members (in %)
4,7 15,6 0,5
0 members 1 member
79,2
2 members 3 members
Graph 2: Structure of the sample of 192 Roma households by type of housing (in %)
And in the case of this sample, with spatial segregation the share of households without a working member decreased: among segregated they made up nearly 90%, for concentrated households less than 70%. With expression through the average number of working members per household, the differences came out as follows: 0.12 working for households living segregated; 0.25 for separated on the edge of a community; and 0.43 for households living in settlements concentrated within a community. In relation to recording situations of common life, the size and structure of a household can contribute to differences. In the research this was monitored through the total number of members as well as the number of children in different definitions. The real number of persons making up a household came out to be very diverse from 1 member to 19 members living in one dwelling. The most abundant category was in the end households with five members (25.5%), followed by households with four members (19.8%) and then seven members (14.1%). About one-tenth of the sample was made up of households with six and with three members, and other sizes were less
30,2
30,2
segregated settlements separated on the edge of a community
39,6
concentrated within a community
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Graph 4: Number of working household members by type of housing (in %)

0 20 40 60 80 80,3 89,7 100
0 members 1 member 2 members 3 members

0 0 1,7 8,6 14,5 24,1
67,2
5,3 6,9
1,7
segregated settlements
separated on the edge
concentrated within a community
Note: Households with 2+ working members made up only 5.2% of the total sample.
represented (Graph 5). Together households with 1-2 members made up not quite 8%; on the other hand, households with eight or more members achieved nearly 12%. The average number of members for one surveyed household came out to be 5.4 persons, and among households on the basis of type of housing the differences were not larger; only in separated on the
edge of a community was a moderately higher average recorded (5.7 members versus 5.2 members for segregated and concentrated households). As is presented in part 2 of this final report, the number of children living in a household in the research conducted was specified in different way. Not only was the total number of children monitored but also the number of young children (children too young to attend school), the number of school-attending children and the total number of dependent children (young and school-attending children together). In the final sample the total number of children in households (i.e., the number of children without regard to status in relation to preparation for a profession not only young and school-attending children but also children with completed school attendance who were up to 25 years old, if they had yet to start their own family) was very diverse: it moved from no children up to 11 children (Graph 3.6). The most common category was three children in one household (more than 27% of the surveyed sample of households); the second most numerous group was households with two children (nearly 23%) and the third one was households with five children (more than 14%). Households without children obtained a share of 7.3% and on the other hand, those with more than five children 8.3%. On average 3.1 children were present per one household,
Graph 5: Structure of the sample of 192 Roma households by number of members (in %)
0,5 8,2 3,6 7,3 9,4
1 member 2 members 3 members 4 members 5 members

19,8
14,1
6 members 7 members 8 members
11,5
25,5
9+ members Note: Overall for the selection of households for this survey no quotas were set according to these indicators.
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Graph 6: Structure of the sample of 192 Roma households by total number of children (in %)
7,3 8,3 10,9 14,1
household, the most in segregated settlements and separated settlements (1.2 and 1.1 young children), and for households living concentrated within a community, the average was lower (0.7 young children). The presence of school-attending children among the household members divided the surveyed sample into not quite a third without a school-attending child and more than two-thirds with at least one such child. In the structure of the sample of households, on the basis of the number of school-attending children who attended elementary school or a higher level of education, the group with two school-attending children predominated with 26%, and behind them were households with three school-attending children with a share of 17.7% while households with one such child achieved not quite 15%. Nearly 10% of the research sample of households had more than three school-attending children. The average number of school-attending children per one household was for the entire sample 1.7 children; with the smallest appearing for segregated settlements (1.6 children) and the highest for separated on the edge of a community (1.8 children). The majority of the surveyed households combined young children and school-attending children; the total number of dependent children in household came out to be from 1 to 11 children, while those without a dependent child at all made up 15.1% of the sample. Households with 3 dependent children had the highest representation within the research sample (nearly 28%), followed by those with two dependent children (approx. 23%); 12% of households had
0 children 1 child 2 children 3 children
9,4
22,9
4 children 5 children
27,1
6+ children
the most for separated on the edge of a community (3.2 children) and the least for households living within a community (2.9 children). According to the number of young children 45.8% of households assigned to the analysis of situational accounts did not have even one such child, 26.6% of surveyed households had one young child, 14.6% two young children and in 13% of households there were three and more young children (Table 1). On average almost exactly one young child was present per
Table 1 Structure of the sample of 192 Roma households by number of children of different definitions (in %)
0 children 1 child 2 children 3 children 4 children 5 or more children Total Young children 45.8 26.6 14.6 8.9 3.1 1.0 100.0 School-attending children 31.8 14.6 26.0 17.7 6.3 3.6 100.0 Dependent children total 15.1 8.3 22.9 27.6 12.0 14.1 100.0
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4 dependent children and just over 14% had 5 or more dependent children. The average for dependent children per household for the entire research sample was 2.7 children; households separated on the edge of a community had the most on average (2.9 children) and those living concentrated within a community had the least (2.3 children). For households from segregated settlements the average number of dependent children was 2.7 per one household.
When searching for differences between households the analysis also uses classifying attributes according to the context of the individually monitored situations, such as, for example, spatial membership to a town or village, distance from a paediatrician or general practitioner, the type of dwelling and its size, and others. The structure of the sample on the basis of these characteristics is presented in the text concurrently upon their being used.
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2. MEDICAL CARE: NEED, ACCESSIBILITY AND APPROACH

The Report on the Living Conditions of Roma Households in Slovakia 2010 (UNDP, 2012), which is the first output of this project, observed a higher occurrence of chronic illnesses in the Roma population in comparison with the general population geographically close to Roma communities with increasing age: although the youngest generation recorded approximately the same level, in the middle and older generations chronic illnesses were more common in the Roma population. At the same time, the report, based on a quantitative research questionnaire, recorded approximately the same occurrence of common illnesses in the Roma and general population, but seeking out a doctor with such health problems was significantly less frequent for the Roma sub-sample especially among households living in segregated and separated environments. And among the reasons found for not seeing a doctor in both compared groups was the subjective conviction that it was not necessary, and in the Roma population waiting for a spontaneous improvement in the health problem but also the fact that they could not afford to see a doctor for financial or still other reasons. While avoiding trips to see a doctor with common illnesses was in the Roma and general population caused predominately by a natural attempt at managing the problem with ones own power, in the Roma population financial and other limitations entered into this decision a great deal more often. At the same time it was shown that in the Roma population not picking up prescribed medicines was also more frequent, and that this deepened in the direction toward segregation; with this the reason was again very often a lack of money (UNDP, 2012, pgs. 77-87). The higher occurrence of chronic illnesses ascertained, the lower measure of seeing a doctor and the stronger barriers in access to medical care in the Roma population, especially its spatially excluded segments, were sufficient reasons for the aspiration for deeper knowledge of this particular side of life in excluded communities. The use of and access to medical care is therefore classified among the situations monitored in the framework of the expanded research activities of a qualitative character. Specifically, the situational analysis singled out the last time seeing a doctor, and for this the specific forms this situation can take in excluded Roma communities were surveyed. Assistants providing contact with respondent households entered into the logbook in as much detail as possible the story of the last time seeing of a doctor. In the story they were to write which member of the family last saw a doctor and with what kind of health problem, the method of transport to see the doctor, the picking up of possible prescribed medicines at a pharmacy, the total resources expended in association with seeing a doctor, the approach of the healthcare personnel and the securing of care for other children when going to see a doctor.
2.1. Which member of a family saw a doctor and with what kind of problem6
Together a total of 184 descriptions of last seeing a doctor managed to get recorded; 8 respondent households did not list any such story. According to the cases found, members of surveyed Roma households from marginalised settlements most often saw a doctor when they accompanied a child to an examination. Of all the presented situations for last seeing a doctor the illness of a child was the reason in 57% of cases; another 3% of the collected stories were devoted to a situation when a child of higher age saw a doctor himself or herself; an identical 3% of stories described a common visit of the entire family seeing
We recall a note from the introductory section: from the character of the research it follows that the presented numerical values serve exclusively for comparative purposes for comparing differences between differently defined groups of excluded Roma households; they decidedly do not correspond to the quantitative range of the given value attribute in excluded Roma communities.
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Graph 7: Last time seeing a doctor by household member needing this service and the type of household (in %)
0 20 30 34 84 60 0 3 3 3 3 8 8 64 40 60 80 100
Head of household or partner Child accompanied or alone Entire family Grandparents or other relatives
Total
Households with children
Households without children
Note: In the scope of recorded stories on the most recent trip to see a doctor (n = 184) households with children made up 93% and households without children 7%.
a doctor or offered a general expression of the experience with medical care for the entire family. Thus, overall more than three-fifths of the determined situations with seeking out healthcare services fully or partially related to child patients. The share of such visits when the head of the household or a partner went to see the doctor with a healthcare problem achieved only one-third (34%) of all recorded situations, and in the remaining 3% of the stories grandparents or some other member of the household went to see a doctor. As the comparison of the group of households with children and without children indicated, for households with children the share of seeing a doctor with a child patient was even higher; adult members of such excluded Roma households (those with a child) went to see a doctor with their own health problem still more rarely than was the result for the entire sample of recorded cases. Alongside the higher probability (with a higher number of children than adult members in a household a higher probability exists that the last recorded time seeing a doctor will be with a child) the preference for seeking out medical care in the case of the health problem of a child also played a part in the result found. Several recorded stories mentioned such a preference explicitly:
Anyway, we adults dont go to the doctor, I cant remember when we last went. Oh, when I gave birth to Gabika, but we dont go for examinations. During the winter I go several times with the children to see the doctor, in the summer less. We go by bus, round-trip its 1.70 euro. I cant say anything bad about the doctor or even the nurse. Well, thank God, we havent had to go see the doctor for a long time now. My husband doesnt go at all: even when he is ill, he says that it will pass. We go more often with the children, but mostly in the spring. I go often by car with my brother-in-law its cheaper than by bus. The nurse is very nice; Ive known her for a long time now. According to the reason for seeing a doctor, overall a relatively broad scale of common and serious illnesses was found. Most often in the answers were common illnesses such as colds or a temperature, or problems with the digestive tract (stomach ache, diarrhoea, vomiting), which obtained 45% of the total situations found. The remaining 55% was divided among more serious illnesses and specialist or control examinations, or were trips to the emergency room or a dentist; further found were injuries, preventive check-ups, visits to the baby clinic or vaccination, or gynaecological problems or examinations.
22
A comparison between individual groups of households showed that common illnesses were a much more frequent reason for last seeing a doctor for households with children, and excluded Roma households without children do not see a doctor at all with such common illnesses or only in exceptional cases. On the other hand, a more serious illness and different specialist examinations connected with the control of development of health status were again a great deal more frequent in households without children: while they obtained a share of 16% (serious illness) and 12% (specialist or control examinations) overall, for households without children their share nearly doubled (together over 46%). A similar trend was manifested with seeing a dentist the last time seeing a doctor occurred a lot more often in the form of a dental check-up in the case of households without children than for households with children (14% to 4%). Injuries and going to emergency rooms were also more frequent on the side of households without
children; the difference, however, with these two reasons for seeking medical help was not very striking. Preventive check-ups, as with going to baby clinics and vaccinations, again related exclusively only to households with children. The giving of preference to children in the case of common illnesses and preventive check-ups or vaccinations is also indicated in a comparison of the reasons for seeing a doctor by the person involved that is, the patient. From all of the stories of the last seeing of a doctor with a common illness, only in not quite one-fifth of the cases was an adult member of a household involved; in more than four-fifths the patients were children. Similar proportions were found with going to baby clinics or vaccinations (75% with children) or with preventive check-ups (63% with children); the surveyed households also went to emergency rooms most often with ill children (82%). On the other hand, specialist and control
Graph 8: Last time seeing a doctor by reason and the type of household (in %)
0 10 20 30 40 45 8 14 4 4 16 23 47 50
common illness serious illness injury professional examination, control preventive check-up emergency room dentist consultation and vaccination gynaecological and pregnancy
0 4 4 4 4 5 4 0 5 6 6
Total
8 12 11 23
Households with children Households without children
8 14
Note: In the scope of recorded stories on the most recent visit to a doctor (n = 184) households with children made up 93% and households without children 7%.
23
Graph 9: Last time seeing a doctor by reason and the person who went as the patient (in %)
0 10 18 45 25 50 70 25 18 78 25 71 75 29 63 82 11 11 21 20 30 40 50 60 82 33 11 12 0 11 13 9 0 0 0 0 0 70 80 90 100 0
common illness serious illness injury specialist examination, control preventive check-up emergency room dentist baby clinic and vaccination gynaecological and pregnancy
Head of the household or partner
Child (accompanied or alone)
Entire family
Grandparents or other relatives
Note: For the composition of recorded cases of last seeing a doctor by the person who went on the visit, see Graph 7.
examinations, as well as serious illnesses and dental check-ups related more often to adult members than to children (from 50% to 75%). According to the type of illness with which excluded Roma households last sought out medical help, in the case of children colds or flu or a sore throat that is, illnesses of the respiratory passages were very often listed.7 However, digestive problems occur relatively often in excluded Roma households: stomach ache, diarrhoea or vomiting in the case of child patients are widespread in the environment, or are the reason for deciding to see a doctor. From more serious illnesses in child patients, congenital diseases and the need to control their development, infectious diseases, such as, for example, jaundice, as well as oncological
disease, were found in children with a significant impact on the financial situation of the family. One story was found in which the health problem of the child was a consequence of hunger: The daughter (nine years old) was hospitalised, because she fainted. An ambulance came for her and she was in hospital for three days. It was found that she fainted because she had not eaten anything in the morning; but she had a weak concussion from the fall. After being released she supposedly didnt get any medicine; they paid 10 euro at the hospital. She went home with her mother by bus, and the grandmother watched the other children in the meantime (four other children from 5 to 16 years). The behaviour of the nurses and doctors was said to be normal.
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For more details regarding the reasons for seeing a doctor, see Appendix 3.2.
In relation to adult members of excluded Roma households, those with common colds or digestive problems very often do not seek out medical help; their reasons for seeing a doctor are longer-term and more serious diseases, most often, for example, cardiovascular diseases and high blood pressure,8 then diseases of the locomotive organs, diabetes or an injuries of different types. Comparisons between groups of excluded Roma households in the framework of this research probe confirm the finding known from other research and monitoring activities carried out in marginalised Roma communities. Adult residents of excluded Roma communities go only rarely with common illnesses to see a doctor and few also go in for preventive checkups.9 If they see a doctor with their own problem, it is likely for a more serious illnesses or when they have a long-term condition which requires regular specialist examination and repeated controls of health status. More often the reason for seeking out a doctor by adult patients was also a toothache and obviously gynaecological examinations. With common illnesses, adult members of excluded Roma households only rarely seek medical care, but they do see a doctor if children have common childhood illnesses.10 Ignoring common health problems and preventive check-ups in general can from the viewpoint of
consequences be manifested in worsened health status and can lead to the origin of chronic or longterm illnesses. Monitoring their occurrence in individual groups of residents indicates such a link in excluded Roma communities for the older age group the spreading of chronic diseases was found in a significantly larger range (UNDP, 2012, pg. 78). From another point of view, according the causes of such an approach to ones own health, the question of accessibility of medical care for some groups of citizens shifts to the centre of attention. In addition to the subjective causes specified as an irresponsible approach to ones own health11 the resignation of consultations and control of health status by professionals may also be the result of inaccessibility or worsening access to such services. Reports and analysis dedicated to surveying the health status and accessibility of healthcare pointed partially to hindered spatial accessibility of healthcare facilities for residents of some excluded settlements but also to the problem of financial accessibility of healthcare picking up medicines and fees for treatments and travel, as well as to limitations following from the need to ensure the care of other children during trips to see a doctor. The recorded empirical cases describing the last time seeing a doctor indicated that for each of the mentioned
10
11
Several other sources have pointed out the high occurrence of cardiovascular diseases in the Roma population: aside from the cited medical reports, for example, doctors working directly in the field. As is presented in the article Zdravie Rmov katastrofa [The Health of the Roma catastrophe] which was published by the newspaper SME on 12 Decembre 2008, a general practitioner from Kemarok gathers statistics on illnesses and causes of death among his patients, according to which: Up to 43 percent are consist of problems of the circulatory system. The reason is the consumption of foods with a high content of animal fats, the increased occurrence of overweight and obesity, smoking and the giving up of seeing a doctor. (for more, see: http://primar.sme.sk/c/4220164/zdravie-romovkatastrofa.html#ixzz2DzGYoQGG). See, for example, the Evaluation Report on the Results of the 1st Stage of the Programme for the Support of Health of Disadvantaged Roma Communities for the Years 2007 2008 (Bratislava, Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic 2008, pg. 11); Programme of Health Support of Disadvantaged Communities in Slovakia for the years 2009 2015 (Bratislava, Public Health Authority of the Slovak Republic 2009, pg. 9); UNDP, 2012; ETP Slovakia, 2009; and many others. Also pointing out this problem are the in-depth interviews with representatives of different aid professions carried out in the framework of this project (Part II. of this final report). The preference for healthcare examination in the case of children was also confirmed in the research of the non-profit organisation Quo Vadis from a Central Slovakia mapping the situation of Roma women (Image..., 2012). According to the empirical findings of this survey the bad economic situation in many cases leads to the resignation of Roma women of medical examinations. When due to a lack of money in the household they cannot pick up prescribed medicines, they consider seeing a doctor as pointless; but at the same time several of the Roma women emphasised, they always try to see a doctor with children, when this is necessary. At least two statements will speak for all: It happens, yes. Sometimes not even for medicine, thats how it is. In relation to us (adults authors note), so why should I go when I dont have the money. But when it is a child, and you go to the doctor, then you get the medicines! But only for ourselves later... (unemployed Roma women with SOU and four children, place separated environment). ... and often enough (there are no finances for a doctor authors note). Or I dont go a doctor, because why should I, when I dont pick up the medicine?! And again this is an obligation, a woman actually to put up with a terrible lot of feelings and would rather let herself be sick, rather than a child or husband. (Roma woman of middle age with a university degree working in an NGO, separated town environment). But such behaviour through the media or through healthcare reports presented as an irresponsible approach to ones own health is in its essence likewise the consequence of objective, external factors. Let us mention at least some: relinquishing responsibility for ones own health from the side of society to an individual or his/her family without regard to individual prerequisites for fulfilling such a competence; a lack of awareness of some groups of citizens regarding care of their own health; a lack of information about healthcare services; the small space for informed choice; deficiencies in prevention and health education and the like.
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barriers a portion of residents of excluded Roma communities was found for which the given aspect of accessibility of medical care represented a larger or smaller problem.
2.2. Spatial distance from healthcare services and strategies for overcoming it
The surveyed Roma households from excluded communities of different types were differentiated by distance to basic medical care, while an emergency room and hospital were for many of them more distant still. Only approximately one-quarter of households had basic medical care, a paediatrician or a local doctor and dentist within a distance of less than one kilometre; the largest portion (45 to 50%) had it from one to five kilometres distant, and for more than onefifth of the surveyed households the distance was more than five kilometres. Seeing a doctor, then, presupposed in a large portion of households the overcoming of a certain spatial distance and did so not only with settlements outside of municipal lands; sometimes medical care was distant even within a town (households from communities lying in the territory of a village or town made up 39% of all recorded cases of seeing a doctor). In relation to the method of transport to a medical examination, from the total sample of recorded stories of last seeing a doctor 43% used public transport when seeking medical treatment and nearly three-fifths (57%) went to see a doctor in some other way. Exactly one-third of them went to see a doctor on foot, another 19% travelled by car, and most often this was not their own car. From the other methods in
the stories about calling for emergency medical services (EMS) or travel to see a doctor by bicycle were mentioned. The method of transport used, however, primarily depended on the spatial distance of the healthcare facilities from the place of habitation from an excluded settlement. As Graph 3.9 shows, for marginalised settlements lying at a certain distance from the home municipality the share of those going to see a doctor on foot came out higher and public transport was used less; they listed the calling of emergency medical services for the most recent medical problem in the household more often. A more detailed look at the stories found of seeing a doctor indicated even larger differences in the methods of transport used to travel to see a doctor by distance from the doctor. If the person who needed healthcare was a child, the method of transport differed significantly by the distance from a paediatrician. With distances of a paediatrician from the place of habitation smaller than one kilometre 59% of recorded cases went on foot to see the doctor, 36% used public transport and 5% went by a car other than their own. With a distance of a paediatrician from the residence in the range from 1 to 5 km the situation with transport changed markedly. On one hand going to see a doctor on foot was reduced, although 44% of cases even with this higher distance went to see a paediatrician in this way; on the other hand, passenger cars were used more often for transporting children to the doctor, and the share of public transport remained approximately the same (and this probably depended on the availability of public transport to the place of residence). If the paediatrician was more than 5 km distant from the excluded settlement, cases of not
Table 2 Structure of the sample of Roma households by distance from basic medical services (in %)
Paediatrician Local doctor Dentist Up to 1 km 26 28 26 1 5 km 45 50 45 More than 5 km 29 22 29
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Note: In the scope of the recorded stories of the last time seeing a doctor (n = 184) households from communities which were a part of the home municipality made up 39% and households living in settlement at a certain distance from the home municipality was 61%.
Graph 9: Last time seeing a doctor by method of transport and distance from the village (in %)
0 10 20 27 30 33 37 43 38 7 6 9 12 12 12 0 0 1 1 1 1 1 3 5 51 40 50 60
on foot public transport own car other car EMT ambulance bicycle other
Total Settlement part of the home municipality Settlement distant from the home municipality
Note: In the scope of the recorded stories of the last time seeing a doctor (n = 184) households from communities which were a part of the home municipality made up 39% and households living in settlement at a certain distance from the home community was 61%.
using some form of transport and seeing a doctor on foot no longer occurred: for the given conditions public transport dominated, and the share of transporting a child to see a doctor by a car other than ones own grew notably, as did calling on emergency medical services for a child patient.
Similarly, with adult household members seeing a doctor, the method of transport changed according to distance from a general practitioner. In the group less than one kilometre distant from a local doctor, going on foot to see the doctor predominated, or travel by public transport; the other methods of
Graph 10: Last time seeing a doctor by method of transport and distance from a paediatrician (in %)
0 10 20 30 40 44 36 35 0 5 0 0 6 50 60 59 70
on foot public transport own car other car EMT ambulance
to 1 km
57
1-5 km
7 15
6-19 km
29
Note: In the scope of recorded stories of the last time a child patient saw a doctor, 26% of households were less than one kilometre distant from paediatrician; 45% were from one to 5 km away, and 29% were more than 5 km distant.
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Graph 11: Last time an adult household member went to see a doctor by method of transport and distance from the local doctor (in %)
0 10 20 30 36 29 0 0 0 36 40 50 60 70 71 80
on foot public transport own car other car EMT ambulance
to 1 km
59
1-5 km
10 12
6-19 km
21
10
Note: In the scope of recorded stories of the last time an adult member saw a doctor 28% of households were less than one kilometre distant from paediatrician; 50% were from one to 5 km away and 22% were more than 5 km distant.
transport to an examination did not occur at all. With more distant basic medical care the use of passenger cars and calling EMT services were added, in addition to an increase in the use of public transport. Even a simple comparison on the basis of the spatial distance of medical care (of basic with more serious professional interventions requiring specialised medical help or hospital facilities medical care was even further) from the place of residence points to problems in the accessibility of healthcare for residents of spatially distant settlements. Distant healthcare is a problem primarily for those settlements which do not have public transport in their vicinity. Households use different strategies for overcoming distance based on the seriousness of the health problem, the financial situation of the household and other circumstances of family life. The recorded stories of seeing a paediatrician from a settlement more than one kilometre distant took many different forms. The securing of a compulsory vaccination or check-up can mean in the absence of public transport from a settlement or with a lack of financial resources for travelling, a walk of a few kilometres and back to see a doctor. And aside from overcoming distance, the need to arrange for the care
of other children in the household is common they have to make the trip together with the mother or remain in the care of some alternate person: They last went to see the doctor for the vaccination of a child. The mother went on foot (4 km) to the neighbouring village to see the doctor. Since the child was not ill, the vaccination ran just fine and was free of charge. She also took older child with her to the doctor; she had no one to leave him/her with. The twelve-year-old daughter appeared in the company of the mother for a summons to a local doctor for an examination. They went on foot (1.5 km), and didnt have to pay the doctor anything. The visit went without problems; the other children (three children of ages 5, 9 and 11 years) remained at home with an older sibling (a 16-year-old daughter). However, even ill children from excluded settlements not infrequently had to go on foot to see a doctor some kilometres distant, not only those fulfilling compulsory check-ups or mandatory vaccinations. And mothers living on the margins of large towns are also familiar with going a long way on foot for medical treatment. Although in such a case medical care is located within the home municipality, a large town can mean a walk of several kilometres for medical care from the marginal parts of Roma communities to
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a healthcare facility. Such was the story of a mother of a three-month old baby with bronchitis or a twelveyear-old child with a fever and cough: The sister was with a small three-month old baby at the emergency room the baby had bronchitis. The sister came on foot to the hospital emergency room (more than 3 km within the town) and paid 2 euro for the examination. On that day she picked up the prescription at the pharmacy for 7 euro; this was two syrups. The nurse asked after the baby, how chubby she is, what does she like to eat, how many months old he was she was nice. The doctor was not mentioned; the mother of the child was accompanied to the doctor by her sister. A mother went with her twelve-year-old daughter on foot to see a doctor; the bus is too expensive (from the edge of the regional capital to the centre). The girl had a fever and cough. They paid only for the medicine approximately 7 euro. Sometimes the father also goes with the daughter to see the doctor. The behaviour of the personnel was agreeable. Several stories described a several-kilometre walk to the doctor from a segregated settlement to the home or a neighbouring municipality. For example, with an ill son who had a temperature and vomited they had to walk four kilometres there and back; or to go from a separated settlement on the edge of a village with three children with a temperature, vomiting and a stomach ache, to see a paediatrician; in yet another situation a mother with a small child in fever walked from a segregated settlement to a doctor in the village, when other children in the household waited for them at home. The field collection of empirical material ran during the summer (August and September 2011), thus the question here arises how ill children from an excluded settlement get to a doctor during the winter months or during unfavourable weather: They went on foot to see a doctor; this is perhaps 3-4 km. The son was ill with a temperature and vomiting. They paid 2 euro for medicine. The nurse was edgy because one lady quarrelled with her; the doctor was normal. Three sons had a temperature, vomiting and a stomach ache. They saw a doctor accompanied by
the mother and father they went there on foot (within the village). The behaviour of the doctor and nurse was appropriate. The youngest daughter (two years old) had a fever; the mother went with her to see a doctor (this is 4 kilometres; three minor children remained at home). She didnt pay for the doctor, but she paid 6 euro for medicine. The youngest daughter (two years old) had a sore throat; I went with her on foot (approx. 3 km) with the mother (two other minor children at home). They paid only for medicine, 5 euro, she was happy with the examination. Sometimes the trip to a medical examination took the form of the lone pilgrimage of a child with a painful injury or with medical problems. Obligations to care for other children in the household didnt allow the child to be accompanied to the doctor: The daughter (twelve years old) broke her arm and went on foot to the doctor (1.5 km from a settlement on the edge of a village). This was perhaps three months ago. She doesnt remember how much she paid for the examination. She was in a cast for about two and a half months; seeing the doctor was without problems. The last time seeing a doctor was due to a skin rash, which the oldest daughter had (sixteen years old). She went on foot alone to the doctor (3 km) because the mother had nowhere to leave the other children (six children from age 2 months to 14 years). A tincture was prescribed that cost 2.50 euro, and she picked it up. The behaviour of the doctor and the nurse was normal. Problems with the trip to a distant doctor, obviously, did not only relate to child patients; adult members of households also went to see a doctor on foot without accompaniment for their own illnesses or a health problem: Mama: a month ago I needed to go see a doctor with inflammation of the back, pain up to my eyes. I went to see the doctor alone, on foot to the opposite side of town (an estimated 3 km). She wrote me a prescription for 5 euro (Veral, Dorsiflex). I didnt pay anything at the doctor when they examine, you dont pay, thank God; only when you go to the emergency room you pay 2 euro. The children were home with my
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oldest son (twenty-year-old son, the other five children aged 5 to 16 years). The doctors were good; I waited about an hour for the examination. I cant push to the front like an Olah. When a person is ill, it has to happen that the Olahs jump the queue ahead of us, they also scolded the doctor. The standard method of overcoming distance to a medical examination is the use of public transport. In the case of excluded settlements a total of 43% of the surveyed cases travelled this way; with a distance covered greater than five kilometres, this was up to 57%. The assumption is that public transport actually runs between the place of residence and the healthcare facility, which was not a general phenomenon (transport doesnt go through some communities and some do not lie in the vicinity of transport corridors). But even with the existence of transport from the side of many surveyed households noted the problem of paying for travel, and due to stress in households financial budget even a few cents or euro was a big burden, especially with repeated trips to see a doctor or when the illness occurs in the period shortly before benefits come. Households often had to borrow money to go see a doctor, and travelling black, that is, without a travel ticket, was also found: Jika (two-year-old son) has a respiratory illness; weve already been to town to see a doctor two times this month (5 km). Through the autumn and winter we went to see a doctor every month. When we dont have money to travel, we borrow 4.20 euro from a neighbour (a white woman, but we like her a lot, she always helps us) for the round trip. I always take my son to see the doctor; the nurse and the doctor have praised us many times (medicines were about 11.30 euro). The youngest son (five years old) was the last to see a doctor; he is often ill. He went to see the doctor in town 8 km distant by bus with his mother. They had to borrow for the bus tickets because this was before benefits. The doctor was said to be nice. They didnt pay for the medical service; the medicines would have cost a lot, but they didnt pick them up. The trip cost them 1.20 euro, and they got home by bus, too. The other children were in the care of grandparents and older siblings.
We last went to see a doctor with our thirteen-year-old daughter, who complained of a stomach ache. She went to see the doctor with mother; they went by mass-transit bus without a ticket, because they didnt have money for a ticket. An auntie stayed with the other children, because the father had to go to an activation activity. The medical examination was problem-free. They gave the daughter an injection and prescribed some medicines. We didnt pick these up from the pharmacy, because it was necessary to pay perhaps 5 euro and we didnt have the money. The pain eventually went away. A bicycle is sometimes used to deal with the lack of financial resources for public transport in the case of a great distance of the place of habitation from healthcare services. One ill six-year-old child went several kilometres by bicycle for a medical examination from a segregated settlement to a neighbouring village without her mother, who stayed home to care for five other siblings. This story, like several others (see Appendix 2), pointed at the same time to the problem of repeated seeing of a doctor. An ill child must survive not only the journey to see a doctor and then back but also the repeated overcoming of distance for care during the process of treating an illness and regular controls of its development: My husband went with the little girl (6 years) on a bicycle, because we didnt have money for the travel tickets (5 km). She is well now. The doctor didnt give us the tablets immediately and after we had to go back. Approximately one-fifth of recorded cases of seeing a doctor took place via a passenger car. Ones own car in excluded settlements is only used rarely (7% of cases; see Appendix 3.2); usually a car owned by another household in the community is used. Two basic ways are used in relation to a car. The first is mutual neighbourhood help with transport by car to see a doctor, which in the surveyed environment occurred relatively often. Seeing a doctor with ones own health problem was connected with a journey by the car of another household to a determined place; both households went to see a doctor together or they took them along the way on journey of the car owners to go shopping:
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I last saw a doctor perhaps a half-year ago when my son had a fever. I waited in line at the doctors office; she examined him, where she explained the process of treatment and wrote a prescription. I didnt pay anything there, or for the journey, because a neighbour with a motor vehicle, who was also seeing a doctor, took me there and back. The doctor and the medical personnel behaved well toward me; I had my daughter with her granddad at the time. The daughter (two years old) had a cold a runny and stuffed up nose. She went to see a doctor with her mother by the car of another family, who went food shopping. She didnt pay for the journey, but she paid at first 2 euro for the medicine and a week later approximately 3 euro. She chose the medicine herself recommended by the family. The trip back was again by car with a family from the settlement. The other children were home alone (four children between 2 and 17 years old). Seeing the doctor was without any problematic behaviour. The youngest son (one year old) had a high fever. We went to the doctor by bus (6 km). The trip cost us 3 euro, and we paid 6 euro at the pharmacy. The doctor and the nurse are very nice; we dont have any problems with them. We got home by car, our friend took us but we still had to go 2 km on foot. The second method of using anothers car for transport to see a doctor was by a paid services a family paid the owner of the car for transport to the examination. The surveyed households from excluded Roma communities used the renting of anothers car in the absence of other possibilities of transport and in acute cases, when rapid medical care was sought after: Our eleven-year-old son was last ill. He had a temperature, and we had to go with him to the emergency room one afternoon. We paid 2 euro for the emergency room visit, and more than 8 euro for the medicines for the temperature and antibiotics. We went to the emergency room by car with a neighbour; we gave him 8 euro. The doctor and the nurse behaved politely; the doctor explained to me how I was to give him the medicine, and if the temperature didnt drop, how to give him a wrap. The nurse measured the boys temperature and asked whether he was happy at school, if he has good friends.
The five-year-old son swelled up after being stung by an insect. The mother went with her son to the emergency room in town (5 km); their neighbour took them for 10 euro because it was the weekend and the bus stops near the settlement only if someone is getting off. The fee for the emergency room was 2 euro. After the examination on Sunday, they picked up the medicine on Monday: they paid 3.40 euro for an ointment. They went to the paediatrician on Monday and also to the pharmacy, again by car for 15 euro to the district town (25 km). There was a problem with the connection, and therefore, she had to make it home on time, because she was nursing (she had five children at home from 9 months to 6 years old). Because she stated that the sting occurred on Friday, the paediatrician shouted at the mother for not bringing the child to her sooner to the hospital. In such cases of hiring a car costs for travel are often relatively high; the respondents, however, evaluate this solution as cheaper than transport by ambulance or taxi. Due to a lack of financial resources this method of transport to see a doctor has consequences in the form of another family indebtedness family or disruption of the budget needed for buying food. One case was also found when costs for transport by car from the neighbourhood had, for example, to be worked off: Control examination with a neurologist a mother with a one-year-old son who was born prematurely with a weight of 1.5 kg by Caesarean section. The trip to a more distant town by car for the examination cost 30 euro, the fee for the neurological examination was 4 euro (for the ultrasound). The father was at home with the children (the other four children from 4 to 12 years), and couldnt go on a work brigade, and so lost earnings of 10 euro for the whole day (plus food and cigarettes). Perhaps three months ago their ten-year-old son (they also have a thirteen-year-old son) fell in the yard and cut his forehead. He bled a lot, and therefore it was necessary to take him to the emergency room in the district town (17 km). They didnt have money for the journey and the 2 euro fee for the doctor, therefore, my husband went to the local usurer. The usurer offered that he will take us to the doctor; the husband went with him and the wife stayed at home. The boy was examined at the
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emergency room without problems, and going to see the doctor cost 30 euro, which is how much the usurer collected on the day of benefits. A seriously disabled two-year-old son had to see a neurologist (for childs cerebral palsy) for a control examination at the polyclinic in a distant town. The family, without a car, has a problem travelling (they live in a settlement 2.5 km from a village, 6 km from the district town); an ambulance is more expensive than a taxi (approx. 50 euro, taxi 30 euro, without a receipt it may be 20 euro). A private car costs 1015 euro. The examination was scheduled, but right before the deadline of a loan from a private person the agreement was rejected. The family without financial resources asked neighbours with a car the father worked it off at home (digging the foundations for a new fence). For the digging he had 50 euro, for the car they gave 10 euro; the family situation improved. They kept to the schedule, no criticism of the personnel at the polyclinic super professional approach. Sometimes the story regarding the provision of care is a long one, when seeing a local doctor is not sufficient and it is necessary to take a trip for a specialist examination in a distant town. The problem can be the lack of preparedness for such a situation financial or for care of other children in the household: The fourth child (daughter, five years old) had a splaymouth. I got to town from the settlement on foot (this is 2.5 km). Our doctor was just then on holiday and another doctor treated us. She said that I must take my daughter to the hospital in Koice. I requested an ambulance because I didnt have any money, so she answered that this is not how it works, that its not a case that requires an ambulance; she said I have to get there by bus. I argued with the doctor and I went to scrape the money together. A neighbour loaned me 10 euro, and so I took my daughter to the hospital. My mother looked after the other children (she has six children in all from 1 to 10 years old). Although a large portion of the surveyed households from excluded settlements did not declare any problems with the distance when going to see a doctor or with overcoming it, that they have medical care relatively close by or were able to pay travel costs
without stating larger problems (for more, see Appendix 3.2), for many of them distant medical care is a reality which brings difficulties of different types. With marked stress in financial budgets, households also decide, even with larger distances, to go to see a doctor on foot and do so even in the case of an acute illness of a child or adult household member. The use of public transport for some excluded settlements is not accessible at all (no connection operates regularly) or they make seeing a doctor more expensive. In acute cases households try to secure an alternative method of transport, such as, for example, requesting a ride using in a personal car of someone from the neighbourhood. This takes the form of neighbourly help, but also of a purchases service, which is such a case is relatively expensive. Contracts with owners of cars in a situation under pressure and in stress due to the need for medical treatment are often disadvantageous. They lead to indebtedness of the household, when they have to borrow for travel, subtracting from financial resources originally meant for food, or they mean a material liability in the form of working off costs associated with travelling to see a doctor.
2.3. Financial accessibility of a medical examination: total costs and the choice of medicines
The linking of medical care with the financial situation of households has already been indicated by the previous section devoted to spatial accessibility of these public services, when because of the distance of a doctor from the place of habitation many excluded Roma households must give up transport to see a doctor completely and instead go there on foot, or expenditures for travel become a burden on household budgets in other ways. The monitoring of incomes and expenditures showed significant budget stress for a relatively large portion of excluded Roma households in the situation of reliance on social benefits. The difference in total monthly sums of incomes and expenditures was found to be only minimal,12 and households without a working member, where there was
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Graph 12: Average sum expended for the last time seeing a doctor by selected characteristics (in %)
0 5 10 10,01 15 20 25
Total Medical examination of a child Medical examination of an adult Common illness Serious disease Specialist examination Dentist On foot Public transport Own car Anothers car Emergency medical service
6,96 8,15
9,11 11,49
11,29 14,90 9,10
10,89 9,64 14,76 23,50
Note: In the scope of the recorded stories of the last time seeing a doctor child patients made up 63% and adults 27% The share of common illnesses represented 45% of all cases, seeing a doctor for a serious disease16%, specialist and control examinations 12% and dental examinations 5%.
at least one young child and also multi-member households, recorded the worst balance. Furthermore, it was found that stress in the household budget is also increased by the possibilities of handling financial resources during the month when the predominant part of the month a household has only a small portion of its total monthly incomes available. The low total incomes at the same time mean surviving most of the month with very small sums of disposable financial resources. For the given conditions, decisions on household consumption are markedly limited and even covering basic needs or unexpected expenditures, including the provision of essential healthcare, is threatened. Many of the situations capturing the last time seeing a doctor found confirm problems with the financial accessibility of healthcare.
The average expended total sum for the last time seeing a doctor, which included fees for the examination and medicines and expenditures for travel, represented a sum on the level of 10 euro. The sum differed moderately according to the person ill and the type of medical problem. For treatment of child patients the sum was moderately lower than for adult patients (by approx. 2.50 euro), and costs for common illnesses came out less expensive than treatment at the dentist or seeing a doctor due to a serious disease and specialist examinations. With the common illnesses for which children go to see a doctor, basic medical care, which is closer and is less demanding in terms of fees for medicines, is sufficient; in the case of specialist examinations medical care in part becomes more distant, which
12
The average sum of monthly incomes per one household achieved 597.60 euro and the sum of expenditures 552.99 euro; per one household member this was on average a sum of 112.75 euro of incomes to 104.34 euro of expenditures.
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increases the financial demands for transport, but the demands for co-payments for medicine are also higher with such medical problems. The expended sum differed significantly upon comparisons of the method of transport to see a doctor: the lowest was going to see a doctor on foot; on the other hand, the sum increased two- or threefold with the hiring of anothers car for the trip to the doctor or upon calling for emergency medical service, after which a stay in a hospital facility usually followed, thus increasing the expenditures for healthcare services. Overall, the sum expended for the last time seeing a doctor differed significantly: it ranged from zero expenditures to 250 euro (the fee for an abortion); sums over 30 euro, however, occurred only in sporadic cases. Most often the financial amounts came out to be 10 euro, followed by 12 euro, 20 euro and 6 euro.13 Although overall financial expenditures for treatment are especially high, for a significant portion of excluded households they still mean difficulties with paying them. Several households complained in general that this is for them a lot, and they feel these expenditures as a financial burden, especially if they are connected with a more distant specialist examination or with repeated health problems: I last saw a doctor with my youngest son in June. The doctor isnt very nice. When we have to go to the district town for a specialist examination at the polyclinic, the travel costs for the month is around 12 euro, medicines 20 euro, which is a lot for us. The last time seeing a doctor was in mid-September at a paediatrician. It involved repeated inflammation of the air passages and an increased allergy to pollen. The examination went communicatively and without problems; the mother goes to the controls and examinations with the children. Travel costs were 3 euro there and back, expenditures for medicines were 20 euro and they are ill two times a month! The younger child remained at home with the father.
The stressed financial budget of some households also comes from a situation when paying for necessary medicines means the limiting of other basic needs; financial resources intended for providing food are reduced they subsequently dont have the money needed for food: The last time seeing a doctor was for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and hypertension. They travell 4 km by bus to see the doctor. The examination in the clinic is calm; they are satisfied. They pick up the medicines, because they cannot function without them; afterward, they dont have money for food. They dont have any young children; only adults. The last time my son (sixteen years old) was beaten in the settlement and needed medical help. Hed taken a hard hit to his head and nose. The local surgery clinic sent him to the regional capital. I had just come back from a work brigade where Id received 10 euro. I gave the 10 euro to a neighbour to gas up his car so that he could take us to town. I wanted to use that money for food. The probe into the last time seeing a doctor in the environments of excluded settlements recorded several strategies for securing missing financial resources for medical treatments. Among the more rare strategies was saving for a doctor. Even from small incomes some mothers are able to stash money away for anticipated expenditures for healthcare treatment, only so that they dont always have to borrow: When I go to see a doctor, I go on foot or by bus, and my husband watches the children... The children have common illnesses sore throat, cough, bronchial trouble (in the household are eleven children of age 2 to 15 years). When we dont have money, my family loans it to me. I was last at the doctor with my youngest daughter; she had a temperature and inflammation of the air passages. I paid 5.80 euro for medicines; I had 10 euro put away, so I didnt have to borrow. We have a paediatrician in our village who is very good. The children like him and he always gives them a sweet or a colouring book during the examinations.
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13
Average monthly expenditures for healthcare for all members of a household (defined through medicines and examinations, not transport) came out according to the monitoring of incomes and expenditures on a level of 16 euro.
I was with my son he had throat inflammation. We were in our village on foot. The nurse called us into the outpatient clinic for a consultation, but white people knocked on the door and were taken ahead of us for the examination it seemed unfair to me. They prescribed him medicines for 12 euro; I had the money, because I put a little on the side for medicines. But most common method excluded Roma households used to overcome the deficit of financial resources necessary for fees associated with medical treatment are loans. Borrowing for seeing a doctor was relatively widespread; parents usually the mother have already shown with standard illnesses in their children that they are able to estimate the sum they will need for medical treatment: It was necessary to go see doctor with a girl because she had a temperature. The parents went with the girl 1.5 km on foot. The doctor, after the examination, assured the parents that it isnt serious. It was necessary to pay 5.78 euro for the medicines; the parents had to borrow the money. A neighbour woman watched the children at home. I last went to see a doctor with my younger daughter (ten years old), she had a temperature; she drank a cold soda and got a sore throat. I didnt have the money so I had to borrow from the family. I borrowed 10 euro, and the medicines cost 6 euro. I didnt have to pay anything for the journey, because the doctor is here in the village (1 km). She is very good, nice to children, even to our Roma kids. It was necessary to go see a doctor with the youngest member of the family (five-year-old daughter), because her stomach ache would not go away. The mother went to see the doctor with the little girl. The examination went normally. They made the journey to the doctor on foot, because the medical centre is not far away. The father in the family watched the children (they are 10, 11 and 17 years old). The parents had to borrow 10 euro for medicine. The behaviour of the nurse was normal. I go to see the doctor most often with the smallest boy (eighteen months old) hes used to coughing; he gets a temperature and we have to go. It often happens that I dont have the money and then I borrow approximately 10 euro from the family. When
the older boy (four years old) is ill and I need medicines for both, I borrow 15 euro. The last time I was at the doctor was today, with the smallest, and I took the four-year-old one with me. The doctor is here in the village, so I went on foot (the settlement is 1 km away). The older children (three age 8 to 15 years) were in school. I borrowed 10 euro from my sister, and I gave 5 euro for medicine, and I bought some tea and sugar to have for him. We have a good doctor; she always knows our children by name. Households borrow money for covering essential costs for treatment or a cure from different sources. Most often, however, members of their wider family help a sister, a mother-in-law, an uncle but especially parents. Solidarity among relatives is with illnesses very intensive, and networks of relatives play a large part in ensuring healthcare in Roma communities. The above-listed stories have already presented, in addition to other family members, borrowing within a neighbourhood, and a story even occurred with a loan from a field social worker: We went to see the doctor this month with our youngest son, who had a temperature. We both went, my husband and I, and the children stayed at home with our oldest daughter, thirteen years old (four children age 5 to 13 years). We went on foot; we didnt have money for the bus (2 km). We picked up the medicines thanks to my mother-in-law, who loaned us the money. We paid more than 4 euro for the medicine. The doctor and nurse behaved well; they only commented that we never have money for medicines. I was at the doctor with my son, who is two and a half years old; he had a temperature and cried in the night. My husband and older daughter were with the smaller children (three others of age 5 to 15 years). The doctor was normal. I went to see the doctor in town by bus (one way 0.50 cents). I didnt have money for medicine, so I borrowed from my sister (10 euro). My daughter was the last one in the family to take ill she had the flu. We went to see the doctor on foot (2 km), because we didnt have the money for travel right then. I went with my daughter; Im her mother. The medicines cost 10 euro and we had to borrow from the field social worker. In the meantime, the children were with my husband (two children age 12 and 4 years old).
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The last of the presented ways that a family got the money needed for covering expenditures for a trip to see a doctor and for buying medicines was the use of a pawn-shop. Purchases in this case also expanded to other necessary commodities when treating a cold: A two-year-old child had bronchitis. The travel cost was 3 euro and the medicines 4 euro. They pawned some earrings and bought tea and sugar. The paths to financially covering medical treatment in the surveyed excluded households, which have a low income or an income unevenly distributed in time (in the course of a month they do not have disposable financial resources in the amount covering the financial demands of treatment and cures), are therefore varied. The described stories indicated that they are predominately based on the activation of broader networks of relatives or on loans from another from other sources. Among the stories, however, were those in which a household was unable to secure the resources for medicines in the current state of need for a medical examination and treatment. It then occurred that they picked up in a pharmacy only some of the prescribed medicines, they picked them up late (which meant some time between treatment at all or giving up any supporting treatment) or they gave up prescribed and necessary medicines completely due to a lack of financial resources.
In the total sample of recorded stories of the last time seeing a doctor 59% were health problems for which medicines were prescribed to the patient. As Graph 13 shows, among them 85% picked up all of the prescribed medicines, whether without problems or with the help of a loan from another source. The remaining 15% of households signalled in their story some problem with the picking up of medicines. A portion of households picked up medicines or only some of them later than they needed them, while 4% of the cases recorded in the research probe completely gave up prescribed medicines. As was also shown within the framework of a comparison of groups, residents of segregated settlements where double the number of cases of households (nearly one-third) was involved indicated the most problems with picking up medicines on time and in a comprehensive way. Despite the overall declared preference for seeing a doctor with a child patient, some excluded households were unable to pick up all the medicines even with the illness of a child, or they picked them up with a certain time delay, when they were able to secure the financial resources needed: I was with my small son (four years) at the doctor; he coughed and had a fever in the night. I went to the waiting room; I was the first one there, so I waited. The nurse called in a few people before me. Inside the
Graph 13: Last time seeing a doctor with prescription medicines by their being picked-up (in %)
0 10 20 30 40 85 69 93 88 6 8 17 50 60 70 80 5 90 6 6 20 5 3 3 100 4
Total Segregated ettlement Separated settlement on the edge Concentrated settlement in a municipality Picked up all
Picked up some
Picked up later
Did not pick up
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Note: The number of cases with prescribed medicine represented n = 113 units (59%).
clinic the nurse laughed, saying that I come often with the children and that I dont care for them (together she has three children ages 4, 9 and 11 years). The doctor gave him an antibiotic for 5 euro. He also needed a syrup, but I didnt have the money. I travelled by bus (approx. 1 euro). The youngest son (five years old) was the last to see a doctor; he is often ill. He went to see the doctor in town 8 km distant by bus with his mother. They had to borrow for the bus tickets because this was before benefits. The doctor was said to be nice. They didnt pay for the medical service; the medicines would have cost a lot, but they didnt pick them up. The trip cost them 1.20 euro, they got home by bus, too. The other children were in the care of grandparents and older siblings. We last went to see a doctor with our thirteen-year-old daughter, who complained of a stomach ache. She went to see the doctor with mother; they went by mass-transit bus without a ticket, because they didnt have money for a ticket. An auntie stayed with the other children, because the father had to go to an activation activity. The medical examination was problem-free. They gave the daughter an injection and prescribed some medicine. We didnt pick these up from the pharmacy, because it was necessary to pay perhaps 5 euro and we didnt have the money. The pain eventually went away. The nine-year-old son often catches cold and has a high fever. The family often doesnt have the financial resources for a trip to town to the emergency room. By car to town costs 10 euro, the emergency room 2 euro, plus medicines. If they go to see a paediatrician, they dont always have money for medicines. Much more often, however, were situations when adult members of a household were unable to secure all of the necessary medicines. Primarily regular expenditures for medicines with long-term illnesses, which presuppose the permanent use of medicines in the interest of stabilising the health condition, led to the occurrence of periods when such patients did not have the necessary medicines available. They could only acquire life-essential medicines later when some additional incomes came into the household: Mama goes regularly to see the doctor, she is being treated by an eye doctor she has high pressure in her eyes. She always goes to see the doctor on the eighth of
every month. It goes well, because the doctor has known mama for years now. The problem is financial: when mama gets a prescription, she doesnt always pick it up. I have mental health problems; travel costs and medicines cost 20 euro for the whole month. I dont always have my medicines the financial situation doesnt allow for it; another member of the family is on a disability pension. We are happy with the doctor. I was last at the doctor with my own problem: I have an untreatable vein; it has broken twice now. I was at a check-up in Koice. When I had some inflammation in my body, the doctor gave me antibiotics and recommended that I take probiotics, but I didnt have the money for these. I bought the antibiotics for 10 euro. They helped me a lot. The last time seeing a doctor was a neurologist in Koice; my wife suffers from insomnia. She travelled 28 km; she paid 5 euro for the bus. Since I work, we left our son with the neighbours, because the other children were in school. She was there until nearly evening. We had to pay more than 12 euro for the medicines, which we picked up after just a few days, because we didnt have so much money just then. The medical service was average. Unacquired prescription medicines and their lack of use in the necessary regularity or in an acute state of illness may manifest itself in the worsening health status of the patient. Such consequences were described in the recorded empirical stories. Nontreatment of a disease ended, for example, with hospitalisation in great pain or it was necessary to call for emergency medical help with a worsening disease without the use of medicines: The last time the wife was at the gynaecologist. She went on foot to the surgery, but she wasnt able to pick up the medicines, because they cost 16 euro. She didnt know anyone she could borrow from, so in the end she wound up in the hospital with strong cramps. She was treated for five days in the hospital, where the medical personnel treated her like a Gypsy. The mother (grandmother) went to see the doctor; she was dizzy. She didnt have the money to buy the blood pressure tablets, because she didnt want to borrow. She didnt take her medicines for a week; she had a tingling in her face and the rescuer injected her with magnesium. She picked up her medicines the next day.
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The lack of financial resources in the family budget of households from excluded settlements not only has as a consequence the partial, delayed or not picking up of prescription medicines. The last time seeing a doctor also captured the problem of financial inaccessibility of services for reproductive health. The decision of a household for ending the fifth pregnancy in a row could not being realised, because the family was unable to borrow the sum of 250 euro which is needed to pay for an abortion. Despite the poor economic situation and raising four children in poverty and want, the parents had to involuntarily keep the fifth child, although they could not handle securing the needs of the children, which caused them great problems14: I was the last one who was ill; this isnt an illness but I was pregnant and they wanted me to have an abortion (they have four children ages 8 to 13 years). I was in the second month. I needed to 250 euro but we didnt have the money. Since I was unable to get the money together I had to keep the child. Now I am in the fifth month and after eight years I will again give birth, although I no longer want to have another child in such poverty. The financial situation also enters into the process of treatment of members of households from excluded settlements in other ways. Among the stories of last time seeing a doctor was found a case of refusal of hospitalisation due to financial problems. This was the story, for example of a woman whose stay in the hospital was covered with the deadline for paying of benefits. Since she was indebted, she was refused a longer stay in the hospital and left to be treated at home (in substandard hygienic and spatial conditions): Last month a relative of the head of the household (two older people live together in one household) broke her leg. She was taken to the hospital by the emergency medical service (EMS), where she stayed for two days. The next day he went by rented car after her to take some necessary items and personal items. He had to borrow 30 euro for providing this, plus 10
euro for being taken to the hospital (4 km). She didnt want to stay in the hospital because she had borrowed money and in three days was to get her benefit. She was admitted on Friday and on Monday money came, so that on Sunday, during visiting time, she was released for home treatment. She had been on work leave since June, so until she had control, shell have to extend it. In total she became indebted for both by a sum 80 euro. Problems with financial accessibility of a public service of this type did not end with merely the reduction or partial giving up of necessary medical care. Some surveyed households from excluded Roma settlements give up medical care completely due to the problems with paying for medicines. The explanation that it is pointless to go to see a doctor if the household doesnt have money for buying medicines was repeated several times in the scope of the recorded situations: We dont go to see a doctor very much; not that we werent ill but we were unable to pick up medicines, then for what?! When one of us goes to see a doctor, its me; Im always coughing. My father had something with his lungs... But so what, such is life. According to the qualitative research carried out in the surveyed excluded environments, problems with financial securing of medical care are relatively widespread. Without a claim on any quantification the budgets of many of the surveyed households were insufficient for paying for necessary medicines, although the overall sum of necessary costs for the last times seeing a doctor was not on average particularly high (about 10 euro). For a significant portion of households from the surveyed environment giving such expenditure from a limited household budget was a problem. As was emphasised at the same time, their expenditure means limitations in other areas of consumption predominately from environments for meals. This testifies to the extreme budget stress of these families.
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14
A six-member family lives in a shack with one room without a kitchen and bath, where they dont have any furnishings they are without water and sewerage; they dont have their own beds; both partners are unemployed.
Graph 14: Last time seeing a doctor for excluded households with the obligation of care for other children by provision of care (in %)
0 5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45 46 11 5 7 20 8 3 50
1 = partner 2 = grandparent 3 = other relative 4 = older child 5 = they were at school 6 = brought them with me 7 = neighbour
Note: The share of cases with the obligation regarding other children was 54% (n=104 units).
Families which went to see a doctor used several strategies for securing and carrying out the necessary treatment. The most widespread was the current solution, i. e. immediate loans of the necessary financial amounts predominately from family members. Medical care for household members (particularly for children) in excluded communities becomes to a large measure a common experience of the wider family networks. Upon the failure of all alternative solutions for financing necessary medicines, treatment sometimes gets to patients in a limited range or later than is necessary. Cases were also recorded in the research when an unresolved illness led to a deepening or worsening of the medical problem and to necessarily broader medical interventions in the form of hospitalisation with progressive diseases or an emergency medical service intervention. It was also a not unusual phenomenon that adult patients gave up on common medical examinations completely; if they were unable to secure medicines, they considered seeing a doctor to be pointless.
2.4. Social accessibility of medical care: tending to other children and the approach of healthcare personnel
Aside from spatial and financial accessibility, stories of seeing a doctor with some family member also limits the possibility of ensuring care for other children in the household. In view of the fact that 85% of the recorded cases of households had at least one dependent child, and of this 54% had three or more dependent children, the question of the possibility of seeing a doctor with some of the children or with the health problem of one of the parents, while at the same time ensuring care for the other children in the household, becomes more than current.15 The obligations of parental care in the surveyed environments are exceedingly broad, which when seeing a doctor means not only handling the trip to the doctor with an ill family member itself, but also solving the problem of caring for the remaining children in the household. How families resolve care for other children when going to a medical facility with an ill child or one of
15
From the final sample 54% of households had at least one young child, and from this 30% had two or more young children; 68% of the sample had at least one school-attending child, and from this 28% of the surveyed households had three or more school-attending children. The average number of dependent children per one household came out to be nearly three (2.7 dependent children, in segregated settlements 2.9 dependent children).
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the parental pair was indicated in several of the cited stories. Graph 14 indicates16 that there are essentially two possible strategies aside from cases when children were in school at the time of the trip to the doctor (20% of the relevant stories). The first strategy is that they take the child to the doctor along with the patient they accompany their sibling or a parent into the examination. Such solutions were not very frequent, but they did occur among the stories (they formed 8% of cases with the obligation of caring for other children). Sometimes this meant for a parent overcoming a relatively large distance to the doctor on foot not only with an ill child, but also with other children; another time the accompanying of a child to see a doctor had the form of a visit in the evening hours when the parent was, aside from being burdened by his or her own health problem, troubled with the care and fears for a young child: They were last at the doctor for the vaccination of a child. The mother went on foot to the neighbouring village to see the doctor (4 km). Since the child was not ill, the vaccination ran just fine and was free of charge. She also took older children with her to the doctor; she had no one to leave them with. The last time I was at the doctor was today, with the smallest (eighteen months), and I took the four-yearold child with me. The doctor is here in the village, so I went on foot (the settlement is 1 km away). The older children (three age 8 to 15 years) were in school. I borrowed 10 euro from my sister, and I gave 5 euro for medicine, and I bought some tea and sugar to have for him. We have a good doctor; she always knows our children by name. Both parents after a physical attack needed a CT examination; the mother with the head after a concussion felt nauseated, she had to go with the neighbour in the car and with the family go to the emergency room to the nearest hospital (20 km). They paid 2 euro at the emergency room, 15 euro for the trip by car there and back. Because it was eight oclock
in the evening, she had a problem with waiting, because her five-year-old son wanted to go to sleep and didnt want to stay home with the father (they had three older children). The second strategy for resolving care while going to see a doctor consisted in leaving another child or children in some form of supervisory care. Among them cases predominated when the children remained in the care of the other partner the father or mother (a total of 46% of relevant cases); according to which of them took care of the necessary medical examination: The daughter coughed a lot; they went by bus for 1.10 euro. She went with her mom; they didnt pay anything for the doctor and in the pharmacy 2.80 euro. The husband guarded the children (they have a total of four children age 3 to 6 years). They were at a control and vaccination for the oneyear-old son. The examination went without problems; the mother went with the child by bus (10 km). The family father stayed with the other children (four children age 3 to 8 years). The youngest son (one year old) had an ear infection. I went to see the doctor with him alone (a half km to the village); my husband watched the children (the other four children age 3 to 15 years). We went on foot, so we didnt pay anything, but at the pharmacy I paid more than 6 euro. Illnesses always make life difficult, on the wallet, too. Both the doctor and the nurse were nice, but it bothered me that I had to wait a lot. The mother was with the son for an examination for bronchitis (he is four years old). Transport was with a neighbour for 5 euro (7 km); they paid 2 euro for the examination and 7 euro for the medicines. The other children (age 7 and 5 years old) were with the husband. Family roles are rather strictly divided in Roma communities, and the predominating model of a family is based on one provider the man; a Roma woman is confined to the domestic sphere.17
16
17
40
In the total sample of stories of the last visit to see a doctor 46% did not have to resolve the problem of care for children (the household did not have children, or other children) or they were of an age when they were able to care for themselves); the remaining 54% had to consider care for children upon their departure for the medical facility. More about the spreading of traditional family contract in Roma communities based on elements of classical patriarchal, see the publication of the Cultural Association of Roma in Slovakia from 2009 Data on Human Rights of Roma Women (Data.., 2009) or a newer publication from the non-profit organisation Quo Vadis called A Picture of Roma Women (Picture..., 2012).
Sometimes the need for alternative care in the case of the main care provider seeing a doctor means on one hand involvement of Roma men in household care, but in the strictly divided family world this can also mean for the care-providing parent a loss of other opportunities, for example, the loss of an opportunity to bring some work income into the family: ... The father was at home with the children (the other four children from 4 to 12 years), and couldnt go on a work brigade, and so lost earnings of 10 euro for the whole day (plus food and cigarettes)... In the position of other alternative care-providers on the basis of empirical facts were grandparents (11% of relevant cases of seeing a doctor). If the mother or father departs to see a doctor, the grandmother, more rarely the grandfather, take on the obligations for care: The mother was last to see a doctor with the daughter because of a regular check-up. No illness was found. They travelled by bus and paid 1.10 euro. The grandmother cared for the other children (six other children from 2 months to 20 years). I was last to see a doctor by myself, because I am pregnant. My father took me to the doctor, and the doctor examined me and wrote the results into the pregnancy book. She behaved politely to me and gave me other advice, particularly about nutrition. I didnt pay for the medical examination, and likewise for the travel, because my father didnt want me to. During the trip to see the doctor my mother took care of the children (three children age from 2 to 7 years). I last saw a doctor perhaps a half-year ago when my son had a fever. I waited in line at the doctors office, she examined him, where she explained the process of treatment and wrote a prescription. I didnt pay anything there, or for the journey, because a neighbour with a motor vehicle, who was also seeing a doctor, took me there and back. The doctor and the medical personnel behaved well toward me; I had my daughter with her granddad at the time. Sometimes parents are forced when going to see a doctor themselves or with some of the children to leave other children in the care of their older siblings. Such a situation can bring a certain danger, primarily
in those cases if the older child is of relatively young age to have care over several younger siblings: The twelve-year-old daughter appeared in the company of the mother for a summons to a local doctor for an examination. They went on foot (1.5 km), and didnt have to pay the doctor anything. The visit went without problems; the other children (three children in the age of 11, 9 and 5 years) remained at home with an older sibling (sixteen-year-old daughter). We went to see the doctor this month with our youngest son, who had a temperature. We both went, my husband and I, and the children stayed at home with our oldest daughter, thirteen years old (four children age 5 to 13 years). We went on foot; we didnt have money for the bus (2 km). We picked up the medicines thanks to my mother-in-law, who loaned us the money. We paid more than 4 euro for the medicine. The doctor and nurse behaved well; they only commented that we never have money for medicines. A visit to the gynaecologist a consultation (pregnant in the seventh month). I went by bus to see the doctor; the nurses helpfully accommodatingly and nicely, and I was satisfied. The children were with their older siblings (four children age 2 to 15 years). From among other relatives an aunt or sister-in-law occurred in the role of alternative care provider for children in the recorded cases of the last time to see a doctor, but in reality the diversity of wider family networks can be even more significantly varied. The solution of involving the broader range of relatives in the care of children occurred, when one of the parents could not take care of the children, for example, when both parents had to see a doctor together or the partner could not take on this role of alternative care provider because of a work commitment. In such cases women from the neighbourhood became the alternative care providers: The woman was at the gynaecological examination (abortion); and her partner and a neighbour went with her to see the doctor. They travelled by passenger car; petrol cost 10 euro. Payment for the abortion was 250 euro. The sister-in-law took care of the children (two children ages 8 and 10 years). The medical care was excellent.
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It was necessary to go see doctor with a girl because she had a temperature. The parents went with the girl 1.5 km on foot. The doctor, after the examination, assured the parents that it isnt serious. It was necessary to pay 5.78 euro for the medicines; the parents had to borrow the money. A neighbour woman watched the children at home. The last time seeing a doctor was a neurologist in Koice; my wife suffers from insomnia. She travelled 28 km; she paid 5 euro for the bus. Since I work, we left our son with the neighbours, because the other children were in school... Among the empirical stories a case was recorded in which due to the obligation to care for children, combined with fear of the children from the medical examination, a family with children didnt go regularly for check-ups and could be found at the paediatrician only when the children had more serious medical problems. Such was the case of a woman and her partner with an unfinished primary education and who have eight children and live in a segregated settlement approximately one kilometre distant from the home village in very poor housing conditions:18 They dont go to see a doctor often; the children are afraid of injections (eight children age 5 to 12 years). She only communicates with the doctor because of the children; she doesnt go for consultations, only at the time of birth. So its hard to communicate with the doctor. Despite this, they examine them and offer medical care (from the settlement to the village is more than 1 km). On the basis of the empirical material, it was shown that obligations of care for a larger number of children in the scope of the household also contributed to the limitation from the viewpoint of accessibility of medical care. Going to see a doctor in the case of a large portion of households from excluded settlements is complicates or limited by the need to secure care for other children in the household. At the same time the primary role of partners in caring for other children was confirmed. If both parents go to
Graph 15: Evaluation of approach of healthcare personnel (in %)
12
12
Excellent
19
Normal Poor Not given, not applicable
57
Note: From all stories of the last time seeing a doctor (n = 184 units).
see the doctor or the second of the partners has another obligation, other children also go to the examination or the broader family or neighbourhood networks get involved in their care. And cases are not rare when the oldest of the siblings takes on the obligation of care, sometimes even when they have not achieved an appropriate age. The last characteristic which respondent household were to describe in relation to their last time seeing a doctor were their experiences with the approach of healthcare personnel. As is shown in Graph 15, the majority of stories evaluated the behaviour of doctors and nurses as normal, common or problem-free, equal as to other patients. Such statements about healthcare workers were made in 57% of cases, while another 12% stated in the end an incomparable or excellent approach. On the other hand a critical voice sounded out from not quite one-fifth of the surveyed households (19%), and the remaining 12% did not make mention of the behaviour of doctors. Evaluations were moderately
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18
A family with ten members lives in an illegally built shack with one room, without a kitchen and bath, in which they dont have running water and no sewerage system.
differentiated according to whether the given case involved children or adults going to a healthcare facility. With children patients excellent evaluations of the behaviour of healthcare personnel occurred more often, but at the same time critical comments also occurred more often in such cases (by approximately 5% more positive and negative evaluations); in the case of adult patients the represented average evaluations acknowledging professionalism and problem-free behaviour were stronger. Roma parents linked positive evaluations of paediatricians with a humane approach to their child, and the appreciated communicativeness of the doctor or nurse, as in when they praised the child or gave them sweets or a colouring book, which creates good relations between the child and the doctor: I went last to see a doctor with my older son (nine years), who had bronchitis. I had the money, so I didnt have to borrow it. I gave 3 euro for medicines. The younger son was home with my husband, who is on disability leave, the older kids were in school (five children in total). The doctor and the nurse are very good to us; they praised my son for being so polite and he got a sweet. ... We have a paediatrician in our village who is very good. The children like him and he always gives them a sweet or a colouring book during the examinations... Very often they emphasised the length of the relationship with a good evaluation the approach of healthcare workers, when they know doctors or nurses for years, and often they treated them when they were themselves children. They appreciated if they know the children by name: The last time seeing a doctor took place on 21 August 2011 with the youngest daughter she had a stomach ache. The mother went on foot to see the doctor with the child, because the healthcare centre was located not far from them. The doctor has known this family for years, so the visit occurred in a pleasant atmosphere. They paid 4.15 euro for the medicines. They went home on foot and the father watched the other children (older children, 14 and 17 years old). I went to see a doctor this month with both children, because they had a fever and diarrhoea. We have
a doctor here in town, so I went on foot. I paid 12.50 euro for the medicines, which I picked up so theyd get well. The doctor and nurse have known us for a long time and they are always good. The daughter took ill (ten years old), the father went with her and the mother watched the children. The daughter had the flu; they went to see the doctor by bus. The roundtrip fare cost 10 euro, and they paid 5 euro for medicines. The nurse has known them for a long time and is a very nice lady. So no problems occurred. ...We have a good doctor; she always knows our children by name... They didnt just have positive experiences with paediatricians; such cases also occurred when seeing a gynaecological clinic or a general practitioner. Again, open communication from the side of the personnel was the reason for the good feeling with going to the medical facility: help with overcoming fear of the examination and expressions of interest in their life situation: Our fifteen-year-old daughter was the last to have a problem. She was found to have a disease of the ovaries and a gynaecological examination was necessary. This was her first examination of this type; she was afraid, even though her mother was there with her. The doctor and the nurse both behaved very nicely to her; they told her that there was nothing to fear, that everything will be fine. The travel cost was 2.20 euro times two, and we paid 10 euro for medicines. I have high blood pressure; I take medicines regularly so I go to see the doctor regularly. Her surgery is in the village, so I go on foot. Im able to estimate approximately how much money Im going to need each month for medicines, so that I always put money away for this. The doctor has known me for years and she always asks whats new and how work is going and how the family is doing. Several of the respondents in their evaluations of the approach of healthcare personnel emphasised the fact that they always go to see the doctor cleaned up and well-dressed. They see in the first condition of favourable behaviour from the side of healthcare personnel, but also other institutions or the public. Hidden, but also explicitly in their own statements they distanced themselves from some groups of their
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own ethnicity, in which they saw the reason for the negative approach from the side of the majority: ... The nurse behaved well to them, because they go to see the doctor cleaned up and well-dressed. ... I always take my son clean to see the doctor, and the nurse but also the doctor has praised us many times... The mother went with her daughter to see the doctor on 21 August 2011 with a headache. Their paediatrician was at one time the mothers paediatrician so the visit went normally, friendly. They paid 2.87 euro for the medicines and 1.50 euro for the tickets. The father watched the other children (two children). Everywhere the difference in the approach of other people can be see among clean Roma and dirty, whether at an office, at the doctor or in school. At least here in town people prefer the cleaner ones. The doctor of these girls sees them as peers because she has known the family for several years. My younger daughter was last ill (15 years old); she had a sore throat. The doctor works in the village, we paid 10 euro for medicines. The doctor and nurse are nice, but in the waiting room its always stuffy and a smell. ... The doctors were good; I waited about an hour for the examination. I cant push to the front like an Olah. When a person is ill, it has to happen that the Olahs jump the queue ahead of us, they also scolded the doctor. So long as critical voices are concerned regarding the medical examination and behaviour of personnel, these are related to several aspects of the medical care provided. Most often criticism is connected with a long wait for treatment, or even with a patient scheduled for a set time. Not infrequently, although not in all cases, respondents linked their long wait for treatment with being passed by and with preferential treatment of non-Roma over Roma. They expressed a strong feeling that Roma patients are left to wait and others are called into the surgery preferentially, or they point to the different behaviour of nurses to the patients from these two groups of residents. Roma households also have experience with distance from the side of other patients in healthcare facilities: We last went to the emergency room, when our youngest son (eight years old) broke his arm. A neighbour took us to the district town (19 km);
the trip cost 10 euro. We had to wait a long time, because just then a lot of ambulances delivered ill and drunk people. We were very angry. The partner went to see the doctor he had an appointment at an exact time and they didnt take him at all; he waited a long time. I only had one problem at the doctor: that preference was given to whites before Roma in the waiting room. The Roma in waited in the waiting room and they called in the white people. A week ago my daughter had a fever. We came to the waiting room, people always look when a Gyspy comes. We went there on foot, as it is not far away. The nurse is always irritable when I come with the children, but when the non-Roma cut in front of me, she smiles. The doctor is very good. He prescribed a syrup for my daughter to treat the fever (4 euro) and control in a week. My partner stayed home with the children. Several empirical stories differentiated between the behaviour and approach of the nurse and the doctor. They repeatedly commented on the unpleasant and shouting behaviour of a nurse, which differed from the doctor, but a direct association of such behaviour with their ethnic membership was not mentioned in their answer: The trip to see the doctor didnt cost anything, because the settlement is near the hospital. The nurse always barks at people, but the doctor is good. They were there with the youngest child, who had a temperature and a cough (five years old). They paid 4 euro for medicines. The daughter is pregnant, so she went to the pregnancy clinic. The nurse there is very unpleasant; she is thinking of changing gynaecologist as a result. She went by bus and the trip cost 2 euro. A simple rebuke from the side of healthcare personnel that they do not go to see the doctor for preventive examinations regularly and on time contributed to the negative feeling that Roma mothers had from visiting a medical facility: Preventive check-up for a child; the mother went with the child this costs 3 euro. The nurse was a bit irritated, since the mother should have been at the check-up sooner.
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A control examination of a child (three years, they have two other children age 1 year old), the mother went with him. It cost 4 euro; they didnt pay anything at the surgery. The nurse and doctor remarked to them that its necessary to go regularly. Feelings of injustice from insufficient care are also found alongside the overall appreciation of the work of doctors. Such were found in the story of a seriously ill child, when the father very positively evaluated the behaviour of the doctors in the given situation, who are willing to explain the procedure treatment and to give hope to the patient and his parents. Despite the conviction of good care, the parents came away with feelings of injustice and unfairness, if the personnel were unable to devote themselves to all the patients. The linking with ethnic membership of the family, however, was not indicated in the story: We have a twenty-five-year-old son ill with leukaemia. He is often hospitalised in Koice he is undergoing chemotherapy; and this month he is in the hospital. His health status is worsening. The doctors are helping him; they believe that after the chemotherapy he is undergoing now his status will improve. We are waiting for a bone-marrow donor. The doctors are willing to explain everything to him and to me that we dont know, that we dont understand. Unfortunately, it sometimes happens that the nurses are unable to help all of the patients who need help. Its then I feel this injustice that my son is there along and I cannot help him. His illness is costing us a lot of money; we are already in debt. The family is helping us; they are always willing to loan us money. However, a different approach from the side of medical personnel on the basis of ethnicity was found among the stories collected regarding the last time seeing a doctor and several times. Some of the respondents met with unequal treatment, for example, when going to the emergency room. According their own convictions, doctors behaved badly and unpleasantly due their being members of the Roma ethnicity. And they felt such behaviour instantly upon first contact, if membership to the Roma nationality was visible, or they registered a change in behaviour from the side of the doctor, when membership was identified on the basis of the surname:
My man had an asthma attack; we went to the emergency room; we paid 2.50 euro. He had to remain in the hospital, and for the trip home I didnt have money. So I stayed in town with my sister. The doctors behaved badly, as soon as they noticed that we are Gypsies. On 14 September 2011 my boy (son three years old) got a high fever, so in the night at 8:30 p.m. I went on foot with my son in the pram. I waited for nearly an hour for the doctor, because he was seeing a patient at home. The first contact with the doctor was pleasant, until I told him our name. After this information he said that he is not a paediatrician so Id have to go to the emergency room in a larger town, which is 24 km away. Roma women were also judged by their ethnic membership in cases of refusing them a stay in the hospital together with an ill hospitalised child. Despite all attempts and pleadings to stay together with the child, the medical facilities would not allow them to stay. The official reason was the lack of space, but as the women noted, other mothers were permitted to stay. They evaluated the situation as discrimination and during discussions on a hospital stay; they met with expletives and racism: Our youngest son (four years old) had strong diarrhoea and needed hospitalisation. We were very angry at the doctor and the nurse, because I couldnt remain with him in the hospital, although our son cried a lot. I offered them money, but in vain. They supposedly didnt have room, and then we found out that a non-Roma was admitted with a small girl to the same department. This was discrimination. Last time my second child was ill (eight-year-old son, she also has a twelve-year-old son and two-year-old daughter). He had jaundice and it was necessary to hospitalise him in the regional capital. We didnt have money, so I asked my uncle for 20 euro for travel by car. I wanted to stay with him to take care of him, but they didnt let me. I argued with the nurse who was very contrary and racist; she told me I was like the dirty slobs. In the meantime, I left the other children with the neighbours. The amount of humiliating and unjust feelings was based on stigmatisation, with which many of the respondent households met even on the premises of
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medical facilities. They experienced cases of social prejudice against their own person, when they had different negative characteristics from the stereotypes of the Roma minority ascribed to them from. This involved being labelled with negative characteristics which are connected with the Roma in the society. According to the experiences of several households from excluded settlements these took different forms. One of the Roma mothers was accused by hospital personnel of turning the facility into a depository for children; at the same time she had a daughter with an infectious disease which requires hospitalisation. Her paediatrician had to stand up for her. Another experience told of seeing a local doctor with high blood pressure during which the doctor first asked if she used alcohol. Another Roma mother experienced feelings of shame and humiliation when she brought her son to see the paediatrician with a rash and the doctor first asked whether they had fleas at home. A pair of Roma parents felt very uncomfortable when they went to the emergency room with their child, who had a fever, and the nurse asked them, in front of the other patients, whether they have the fee for the treatment, though such a question was not asked of the other patients. My youngest daughter was often ill. In the hospital at the overnight department I several times experienced that the personnel has raised their voice at me, telling me that Im using the department as a depository. Our local paediatrician, however, stood up for me, because he knows that I dont neglect to care for my children. Certainly its a lot better now, when a social worker accompanies us. Then they dont allow so much against us Roma. The wife had high blood pressure; her daughter was with her. The doctor first asked how much she had had to drink, measured her blood pressure and gave her an injection. This was all; we were in our own village (more than half a km to the doctor). Here in the village I went to see the doctor with my son, because he had a rash on his legs and belly. The doctor gave me a liquid ointment that cost about 1.50 euro. She asked whether we have fleas at home and I was offended.
We last saw a doctor at the end of June with our tenyear-old daughter (they have one younger child, five years old and 3 older age 15 to 22 years), who had a temperature. I and my wife and daughter went in our own car to the emergency room at the regional capital, because it was a Saturday. The older siblings were with the children. Petrol cost 4 euro (15 km to town), and we paid 2 euro at the doctor and perhaps 4 euro for the medicine, which the doctor prescribed for my daughter. The examination went normally, but we werent happy that the nurse asked us in front of the other patients whether we have the two euro fee for the doctor, because he will not examine us, and at the same time she didnt ask the other patients. We borrowed 20 euro for this treatment. And the fear of Roma residents with calling for emergency medical help can be considered to be a certain consequence of negative stigmatization. They fear accusations of abusing the rescuers, which has as a consequence the expanded myth of unjustified calling on medical services of this type into Roma communities. The difficult access to distant medical care from excluded settlements and worse health status is forgotten with this, however. It was shown that in some residents of Roma communities inhibitions are created regarding free decisions about calling on emergency help, because they fear the financial recourse of an unauthorised call: The grandmother (sixty-four years old) fainted three times in a four-hour period. Emergency medical help was called and no change in her health status was found. During the writing of the medical report, she fainted again, and they determined unsteady blood pressure and suspicions of diabetes. She was then hospitalised in the district town 15 km distant as reliant on insulin. If the EMS had not found any health problem, the daughter would have borne the consequence of abusing the EMS with a financial penalty. Evaluation of the approach of healthcare personnel ended up on the basis of the research probe into the last time seeing a doctor relatively favourable for healthcare workers. The majority of Roma patients met during this public service with a standard approach, a portion in the end with a very good approach, but the research at the same time pointed
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out the existence of unfavourable experiences and feelings from this field of the public sphere. Roma household predominately have good feelings and experiences with doctors with whom they have longterm contact and have created a relationship of mutual trust and respect, but they meet with different treatment or racism in foreign, more distant environments, when they have to go to the hospital or emergency room in a larger town. Not infrequently with the provision of medical services they meet with stigmatising labelling connected with their membership in the Roma minority, which is associated with negative stereotypical images regarding neglectful care of children, alcoholism, lack of cleanliness and poor hygienic relations, or with nonpayment of obligatory fees for treatment or for abusing the emergency medical services. Members of Roma households from excluded settlements, when going to see a doctor, met with a refusal or distance from the side of personnel and other patients, with prejudice and discrimination, as well as with verbal attacks. To a certain measure, such negative experiences with the approach of healthcare personnel works as a barrier of accessibility to healthcare services. Summary of the findings: The situational analysis indicated that in Roma communities preference for medical care is given to children before adults. Adult members of households go to see a doctor with more serious diseases (cardiovascular diseases, motor diseases), and they do not see a doctor with common illnesses. Among the common illnesses Roma children experience, aside from colds and respiratory illnesses, are also digestive problems, such as a stomach ache and diarrhoea. Preventive check-ups and vaccinations are nearly exclusively an experience of children. The compiled cases of the last time seeing a doctor also indicated several barriers in access to medical care in a significant portion of marginalised Roma communities. Spatial exclusion itself immediately establishes problems with access to medical care. The majority of recorded cases had standard medical
services relatively distant, whether this is a paediatrician or a local doctor, in the case of accessibility of an emergency room or a hospital and specialist treatment or examination the distance to medical care deepened further. For overcoming this distance families from excluded settlements must expend special efforts. In the conditions of poor financial situation of many excluded Roma households going to see a doctor on foot is not uncommon they overcome the trip of some kilometres even with an ill child or with their own illness. Only a few from excluded households have their own vehicle available, and a relatively frequent strategy is using a passenger car of someone from the neighbourhood. Such a journey to see a doctor is either an accompanying activity of the vehicle owner to a distant location, or the household renting a care for the purpose of an urgent journey to see the doctor. Then to pay the costs they borrow, and even cases of usury or working off of debts accrued for transport were found. Public transport is also a problem for households from excluded settlements when going to see a doctor: for some settlements, namely it is not accessible or permanent or the households cannot afford it for financial reasons. But problems of marginalised communities do not end with spatial limitations in the accessibility of medical care. The poor economic situation complicates the accessibility and quality of care for many of these households. Not only for transport to see a doctor are financial resources not available, but also for fees and prescribed medicines, which forces families to borrow or leads to giving up and a limitation of needed treatment, or the inaccessibility of other services, for example, for reproductive health. The great broadening of loans in the surveyed environments for covering basic needs for medical care point out the connection of broader family and neighbour networks for solving specific healthcare problems, primarily in children. Networks are involved with transport and financial coverage of transport, and also wit securing necessary medicines and treatments. And broader family networks in the
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surveyed environments function also with securing care of other children in households when seeing a doctor. The lack of financial resources and the absence of many public services support cooperation of family and community networks for overcoming existing barriers and limitations in access to medical services. The potential of one household for this type of social integration in many cases is not sufficient; they must activate relational and community networks. In a certain group of excluded households, however, deficiencies lead to giving up on the standard form of medical care. Aside from spatial distant and financial difficulties the situational analysis also pointed to the limitation of social accessibility of medical services. Access to medical services for members of households from excluded communities is complicated by the obligation to care for other children in the household. The discriminatory experiences with which a certain
portion of the surveyed households met with when seeing a doctor also have a negative impact here. The large problems found for excluded households predominately reliant on social benefits for financial coverage of transport to see a doctor and medical services, including the securing of medicines, indicates a question of whether the entire system of support for healthcare of people in material need should not be built in a different way than the current two-euro allowance for medical care to the benefit in material need.19 If society has a genuine interest in improving the health status of all of its citizens and in ensuring the right to medical care, which belongs among fundamental human rights and which is stipulated by the Constitution of the Slovak Republic, the situation found with problems in spatial, financial and social accessibility of medical services for substantial groups of citizens urges public policies regarding responsible intervention.
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19
For more, see: http://www.employment.gov.sk/prispevok-na-zdravotnu-starostlivost.html.
Appendix to Chapter 2: Last time seeing a doctor

SEEING A PAEDIATRICIAN Problem-free visit with a doctor:
My daughter had the flu; Im her mother and I went with her; we went on foot (the paediatrician in the village). I have a pleasant doctor so we dont have problems. I picked up her medicines. Our ten-month old son had trouble breathing; the doctor gave him a prescription for a syrup for 15 euro, which I picked up that day. The doctor was nice. They went by car to see the doctor with a child, who had a cold. They have their own car, and they gave about 3 euro for petrol. The doctor prescribed medicine, for which they paid 2 euro. The behaviour of the medical personnel was normal. We went to see the doctor because my daughter had inflamed tonsils and a high fever. The other children (four children age 18 to 8 years) stayed home with their father. The doctors are always charitable to us, and the nurses, too. Medicines cost me 12 euro, because I bought more to put away for the other children (four others). We went by bus (7 km for about 2 euro). The last time my daughter was ill. Im her mother so I went with her and everything went okay. We didnt have to travel, because we have a doctor close by. We went to see a doctor a month ago with our eleven-year-old son. Mama went with him to see the doctor in the village (1.2 km). Our son had in the night a temperature and cough. The visit with the doctor went without larger problems; the behaviour of the doctor was normal. He looked over the boy and prescribed him medicine. We paid 4.20 euro for medicines. The daughter, who had a cough, needed a medical examination. The mother went with her by bus to the local doctor in the neighbouring village (7 km). They determined that the daughter had bronchitis, and medicines were prescribed costing 7 euro, which they picked up. The visit went normally; the behaviour was normal. The daughter coughed a lot; they went by bus for 1.10 euro. She went with her mom; they didnt pay anything for the doctor and in the pharmacy 2.80 euro. The partner guarded the children (they have a total of four children age 3 to 6 years). With a child (sixteen years old), he coughed had a cold. The visit went normally. They had no costs at the doctor or the pharmacy; they went there and back by car, petrol cost 5 euro. Flu, the mother went with the daughter (ten years old; they have three other children age 3 to 9 years old). They have a doctor in the village; the nurse was very nice. They went to see the doctor in their own car; the youngest son was ill (ten years), he had a fever and coughed. They paid 5 euro for medicines. The behaviour of the nurse was normal, as they have been going there for years. I went last to see a doctor with my older son (nine years), who had bronchitis. I had the money, so I didnt have to borrow it. I gave 3 euro for medicines. The younger son was home with my husband, who is on disability leave, the older kids were in school (five children in total). The doctor and the nurse are very good to us; they praised my son for being so polite and he got a sweet. The daughter took ill (ten years old), the father went with her and the mother watched the children. The daughter had the flu; they went to see the doctor by bus. The roundtrip fare cost 10 euro, and they paid 5 euro for medicines. The nurse has known them for a long time and according to their words she is a very nice lady. So no problems occurred. In February went to see the doctor with the mother the daughter had the flu. They travelled to the district town by car (20 km), the trip cost 10 euro. They didnt pay anything at the doctor and the visit went fine; the behaviour of the doctor and nurses was normal. Yes, a week ago I was at the doctor with the children (two children, 6 and 8 years old), they had the flu. I gave around 30 euro for medicines, and I dont have any problems with the behaviour of the doctor or nurses. Our young son (six years old) had a throat infection. We travelled to see the doctor in town (13 km); the trip cost 5 euro. We picked up the medicines and we paid 4.80 euro. The doctor and the nurse were nice and in my opinion we received good medicines, because by evening his fever was already normal. The mother was with the son for an examination for bronchitis (he is four years old). Transport was with a neighbour for 5 euro (7 km); they paid 2 euro for the examination and 7 euro for the medicines. The other children (age 7 and 5 years old) were with the husband. The mother went with her daughter to see the doctor on 21 August 2011 with a headache. Their paediatrician was at one time the mothers paediatrician so the visit went normally, friendly. They paid 2.87 euro for the medicines and 1.50 euro for the tickets. The father watched the other children (two children). Everywhere the difference in the approach of other people can be see among clean Roma and dirty, whether at an office, at the doctor or in school. At least here in town people prefer the cleaner ones. The doctor of these girls sees them as peers because she has known the family for several years.
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The last time seeing a doctor was the mother with two daughters due to a cough and a preventive check-up. They travelled by bus to see the doctor (nearly 11 km), for which a one-way journey cost 1.40 euro (1 whole and 2 half-price tickets). The behaviour of the doctor and the nurses was normal. They didnt pay any fee, but they paid 7 euro for medicines. The husband stayed home to watch the third daughter. The mother was last to see a doctor with the two- year-old daughter because of a regular check-up. No illness was found. They travelled by bus and paid 1.10 euro. The grandmother cared for the other children (six other children from 2 months to 20 years). Regular check-up with the children (three children ages 1, 2 and 3 years). The children are not ill; the visit went without problems. The mother travelled with the children by car with her brother. The father of the children stayed home with the three-year-old son. So far they have not run across any unpleasantness. We last went to see the doctor with our youngest daughter (five years old) to the emergency room in our town. The first day I went alone with the girl alone and on foot. The doctor examined her and his behaviour was good. It was visible that he was doing his duty, and the nurse was nice. He diagnosed my daughter a cold. Only on the second day her condition worsened, so I went with my sister-in-law and her husband by car again to the emergency room; this was six in the evening. The costs for the doctor and everything associated with this came out to be 10 euro. The mother went to see the doctor with the youngest daughter (four years old); she had a high temperature and a cough. They went to the doctor (approx. 6 km) by car with a neighbour, who has a car and who drove; she gave 5 euro for the journey. She paid a total of 6 euro for medicines. The husband stayed home with the children (four children 5 to 12 years).The nurse behaved well to them, because they go to see the doctor cleaned up and well-dressed. The daughter (two years old) had a cold, a runny and stuffed up nose. She went to see a doctor with her mother by car of another family, who went to go food shopping. She didnt pay for the journey, but she paid at first 2 euro for the medicine and a week later approximately 3 euro. She chose the medicine herself recommended by the family. The trip back was again by car with a family from the settlement. The other children were home alone (four children between 2 and 17 years old). Seeing the doctor was without any problematic behaviour. They went down to the village by bus (the trip cost 0.70 euro/child 0.35 euro). The mother went with a child a common childrens illness. They paid 6 euro for medicines. The people at the surgery behaved politely, since they already know them. They also returned home by bus; the husband was in the household at the time. I (the father) and mother went to see the doctor with our daughters; we travelled there by car in the afternoon hours. The daughters had symptoms of a sore throat. We paid 7 euro for the treatment and 12 euro for the medicines. The doctor was pleasant with us; he has known our family for a long time. We dont have any problems going to see the doctor; we have our own car. I last saw a doctor perhaps a half-year ago when my son had a fever. I waited in line at the doctors office, she examined him, where she explained the process of treatment and wrote a prescription. I didnt pay anything there, or for the journey, because a neighbour with a motor vehicle, who was also seeing a doctor, took me there and back. The doctor and the medical personnel behaved well toward me; I had my daughter with her granddad at the time. Our young son was ill a cough and temperature. My wife went with him to see the doctor; they went by bus (1.60 euro), and the cost for medicines was 5.90 euro. The behaviour was optimal; the doctor knows us well, because I was also her patient. Our son had a sore throat, so we went, both parent, by car (they have one child). The journey cost 2 euro, and at the pharmacy we paid 3 euro for the prescription. We were happy with the visit. Three sons had a temperature, vomiting and a stomach ache. They saw a doctor accompanied by the mother and father they went there on foot (within the village). The behaviour of the doctor and nurse was appropriate. Perhaps a week ago the mother went to see the paediatrician with her son (twelve years old; they also have an eleven-year-old daughter). He had stomach problems. They paid 2 euro for the journey for the two of them (4 km), for confirmation in the pupils school book they paid 1 euro and for the prescription medicines 13 euro. The behaviour of the doctor and nurses was good. I went to see a doctor this month with both children, because they had a fever and diarrhoea. We have a doctor here in town, so I went on foot. I paid12.50 euro for the medicines, which I picked up so theyd get well. The doctor and nurse have known us for a long time and they are always good. They dont have any serious care with their son that causes them to see a doctor often. The paediatrician has known this family for years. The doctors behaviour is very good. The last visit to see her was perhaps sometime in June; the son had a stomach ache. They bought medicines for 3.70 euro. The last time seeing a doctor took place on 21 August 2011 with the youngest daughter she had a stomach ache. The mother went on foot to see the doctor with the child, because the healthcare centre was located not far from them. The doctor has known this family for years, so the visit occurred in a pleasant atmosphere. They paid 4.15 euro for the medicines. They went home on foot and the father watched the other children (older children, 14 and 17 years old). The last time seeing a doctor was because the son had stomach problems (eleven years old); therefore they went to the district town for a specialist examination (21 km). They went there and back in a private car (the trip cost about 10 euro). The father went with his brother-in-law. The behaviour of the doctor and nurses was normal; they paid 2 euro for the examination, and they didnt get a prescription. The wife watched the other, younger children.
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The last time my youngest son was ill (he is three years old), he had diarrhoea. The doctor prescribed tablets that cost 12 euro. It was good that we then had the support and we could pick up the tablets without problems. Our doctor and nurse are very pleasant; Ive never yet had any misunderstandings with them. My son was the last one ill, his stomach hurt. They said that he perhaps has appendicitis, so I had to go with him for an examination to Koice. Since we have a car, it wasnt a problem to get there. I bought petrol for 6 euro. Thank God, it wasnt appendicitis; he was only swollen. They prescribed him some tablets, which I picked up. I paid 8 euro for them. My son was vaccinated against jaundice. We have good experiences with healthcare workers. I went on foot the doctor is here in town. I was last to see a doctor with my youngest daughter (ten years old), who suffers from chronic kidney disease. We were at a check-up with our paediatrician. They took blood and urine samples; it was cost-free. The journey by bus cost 1.60 euro. Our doctor knows her really well; he has treated her for years already since she was small. The mother and father were last to see the doctor with the young son for an examination with a hernia. The trip cost 2 euro, without the medicines, and they didnt pay anything for the doctor. They were happy with the examination. Our youngest, ten-month old son was the last who needed treatment. He was hospitalised for ten days because he repeatedly had an inner ear infection. The mother was together with him. First, however, they were at the emergency room, where they paid 2 euro. The trip there and back cost 1.50 euro. They didnt receive any prescription medicine. The behaviour of the nurses and doctors was normal. Our fifteen-year-old daughter was the last to have a problem. She was found to have a disease of the ovaries and a gynaecological examination was necessary. This was her first examination of this type; she was afraid, even though her mother was there with her. The doctor and the nurse both behaved very nicely to her; they told her that there was nothing to fear, that everything will be fine. The travel cost was 2.20 euro times two, and we paid 10 euro for medicines. The oldest son (twenty years old) went to see a dentist; he went alone and paid a total of 7 euro for the journey and 10 euro at the dentist. Well, thank God, we havent had to go to the doctor for a long time now. My husband doesnt go at all: even when he is ill, he says that it will pass. We go more often with the children, but mostly in the spring. I go often by car with my brother-in-law its cheaper than by bus. The nurse is very nice; Ive known her for a long time now. Anyway, we adults dont go to the doctor, I cant remember when we last went. Oh, when I gave birth to Gabika, but we dont go for examinations. During the winter I go several times with the children to see the doctor, in the summer less. We go by bus, round-trip its 1.70 euro. I cant say anything bad about the doctor or even the nurse. A daughter (nine years old) was hospitalised, because she fainted. An ambulance came for her and she was in hospital for three days. It was found that she fainted because she had not eaten anything in the morning; but she had a weak concussion from the fall. After being released she supposedly didnt get any medicine; we paid 10 euro at the hospital. She went home with her mother by bus, and the grandmother watched the other children (four other children from 5 to 16 years). The behaviour of the nurses and doctors was normal.
Problematic visits with a doctor hindered spatial accessibility:
We havent been to see a doctor for two months now. The children have been healthy. We go by bus or on foot (8 km), when we dont have money. My husband stays at home with the children. The doctors behave well to us, but sometimes they shout they I dont come with the children for vaccinations on time. They were last at the doctor for the vaccination of a child. The mother went on foot (4 km) to the neighbouring village to see the doctor. Since the child was not ill, the vaccination ran just fine and was free of charge. She also took older children with her to the doctor; she had no one to leave them with. The youngest daughter had a fever; the mother went with her to see a doctor (this is 4 kilometres). She didnt pay for the doctor, but she paid 6 euro for medicine. They went on foot to see a doctor; this is perhaps 3-4 km. The son was ill with a temperature and vomiting. They paid 2 euro for medicine. The nurse was edgy because one lady quarrelled with her; the doctor was normal. The youngest daughter (two years old) had a sore throat; I (the mother) went with her on foot (approximately 3 km). They paid only for medicine, 5 euro, she was happy with the examination. A daughter (twenty years old) broke her arm and went on foot to the doctor. This was perhaps three months ago. She doesnt remember how much she paid for the examination. She was in a cast for about two and a half months; seeing the doctor was without problems. The last time seeing a doctor was due to a skin rash, which the oldest daughter had (sixteen years old). She went on foot alone to the doctor (3 km) because the mother had nowhere to leave the other children (six children from age 2 months to 14 years). A tincture was prescribed that cost 2.50 euro, and she picked it up. The behaviour of the doctor and the nurse was normal. A mother went with her twelve-year-old daughter on foot to see a doctor; the bus is too expensive (from the edge of the regional capital to the centre). The girl had a fever and cough. They paid only for the medicine approximately 7 euro. Sometimes the father also goes with the daughter to see the doctor. The behaviour of the personnel was agreeable.
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The youngest son (one year old) had a high fever. We went to the doctor by bus (6 km). The trip cost us 3 euro, and we paid 6 euro at the pharmacy. The doctor and the nurse are very nice; we dont have any problems with them. We got home by car, our friend took us but we still had to go 2 km on foot. The twelve-year-old daughter appeared in the company of the mother for a summons to a local doctor for an examination. They went on foot (1.5 km), and didnt have to pay the doctor anything. The visit went without problems; the other children (three children in the age of 11, 9 and 5 years) remained at home with an older sibling (sixteen-year-old daughter). The daughter coughed (six years old), and the mother went with her on foot (its about 1.5 km from the settlement to the village); they paid 3.50 euro for medicines. The other daughter (1 year old) was home with the father. The behaviour of the nurse was normal, with no problems. A preventive check-up with a paediatrician. The mother went with the child. The nurse and the doctor are nice; they didnt pay for the journey (its 1.2 km from the settlement on foot). A sister was with a small three-month-old baby at the emergency room the baby had bronchitis. The sister went on foot to the hospital emergency room (more than 3 km within the town) and paid 2 euro for the examination. On that day she picked up the prescription at the pharmacy for 7 euro; this was two syrups. The nurse asked after the baby, how chubby she is, what does she like to eat, how many months old he was she was nice. The doctor was not mentioned; the sister accompanied the mother of the child to the doctor. The five-year-old son swelled up after being stung by an insect. The mother went with her son to the emergency room in town (5 km); their neighbour took them for 10 euro because it was the weekend and the bus stops near the settlement, only if someone is getting off. The fee for the emergency room was 2 euro. After the examination on Sunday, they picked up the medicine on Monday: they paid 3.40 euro for an ointment. They went to the paediatrician on Monday and also to the pharmacy, again by car for 15 euro to the district town (25 km). There was a problem with the connection. She had to make it home on time, because she was nursing (she has five children at home from 9 months to 6 years old). Because she stated that the sting occurred on Friday, the paediatrician shouted at the mother for not bringing the child to her sooner to the hospital. The thirteen-year-old daughter had a high temperature, and a stomach and headache. No one knew what was wrong with her, so they called a neighbour with a car to take them to the emergency room in town (5 km). The daughter was hospitalised, in the end it turned out that she has problems with menstruation. Our eleven-year-old son was last ill. He had a temperature, and we had to go with him to the emergency one afternoon. We paid 2 euro for the emergency room visit, and more than 8 euro for the medicines for the temperature and antibiotics. We went to the emergency room by car with a neighbour; We gave him 8 euro. The doctor and the nurse behaved politely; the doctor explained to me how I was to give him the medicine and if the temperature didnt drop how to give him a wrap. The nurse married the boys temperature and asked whether he was happy at school, if he has good friends. A seriously disabled two-year-old son had to see a neurologist for a control examination at the polyclinic in a distant town (childs cerebral palsy). The family, without a car, has a problem travelling (they live in a settlement 2.5 km from a village, 6 km from the district town); an ambulance is more expensive than a taxi (approx. 50 euro, taxi 30 euro, without a receipt it may be 20 euro). A private car costs 10-15 euro. The examination was scheduled but right before the deadline of a loan from a private person the agreement was rejected. The family without financial resources asked neighbours with a car the father worked it off at home (digging the foundations for a new fence). For the digging he had 50 euro, for the car they gave 10 euro; the family situation improved. They kept to the schedule, no criticism of the personnel at the polyclinic super professional approach. A member of the family, the youngest son (twelve years old), went to a control examination with the father. He has a cleft-palate after plastic surgery and deformed ears. They set the alarm for 5:00 a.m.., at 6:00 a.m. the bus went and at 6:40 the train to Koice. Total costs for travelling was 30 euro there and back. He was supposed to receive and ear prosthetic, but he was not scheduled for the pre-operation examination. They were at a control and vaccination for the one-year-old son. The examination went without problems; the mother went with the child by bus (10 km). The family father stayed with the other children (four children age 3 to 8 years). Going to see the doctor is very weak; they only go there with the children bronchitis, infectious disease, diarrhoea. The visit went normally; for medicines and travel costs they paid 20 euro (the doctor is in town 15 km away). The behaviour of the doctor is normal, likewise the nurses. My partner went with the little girl (6 years) on a bicycle, because we didnt have money for the travel tickets (5 km). She is well now. The doctor dont give us the tablets immediately and after we have to go back. They dont go to see a doctor often; the children are afraid of injections (eight children age 5 to 12 years). She only communicates with the doctor because of the children; she doesnt go for consultations, only at the time of birth. So its hard to communicate with the doctor. Despite this, they examine them and offer medical care (from the settlement to the village is more than 1 km).
Problematic trip to see a doctor behaviour toward the patient:
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My youngest daughter was often ill. In the hospital at the overnight department I several times experienced that the personnel has raised their voice at me, telling me that Im using the department as a depository. Our local paediatrician, however, stood up for me, because he knows that I dont neglect to care for my children. Certainly its a lot better now, when a social worker accompanies us. Then they dont allow so much against us Roma.
Our youngest son (four years old) had strong diarrhoea and needed hospitalisation. We were very angry at the doctor and the nurse, because I couldnt remain with him in the hospital, although our son cried a lot. We offered them money, but in vain. They supposedly didnt have room, and then we found out that a non-Roma was admitted with a small girl to the same department. This was discrimination. Last time my second child was ill (eight-year-old son, she also has a twelve-year-old son and two-year-old daughter). He had jaundice and it was necessary to hospitalise him in the regional capital. We didnt have money, so I asked my uncle for 20 euro for travel by car. I wanted to stay with him to take care of him, but they didnt let me. I argued with the nurse who was very contrary and racist; she told me I was like the dirty slobs. In the meantime, I left the other children with the neighbours. A month ago I went to see the doctor with my son he had a temperature and refused to eat. I have good relations with the doctor and we always chat about everything. We go there on foot, as its only about 600 metres from the housing block. He gave me a stomach powder and a syrup for the fever. My partner stayed at home with our daughter. Experiences: One time its okay, another time they ignore us; it depends which doctor has service that day. A week ago my daughter had a fever. We came to the waiting room, people always look when a Gyspy comes. We went there on foot, as it is not far away. The nurse is always irritable when I come with the children, but when the non-Roma cut in front of me, she smiles. The doctor is very good. He prescribed a syrup for my daughter to treat the fever (4 euro) and control in a week. My partner stayed home with the children. On 14 September 2011 my boy (son three years old) got a high fever, so in the night at 8:30 p.m. I went on foot with my son in the pram. I waited for nearly an hour for the doctor, because he was seeing a patient at home. The first contact with the doctor was pleasant, until I told him our name. After this information he said that he is not a paediatrician so Id have to go to the emergency room in a larger town, which is 24 km away. We last went to the emergency room, when our youngest son (eight years old) broke his arm. A neighbour took us to the district town (19 km); the trip cost 10 euro. We had to wait a long time, because just then a lot of ambulances delivered ill and drunk people. We were very angry. The youngest son (one year old) had an ear infection. I went to see the doctor with him alone (a half km to the village); my husband watched the children (the other four children age 3 to 15 years). We went on foot, so we didnt pay anything, but at the pharmacy I paid more than 6 euro. Illnesses always make life difficult, on the wallet, too. And the doctor and the nurse were both nice, but it bothered me that I had to wait a lot. I was with my son he had throat inflammation. We were in our village on foot. The nurse called us into the outpatient clinic for a consultation; well white people knocked on the door and were taken ahead of us for the examination it seemed unfair to me. They prescribed him medicines for 12 euro; I had the money, because I put a little on the side for medicines. They were last with their son at the baby clinic, and the visit went normally. Later they were also with their youngest son, who had a high temperature perhaps from the vaccination. Another paediatrician was filling in, and her nurse was pretty unpleasant because she had a lot of patients. The trip to see the doctor didnt cost anything, because the settlement is near the hospital. The nurse always barks at people, but the doctor is good. They were there with the youngest child, who had a temperature and a cough (five years old). They paid 4 euro for medicines. Preventive check-up for a child; the mother went with the child this costs 3 euro. The nurse was a bit irritated, since the mother should have been at the check-up sooner. A control examination of a child (three years, they have two other children age 1 year old), the mother went with him. It cost 4 euro; they didnt pay anything at the surgery. The nurse and doctor remarked to them that its necessary to go regularly. They went by bus to see the doctor (2 euro). A granddaughter was ill she had a boil (she is a one year old). She also had a high temperature. The nurse shouted that the child had only been bitten by a mosquito. They paid 5 euro for medicines. The daughter is pregnant, so she went to the pregnancy clinic. The nurse there is very unpleasant; she is thinking of changing gynaecologist as a result. She went by bus and the trip cost 2 euro. My son was treated at a surgical clinic, because hed fallen and had broken his little toe. In my opinion the doctor didnt treat my son properly, because he didnt bandage up his foot. The trip to see the doctor together with transport (journey, ointment and wrap) cost me about 10 euro. A trip to the dentist with the son. It went calmly until the dentist began to drill a cavity. It hurt the son a lot and the mother had to hold him. She paid about 10 euro for the filling; the husband stayed with the other children. Here in the village I went to see the doctor with my son, because he had a rash on his legs and belly. The doctor gave me a liquid ointment that cost about 1.50 euro. She asked whether we have fleas at home and I was offended. We last saw a doctor at the end of June with our ten-year-old daughter (they have one younger child, five years old and 3 older age 15 to 22 years), who had a temperature. My wife and I and our daughter went in our own car to the emergency room at the regional capital, because it was a Saturday. The older siblings were with the children. Petrol cost 4 euro (15 km to town), and we paid 2 euro at the doctor and perhaps 4 euro for the medicine, which the doctor prescribed for my daughter. The examination went normally, but we werent happy that the nurse asked us in front of the other patients whether we have the two euro fee for the doctor, because he will not examine us, and at the same time she didnt ask the other patients. We borrowed 20 euro for this treatment. My younger daughter was last ill (15 years old); she had a sore throat. The doctor works in the village, we paid 10 euro for medicines. The doctor and nurse are nice, but in the waiting room its always stuffy and a smell.
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Problematic trip to see a doctor lack of money:
We went to see the doctor this month with our youngest son, who had a temperature. We both went, my husband and I, and the children stayed at home with our oldest daughter, thirteen years old (four children age 5 to 13 years). We went on foot; we didnt have money for the bus (2 km). We picked up the medicines thanks to my mother-in-law, who loaned us the money. We paid more than 4 euro for the medicine. The doctor and nurse behaved well; they only commented that we never have money for medicines. Perhaps three months ago our ten-year-old son (they also have a thirteen-year-old son) fell in the yard and cut his forehead. He bled a lot, and therefore it was necessary to take him to the emergency room in the district town (17 km). We didnt have money for the journey and the 2 euro fee for the doctor, therefore, the husband went to the local usurer. The usurer offered that he will take us to the doctor; the husband went with him and the wife stayed at home. The boy was examined at the emergency room without problems, and going to see the doctor cost 30 euro, which is how much the usurer collected on the day of benefits. My daughter was the last one in the family to take ill she had the flu. We went to see the doctor on foot (2 km), Because we didnt have the money for travel right then. I went with my daughter; Im her mother. The medicines cost 10 euro and we had to borrow from the field social worker. In the meantime, the children were with my husband (two children age 12 and 4 years old). The fourth child (daughter, five years old) had a splay-mouth. I got to town from the settlement on foot (this is 2.5 km). Our doctor was just then on holiday and another doctor treated us. She said that I must take my daughter to the hospital in Koice. I requested an ambulance because I didnt have any money, so she answered that this is not how it works, that its not a case that requires an ambulance; she said I have to get there by bus. I argued with the doctor and I went to scrape the money together. A neighbour loaned me 10 euro, and so I took my daughter to the hospital. My mother looked after the other children (she has six children in all from 1 to 10 years old). Jika (two-year-old son) has a respiratory illness; weve already been to town to see a doctor two times this month (5 km). Through the autumn and winter we went to see a doctor every month. When we dont have money to travel, we borrow 4.20 euro from a neighbour (a white woman, but we like her a lot, she always helps us) for the round trip. I always take my son to see the doctor; the nurse and the doctor have praised us many times (medicines were about 11.30 euro). The nine-year-old son often catches cold and has a high fever. The family often doesnt have the financial resources for a trip to town to the emergency room. By car to town costs 10 euro, the emergency room 2 euro, plus medicines. If they go to see a paediatrician, they dont always have money for medicines. I had to borrow money to pay for the trip and medicines; I went to town (19 km). Our little girl had a throat infection. I picked up the medicine and went home. The last trip to see a doctor was back in July. The mother with the boy went 20 min by bus to see the doctor within the town. The mother had to borrow money for the bus and for medicines. The boy had a sore throat. The doctor has known the family for years now and the visit went in a friendly atmosphere. The other children were at home with the oldest sibling (together 5 children from 8 to 21 years). The trip cost 1.40 euro and medicines 4.70 euro. It was necessary to go see doctor with a girl because she had a temperature. The parents went with the girl 1.5 km on foot. The doctor, after the detailed examination, assured the parents that it isnt serious. It was necessary to pay 5.78 euro for the medicines; the parents had to borrow the money. A neighbour woman watched the children at home. When I go to see a doctor, I go on foot or by bus, and my husband watches the children. The last time seeing a doctor was my seriously ill husband, who had an operation on his knee. The children have common illnesses sore throat, cough, bronchial trouble (in the household there are eleven children age 2 to 15 years). When we dont have money, my family loans it to me. I was last at the doctor with my youngest daughter; she had a temperature and inflammation of the air passages. I paid 5.80 euro for medicines; I had 10 euro put away, so I didnt have to borrow. We have a paediatrician in our village who is very good. The children like him and he always gives them a sweet or a colouring book during the examinations. I last saw a doctor with my youngest son in June. The doctor isnt very nice. When we have to go to the district town for a specialist examination at the polyclinic, the travel costs for the month is around 12 euro, medicines 20 euro, which is a lot for us. The last time seeing a doctor was in mid-September at a paediatrician. It involved repeated inflammation of the air passages and an increased allergy to pollen. The examination went communicatively and without problems; the mother goes to the controls and examinations with the children. Travel costs were 3 euro there and back, expenditures for medicines were 20 euro and they are ill two times a month! The younger child remained at home with the father. The last time my son (16 years old) was beaten in the settlement and needed medical help. Hed taken a hard hit to his head and nose. The local clinic sent him to the regional capital. I had just come back from a work brigade where Id received 10 euro. I gave the 10 euro to a neighbour to gas up his car so that he could take us to town. I wanted to use that money for food. Control examination with a neurologist a mother with a one-year-old son who was born prematurely with a weight of 1.5 kg by Caesarean section. The trip to a more distant town by car for the examination cost 30 euro, the fee for the neurological examination was 4 euro (for the ultrasound). The father was at home with the children (the other four children from 4 to 12 years), and couldnt go on a work brigade, and so lost earnings of 10 euro for the whole day (plus food and cigarettes).
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The youngest son (five years old) was the last to see a doctor; he is often ill. He went to see the doctor in town 8 km distant by bus with his mother. They had to borrow for the bus tickets because this was before benefits. The doctor was said to be nice. They didnt pay for the medical service; the medicines would have cost a lot, but they didnt pick them up. The trip cost them 1.20 euro, they got home by bus, too. The other children were in the care of grandparents and older siblings. I was at the doctor with my son, who is 2.5 years old; he had a temperature and cried in the night. My husband and older daughter were with the smaller children (three others age 5 to 15 years). The doctor was normal. I went to see the doctor in town by bus (one way 0.50 cents). I didnt have money for medicine, so I borrowed from my sister (10 euro)... I last went to see a doctor with my younger daughter (ten years old), she had a temperature; she drank a cold soda and got a sore throat. I didnt have the money so I had to borrow from the family. I borrowed 10 euro, and the medicines cost 6 euro. I didnt have to pay anything for the journey, because the doctor is here in the village (1 km). She is very good, nice to children, and with our Roma kids. I go to see the doctor most often with the smallest boy (eighteen months old) hes used to coughing; he gets a temperature and we have to go. It often happens that I dont have the money and then I borrow approximately 10 euro from the family. When the older boy (four years old) is ill and I need medicines for both, I borrow 15 euro. The last time I was at the doctor was today, with the smallest, and I took the four-year-old one with me. The doctor is here in the village, so I went on foot (the settlement is 1 km away). The older children (three age 8 to 15 years) were in school. I borrowed 10 euro from my sister, and I gave 5 euro for medicine, and I bought some tea and sugar to have for him. We have a good doctor; she always knows our children by name. We last went to see a doctor with our thirteen-year-old daughter, who complained of a stomach ache. She went to see the doctor with mother; they went by mass-transit bus without a ticket, because they didnt have money for a ticket. An auntie stayed with the other children, because the father had to go to an activation activity. The medical examination was problem-free. They gave the daughter an injection and prescribed some medicine. We didnt pick these up from the pharmacy, because it was necessary to pay perhaps 5 euro and we didnt have the money. The pain eventually went away. It was necessary to go see a doctor with the youngest member of the family (five-year-old daughter), because her stomach ache would not go away. The mother went to see the doctor with the little girl. The examination went normally. They made the journey to the doctor on foot, because the medical centre is not far away. The father in the family watched the children (they are 10, 11 and 17 years old). The parents had to borrow 10 euro for medicine. The behaviour of the doctor and nurses was normal. A two-year-old child had bronchitis. The travel cost was 3 euro and the medicines 4 euro. They pawned some earrings and bought tea and sugar. I was with my small son (four years) at the doctor; he coughed and had a fever in the night. I went to the waiting room; I was the first one there, so I waited. The nurse called in a few people before me. Inside the clinic the nurse laughed, saying that I come often with the children and that I dont care for them (together she has three children ages 4, 9 and 11 years). The doctor gave him an antibiotic for 5 euro. He also needed a syrup, but I didnt have the money. I travelled by bus (approximately 1 euro). We have a twenty-five-year-old son ill with leukaemia. He is often hospitalised in Koice he is undergoing chemotherapy; and this month he is in the hospital. His health status is worsening. The doctors are helping him; they believe that after the chemotherapy he is undergoing now his status will improve. We are waiting for a bone-marrow donor. The doctors are willing to explain everything to him and to me that we dont know, that we dont understand. Unfortunately, it sometimes happens that the nurses are unable to help all of the patients who need help. Its then I feel this injustice that my son is there along and I cannot help him. His illness is costing us a lot of money; we are already in debt. The family is helping us; they are always willing to loan us money.
AN ADULT HOUSEHOLD MEMBER SEEING A DOCTOR Problem-free trip to see a doctor:
The husband needed an examination at the internal medicine department because of high blood pressure. He went by car with a friend, the wife went with him. They didnt pay for the examination and for medicines 6 euro. The children were in school. The behaviour of the personnel was okay; they didnt run across any unpleasant people. I have high blood pressure; I take medicines regularly so I go to see the doctor regularly. Her surgery is in the village, so I go on foot. Im able to estimate approximately how much money Im going to need each month for medicines, so that I always put money away for this. The doctor has known me for years and she always asks whats new and how work is going and how the family is doing. The head of the household was the last one ill. She had high blood pressure; a rescue worker was with her. They were very nice to her. I went so see the doctor with my heart he checked on me. I still have some old medicines, so I bought vitamins for 3 euro. I like the nurse and the doctor; they are nice. The journey cost me 1.10 euro. The father went to see the doctor; he had high blood pressure. The medicines cost about 20 euro; he went by bus and the journey came out to be 3 euro. The husband had a problem with his blood pressure he had high blood pressure. He went to see the doctor on foot by himself (its in the village). The visit went normally and medicines cost around 20 euro.
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The last time she went to see the doctor was for a regular check-up, which my mother-in-law living with the family needed; she has problems with her heart and blood pressure. She went to the doctor and back by bus and the ticket cost 4 euro. She was prescribed medicines costing 15 euro, which she picked up. The visit went normally; the behaviour of the nurse and doctor was normal. In September I went to see the doctor, I have stomach and psychological problems. I went there on foot; I paid 14 euro for medicines. The children were in school; we have a very good nurse. The wife last went to see a doctor perhaps a month ago. She has been treated for health problems for a long time elevated salt in her blood. The visit with the doctor went without major problems. A neighbour went to the neighbouring village in his car (3 km) with the wife, fuel costs 3 euro. We paid 5.60 euro for the medicine. The husband also went to see the doctor (they have only one twenty-four-year-old child). The behaviour of the nurse and doctor was good, because they know us. The last time seeing a doctor was in early September, because my wife had a fever. We travelled perhaps to the local doctor for an x-ray about 1 km from where we live. Nothing bad was found in the x-ray, so the local doctor prescribed medicine for treating a sore throat. We didnt register any unwillingness on the part of the doctor. We paid 8 euro for medicines. The wife had bronchitis, and went to see the doctor in the neighbouring village by bus (1.10 euro). She didnt pay anything at the doctor, but she paid 15 euro in the pharmacy. The husband has diabetes, and went for a check-up. He went by train and by mass transit, a total of 2 euro. The behaviour of the nurse and doctor was fine. The mother of the head of the family was ill; she didnt pay for the journey, because the doctor is in the village. She had intestinal problems; she didnt get any medicines, and was ordered on a strict diet. The doctor and nurse were fine. The husband went to the local doctor in the neighbouring village three months ago; he was at a post-operative control of the back. Behaviour was normal; the bus cost him 3.40 euro. The mother was the last to be ill; she had great pain of the neck vertebrae. The local doctor is in the village, so there were no travel costs. She was prescribed medicines, for which she paid 4.50 euro. If the medicine didnt help, she was told to come for a control and would be sent to a specialist examination in the district town. The medicines helped her, so she didnt go to the control. The behaviour of the doctor and nurse was normal. Perhaps two weeks ago the father the head of the family went to see the doctor. He has long-term health problems with his lower back, on that day he had a strong pain, and so he went to see the doctor with a neighbour by car and with his wife. The children remained home alone (15 and 13 years old). The medical examination was without problems; the behaviour of the doctor and nurse was standard. He paid 12.50 euro for medicines. The husband had pain in his legs, and went to town by bus for 5 euro. He didnt pay anything to see the doctor and an ointment for his legs cost 2.50 euro. In January the father of the family had a painful lower back; he travelled by bus to see a doctor in town; one way cost 2.50 euro (14 km). He paid 10 euro for medicines and everything was all right. The children were at home with their mother (they now big: 13, 15 and 18 years old). The head of the family (a widow age 52 years) needed a medical examination, she had back pain. She went by bus, and the ticket cost 0.55 euro. The visit with the doctor went normally; the behaviour of the nurses and doctor was normal. Medicines were prescribed to her costing 6 euro, which she picked up. On 29 July 2011 I had inflammation of the legs. I went by bus, and I paid 0.40 euro. I didnt pay for any medicines because I didnt have to pick any up I went to see the doctor every other day and she treated me. I got home by city mass transit and I paid 0.40 euro. At the end of September mother had pain in her legs and joints; I (the daughter) went with my mother. We went on foot (half a km), and I picked up the medicines. She paid 15 euro for them. The children were in school; the behaviour of the nurses is reasonable. A month ago I was at a surgery; I had a problem with a pulled muscle in my arm. I paid 2 euro for the examination and 3.85 euro for a prescription and an ointment. The wife went to see the doctor for a gall-bladder examination. She went by ambulance and the price for transport was 2 euro, and for the examination also 2 euro. She picked up medicines from the pharmacy for 4 euro. She was happy with the behaviour of the doctor and the nurses. I last needed treatment. I went to see the doctor by bus. I went with my husband, since we no longer have young children and they have their own families; this wasnt a problem. The doctor and nurses were both nice. The journey cost us 3 euro, and I paid 10 euro for medicine. I took the bus home. The local doctor a cold, a throat infection. The visit went well as did communication with the other medical personnel. The last time seeing a doctor was 15 August 2011; I was ill a throat infection. I went by bus (15 km) and the children meanwhile were home alone three children ages 12 to 16 years). I have older kids so they dont need to be looked after. They can take care of themselves. I paid more than 10 euro and 2 euro for the bus. The doctor and the nurse both behaved well to me, no problems.
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The last trip to see a doctor was in July, when the father had a problem difficulty breathing and a cough. He travelled to see the doctor by himself (2 euro), and medicines and a cough syrup were prescribed (5 euro). The mother stayed at home with the children, and the visit to the doctor went fine.
The wife went to see the local doctor. She went by bus at 7:30 in the morning; the ticket cost 1.45 euro to Poltr. The doctor found symptoms of flu, and wrote her a prescription for medicines that cost 3.50 euro. The children were at home and a daughter cooked lunch. The woman was at the gynaecological examination (abortion); and her partner and a neighbour went with her to see the doctor. They travelled by passenger car; petrol cost 10 euro. Payment for the abortion was 250 euro. The sister-in-law took care of the children (two children ages 8 and 10 years). The medical care was excellent. The wife was at a gynaecological examination in the district town (25 km). She went alone by bus. She had pain in her stomach; she paid 5 euro for medicines. The behaviour of the medical personnel was normal. A visit to the gynaecologist a consultation (pregnant in the seventh month). I went by bus to see the doctor; the nurses helpfully accommodatingly and nicely, and I was satisfied. The children were with their older siblings (four children age 2 to 15 years). I went to see the gynaecologist, because I had a test, which was positive. I had problems with bleeding so it was recommended I go to the hospital. There I found out that Id miscarried. Nothing happened to me; the nurses were nice to me. I was last to see a doctor by myself, because I am pregnant. My father took me to the doctor, and the doctor examined me and wrote the results into the pregnancy book. She behaved politely to me and gave me other advice, particularly about nutrition. I didnt pay for the medical examination, and likewise for the travel, because my father didnt want me to. During the trip to see the doctor my mother took care of the children (three children age from 2 to 7 years). I last went to a doctor to give birth to a daughter (they have their first child; the mother is 16 years old and the father 19). This cost 6 euro, the behaviour of the nurses was very good. On 5 August the husband went for a rehabilitation stay (14 days). Before that he had an operation on his back. He stayed in Bardejov, where he got by bus, one way cost 0.85 euro. During his stay, the wife came several times to visit. You cant say that the personnel there behaved unfriendly toward him; the opposite, they behaved nicely to him and accommodating. He didnt pay for medicines. The grandmother (sixty-four years old) fainted three times in a four-hour period. Emergency medical help was called and no change in her health status was found. During the writing of the medical report, she fainted again, and they determined unsteady blood pressure and suspicions of diabetes. She was then hospitalised in the district town 15 km distant as reliant on insulin. If the EMS had not found any health problem, the daughter would have borne the consequence of abusing the EMS with a financial penalty. A preventive check-up, I didnt pay anything. They measured my blood pressure, took a blood sample, and sent me to the lung doctor. The behaviour of the doctor and nurse was excellent; Ive never had any problem with them. A preventive check-up free of charge; the father stayed home with the children. The visit with the doctor went without any problems. A preventive check-up at the dentist, behaviour was the same as with any person. He got there in his own car. A visit to the dentist repair of a dental prosthesis. He went on foot to the dentist in the village, he paid 20 euro for the repair. The nurse was nice. I went to see the dentist he pulled out a tooth, because I was in pain. The anaesthetic and the extraction cost me 7 euro, plus I had to buy some tablets for the pain. Im happy with the dentist, except that its expensive. We travelled by car; petrol cost perhaps 3 euro. He had a toothache, so he went to the emergency room, because he didnt want to go before, he was afraid. When he couldnt withstand anymore, he was forced to go to the dentist. He paid a fee (2 euro), the behaviour of the nurses was normal.
Problematic visit to a doctor made difficult by spatial inaccessibility:
About two weeks ago, a trip to see the doctor in the neighbouring village (approx. 1.5 km). He prescribed medicine for the mother; they didnt pay for the journey, because they went on foot. They paid 1.60 euro for the verification for school. The prescribed medicines cost 10 euro. The behaviour of the nurses and doctor was satisfactory. Mama: a month ago I needed to go see a doctor with inflammation of the back, pain up to my eyes. I went to see the doctor alone, on foot to the opposite side of town (an estimated 3 km). She wrote me a prescription for 5 euro (Veral, Dorsiflex). I didnt pay anything at the doctor when they examine, you dont pay, thank God; only when you go to the emergency room you pay 2 euro. The children were home with my oldest son. The doctors were good; I waited about an hour for the examination. I cant push to the front like an Olah. When a person is ill, it has to happen that the Olahs jump the queue ahead of us, they also scolded the doctor. We walk 7 km to see the doctor in the neighbouring village. We give the medicines prescribed to mama, who must go regularly for cardiological medicines. I dont go for the controls, when they dont call me; so far the medicines are helping me. For the control it would be necessary to go 39 km.
Problematic visit behaviour toward the patient:
My husband had an asthma attack; we went to the emergency room; we paid 2.50 euro. The partner had to remain in the hospital, and for the trip home I didnt have money. So I stayed in town with my sister. The doctors behaved badly, as soon as they noticed that we are Gypsies. The wife had high blood pressure; the daughter was with her. The doctor first asked how much she had had to drink, measured her blood pressure and gave her an injection. This was all; we were in our own village (more than half a km to the doctor).
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The partner went to see the doctor he had an appointment at an exact time and they didnt take him at all; he waited a long time. The trip cost 3 euro and medicines 9 euro. I only had one problem at the doctor: that preference was given to whites before Roma in the waiting room. The Roma in waited in the waiting room and they called in the white people. We were at the emergency room in Trebiov (20 km), the wife dislocated a leg. The nurse was unpleasant, didnt take people in order but in the order she wanted. We waited more than three hours. The doctor was good. The wife had haemorrhage; she received a splint (2 euro). A check-up at the eye doctor; the price for the bus was 2 euro. The nurse was pretty unpleasant, but she is unpleasant to everyone. While picking cherries I fell from high in the tree and broke my arm. A good friend took me to the emergency room for surgery to the district town (31 km). For the ride I paid only 10 euro but only after social benefits came. The nurse wasnt insolent, but the general practitioner was unpleasant. My mother-in-law watched the children (five children from 1 year to 18 years). The wife was for a regular control at the endocrinologist in the district town (15 km). She went in her own car, drove it herself (perhaps 10 euro). The doctor was good; the nurse was unpleasant. She didnt pay for medicines, in fact she paid 0.17 euro for the prescription. The last time seeing a doctor was at the dentist. I had to borrow 5 euro for the dental exam and 1.50 euro for travel by bus (5 km distant to town). Because of the long lasting toothache I decided to have it fixed. I was really afraid of the dentist; he didnt know how to prepare a patient psychologically, as if he just wanted to get it done as soon as possible.
Problematic visit lack of finances:
The last time the wife was at the gynaecologist. She went on foot to the surgery, but she wasnt able to pick up the medicines, because they cost 16 euro. She didnt know anyone she could borrow from, so in the end she wound up in the hospital with strong cramps. She was treated for five days in the hospital, where the medical personnel treated her like a Gypsy. The mother (grandmother) went to see the doctor; she was dizzy. She didnt have the money to buy the blood pressure tablets, because she didnt want to borrow. She didnt take her medicines for a week; she had a tingling in her face and the rescuer injected her with magnesium. She picked up her medicines the next day. Mama goes regularly to see the doctor, she is being treated by an eye doctor she has high pressure in her eyes. She always goes to see the doctor on the eighth of every month. It goes well, because the doctor has known mama for years now. The problem is financial: when mama gets a prescription, she doesnt always pick it up. I have mental health problems; travel costs and medicines cost 20 euro for the whole month. I dont always have my medicines the financial situation doesnt allow for it; another member of the family is on a disability pension. We are happy with the doctor. Last time seeing the doctor: an internist, orthopaedic, neurology. Communication with the doctor and other personnel was good. Paid 30 euro for medicines, travelled by bus. He borrowed from relatives for the trip. The head of the family had pain in his teeth, he paid 10 euro for the examination he had to borrow from relatives. They behaved humanely toward him, but he had to wait a lot (the bus cost two-times 1.20 euro). The last time seeing a doctor was a neurologist in Koice; my wife suffers from insomnia. She travelled 28 km; she paid 5 euro for the bus. Since I work, we left our son with the neighbour, because the other children were in school. She was there until nearly evening. We had to pay more than 12 euro for the medicines, which we picked up after just a few days, because we didnt have so much money just then. The medical service was average. The father of the family dislocated his shoulder, and he had to go to the doctor alone due to financial problems. He travelled from the examining doctor to the surgery, then to the regional capital to be hospitalised, which lasted 10 days, in order to avoid being operated on. The total costs were 70 euro; they didnt complain about the doctors. Visit to a diabetes doctor and internist; the visit went fine, though the fees for medicines are high 20 euro. I go on foot to see the doctor (more than 1 km). It takes half an hour, and I dont use mass transit. The husband is a diabetic, but in a small way; but it is a problem, which the family fears due to increasing financial costs, because they anticipate that he will have to use injection treatments, and this will cost even more. The diabetes is increasing. The behaviour of the doctors toward us is friendly and professional. The husband travels 17 km by bus to see the doctor, and this costs 2.20 euro for a ticket. I was last at the doctor with my own problem: I have an untreatable vein; it has broken twice now. I was at a check-up in Koice. When I had some inflammation in my body, the doctor gave me antibiotics and recommended that I take probiotics, but I didnt have the money for these. I bought the antibiotics for 10 euro. They helped me a lot. I dont have health problems, but I havent had bad experiences with doctors. Not even when the children were little I didnt have problems; I always tried to listen to the doctors advice. I was used to buying medicine for pain directly in the pharmacy, but this is still a larger item from my income. The last time seeing a doctor was for cardiovascular disease, diabetes and hypertension. They travelled 4 km by bus to see the doctor. The examination in the clinic was calm; they are satisfied. They pick up the medicines, because they cannot function without them; afterward, they dont have money for food. They dont have any young children; only adults.
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Last month a relative of the head of the household (two older people live together in one household) broke her leg. She was taken to the hospital by the emergency medical service (EMS), where she stayed for two days. The next day he went by rented car after her to take some necessary items and personal items. He had to borrow 30 euro for providing this, plus 10 euro for being taken to the hospital (4 km). She didnt want to stay in the hospital because she had borrowed money and in three days was to get her benefit. She was admitted on Friday and on Monday money came, so that on Sunday, during visiting time, she was released for home treatment. She had been on work leave since June, so until she had control, shell have to extend it. In total she became indebted for both by a sum 80 euro. I was the last one who was ill; this isnt an illness but I was pregnant and they wanted me to have an abortion (they have four children ages 8 to 13 years). I was in the second month. I needed to 250 euro but we didnt have the money. Since I was unable to get the money together I had to keep the child. Now I am in the fifth month and after eight years I will again give birth, although I no longer want to have another child in such poverty.
COMMON TRIPS TO SEE A DOCTOR AND UNDIFFERENTIATED GENERAL RESPONSES Problem-free visit to see a doctor:
The last time seeing a doctor was at the local general practitioner repeated visits of the husband and wife regarding cardiovascular diseases. Communication with the doctor is direct, open, without problems. The trip and expenditures for medicines were around 50 euro. Two weeks ago we took the children to see the dentist. All four had a preventive check-up. We learned that the children, with regular cleaning, have good teeth; in us cavities were found and so our dentist scheduled treatment. We didnt have any problems with the doctor; he was pleasant. The mother and her daughter needed treatment. The mother suffered with a cough and the daughter with a toothache. They went by bus and the trip cost 4 euro. The mother didnt pay anything at the doctor; they found that she had bronchitis and prescribed medicine that cost 3.50 euro, which she picked up and used. The daughter paid 3 euro for the examination at the dentist, and they went home by bus. The visit went normally; the grandmother, who is retired, watched the children. No problems. We have so far not run across in problems in going to see the doctor in our family.
Problematic visit to see a doctor:
Both parents after a physical attack needed a CT examination; the mother with the head after a concussion felt nauseated, she had to go with the neighbour in the car and with the family go to the emergency room to the nearest hospital (20 km). They paid 2 euro at the emergency room, 15 euro for the trip by car there and back. Because it was eight oclock in the evening, she had a problem with waiting, because her five-year-old son wanted to go to sleep and didnt want to stay home with the father (they had three older children). We have invalids in the family and for this reason we go to see a doctor a lot. The travel costs vary, because we go to the nearest town or the district town and even to Bratislava. We older ones dont know the Slovak language so well, but we dont speak much with the doctor, mainly in Bratislava. The travel costs per month are about 40 euro.
The family does not go to see a doctor
No visits. We dont recall its been so long since we went to see a doctor (they have two adult sons in the household 29 and 26 years). We dont go to see a doctor very much; not that we werent ill but we were unable to pick up medicines, then for what?! When one of us goes to see a doctor, its me; Im always coughing. My father had something with his lungs... But so what, such is life. None of us has been to see a doctor during the past year; I dont remember when we last saw a doctor (they have three children from 7 to 11 years old). The doctor is polite to use; we dont pay for the journey, because we go there on foot (it is in the village).
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3. HOUSING AND POSSIBILITIES OF MODIFYING A DWELLING

Motto: I saw in the Roma settlements in the Spi region for the first time people who live in conditions worse than agricultural animals. (Milan Daniel, reporting from a Roma settlement in Slovakia, 2011). Housing belongs among the most basic needs and conditions for life; housing conditions are generally considered to be a key indicator of the level of living of the residents of a country. A lack of housing or a problem in its quality fully has the most principle impacts on the life of individuals and families. The location of a habitation and the quality of the dwellings determine in a major way the possibilities of development of the individual and his or her broader integration into different areas of the public sphere. Two fundamental positions or dimensions are in general monitored with the question of housing. This is partly the spatial placement of the site of habitation marginalisation and segregation of the place of habitation; on the other hand there are the characteristics of the dwelling itself the type and technical furnishings of a house or flat, its size and inhabitation and the like. Since this research probe is devoted especially to excluded settlements, the research focus was therefore concentrated on the dwellings themselves and their quality. Its goal was to capture and zoom in on the housing conditions in excluded settlements as they are captured in standard surveys (e.g. EU SILC or other surveys of the living condition of households) and to broaden this view by the different sides of the last modification to a dwelling, which may in more detail correspond to the quality of housing and to a certain development trend. Despite the preferential focusing on the status and quality of a dwelling, we mention briefly in the introductory section on housing the basic associations and knowledge which are in this context unspoken assumptions which means spatial segregation or separation of the place of habitation for the life of its residents. The spatial exclusion of an inhabited settlement itself already represents a huge problem and has principle impacts on the quality of life and success in connecting to society. A segregated place of habitation brings its residents many limitations and barriers in the securing of the basic running of life, not to speak about the form of standard activities of provision and of selfdevelopment. The results of surveys speak about the stickiness of such a housing environment; they rank it among the conditions of life which are very difficult to overcome with ones own forces; from the individual viewpoint they state that for a large portion of households even the strength of several generations is not enough to overcome these barriers (The Image..., 2012). The main problems of spatial segregation or separation on the basis of ethnicity according to research can be included into several points. Primarily segregation of the place of habitation itself brings a huge problem, and that is distance. The residents of such settlements are distanced from schools and education,20 jobs, possibilities of participating in other areas of public life and public services, including healthcare services, as described in the preceding chapter. With ethnic segregation of the place of habitation it is also emphasised that such segregation represents a risk for the favourable
20
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For example, the qualitative research of the non-profit organisation Quo vadis The Image of Roma Women recorded several responses of Roma women from segregated environments in central Slovakia, for whom the distance from the place of habitation to a secondary school is a barrier to further studying, or is a barrier to their children studying (The Image..., 2012, Chapter 3.1.1): ...I was at school with school-leaving examination perhaps a year... Then they cancelled the entire school, so we had to go to XY (a more distant town from the place of habitation); financially I didnt have money for the travel costs, because at that time my mother died, and I drew only the orphan benefit, so I couldnt commute... I left it...; ...pretty often it was decided how far away it is, parents were afraid when it was so far... So, something near home was looked for, which is the closest... now its really bad, these school are becoming extinct here, and therefore a lot of (Roma) children remain at home... a lot of children dont go to any school....
development of children and other residents that positive models in the surroundings are lost with segregation, and at the same time that segregation contributes to the spreading of negative ones. From a time point of view segregation recently has had a tendency to advance very quickly changes in regions are visible even in the course of a single life; many different strategies and processes contribute to segregation.21 The consequences of segregation or separation of the place of habitation on the basis of ethnicity are very diverse and represent a wide spectrum of problem situations, to get out of such an environment remains only on the level of desires.22 The mentioned (and other) general problems and impacts of excluded sites of habitation are for the object of the research of this research probe a common context, since it attempts to find deeper knowledge of the living situation for those citizens of different types of excluded settlements in Slovakia. As is stated above, aside from the fact of exclusion of the place of habitation itself, the conditions of housing associated with the house or flat can also represent a serious barrier to the quality of integration into society. Many empirical surveys have attested that with spatial exclusion the quality of a dwelling also worsens segregated settlements have significantly more poor quality dwellings with worse or no technical infrastructure and household furnishings at all (UNDP, 2006, 2012; Muinka ed., 2012; Scheffel, 2009). The poor conditions in dwellings cause demotivation and deactivation in relation to broader social integration: they are more demanding for work and time when securing the basic running of
a household and one of the consequences is a loss of motivation for self-development, education and the like. Also, over-crowding reduces the quality of living of its residents, leading not only to a loss of privacy, but also negatively limiting the conditions for the performing activities that strengthen the foundations of successful economic and social connection to society (for example, for education, working, using of services and the like). Housing conditions connected with specific dwellings can be assessed from very different angles of view, from surveying the financial accessibility of a flat, through the quality of a dwelling in terms of external and internal characteristics, or the over-crowding of a flat up through unpaid arrears for housing or energy and the like. On the basis of analysis of existing knowledge those indicators were selected to enter into a logbook which are crucial with excluded communities. In the scope of the research probe the type of house or flat and its official status was surveyed along with a subjective evaluation of housing, the size of the dwelling and number of persons living in it, also the technical infrastructure of dwellings, such as, for example, access to water and energy of different types, connection to sewerage, methods of heating and cooking, accessibility of a functional bath and toilet, as well as the availability of an independent bed for each household member. What image emerged by types of indicators of quality of housing in excluded Roma settlements on the basis of analysis of 192 typical households representing 131 excluded settlements is presented in the following chapter.
21
22
In recent years in relation to the segregated or separated Roma population stated in particular are: the desire of members of multi-member Roma households for their own living and financial accessibility of housing right in the segregated parts of the towns and villages; housing policies on the local level which build social flats focus on land outside of a villages residential area; the purchasing of flats from indebted Roma families and their subsequent moving to the edges of towns; the cancelling of housing estates or residential blocks and the moving of non-payers to the edge, the absolute absence of possibilities of independent living in excluded settlements after starting a family, which forces families of generations of children to build abodes illegally in order to obtain a certain amount of privacy for their family and to get away from over-crowded parental dwellings (Image..., 2012; Muinka, 2012; Muinka ed., 2012; Muinka Ben (eds.), 2011; UNDP, 2012; Scheffel, 2009). Again, the responses of Roma women from Bansk Bystrica Region from the cited research can serve as an example, when among general ideas about the future of their own children the wish was often repeated from the side of women living in segregated settlements, that they get away from the present environment: ...to get to a better environment than I was in...; And what I would dream about for both (children)... I would wish...until they are adults that theyll find themselves in some other environment... My biggest dream would be the two of them get out of here...; ...I have a little boy and what I would like is that he has things a bit better than I do, where I live... that he not be there, that I go with him somewhere else to live... (The Image..., 2012, Chapter 3.5.2).
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Table 3 Roma households from excluded settlements by type of housing and type of dwelling (in %)
Type of dwelling Brick house (total) Housing block (total) Non-standard types of dwellings* Total Segregated settlements 48 17 35 100 Separated on the edge of a municipality 49 38 13 100 Concentrated within a municipality 72 26 2 100 Total 56 28 16 100
Note: *The following belong to the category non-standard dwellings: a wooden house, a shack, a portable hut, or another dwelling not intended for housing.
3.1. Type of dwelling, its status and evaluation of living conditions23

Empirical data from excluded Roma communities points repeatedly to the low quality of housing of households living in such environments. For example the Report on the Living Conditions of Roma Households states an increased occurrence of nonquality types of dwellings without the most basic furnishings which lags far behind common standards of housing, especially in segregated settlements. The Report for 2010 speaks of overall 16% of non-standard dwellings24 for all Roma households, and in segregated environment this share increased to over 30% (UNDP, 2012). As Table 3.3 shows, this research probe copies the results quantitatively to a significant measure. But whats more, the research methods used (the layering of data about the home municipality and selected households) and expansion by stories of the last modification to a dwelling at the same time give in comparisons with classic survey questionnaires the possibility of looking over the individual aspects of housing in more detail and in connection to the local infrastructure. The final sample of 192 Roma households from 131 excluded settlements had according to type of dwelling a diverse composition. The most numerous
were brick houses (a total of 56%), households living in a flat in a housing block (block of flats) with 28%, and for non-standard dwellings together totalled 16%: wooden house 3%, shack 10%, portable hut, dwelling not intended for housing and other types of dwellings just 1% each). But the differences in the housing fund were significant for the individual types of housing, from segregated settlements through those concentrated within a village or town. Non-standard dwellings had for the group of households living in segregated settlements up to 35%; on the other hand, for Roma concentrated within a town or village only 2%. Thus, the much higher concentration of non-standards dwellings in segregated environments was confirmed. The type of dwelling according to external attributes, i.e. discerning a brick house, a flat in a block of flats and non-standard dwellings, however, does not in and of itself correspond to the overall quality of the flat or lived in house. As subjective evaluation of the conditions for life in ones own dwelling showed, also in the case of brick houses and housing blocks, the living conditions not infrequently were stated as poor or very poor. One-fifth of the group of households living in a brick house received negative evaluations and for the group of households in a housing block, this was in the end more than
23
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24
We recall a note from the introductory part: from the character of the survey it follows that the presented numerical values serve exclusively for comparative purposes for comparing differences between differently defined groups of Roma excluded households; they decidedly do not correspond to the quantitative range of the given value attribute in excluded Roma communities. The following are considered to be non-standard dwellings: a wooden house, a shack, a portable hut, a container, or some other dwelling not intended for housing (old manor house, garden shack, etc.).
Table 4 Roma households from excluded settlements by type of dwelling and evaluation of conditions for life (in %)
Evaluation of dwelling Positive evaluation (excellent and good) Average Negative evaluation (poor and very poor) Total Brick houses total 32 48 20 100 Housing blocks total 31 43 26 100 Non-standard dwellings* 0 3 97 100 Total 26 40 34 100
Note: *The following belonged to the category non-standard dwellings: a wooden house, a shack, a portable hut, or another dwelling not intended for housing. In the logbook brick family houses were differentiated with one flat and two and more flats, and housing blocks were recorded with the number of flats up to and over 10 separately; the table presents the data for them in summary.
one-quarter. But obviously, it applied that with nonstandard dwellings the living conditions were classified as poor or very poor disproportionally more as much as 97%; positive evaluations with non-standard dwellings did not occur at all, while for brick houses (family houses and housing blocks) this achieved one-third (Table 4). While brick family houses and housing blocks are of differing quality in excluded settlements, from excellent up through very poor conditions for life, non-standard dwellings are nearly exclusively connected with disadvantageous conditions. In relation to the official status of a dwelling, threequarters (76%) of the final sample of surveyed households had a dwelling officially registered and the remaining quarter stated that it was an illegal building or some other possibility (24%). Illegal buildings were again more often linked with segregated settlements (40%); for settlements separated on the edge of a municipality this was approximately half as much and for settlements concentrated within a municipality up to four-fold less (Table 5). According to the type of dwelling, nonstandard dwellings in particular were labelled as illegal: more than 70% of them were illegal buildings, while approximately 18% of brick houses were illegal and obviously no housing blocks. It was also shown that these illegal buildings were labelled as housing with poor or very poor conditions for life significantly more often. Illegal buildings made up nearly half of the buildings given a negative evaluation of living conditions, and not quite one-fifth of those evaluated
as average; on the other hand, no illegal buildings at all were found among those evaluated as positively for living conditions. The official status of a dwelling, therefore, is associated with the type of excluded settlement, as well as with the type of the dwelling itself and the overall evaluation of housing differs significantly. The deeper the spatial exclusion of the place of habitation, the larger the occurrence of unofficial buildings; illegal buildings are built significantly more frequently from non-standard materials with brick houses they occur less frequently in excluded settlements; critical evaluations of living conditions are linked with black buildings from the residents of the dwellings themselves. Unofficial buildings originate more easily in segregated settlements; they are not houses of a standard type and the residents themselves dont see the living conditions in such dwellings in a positive light. The linking of these aspects indicates that the building of a non-standard dwelling in segregated environments is for its residents a starting point for poverty; this is the only way they are able in the given economic and social situation to provide for their own family a roof over the head, or to fulfil one of the most basic conditions for life.25 Different proportions were expressed among the compared groups of surveyed households upon monitoring the ownership relations regarding the lived-in house or flat. A dwelling in the ownership of some member of the household was rarer in spatially excluded settlements: for the group of households
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Table 5 Roma households from excluded settlements by type of housing and status of dwelling (in %)
Segregated settlements Official status of dwelling Official building Illegal building and others Method of acquiring a dwelling Built it Bought it Got it from the village/town Renting it Other* Type of ownership Owned by a household member or relative Owned by another private subject Owned by the municipality Other No one knows 60 40 47 14 17 12 10 55 2 26 3 14 Separated on the edge of a municipality 76 24 34 13 30 12 11 51 4 38 0 7 Concentrated within a municipality 91 9 19 40 19 12 10 72 5 21 0 2 Total
76 24 33 21 23 12 11 59 4 29 1 7
Note: *The possibility other includes: inherited it, moved in illegally, came after a family moved out and others (bought from the Slovak Railways). The structure of the final sample of 192 households was according to the type of housing in the ratio: 30% segregated settlements (n = 58); 40% separated on the edge (n = 76); and 30% concentrated within a municipality (n = 58).
from segregated and separated settlements a household member or other relative declared ownership of a dwelling in more than half, while the share of family owners of a dwelling in concentrated settlements within a community exceeded 70%. On the other hand, in segregated settlements the responses no one owns the dwelling or I dont know the ownership situation were more frequent (14% versus 2% for households concentrated within a municipality). The owners of flats in housing blocks were municipalities, and other private subjects were found in the position of dwelling owner only less together 5%. According to the type of dwelling, with brick houses ownership of the household and family predominated, and with non-standard dwellings the
responses no one owned the dwelling and I dont know were more frequent. Ownership relations regarding a dwelling was thus the least clear in the case of non-standard dwellings, which are more often in segregated settlements. Among the methods of obtaining the current dwelling in excluded settlements the so-called self-help solution was most often given an entire one-third of the final sample of households built the dwelling itself. The second method of acquiring the current dwelling became obtaining a flat from the municipality with 23%, and an additional 21% purchased their dwelling in an excluded settlement. Other possibilities of acquiring the current dwelling
25
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As, for example, Z. Kus points out, the availability of flats overall in Slovakia has a below-average level (Kus, 2007). While in Slovakia there are 350 flats per 1,000 residents, the Maastricht criteria speaks of a standard of 450 flats and in several EU countries the number exceeds 500 flats; the deficit of Slovakia towards the top of the EU is thus 25% to 30%. The availability of housing is also limited on the financial side. Since flats in Slovakia in the second quarter of 2012 sold on average for 1,256 euro per square metre, for a broad group of residents owning ones own housing remains an unfulfilled dream. For a flat with 60 square metres about 75 thousand euro is necessary at the mentioned price, while the majority of people in the country earn less than the average pay of 750 euro gross (which is about 500 euro net). If an individual did not eat, did not dress and was able to put away 500 euro each month for housing, he would have to save for more than 12 years. And in the case of groups of residents in poverty who are reliant exclusively on support from the system of social benefits, such a horizon is inaccessible. For more, see: http://m.tvnoviny.sk/bin/mobile/index.php?article_id=616777; or the site of the Slovak Statistical Office: http://portal.statistics.sk/showdoc.do?docid=26531.
had a total of 23%: from this 12% of the surveyed households lived in a rented dwelling, 7% of dwellings were inherited from parents and 4% listed illegal moving in or occupying after a family moved out or purchasing the dwelling from the Slovak Railways. For the individual types of housing and types of dwellings the methods of acquiring a home or flat were differentiated rather significantly. In segregated settlements households most often built their own dwelling (47%), and the other half was more or less equally divided among the other possibilities. With the group of households living separated on the edge of a municipality two methods of acquisition occurred most often they built the dwelling themselves with 34%, and they received it from the municipality with 30%; purchase, rental and another method of obtaining a flat here was related to approximately every tenth/one tenth of the surveyed households. For the group of households representing concentrated settlements within a municipality, the purchase of a dwelling achieved the highest share (40%), and building a house and having a flat assigned from the municipality followed at a great distance with not quite one-fifth, while the last two methods related to approximately 10% of these households. Differences between the types of settlements are also obviously given by the type of dwelling, and the method of acquiring it is to a significant measure predetermined. Among households living in nonstandard dwellings over 71% built the dwelling themselves, and another 10% utilised other nonstandard methods such as illegal moving in and the like; however, housing assigned by a municipality was also found among non-standard dwellings (making up 16% of them), and 3% living in such dwellings were paying rent for them. Residents of housing blocks predominately listed, logically, the assigning of a flat from the municipality (63%) or renting (32%), and from the other methods of acquiring only purchasing
of a flat occurred (however, only 6%). Brick houses were predominately built or bought by their current residents (each of the possibilities had over 40%), while 13% were inherited and the other methods of obtaining this type of housing occurred only rarely. The methods of acquiring a dwelling in excluded settlements ascertained on the basis of the research probe were relatively diverse and differed by type of settlement and by type of dwelling. This could indicate that the processes leading to segregation or separation of housing, as was mentioned above, are in reality also varied. Getting into segregation or separation occurred by the purchase of a dwelling in the excluded environments, further by building the dwelling in this settlement or by inheriting it from parents, by occupying a free dwelling, but also by assignment of housing from the municipality. Households which got their current housing from the municipality occurred in all three types of excluded settlements. They had the highest share in the scope of separated settlements on the edge of a municipality, where this method of acquiring a dwelling obtained 30%; for concentrated settlements within a municipality this was 19% and in segregated settlements 17%. The representation of flats assigned by the municipality in all three types of excluded settlements was also confirmed by the opposite perspective: from all of the excluded households which declared that they received their current housing from the municipality more than half were in settlements separated on the edge, a quarter in concentrated settlements within a municipality and not quite a quarter in segregated settlements. At the same time, this involved almost exclusively housing blocks; other types of dwelling assigned from the municipality were more sporadic.26 Although specific percentage shares are not with this type of survey relevant in any way, the data indicate that municipal flats for the socially weak are not infrequently located outside its own residential areas predominately on
26
Aside from housing blocks among them was found, for example, a brick house, a wooden house, a portable hut, a small garden cabin and an old manor house.
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the edge of municipalities, and they build housing blocks predominately outside the internal territory of the municipality. The situation from the viewpoint of type of dwelling, the methods of its acquisition and the ownership relations regarding the dwelling appear in excluded settlements to be very diverse. The formal status of a lived in flat or dwelling was not with many surveyed households clear, which itself does not create a good starting point for the stability of housing and the quality of life of households in these conditions. This was ultimately confirmed also in the subjective evaluation of housing conditions, which came out most unfavourable for segregated settlements and not-standard dwellings.
a dwelling and its technical infrastructure. Several indicators pointing to the quality of housing are known from surveys, the most basic being its size, as defined by the number of rooms. From this dimension, the total number of rooms, as well as the furnishing of a dwelling with a kitchen and bathroom, was thus assigned to this survey. As Table 6 shows, among the surveyed households from excluded settlements were those which did not have an independent kitchen in their dwelling. Overall this was 12%, while for the group from segregated settlements it was 17%, but in the case of concentrated within a municipality only 3%. Kitchens were missing particularly in non-standard dwellings: while in housing blocks or brick houses only 6% didnt have an independent kitchen, for non-standard dwellings this was 42%. The increased occurrence of dwellings without a kitchen at the same time was linked with a poor evaluation of the living conditions a third of households with a negative evaluation of their own housing did not have an independent kitchen. An absolute majority of the surveyed households had only
3.2. The quality of dwellings by size characteristics and technical furnishings

The current situation from the viewpoint of quality of dwelling in excluded settlements can be brought closer through the monitoring of quantitative parameters of
Table 6 Roma households from excluded settlements by type of housing and signs of quality of the dwelling (in %)
Segregated settlement Kitchen in the dwelling Kitchen 0 Kitchen 1+ Kitchen average per dwelling Rooms in the dwelling Room 0 Room 1 Room 2 Room 3 Room 4+ Rooms average per dwelling Average number of persons per 1 room Bathrooms in the dwelling Bathrooms 0 Bathrooms 1+ Bathrooms average per dwelling Separated on the edge of a municipality 13 87 0.89 3 32 42 13 10 2.04 3.37 28 72 0.73 Concentrated within a municipality 3 97 1.03 0 26 43 14 17 2.31 2.76 22 78 0.81 Total
17 83 0.84 5 49 31 12 3 1.59 3.80 47 53 0.53
12 88 0.92 3 35 39 13 10 1.99 3.31 32 68 0.69
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Note: The structure of the final sample of 192 households was according to the type of housing in the ratio: 30% segregated settlements (n = 58); 40% separated on the edge (n = 76); and 30% concentrated within a community (n = 58).
one kitchen, while only 3% of those surveyed had two and more kitchens. On average, then, the figure per one dwelling came out to be not quite one kitchen: for a dwelling in segregated settlements only 0.84 kitchens per dwelling and for concentrated within a municipality 1.03 kitchens per dwelling. The housing situation of Roma households from excluded settlements came out even worse with the monitoring of the presence and number of bathrooms. Nearly one-third of the surveyed households did not have an independent bathroom in their dwelling. The most bathroom-less dwellings were in segregated settlements, where their share was nearly one-half; in the case of separated and concentrated settlements this was 1.5- to 2-times less. Again, it was nonstandard dwellings or shacks that were primarily without a bathroom: 97% of them did not have one and only 3% did. With flats in blocks of flats the ratio was the opposite: 96% had a bathroom and 4% did not. Brick buildings were from this point of view more varied: 27% of them were without a bathroom and 73% had at least one. On average, the figure from segregated settlements was 0.53 bathrooms per dwelling, 0.73 per dwelling for separated on the edge of a municipality and 0.81 per dwelling for those concentrated within a municipality. According to international comparisons, the availability of sufficient space in a dwelling is also considered to be one of the key characteristics for assessing the quality and conditions of housing. Several simple and complex indicators are use to monitor this, one of which is the measure of over-crowding of a household.27 It expresses the percentage share of people living in over-crowded dwellings, which is defined by the number of available rooms in the household and the size of the household, or still other characteristics of a family or its members. As the research probe indicated, the housing situation of households from excluded settlements did not come out very favourably even by the number of
rooms per dwelling, again especially with segregated settlements. All together, as much as 54% of the group representing segregated settlements in the survey did not have any or only one room, for the group of separated households this was 35% and for those concentrated within a municipality 26%. In all three excluded environments the share of one-room dwellings versus the common standard in the country was high; for segregated settlements, however, it came out exceptionally unfavourable. The averages showed this clearly: the average number of rooms per one dwelling represented 1.59 rooms for the group segregated; 2.04 in the case of separated and 2.31 for concentrated within a municipality. On the other hand, the number of persons per one room came out for the group of households living in segregated settlements to be 3.80; in separated settlements this was 3.37, and for concentrated within a municipality 2.76 persons per one room. All mentioned indicators, therefore, suggest a high over-crowdedness of dwellings in excluded settlements. Still another view at over-crowdedness is offered by the total number of rooms in a dwelling and the number of persons in the household. Together 11% of the surveyed households lived in only one room (a kitchen or a room); another 30% lived in dwellings with two rooms and 35% in dwellings with three rooms. A total of 76% of the total surveyed households had a dwelling with three rooms or fewer. At the same time the number of persons in dwellings with such a small number of rooms was very diverse it ranged from 2 to 19 persons. Over-crowdedness then also acquired in the reality of excluded households the following forms: A four-generation family (two parents and their children with partners and without partners and grandchildren) with 19 people in a dwelling with two rooms without an independent kitchen and bathroom, from this 14 adults and 5 independent children (1 school-attending child and 4 young children).
27
The measure of over-crowdedness of dwellings in Slovakia was according EU SILC data from 2010 one of the highest in the EU (more than 40%; the average for the EU27 was 17.7%; the lowest was the Netherlands with 2.2% and the highest Latvia with 57.1%). For the population at risk of poverty the measure of over-crowding was even significantly higher namely by nearly 20% (web SO SR).
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Table 7 Roma households from excluded settlements by type of housing and signs of quality of the dwelling (in %)
Segregated settlements Household farming Grow vegetables Raise domestic animals Technical furnishings of a flat Drinking water from the main Connected sewerage Sewerage sump Electricity official and functions Electricity connected illegally Gas connection functions Heat standard* Heat from a solid fuel stove Cooking standard* Cooking on solid fuel Liquidation of waste hauled Liquidation of waste other Bed for each Toilet standard Bathing standard Separated on the edge of a municipality 11 8 60 49 13 86 7 20 32 61 33 67 83 17 61 54 55 Concentrated within a municipality 24 14 67 36 35 93 0 36 41 48 53 47 86 14 69 57 72 Total
5 5 45 29 16 66 12 9 9 83 10 90 71 29 45 36 45
13 9 58 39 20 82 6 21 28 64 32 68 80 20 58 50 57
Note: *The category Heat standard includes central heating, radiators on a boiler and Gamat heater, i.e. all methods of heating without heating using solid fuel; a similar division is used in the table with the method of cooking (standard methods and cooking over solid fuel).
A four-generation family (two parents and their children with partners and grandchildren) with 10 people in a two-room flat in a block of flats, from this 6 children (3 school-attending and 3 young children). A single-parent family (mother with children) with 9 people living in a shack with one room without a kitchen and bathroom, from this 8 children (6 school-attending and 2 young children). A two-parent family (two parents and children) with 8 people in a one-room flat with a kitchen and bathroom, from this 6 children (3 school-attending and 3 young children). A four-generation family (two parents and their children with partners and grandchildren) with 11 people in a two-room flat in a housing block, from this 6 children (4 with a completed education and 2 young children).
and a kitchen, but without a bathroom, from this 7 children (3 of them with a completed education, 1 school-attending and 3 young children). A two-parent family (two parents and children) with 10 people in a shack with one room without a kitchen and bathroom, from this 8 children (7 school-attending and 1 young child). A four-generation family (two parents and their children with partners and grandchildren) with 17 people in a three-room flat in a block of flats, from this 11 children (7 school-attending and 4 young children). A four-generation family (two parents and their children with partners and grandchildren) with 15 people in a tworoom flat in a housing block, from this 9 children (3 school-attending and 6 young children). Excluded environments recorded significantly more similar stories of extreme over-crowding. This spatial aspect already tells of the extreme lack of quality
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A three-generation family (parents, grandparents and children) with 12 people in a shack with two rooms
housing of many households from excluded settlements. And additional characteristics of housing quality markedly lower it even further. This has been shown in numerous surveys and reports from excluded Roma settlements, which recorded especially huge deficiencies in technical infrastructure of dwellings (UNDP, 2006, 2012; Muinka, 2012; Scheffel, 2009; several numbers of the magazine Plus 7 dn and many other sources). And in the scope of this research this was no different. Here, too, a large portion of the surveyed households was recorded which did not have drinking water from a functioning water main available in its dwelling, was not connected to sewerage and didnt have their own sump; a group of households was found without electricity at all or which was connected illegally, while only a negligible group had a gas connection in their dwelling; the majority heated and cooked with solid fuels, often even within housing blocks, and they had problems with the functioning of a toilet and bathroom. Only one-tenth of the surveyed households devoted itself to cultivating vegetables and raising domestic animals, and in segregated settlements the numbers was only half as many (Table 7). A comparison between individual groups of Roma households defined on the basis of type of housing confirmed that with the deepening of spatial exclusion the situation worsened for individual types of standard housing infrastructure segregated settlements had the worse situation. More than half of
them did not have drinking water available through a water main, were not connected to sewerage or even a sump,28 did not have any form of standard bathing (with a standard toilet the deficit was higher still),29 and the same share of households in the end did not even have an independent bed for each household member.30 Only a real minimum of these households were linked to a gas connection (not even 10%), similarly as a minimum of them used standard sources of heat and cooking. More than one-fifth of the surveyed households here did not have electricity and nearly a third were lacking wasted liquidated by collection and hauling through containers. Roma households from excluded settlements remain without basic technical furnishings oftentimes even when the given infrastructure is introduced in the settlement or home municipality. From comparisons of infrastructure at the site of the habitation and the furnishings of specific households a relatively large lagging was shown in the individual items. Thus, for example, 76% of the surveyed households listed a water main in a housing settlement, but only 58% had water in their own (from this 55% were connected to the public water main and 3% had running water from a garden or their own well). A lagging of 20% thus appears in excluded households in terms of connection to a water main for possibilities of a specific settlement. With sewerage the difference was on the level of about 10%, when 50% of surveyed households had sewerage at the site of habitation,
28
29
30
For a more exible image regarding the life and hygienic relations in segregated settlements we present the frequency of occurrence of non-standard possibilities. But the percentage shares decidedly do not correspond to the situation for residents of Roma settlements in Slovakia such data can only be provided by the mapping of such settlements, which after nearly ten years is repeated by the end of 2012 (Atlas of the Roma community in Slovakia). Among households representing 58 segregated settlements, 55% had a source of drinking water other than a water main: 19 % used a public well or water main tap or hydrant in the settlement, 12% a well in the yard, 9% took drinking water from the dwelling of relatives, 7% bought bottled water for drinking, 5% used a spring and 3% a stream or river (the last two possibilities did not occur for separated or concentrated settlements at all, and with other non-standard sources of drinking water a smaller occurrence was recorded in comparison with segregated settlements). With the absence of a connection to sewerage and a private sump (a total of 55% of households from segregated settlements) the majority stated that they pour wastewater out into the surroundings (29%), or into latrines (2%) or runoff into a stream (2%), while the remaining 22% only stated the absences of sewerage without explaining their handling of wastewater. Again we present more detailed parameters for non-standard household furnishings from segregated settlements. For bathing households which were lacking a connection to running water most often used a wash-basin or a bucket (40%; in the other two excluded environments such a method of bathing was half to onetheir less frequently); this was followed by a tub or vat without a connection to running water (14%), and then a stream or river (2%). As much as 64% of this group of households declared a non-standard toilet; most often this was a latrine in the yard (36%), in the surroundings was given by 14%, 9% used a public latrine in the settlement, and a ushing toilet without running water and a bowl or bucket was also found (2% and 3%); for concentrated settlements within a municipality the last four possibilities did not occur, in place of this the dwelling of relatives or neighbours increased. A total of 55% of the surveyed segregated households did not have an independent bed for each member; most often the number of persons per one bed was two people (29%) and then three people (17%), but the number of persons mainly children represented an even higher number (a total of 9% of the surveyed households from segregated settlements had four to six children for one bed).
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but only 39% of them had sewerage connected in their dwelling. Similarly, an electricity main belonged to the infrastructure of the habitation site of 96% of the final sample households, and 82% had a functioning connection in their own dwelling (4% had an official connection but not functioning and on the other hand 6% of households said they had an illegal connection). The furnishing of electricity in excluded households lagged behind the possibilities of the specific settlement by more than 10%. The lagging behind of households from segregated settlements was significantly higher still and was so in the possibilities of the specific settlement as well as in the furnishing of households behind the standard of a housing settlement. While 76% of all surveyed households had a water main in the settlement and 55% were connected to a public water main, for segregated settlements this was 60% with a water main in the settlement and 45% in the household. Less than 40% of segregated settlements had sewerage in the place of habitation (the average for the entire surveyed excluded households was 50%), but only 29% had their dwelling connected to sewerage (while overall this was 39%). In segregated settlements 93% had electricity in the place of habitation (for all excluded settlements this was 96%); 66% of the surveyed households from segregated settlements had an official and functioning connection in their dwelling (on average for the whole of the surveyed households this was 82 %). Although specifically given percentages decidedly do not correspond to the real situation with furnishings in excluded settlements, the captured differences between the groups of households indicate a differentiated situation within them. The research probe repeatedly and in detail showed that Roma households from excluded settlements live often in
poor quality dwellings, and the situation comes out worse for segregated settlements. Not only are nonstandard dwellings shacks concentrated in segregated settlements, they are often lagging behind without the most basic furnishings. But problems with dwelling are found in all three excluded environments; in each are found households living in dwelling not satisfying the criteria of quality whether the size of the house or flat is involved, its over-crowdedness or its lack of basic technical furnishings. The case was not infrequent when the individual deficiencies were combined with one another over-crowdedness with sub-standard technical furnishings and the like. The quality of housing of many households from excluded settlements showed significant deficiencies and marked lagging behind the common standards of housing in Slovakia.31
3.3. Modification of a dwelling: types of repairs and expended costs

Every dwelling requires regular maintenance or modifications or repairs in the interest of maintaining its existing state or in the interest of improving the quality of living. As is presented in the preceding section, many dwellings from excluded settlements show several signs of poor quality up to an extreme which increases the need for maintenance and modifications even further. Therefore, among the situations which were recorded in the scope of the research probe into excluded settlements was a voluntary description of the last modification made to a dwelling. The situations captures were alongside the type of modification of a dwelling made to also introduce the period when such change was made, who made it and what sum of money was expended to do it.
31
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According to data from the 2001 census 92.9% of permanently lived in houses were connected to a water main (68.5% to a public network), 86% had some kind of sewerage (28.7% a public network and 57.3% a septic tank). The number of habitable rooms per one resident represented 1 room, for one permanently lived in at there were 3.18 persons; the share of permanently lived in ats with one room represented for all of Slovakia 7.4% and with two rooms 19.7%; the number of rooms per one at came out to be 3.21 rooms (a room with a surface larger than 8 square metres was counted as a room). The values of individual indicators for the surveyed excluded settlements lagged far behind the averages from a decade ago, it can be assumed that the lagging in several aspects up to the year 2011 deepened even further (data from the 2011 was not yet available for the housing module).
Graph 16 When households made the last modification to a dwelling (in %)

no modification
1 12 21
in the last half-year more than half a year up to 3 years longer than 3 years
two-times more, while in segregated and separated households they again gave modifications not older than half a year more often (a difference of approximately 15%). This may mean that less quality habitations with a high share of non-standard dwellings in spatially segregated and separated settlements require more interventions into the state of the dwelling and do so more often. The relatively high share of households which did not make any modifications to their dwelling during the past years raises a question about the reasons. On the basis of a loose description four basic areas of reasons for giving up on maintenance or improvement of a dwelling can be identified. The first of them was the relatively good state of the home or flat which did not require any interventions: This is mainly a newer dwelling; it wasnt necessary in recent times to make any modifications. The last time it rained, to prevent the carrying of mud into the dwelling, they poured stones in front of the entrance, which they swept up from around the main road. /brick house, separated settlement 1km distant from the home municipality We havent made any modifications recently; we live in a new building. /flat in a smaller housing block, segregated settlement 3 km distant from the home municipality We didnt make any modifications this year; we have our house in order. /brick duplex, settlement concentrated within the municipality We havent had any problems with the dwelling recently. /shack, segregated settlement 1 km distant from the home municipality The second reason why a household from an excluded settlement did not carry out any modifications is their dwelling recently was the ownership relation in regard to the lived in dwelling. Although the dwelling would need a modification, since they live in a rented flat or sublet, they are not authorised to make repairs or modifications. Such argumentation was connected with flats in housing blocks, but also with brick family houses; from the viewpoint of type of settlement it was found in different excluded environments:
20 38
we do it always, when needed no response
Note: The graph presents the percentage shares of the total final sample of 192 households representing 131 excluded settlements.
According to the collected data 21% of the final surveyed households did not make any modification to their own dwelling in recent times, while the remaining four-fifths did perform some form of renovation in their household. In terms of time, modifications made during the past half-year predominated among such households (nearly 40%), while another 20% made the modification during the last three years and for not quite 10% the modification was made more than three years ago. In more than one-tenth of the situations the time of the repair of a dwelling was not specified. Households without a modification performed on a house or flat were represented by one-third more in the group living in settlements concentrated within a municipality, where they represented 27%; in contrast to this in segregated and separated settlement this was 19%. In comparisons with the two more excluded groups, older modifications to a dwelling were more common in settlements concentrated within a municipality: the last modification of a dwelling related to the period two to three years ago nearly
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We live in a rental flat we dont paint because the roof leaks and there are streaks. /flat in a smaller housing block, separated settlement 3 km from the home municipality 3 km We live in a housing block and we arent allowed to do anything; were in debt, so were glad that we someplace to live. /flat in a larger housing block, separated settlement 0.5 km distant from the home municipality The house isnt ours (it belongs to the municipality), accordingly we arent really able to make modifications, although we would need them. We dont even have the money for this. /brick house, settlement concentrated within a municipality I live with my parents and I dont decide when and what gets done, even if I wanted. /brick house, separated settlement 0.5 km distant from the home municipality Another reason which was repeatedly found in the replies of respondent households was the very poor condition of the dwelling which thwarted every attempt at improving the living conditions. Similar arguments were made exclusively by resident living in shacks, e. g. dwelling of various materials. According to the type of settlement this was related to those from segregated settlements and separated settlements on the edge of a municipality: We dont do anything at home, because this isnt a home (a shack with no infrastructure), only when something is really urgent. /shack, separated settlement 1 km distant from the home municipality Our dwelling is in a very bad state (a shack with no furnishings and electricity); we dont have money for a repair. But we have a promise from the mayor that if he has a free flat or house, we will get it. /shack, segregated settlement 0.5 km distant from the home municipality We dont make any modifications to the home, because our shack is hardly standing. We would need completely new housing, at least a portable hut. /shack, segregated settlement 1 km distant from the home municipality But most often financial barriers was given among the reasons for not making any modifications or repairs to a dwelling in the recent period. Many of the surveyed
households had such a stressed family budget that no financial resources remain for improving and maintaining a dwelling. Financial inaccessibility of maintenance of a dwelling was general households living in flats in housing blocks, as well as residents of brick houses or non-standard dwellings mentioned it. And it was also general on the basis of type of settlement: households from segregated and separated excluded environments knew financial inaccessibility, but also those living concentrated within a municipality. Some respondents only stated the lack of financial resources for dwelling modifications, while other chose a broader explanation. They spoke of their owl plans or necessary reconstructions, which did not get done, or of the desolate state of the dwelling, whose solution, however is not within their financial possibilities. With these opportunities some of the households emphasised that the economic situation only allowed them bare survival; they only have money for food and medicines and covering modifications to a home or flat is not within their possibilities: They havent done anything at home for a long time because they dont have the money. /brick house, concentrated within a municipality They dont made modifications at home due to a lack of finances. /brick house, concentrated within a municipality We havent done anything around the house for a long time now; we live only from social benefits and its not enough for anything else. /brick house, separated settlement 1 km distant from the home municipality Our home would need a lot of repair work (one room without a bathroom, weakly furnished); unfortunately we dont have the finances. We plan to install water from the neighbour, at least to the kitchen. And then we would make a bathroom. /brick house, concentrated within a municipality We would have to rebuild the whole house (bad conditions, they dont have electricity or water, without a bathroom and just one room and a kitchen), but we dont have the finances for it. /brick house, concentrated within a municipality Due to existential problems they cant even afford to buy a lock on the door to the flat; or paint or put glass
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in the windows. /flat in a larger housing block, segregated settlement 2.5 km distant from the home municipality From the viewpoint of the weak economic situation we havent repaired the house for at least 20 years. It is in a desolate state; the roof is falling in. /brick house, concentrated within a municipality The roof is falling in on us, but we dont have money for anything; we can hardly live. At least we dont have children! /brick house, concentrated within a municipality They dont make modifications to the home, they cant; they are glad that they have money for medicines and food. /brick house, concentrated within a municipality The lack of finances doesnt allow me any modifications and renovations to my dwelling. I live under my own conditions, as I can (they live in a shack with two rooms, a total of 12 people). For a modification or repair they scrounge from those better off. /shack, settlement concentrated within a municipality The bad financial situation, mentally disabled, bad care for the dwelling (shack), they try to survive by day to day. /shack, segregated settlement 1 km distant from the home municipality Reasons for giving up on maintenance and repair of a dwelling are in excluded environments relatively diverse:32 from the reason consisting of a dwelling in good condition which didnt require any repairs; through ownership relations of the household to the flat or house as renters cannot make repairs; further the desolate state of the dwelling, upon which the household simply gave up any modifications; up through the limited financial possibilities of households which practically negate any modifications to a dwelling. But despite this variation the strongest reason was financial inaccessibility of improving housing. Explaining the reasons for not realising maintenance of a dwelling can be seen closer through several stories from the real state of some dwellings in excluded settlements.
Specifically they took the form of a collapsing roof, broken windows, non-functioning locks in a dwelling, the unavailability of water in households and many other aspects of deprivation. The majority of the surveyed households (nearly fourfifths) did make some intervention into the current dwelling for the closer undetermined recent period. As Graph 3.16 shows in more detail, the only one frequent activity related to modification of a dwelling was painting it was the content of 40% of the interventions carried out on a dwelling. Roof repairs (with 12%) followed at a large distance, and then the reworking of a bathroom or toilet and repair or laying of a floor. Reconstruction of plaster and modification or repair of window occurred on a large-scale, while other types of interventions in a dwelling, such as building an extension or expansion, tiling, repair of facilities in a flat, repair of a chimney, the reworking of waste or water, repair of the foundations or plaster of a house and the like, could be classified more as rarer modifications. From the graph it is at the same time obvious that modifications of a maintenance character predominated; a glance along the line of maintaining a dwelling versus improving the quality of housing showed the domination of maintenance over improvement of the standard of living. Overall more than 70% of the described situations of modification to a dwelling had the character of maintenance of the existing state of housing and less than a third would be evaluated as a more principle or longer-lasting improvement in the quality of the housing. Thus maintenance as well as improvement modifications to dwellings in reality had a relatively varied form. Among the modifications significantly improving the method of overall quality of housing is, for example, more principle reconstruction or redevelopment of a house or dwelling. The research probe in such a position captured positive examples of broader
32
A portion of the households, however, only stated that they had not made any repairs or modications without giving more detailed reasons (see the Appendix to chapter 3).
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Graph 17 Last modification to a dwelling in excluded households by type of modification (in %)

0 5 3 40 12 7 6 1 1 1 3 1 3 1 3 1 1 5 4 2 6 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 45
1 = repairs of facilities in a flat 2 = painting, spackling, walls 3 = repair of a roof, a leak 4 = made, remade a bathroom or toilet 5 = installed tiles, covered a floor 6 = tiled the kitchen 7 = added on to the home, extension to a dwelling 8 = insulation of doors 9 = repair of a chimney 10 = repair, reworking of waste or water 11 = modification to garden, yard, fence 12 = reworking of the infrastructure core 13 = repair of foundations of a shack, load-bearing walls 14 = connection to a water main 15 = built a fireplace 16 = repair plaster, new plaster, facade 17 = change windows, alter windows 18 = remodel a house 99 = other problem with housing
Note: The graph presents the percentage shares of total given situations of the last modification to a dwelling (n = 151).
reconstruction of a dwelling with the effect of significantly improving living conditions with the help of the ETP Slovensko loan programme, but also the story of self-help construction of a non-standard dwelling a shack: I built my house myself from money saved, from a private savings scheme (so-called Vielka or Bee ) and the building saving account. After using it up I was connected to the IDIA savings program, which was provided by ETP Slovensko. Then I continued in a microloan programme where I took out an interestfree loan which I am now paying back. Im glad that I have a place to live, because a house is covered and I have it furnished for housing. /brick house, separated settlement without giving the distance from the home municipality
The roof leaked and it was necessary to modify the bathroom and the toilet. I took out a microloan through ETP Slovensko in the amount of 1,160 euro. For the mentioned money I bought material, where I modified the floor and reconstructed the bathroom and the toilet and I want to change the roof covering. We did all the mentioned work ourselves. /brick house, separated settlement 0.4 km from the home municipality We did a reconstruction of rooms from microloans which were offered by ETP Slovensko. We managed to improve our housing: we changed the floor, painted the rooms and rebuilt the bathroom. /brick house, settlement concentrated within a municipality Three years ago we built a small house; during construction of the shack the entire family helped us, but I dont remember the sum that was spent on the
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building. /shack, separated settlement wit without giving the distance from the home municipality An extension or the adding of a storey, which likewise take a variety of forms, can be included among the larger modifications improving the quality of house or dwelling. On one hand this was, for example, a more radical increasing of living space in a family house by adding an additional storey; on the other hand, this was the adding of a vestibule to a portable hut, to prevent the leaking of heat from the portable hut: We added on a storey, so far it has cost 1,500 euro, but we still havent finished it. My husband is building it with his brother and my father. Theyre working on it for the second month now. /brick house, segregated settlement 1 km from the home municipality They live in a portable hut, so this is very complicated, they are crammed in (two parents, four children age 13 to 22 years, plus a grandson from the oldest daughter). They last build on a vestibule to prevent losing heat in winter. They paid 50 euro for the cinder blocks used, bought the cement, sand and lime they got for free (for work the husband worked in the village and in place of money they gave him materials). They built it themselves. /portable hut, separated settlement 0.2 km from the home municipality Among the larger quality changes of a current dwelling which brought more principle improvement of the living conditions for its residents the reworking of a bathroom or toilet in the house, the connecting of the household to the public water main, the laying of tiles in the house or an extension of the internal space of a flat, insulation of a house of changing of windows can be included: They built a bathroom themselves during three months, they paid about 1,200 euro for materials. /brick house, separated settlement on the edge without giving the distance from the home municipality We last reconstructed the bathroom. We borrowed 1,000 euro, which Im repaying at 42 euro a month. We bought a bathtub, a toilet, tiling, wall tiles and an automatic washer. My father and brother-in-law helped with the work; its finished now. /larger family house, concentrated settlement within a municipality We had a problem with water: there wasnt enough in the well. Not long ago the village had a connection put
in which they linked to their home. They did it themselves and the family helped. /brick house, separated settlement 0.5 km from the home municipality They put in tiles and insulation with fibreglass. They did it ourselves; they gave 800 euro for materials. /brick house, separated settlement on the edge without giving the distance from the home municipality Two months ago we reworked the core of the flat to increase space in the living room. I did the modification myself; I cut out the wall and pulled down the edge and painted. Costs for reconstruction were 180 euro. The living room is larger and the space is open from the kitchen. /smaller housing block, concentrated settlement within a municipality They insulated the entire house; they borrowed 5,000 euro (a retired grandmother). They had a master builder from the village, its not finished yet. They want to put on a new facade they dont know if they will manage it, it depends on the weather. /brick house, separated settlement 2 km distant from the home municipality Three years ago we did a reconstruction on the house; we repaired the plaster on the outside. We didnt know how to do it ourselves; some professionals did it. The work with the materials I dont much remember, about around 700 euro. /brick house, concentrated settlement within a municipality Replaced three wooden windows with plastic ones because they were not insulated and the wood was damaged for years; it couldnt be renovated. Three windows with a complete offer cost 890 euro (the price includes disassembly, installation, alteration of the plaster and blinds). Because we didnt have success with the bank, a non-banking company provided a 1,000 euro loan. And in the instalment for 36 months at 40 euro a month it comes out to 1,450 euro. The bank didnt provide the financing because our income does not achieve the life minimum for a family. The leftover money was invested into clothing for the children, paint and painting roughly for three rooms 40 euro. /brick house, concentrated within a municipality given as 1 km distant We changed the windows three years ago; we both still worked then. We borrowed 2,000 euro, since then we havent made any modifications. We also painted all the rooms then. /brick house, concentrated within a municipality
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In the end in the monitored excluded environments modifications made in dwellings which could be characterised as above-standard or aesthetic were also found. These were, for example, the building of a grassy lawn and a summer house in the garden, aesthetic modifications of a ceiling, the building of a fireplace in a house or insulating an entire home. But these were only occasional activities in the scope of the overall sample of recorded cases: In July we put the grassy surface in the yard in order; we planted new grass and rolled it. We build a new wooden summer house and a wooden fence. The material and the work cost 2,500 euro. My cousin a carpenter and the wife helped me during the weekends. /brick house, concentrated within a municipality with a distance given of 1 km The last modification was an aesthetic change to the ceiling. They bought a polystyrene gazette, paint and glue, which cost perhaps 150 euro. The husband together with relatives did the work themselves; it lasted two days. /larger housing block, segregated settlement 1.4 km distant from home municipality Two years ago they put a fireplace into the house; the husband did almost all of it himself; his brother helped him. They took out a loan for 2,000 euro. /larger family house, segregated settlement 2 km distant from home municipality They insulated the entire house; they borrowed 5,000 euro (a retired grandmother). They had a master builder from the village; its not finished yet. They want to put on a new facade they dont know if they will manage it; it depends on the weather. /brick house, separated settlement 2 km distant from the home municipality Larger modifications of a higher standard were at the same time financially the most demanding, and often the indebtedness of the household was recorded because of them without loans they would not have been able to carry them out. And this is so despite the fact that members of households did the work themselves, or with the help of family members. Some household during their realisation went significantly into debt and are now paying the debt back, which at
the same time means that this related more to the stronger households in terms of income, since they were able to get loans of larger sums. Fewer solvent Roma families managed only with the help of the microloan fund of ETP Slovensko, otherwise the path to larger modifications meaning a change in the quality of the housing is for them practically inaccessible, or possibly it leads to overly expensive loans from non-banking subjects.33 But we repeatedly emphasise that more demanding modifications of the type of principle qualitative or aesthetic changes to a dwelling make up only a small part of the entire sample of stories found; maintenance work around a dwelling (or the above mentioned any absence of intervention into housing) predominated greatly. Some stories expressed explicitly the conflict between the need for principle repairs of a dwelling which is in an unfavourable to emergency state and the persistence in maintenance repairs, especially in the form of painting. As a reason they clearly noted the absolute lack of finances; for some households even the cost for painting in the amount of 20 euro was high. Although they have a dwelling in a bad to very bad state, they are only able to regularly paint it, so that they maintained at least basic hygienic conditions and cleanliness. Despite the bad housing conditions strong emphasis on painting or representation in certain regular intervals was repeated in individual stories relatively often: Modifications could be made to the house, but we dont have the money. At least I paint each year, at least these basic things, so that we dont live in filth (40 euro). /brick house, concentrated settlement within a municipality Nothing remains for house repairs; we are glad that we have electricity. If the partnet gets activation work in the village, we would have more; they promised her this for the spring. During the summer we bought Primalex and painted. /brick house, separated settlement on the on the edge, 2 km distant from the home municipality
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33
Regarding the practice of non-banking subjects in Roma communities, as described by eld social workers or community workers.
We should have long ago repaired the roof; we already have the roofing tiles, but not the other things. The interior, as you see, we always keep clean; once a year we paint; in fact my wife does this. She always says that I dont know how to work. The painting costs about 40-45 euro. What we should urgently do needs around 800-900 euro. /brick house, segregated settlement 2 km distant from the home municipality We can only make essential repairs from benefits. Last year we painted and this is expensive (paint costs 20 euro). I would like to repair the dwelling, it is cold there, there is a draft through the windows and door but unfortunately, we cant afford it, so this only fix, as we are able. /shack, separated settlement on the edge 1 km from the home municipality We havent had any modifications, although we would need them very much, but building materials are very expensive for us. Through the summer we got rid of the trash dump which we had right behind the house we dug out a large hole. /brick house, concentrated settlement within a municipality Another interesting aspect when monitoring modifications performed in a dwelling is their provision whether the work was done by the residents themselves or by a public or purchased service. Who made the modification in the dwelling was moderately differentiated according to the type of house or flat, but on the whole do-it-yourself work absolutely dominated. As can be seen in Graph 18, the described modifications were made by the households themselves one or more of its members (65%), or together with a neighbour 26%. The situation in which some known person friends, neighbours or relatives made the modifications had a small share of the situations (a total of 3%). Purchased service in the surveyed set was very rare, relating to only 3% of the recorded dwelling modifications; the administrator of a flat had the same share in repairs (3%). Purchased service or repair performed by the administrator of a flat (when living in housing blocks) occurred only in settlements concentrated within a municipality (12%) and separated on the edge of a municipality (7%); segregated settlements did not know this service at all.
Graph 18 Who made the modification in the dwelling (in %)

1 = alone
1 2
2 = relatives 3 = neighbours
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4 = purchased service 5 = administrator of the flat

1 65
3 3 1
6 = alone with relatives 7 = friends for material goods 8 = alone with neighbours
Note: The graph shows the percentage share from all of the given situations of the last modification to a dwelling (n = 151).
According to the research probe Roma households from excluded settlements either do not make modifications to their dwellings at all, most often for financial but also other reasons associated with the state or ownership status of the dwelling (approximately one-fifth of the final sample), or they make them by themselves. Only in a small group of recorded cases was this in cooperation with members of the wider family or other known persons. This applies in an increased measure for segregated settlements, where a purchased service is almost completely unknown. The do-it-yourself solution was therefore very widespread and related to painting as well as other dwelling modifications. Specifically, painting was according to the stories exclusively do-it-yourself; members of households typically did it themselves. An interesting finding was that relatively often women made this modification to the dwelling and not only in households which had a woman as the sole provider. As was demonstrated from the interviews, relatively often painting in the surveyed households is necessitated by
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the poor housing conditions or over-crowdedness, cooking on a stove with solid fuel, leaking, dampness and the creation of mould and the like:34 We last painted. I painted it myself (a woman), the husband helped me in the household a little; he has health problems. I go to work for 4 hours in the morning. Now through the school holidays I tidy up at the kindergarten, so when I come home, I need to rest a little and then I can do something at home. Thats why the painting took me two days and tidying up also two days. It cost me 25 euro: Primalex 12 euro, paint for the baseboards 10 euro and cleaning needs 3 euro. /larger housing block, separated settlement 2 km distant from the home municipality Painting of the flat two buckets for 6 euro. I did the painting myself and the children helped me with the tidying up. We paint often, because our adult daughter with her family and our son with his partner live with us in our flat; together we are 15 people (a two-room flat in a housing block). /larger housing block, separated settlement 2 km distant from the home municipality I last painted the kitchen. It was necessary to paint the whole house, but I dont have the money. Since my husband died I live with difficulty; a mans help is missing in the house. Painting cost me approximately 8 euro for paint, I painted it alone, but the girls helped me (two daughters age 10 and 15 years). /brick house, separated settlement 1 km distant from the home municipality Two months ago they whitewashed the room that serves as a living room and bedroom. It was necessary to buy Primalex for approximately 30 euro; they borrowed the tools from relatives. They painted themselves and the work went without problems, but the walls are at present again dirty (there are nine people living in a house with three rooms without a bathroom and water, five of them are children under the age of 10). /brick house, separated settlement 1 km distant from the home municipality We had mould behind the couch so we had to spray the wall against mould and paint it again. This cost a total of about 7 euro, and my husband did the work. /brick house, separated settlement 0.5 km distant from the home municipality
The collected modifications to a dwelling, however, showed that members of the surveyed Roma households from excluded environments were able, aside from painting, to perform a great many other do-it-yourself modifications to a dwelling. The stories, for example, described how they made a door to a shack or built a woodshed or fixed a fence, how they resolved a collapsing floor in a dwelling. Very often the do-it-yourself modifications to a dwelling related to the consequences of rainy weather they repaired the roof for different types of dwellings, fixed leaks or insulated windows in the dwelling, resolved undermined foundations to a shack and the like. In some of the stories they resolved leaking or undermining repeatedly after each big rainfall: The head of the family put a door on the shack by himself: he bought the hinges for 8 euro, brought the wood from the forest, trimmed off the small stumps and hammered it all together. /shack, segregated settlement 4 km distant from the home municipality Woodshed huts from wood for storing fuel and wood for putting in the stove in winter. Costs 60 euro (material boards, strips of wood, plastic sheets, nails). /larger family house, segregated settlement 2 km distant from the home municipality We repaired the trellis fence around the house, it was torn and dogs would come to the door. It cost about 35 euro, my husband and father-in-law did it; in one day the work was done. /brick house, segregated settlement 1.2 km distant from the home municipality They repaired a hole in the floor an old chimney sprinkled with sand and gravel (they live in an old manor house in one room without a kitchen and a bathroom and any furnishings, not even electricity; together with children they are six persons). They made the modification themselves without investing any money. /old manor house, segregated settlement 3.5 km distant from the home municipality In July 2011 they whitewashed a room (they live in a house with one room and a kitchen, without a bathroom). And they also repaired a part of the roof; they put on boards from the side. They bought wood
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34
For more described examples of do-it-yourself painting of a at, see Appendix 1 to Chapter 3.
strips from the sawmill; they chose the best boards and used them in the repair. /brick house, segregated settlement 1.5 km distant from the home municipality They last repaired the roof: they bought sheet metal worth perhaps 100 euro, and they removed the old sheeting and put on the new. They did the repair themselves; the roof, however, still leaks. /shack, segregated settlement 1 km distant from the home municipality We dont repair anything because we dont have the money for it. When the shack begins to lead, then my husband has to insulate something (they live with five children in a shack without any infrastructure). /shack, segregated settlement 0.5 km distant from the home municipality Insulation of the windows: during the last rain shower water leaked into the dwelling through a crack above the window frame (they live in a container a garden cottage in one room without a bathroom, electricity or water). The repair went with glaziers putty and a new coat of paint: 6 euro. /container, segregated settlement 0.5 km distant from the home municipality As we live in a settlement and we have a wooden shack, repairs to the place are always occurring regularly, mainly after rainy weather. Water leaks under the foundations of the house, and so I always repair it. I build a supporting foundation from rocks and cement, but this costs me as much as 50 euro a month, so I only repair it after rain. /wooden house, segregated settlement 1 km distant from the home municipality Excavation around the circumference of the dwelling (they live in a dwelling not intended for housing, without a bathroom and water, with the electricity switched off), so that during rainstorms water doesnt lead through the dwelling, but instead collects into the drainage excavation. Excavation of a canal 20 x 20 cm around the entire circumference, plus a side channel to a hill so that it runs off. /dwelling not intended for housing, separated settlement 0.5 km distant from the home municipality Some of the modifications performed by members of households had the character of more expert building work. They were able themselves to concrete a floor and to lay a floating floor, to concrete steps, to repair the house after flooding, to reconstruct the external
walls of a house, but, for example, also to apply plaster on a house. It is possible from this to deduce that in the surveyed environments this type of skill is relatively widespread: They changed the floor in the living room; they had an old floor in there (wooden slats), with ants coming out of it. They had to put concrete down which they made themselves; they gave about 100 euro for the materials. Afterward they put down a floating floor which cost 150 euro. /brick house, concentrated settlement within a municipality We modified the stairs the entrance into the house, which got broken. My husband made the stairs out of concrete and our oldest sons helped him (22 and 19 years). We bought the cement, which cost us perhaps 20 euro; the work went without problems and the stairs are all right. /brick house, separated settlement 0.2 km distant from the home municipality Last year floods the roof leaked; the ceiling got wet they had to paint it, change the damaged roofing tiles on the roof, and change the floating floor. They did it all themselves; they got 300 euro (a grant from the state). /brick house, concentrated settlement within a municipality The last was repair of the external walls of the house, to prevent the dampening of the wall. It was necessary to purchase plastic sheeting and stone drainage for approximately 400 euro. The family did the repair themselves, and they borrowed the tools from the village. The repair lasted one day but the wall kept getting damp. /brick house, separated settlement on the edge, distant from home municipality not given Falling plaster on the house: they bought cement, lime, they had sand at home. The owner of the house did it himself. /brick house, concentrated settlement within a municipality Not all of the surveyed households were able to handle a modification to a dwelling with their own powers and needed either smaller or larger assistance. This took a great variety of forms. According to the specific person, members of the wider family in particular helped, as well as acquaintances, friends or neighbours. In regard to the forms of help, perhaps the most common was work help, i.e. a member of the
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family performed the modification to the dwelling with the assistance of relatives or acquaintances a brother-in-law, a father-in-law, brothers, adult children, etc. In one of the stories help from adult children with the work expanded to financial help. The family commonly helped for food and did not request money for the work, help of a friend was paid for with material goods: Five years ago they insulated the family house. They did it themselves with the family. Now they are preparing to change the windows themselves. /brick house, separated settlement 0.5 km distant from the home municipality In 2011 they reconstructed the bathroom and toilet. The partner and the close family did it themselves. They bought building materials for 200 euro. They havent managed to quite finish it yet because of the lack of financial resources. /brick house, separated settlement on the edge 1 km distant from the home municipality I last had problems with the chimney perhaps a week ago; it was smoking a lot. When my husband got his pay, I had it repaired. My husband did the repair with my brother-in-law, but bricks and other things relating to the chimney cost 100 euro. /brick house, concentrated settlement within a municipality The last modification related to the entry hall, where the plaster was falling. The brother-in-law helped them, and the husband assisted. It was necessary to purchase cement, lime, gravel and Primalex for the repair: it cost about 60 euro in all. It was necessary to clear the wall of the original plaster, to smooth out the wall with mortar, add the stucco and then rub it smooth. They left it to dry and then painted it. The hallway is repaired and in a good state even at present. /brick house, concentrated settlement within a municipality We had to repair the roof (they live in a shack), because water was leaking in. We bought sheet metal in the bazaar, a large rubber sheet and my husband repaired the roof with his brothers. It didnt cost us much, perhaps 15-20 euro. /shack, separated settlement on the edge 1 km distant from the home municipality We last had to paint the flat; it cost us around 70 euro. I got the money together like this: each month I put away 20 euro. My brothers helped me with the work and didnt ask for any money for the work. /larger family house, separated settlement on the edge 2.5 km distant from the home municipality
Spackle on the walls this was our last modification in our house. We did it ourselves, my husband and sons. The sons also helped us financially, although they dont live with us anymore and have their own families. They gave us 100 euro, so that we could afford to do it. The material with transport cost us around 60 euro, to this something to eat, so from this 100 euro nothing was left. Everything was done in three days and it was okay. /brick house, separated settlement on the edge 1 km distant from the home municipality We last put tiles on the wall in the kitchen around the stove and kitchen cabinets. I bought the tiles on sale, so they were not expensive (4.50 euro per square metre). I bought 5 m2, glue, grouting all came out to approximately 40 euro. A friend did it for me and didnt want anything for the work, so I evened things out with material goods I bought him a sack of potatoes. /larger family house, concentrated settlement within a municipality Help was also provided in the form of borrowing tools, gifting the necessary materials for modification of the dwelling or by providing an exchange for another service. A member of a family, for example, obtained material from people in the neighbourhood, where he helps with different work around gardens or with building modifications. Usually spade work, hand digging, help with concreting and the like are given: The neighbour flooded them out perhaps a year ago, it was necessary to paint the kitchen and the corridor. The neighbours contributed 10 euro to them. They bought paint, a paint roller; brushes and other stuff they got from the family. The material they bought cost 38 euro. They made the modification themselves and help also came from the family. The work went really well, so now this is okay. /smaller housing block, separated settlement 1 km distant from the home municipality After a lot of rain we found that we have to repair the roofing, to buy more and to repair the roofing. So far the neighbours helped us with old roofing, which is in good condition. My brother helped me with changing the roofing tiles; we changed perhaps 100 of them and now it no longer leaks. A non-Roma neighbour promised us that hed get hold of the roofing for free. /brick house, concentrated settlement within a municipality Last week on Saturday we painted; I cant on Sunday when I have to bathe the children. I painted, because
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it was dirty here; the air here wasnt good when I got up. When its a mess, you feel ashamed. I painted alone, and my oldest son (20 years old), who is at home, hung around the stove, he would have painted until the evening; for me it took two hours. I got the paint from Da, who also painted. I dont have any money; so why go crazy? It was already half spent and I asked her when she had some left over to leave it for me. It was necessary to shift the cabinets, my son helped. The neighbours didnt help. I had the roller; I didnt have to borrow one. /portable hut, separated settlement on the edge distance from the home municipality not given After a big windstorm the wind took off half of the roof. They didnt have the material or the money, so they helped with what they were able. They got the sheet metal and boards from relatives, a neighbour gave them old linoleum, and so they were able to repair the roof so that rain didnt leak into the room. (They live in poor conditions with three children in a house without a bathroom and with one room, without furnishings and electricity.) /brick house, segregated settlement 0.5 km distant from the home municipality Leaking roof: the original sheet metal was rusted, and so it was like a sieve. They got the sheet metal from the scrap metal yard for 10 euro, where it was sold to them for 0.60 per kilo. The father had to transport it from town (about 5 km) on a wagon borrowed from a neighbour; for loaning it he drank two bottles of a favourite wine (Milenka) with the neighbour. A nephew helped with changing the sheet metal for food. The other necessary materials like nails and wood, they got from a non-Roma, where the partner goes on a work brigade he helps in a garden and around the house (spade work, manual digging, concreting). /shack, segregated settlement 2 km distant from the home municipality In the spring they painted their own flat; people for whom the father works digging the garden gave them lime. /larger housing block, separated settlement on the edge 0.5 km distant from the home municipality In the spring before Easter they painted the rooms and did all the work themselves. They didnt have to pay anything for the material, because one woman whom the father of the family had helped with digging and spading the garden gave them whitewash for painting. /brick house, separated settlement on the edge 0.2 km distant from the home municipality
As Graph 18 shows, with those living in housing blocks modifications or repairs done by the flat administrator occurred, although in a small measure. Also in such a case modifications of a different type were involved improving the quality and maintaining the flat. From the first group this was insulation of the housing block or changing of the windows, and from the other group the removal of faults in the electrics, changing of the flat doors, a malfunctioning boiler, problems with windows or flooding in the basement occurred in the responses. The stories at the same time indicated that the approach of the administrator of flats is not always accommodating households also meet with refusal when declaring a problem or requesting a repair: They changed the windows in the entire housing block. It costs us more for paying the monthly rent: they raised it by 50 euro a month. Aside from this, we would really like them to change the entrance door, because it doesnt close very well. /smaller housing block, concentrated settlement within a municipality They insulated our block of flats, and they put in plastic windows. The town made the repair. We have it really nice now; Im not complaining. /larger housing block, concentrated settlement within a municipality We had our housing block insulated, but the light still didnt work in the hallway. The town financed the modification to the block; that is the administrator of the housing blocks. /larger housing block, concentrated settlement within a municipality Modifications in the dwelling: The toilet didnt flush, the electric switches didnt work, and the kitchen faucet was broken... We turned with the problems the administrator of the flat, with whom we agreed on the removal of defects in the flat. /larger housing block, separated settlement 1 km distant from the home municipality Someone banged on the door of the flat and they had to give us a new one. The lock was damaged and it couldnt be locked; the whole door was devastated. The culprit was never discovered. It was necessary to replace the door we notified the care-taker and after three days they brought us a new door. We had to pay for it 30 euro; the administrator added it onto our rent. The police were not notified. It took three hours to change it; the care-taker came with two workers and they replaced the door themselves. The door was a little long,
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so we had to saw the bottom. They plugged into our electricity. Now the door functions well, but sometimes it closes with difficulty. This happens to our neighbours regularly, but the culprit hasnt been found. / smaller housing block, separated settlement without giving the distance from the home municipality The boiler broke down and water from it flooded the flat and caused the last modification in the household. The husband stopped the water, all the furnishings in the flat had to be taken outside to dry. A professional came to repair the boiler and the municipality paid for it from the repair fund that we contribute to each month. /smaller housing block, separated settlement 0.5 km distant from the home municipality I have a problem with plastic windows (they live in a housing block): they cant be opened. I called the town but they just laughed at me. /larger housing block, separated settlement 0.5 km distant from the home municipality Water leaks into the housing block basement; I notified the employees of XY [the name of the company administering to the flats note from author], who put if off. After a number of visits, I managed to urge them along, and so they are working on it. /larger housing block, separated settlement without giving the distance from the home municipality In the environment of excluded Roma communities, with housing and its modifications a relatively wide measure of solidarity and help from family or the broader community was shown.35 A positive example of neighbourly help was also found with living in housing blocks, when neighbours together, at their own expense, painted the exterior walls. The research probe, however, recorded one such positive example, while on the other hand, critical voices regarding co-inhabitants were recorded: they dont want to tidy up entry vestibules, they need to be scolded, they make a mess around the housing blocks and avoid work brigades:
Perhaps a month ago we together with the other neighbours painted the exterior walls of our housing block; we did it ourselves and it cost around 20 euro each. /smaller housing block, segregated settlement 3 km distant from the home municipality The problem is with cleaning the entrance (housing block), people need to be scolded. When I begin, they add on. /larger housing block, separated settlement 0.5 km distant from the home municipality Its totally bad here; there is trash in front of the block of flats and we dont have a repaired housing block. When it rains, it leaks, and we have to wipe the floors. When there is supposed to be a work brigade, no one wants to do anything and one person doesnt do anything. To get out of here, but we dont have anywhere to go. /larger housing block, separated settlement 2 km distant from the home municipality The stories told about the last modification to a dwelling in excluded Roma settlements showed that maintenance of the dwelling, such as painting and repair of a roof or furnishings, predominates over modifications which in a more principle way improve the quality and standard of the dwelling. In excluded settlements basic maintenance of a flat or house is for many households financially inaccessible. The surveyed households did an absolute majority of the modifications to a dwelling themselves (they are able to do many of these activities), or with the help of relatives and acquaintances or with the help of gifts and the exchange of work (working off materials); they use paid services only occasionally.36 The situations found also indicated that housing was important for a significant portion of these households; with a lack of finances for larger modifications they at least try to maintain regular painting; a portion of the households, however, due to a lack finances, have given up on this activity. Even
35 36
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Let us recall that similarly as with resolving the spatial and nancial difculties of accessibility of healthcare. As these were very diverse modications to a dwelling of a more principle and maintenance character, which required different materials, although households predominately did them themselves, the expended sums covered a relatively wide scale. They ranged from 0 to 5 thousand euro, and 16% of the sample did not give the nancial cost for the repair. The most frequently given sum was 20 euro, and then 40 euro and 60 euro. The average sum expended for modication of a dwelling achieved for all types of repairs 214.67 euro, and the least nancial resources were spent by households from settlement separated on the edge of a municipality (126.28 euro). A very similar sum came out for segregated settlements (136.75 euro), and the highest outlay for a modication represented those for households concentrated within a municipality, where this was three-times more (444.65 euro). Obviously, the type of repair intervened into the nal sum in a principle way: the highest sum came out with a house reconstruction (1,160 euro) and the building of a replace (2,000 euro), the lowest with repair of the foundation of a shack (27 euro). The average sum for painting was 31.11 euro.
modifications done in the present dwelling do not signal for the most recent period any stronger trend toward improving the existing state of housing in excluded settlements. More these better dwellings are improved, shifts from bad conditions to standard ones was rather infrequent. Summary: As was shown, with households from excluded communities aside from the consequences of spatial segregation of the place of habitation itself, which are in many in many case fatal, there are many others and they have a negative impact on the possibilities of integration into the individual area of the public sphere housing in poor quality dwellings is added to the image of their living conditions, which often complicates the hygienic situation of households. This research probe also confirmed the findings from quantitative surveys: a much higher concentration of non-standard dwelling in segregated environments. According to a subjective evaluation brick family houses and housing blocks in excluded settlements are of varying quality from excellent to very poor for life, and non-standard dwellings are almost exclusively connected with disadvantageous conditions. The monitoring of the official status of a dwelling also indicated that the deeper the spatial exclusion of the place of residence, the higher the occurrence of unofficial buildings. At the same time, unofficial so-called black buildings significantly more often take the form of dwellings of nonstandard building materials, and in the case of brick houses they are less frequent in excluded settlements. Critical opinions evaluating the living conditions from the side of residents of such dwellings themselves is strongly linked with illegal buildings, which take the form most often of non-standard dwellings in segregated or separated settlements. Unofficial buildings arise more easily in segregated settlements; at the same time these are not homes of the standard type and the residents of such dwellings themselves dont see their living conditions in a positive light. The linking of these three aspects
indicates that the building of a non-standard dwelling in segregated environments is for its residents a starting point for calamity. This is for many poor households from an excluded environment the only way they are able in the given financial and social situation to ensure a roof over their head and to thus fulfil one of the most basic of living conditions. The methods of acquiring a dwelling determined on the basis of the research are relatively different according to the type of settlement and the type of dwelling. This means that the processes leading to ethnic segregation or separation of housing are in reality varied. It occurs by buying a dwelling in excluded environments, further by building a dwelling in such settlements or by inheriting a house, by occupying an abandoned dwelling, but also by allocation of housing from a municipality. Households which got their current dwelling from the municipality occurred in all three types of excluded settlements, with the highest share in the scope of separated settlements on the edge of a municipality. The findings indicate that local governments not infrequently located flats for the socially weak outside of a municipality. The situation from the viewpoint of the type of dwelling, methods of acquiring it and the ownership relation regarding a dwelling seem to be very disparate in excluded settlements. With many of the surveyed households the formal status of the lived-in flat or dwelling was not clear, which in and of itself does not create a good starting point for housing stability and the quality of life for household members. The subjective evaluation of living conditions, which were the most unfavourable for segregated settlements and non-standard dwellings, is also telling in this regard. The research probe repeatedly and in detail showed that Roma households from excluded settlements often inhabit non-quality dwellings, and the situation gets worse for segregated settlements. In segregated settlements not only are non-standard dwellings or shacks concentrated, but they often are and remain without the most basic facilities. But problems with
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dwellings were found in all three types of excluded environments; in each households were found living in dwelling not corresponding with the criteria of quality, whether the size of the dwelling was involved or its over-crowdedness or deficiencies in basic technical furnishings. Cases were not unusual in which deficiencies were combined together, for example, over-crowdedness with undersized technical furnishings, etc. The quality of housing of many households from excluded settlements showed marked deficits and lagged significantly behind the common standards of housing in Slovakia. The majority of EU countries have accepted some type of housing policy which should support the development of housing on the whole, its accessibility for different groups of residents and ensure a certain quality of housing defined through minimal standards. Many of the conditions of housing found in excluded settlements decidedly do not satisfy standards. The unavailability of water in dwellings and the absence of sewerage, problems with energy and methods of heating lag far behind any standard even minimal standards. Over-crowded housing and limited space reduces its residents chances at any development. The frequent occurrence of a situation when each member of a household not only does not have his or her own room but not even his or her own bed is alarming.37 The recorded stories of the last modification to a dwelling pointed to three basic associations: maintenance of a dwelling predominated over more principle improvements in the quality of dwelling; for many households even basic maintenance of a flat or house is financially inaccessible; an absolute majority of housing modifications are done by the households themselves, or with the help of relatives and friends, while paid services are used only exceptionally. Even the latest modifications carried out in the current dwelling did not show a stronger trend toward improving the existing quality of the housing in
excluded settlements, although a few positive changes were recorded. Questions relating to social housing or integration play a key role in the social policy of the EU. The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union in Chapter IV article 34 states: In order to combat social exclusion and poverty, the Union recognises and respects the right to social and housing assistance so as to ensure a decent existence for all those who lack sufficient resources, in accordance with the rules laid down by Community law and national laws and practices (Charter..., 2007). In association with housing the central governments of states, which develop their own housing policies, are primarily responsible. Slovakia faces many challenges in this regard, for example, how to renew the housing fund, how to plan and resolve the expansion of towns and villages, how to support sustainable development, but also how to help the young and disadvantaged groups. Many households from excluded settlements decidedly belong to a disadvantaged group, as indicated by all of the monitored parameters of housing quality. The findings cry out for principle measures in the interest of correcting the existing status, especially taking into account the demographic development of this part of the population and regarding the growing need for flats for the growing trend in the number of newly established families and their slender chances of obtaining housing themselves. The right to a decent existence defined in the Charter is minimally lagging behind in this group. One of the most important factors influencing methods of housing in the Roma population in general is their territorial distribution, or the measure of their concentration in individual regions. But an inseparable part of their housing is also the character of the settlement whether of the settlement or urban type. The characteristics of housing for the Roma, according to P. Navrtil on the basis of an analysis of the situation in Czech Republic, are as
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37
Still more alarming is the fact that this situation was stated back in 2002 in the report Poverty of the Roma and Social Care for them in the Slovak Republic (Poverty..., 2002), and to 2012 nothing had changed.
follows: the concentration of Roma residents in the objectionable, old housing fund in the ownership of the state; segregation practices of municipalities forced segregation, impossibility of renting a flat in another location due to racial prejudice of the owners; the origin of ghettoes; illegal occupancy of flats, housing in flats without a rental contract (Navrtil, 2003, pg. 124). According to the findings, it can be stated that in Slovakia these not only apply in full measure, but ultimately there are a great many more segregation practices. Stories of the latest modifications to a dwelling brought not only the form, course and circumstances of this situation closer: maintenance predominated
over improving the standard of the dwelling, the doit-yourself performance of modifications, the giving up of modifications. At the same time they also gave strong testimony regarding the diversity of the quality of housing in excluded communities, especially in regard to the marked deprivation in the housing of Roma households. The European Union Statistics on Income and Living Conditions (EU SILC) monitors among the indicators of deprivation in housing deficiencies of lighting and the humidity in a flat, the absence of a bath and a toilet. The findings indicated that for dwellings in excluded environments this type of deprivation has such a clear-cut form that a combination of a higher number and other variables describing the state of housing would be required.
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Appendix to Chapter 3: Last modification to a dwelling

TYPE OF MODIFICATION
Nothing, dont know They dont repair the dwelling low income. We live in a housing block and we arent allowed to do anything; were in debt, so were glad that we someplace to live. Due to existential problems they cant even afford to buy a lock on the door to the flat; or paint or put glass in the windows. The father in the family makes modifications to the dwelling (they live in a two-room flat with a bathroom which they got from the municipality). And likewise he takes care that the flat is maintained and is in order. They havent done anything in the flat for a long time. None. We havent made any modifications recently; we live in a new building. We live in a rental flat we dont paint because the roof leaks and there are maps. They dont made modifications at home due to a lack of finances. The roof is falling in on us, but we dont have money for anything; we can hardly live. At least we dont have children. They dont make modifications to the home, they cant; they are glad that they have money for medicines and food. We havent made any modifications in the house for a long time now. We havent repaired anything at home for a long time now. So far none (house with one room and a bathroom and with basic furnishings). None. No modifications in recent times. So far theyve not done anything (brick house with 1 room and basic furnishings). No modifications were done in the dwelling in recent times. They havent done anything at home for a long time because they dont have the money. The house isnt ours (it belongs to the municipality), so we arent really able to make modifications, although we would need them. We dont even have the money for this. We havent done anything around the house for a long time now; we live only from social benefits and its not enough for anything else. Our home would need some repair work urgently (one room without a bathroom, weakly furnished); unfortunately we dont have the finances for that. We plan to install water from the neighbour, at least to the kitchen. And then we would make a bathroom. We would need to rebuild the whole house (bad conditions, they dont have electricity or water, without a bathroom and just one room and a kitchen), but we dont have the finances for it. From the viewpoint of the weak economic situation we havent repaired the house for at least 20 years. It is in a desolate state; the roof is falling in. We havent repaired anything; we dont have the money. But it would be necessary to change the doors and paint (illegal building, brick house with two rooms). We havent repaired anything in the last two years, even though we need to. Financially its not possible; we pay a lot for electricity and at the moment we are living in the parents house. I live with my parents and I dont decide when and what gets done, even if I wanted. This is mainly a newer dwelling; it wasnt necessary in recent times to make any modifications. The last time it rained, to prevent the carrying of mud into the dwelling, they poured stones in front of the entrance, which they swept up from around the main road. We didnt make any modifications this year; we have our house in order.
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Our dwelling is in a very bad state (a shack with no furnishings and electricity); we dont have money for a repair. But we have a promise from the mayor that if he has a free flat or house, we will get it.
We dont do anything at home, because this isnt a home (a shack with no infrastructure), only when something is really urgent. We dont make any modifications to the home, because our shack is hardly standing. We would need completely new housing, at least a portable hut. The lack of finances doesnt allow me any repairs and renovations to my dwelling. I live under my own conditions, as I can (they live in a shack with two rooms, a total of 12 people). For a modification or repair they scrounge from those better off. The bad financial situation, mentally disabled, bad care for the dwelling (shack), they try to survive from day to day. We havent had any problems with the dwelling recently.
1 Repairs of facilities in a flat:
A change of the front doors in June of this year. They did the work themselves, and everyone who lives in the household had a share in it. Nearly everyone contributed to it: the total cost was approximately 270 euro. Modifications in the dwelling: The toilet didnt flush, the electric switches didnt work, and the kitchen faucet was broken... We turned with the problems the administrator of the flat, with whom we agreed on the removal of defects in the flat. Someone banged on the door of the flat and they had to give us a new one. The lock was damaged and it couldnt be locked; the whole door was devastated. The culprit was never discovered. It was necessary to replace the door we notified the care-taker and after three days they brought us a new door. We had to pay for it 30 euro; the administrator added it onto our rent. The police were not notified. It took three hours to change it; the care-taker came with two workers and they replaced the door themselves. The door was a little long, so we had to saw the bottom. They plugged into our electricity. Now the door functions well, but sometimes it closes with difficulty. This happens to our neighbours regularly, but the culprit hasnt been found. My husband and I (currently a widow with two adult children ages 22 and 25) last modified our roof half a year ago; we put in new furniture. The head of the family put a door on the shack by himself: he bought the hinges for 8 euro, brought the wood from the forest, trimmed off the small stumps and hammered it all together.
2 Painting, spackling, walls
We recently painted only white; colours are more expensive. We havent made any other modifications. This cost 5 euro; we did it ourselves. We last painted. I painted it myself (a woman), the husband helped me in the household a little; he has health problems. I go to work for 4 hours in the morning. Now through the school holidays I tidy up at the kindergarten, so when I come home, I need to rest a little and then I can do something at home. Thats why the painting took me two days and tidying up also two days. It cost me 25 euro: Primalex 12 euro, paint for the baseboards 10 euro and cleaning needs 3 euro. Not long ago we painted the entire flat. It cost me around 50 euro, which I gave for paint. Since my husband is handy, he painted the entire flat himself with my help. It was necessary to paint, because on the walls, even after painting, there were cracks (housing block). The father in the family painted it himself. They bought paint and spackle; he covered the cracks and this is less expensive. The material was purchased in the amount of 17.90 euro and now its all right. They dont make any modifications, only when they paint the flat. Painting of the flat two buckets for 6 euro. I did the painting myself and the children helped me with the tidying up. We paint often, because our adult daughter with her family and our son with his partner live with us in our flat; together we are 15 people (a two-room flat in a housing block). In the spring they painted their own flat; people for whom the father works digging the garden gave them lime. The last modification was an aesthetic change to the ceiling. They bought a polystyrene gazette, paint and glue, which cost perhaps 150 euro. The husband together with relatives did the work themselves; it lasted two days. The last modification was perhaps two years ago; there was mould in the kitchen and bathroom and the walls were dirty. The oldest son did the work (21 years old), as he has been trained in such a field. They bought paint, plaster, a roller for painting for perhaps 27 euro. The work proceeded quickly, but today it is still necessary to paint, because mould is still made. The neighbour flooded them out perhaps a year ago, it was necessary to paint the kitchen and the corridor. The neighbours contributed 10 euro to them. They bought paint, a paint roller; brushes and other stuff they got from the family. The material they bought cost 38 euro. They made the modification themselves and help also came from the family. The work went really well, so now this is okay. We have facilities in the flat; I painted myself a half-year ago. I bought the material for 10 euro. They painted the rooms: they bought the material (40 euro) themselves and the man and woman did the work together. Its okay now; they painted because smoke had dirtied the walls. The last modification was painting the rooms. It was necessary to buy paint and a brush, together for 15 euro. This went well and members of the family worked on it; it lasted one day. The wall is still clean.
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Since we have lived in a municipal rental flat for only three years, no modifications are necessary, only painting. We painted in August; we bought paint already mixed and we paid perhaps 20 euro for it. Weve only lived in the flat for two and a half years, so no repairs are necessary. Only we now painted in the summer; my son painted and the oldest daughter helped him. It didnt cost too much, paint perhaps 20 euro. So, we last painted both rooms (housing block), we dont have money for the floor. My husband painted and this cost us 25 euro. We painted the whole flat this year and did it ourselves; we paid about 40 euro for paint. The dwelling, the flat, we didnt rebuild; we dont have the money for this; in the summer we only painted the rooms. Painting of rooms ourselves, with our own money. We pay rent, so we dont make big repairs. We paint every year in the spring. It would be nice to have our own home. Modifications could be made to the house, but we dont have the money. At least I paint each year, at least these basic things, so that we dont live in filth (40 euro). They painted the kitchen and bedroom. They painted the rooms; they did it themselves. They bought Primalex and tools for painting, together they paid perhaps 15 euro. They dont remember exactly, because this was last year in summer. In April they painted themselves wife. Together it cost 18 euro: Primalex 15 euro and paintbrush 3 euro. Every two years they paint in August. They do it themselves; the material costs perhaps 17 euro. The last modification was three years ago, when they painted. My husband painted himself, but now we need to repair the roof, but we dont have the financial resources. Painting the room themselves; the family helped. They gave 13 euro for Primalex and 3 euro for colour. Two months ago they whitewashed the room that serves as a living room and bedroom. It was necessary to buy Primalex for approximately 30 euro; they borrowed the tools from relatives. They painted themselves and the work went without problems, but the walls are at present again dirty (there are nine people living in a house with three rooms, without a bathroom and water, five of them are children under the age of 10). We havent done any large modifications for 3-4 years. Oh, we painted two years ago; it wasnt expensive. We did everything in white and it cost around 23 euro. A year ago they painted all the rooms; they did it themselves. They paid 5 euro for the whitewash. I last painted the kitchen. It was necessary to paint the whole house, but I dont have the money. Since my partner died I live with difficulty; a mans help is missing in the house. Painting cost me approximately 8 euro for paint, I painted it alone, but the girls helped me (two daughters age 10 and 15 years). We painted in the summer; I bought the paint and brushes and my husband painted. It cost us perhaps 20 euro. They painted the interior last month. They put the furniture in front of the house, swept out the room and plastered the cracks. They paid approximately 20 euro for paint. The family helped move the furniture out and then back in, but they did the painting themselves. In August they painted the kitchen and rooms themselves (they live in a house with two rooms and a bathroom). They bought Primalex for 15 euro. We last painted the living room; it cost about 100 euro. They had problems with the wall, so they need to paint. They painted themselves; together they gave around 50 euro for paint. We had mould behind the couch so we had to spray the wall against mould and paint it again. This cost a total of about 7 euro, and my husband did the work. On 20 August 2011 we painted all three rooms; a member of the family helped us. It cost us 40 euro, but we have a clean and tidy house now. In August we painted the walls in the rooms. I bought paint for two rooms for 30 euro and also 7 euro for paint brushes. I began to paint a second time; before that we paid a painter. This summer we painted and my son and his wife helped us. We paid approximately 18 euro for paint. We painted all three rooms and the hallway. We painted in the summer; our nephews came to help We paid 30 euro to paint three rooms and the hallway. It took about three days. Nothing remains for house repairs; we are glad that we have electricity. If the partner gets activation work in the village, we would have more; they promised her this for the spring. During the summer we bought Primalex and painted.
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Painting the kitchen; purchase of Primalex for around 10 euro. They did it themselves the father in the family painted.
The last thing we did was paint the rooms in the house around a year ago. My husband the head of the family did the work. Costs were for buying paint, plaster, a roller and brushes for around 60 euro. Perhaps before Easter we painted the living room. My husband painted with our sons (18 and 15 years old); it cost perhaps 20 euro. We should have long ago repaired the roof; we already have the roofing tiles, but not the other things. The interior, as you see, we always keep clean; once a year we paint; in fact my wife does this. She always says that I dont know how to work. The painting costs about 40-45 euro. What we should urgently do needs around 800-900 euro. He doesnt have time to repair his own home, because he must earn his living (he lives alone). There is always something to do on the house. Perhaps three years ago he pained all of the rooms white. When something gets dirty, he just paints that place. Modification of the kitchen and painting; we did it ourselves and it cost us 100 euro for materials. The last thing was my husband repaired one wall in the bedroom: the mesh, glue and spackle costs perhaps 40 euro. Spackle on the walls this was our last modification in our house. We did it ourselves, my husband and sons. The sons also helped us financially, although they dont live with us anymore and have their own families. They gave us 100 euro, so that we could afford to do it. The material with transport cost us around 60 euro, to this something to eat, so from this 100 euro nothing was left. Everything was done in three days and it was okay. They painted the kitchen and room themselves; paint cost 15 euro. They reworked the kitchen and had to paint it. I did the modification myself; I had to buy the paint and brushes. Im happy with the result. They did a house repair three years ago when they bought it. It was painting; they dont recall the exact expenses for paints and the necessary tools. We last had to paint the flat; it cost us around 70 euro. I got the money together like this: each month I put away 20 euro. My brothers helped me with the work and didnt ask for any money for the work. In the spring before Easter they painted the rooms and did all the work themselves. They didnt have to pay anything for the material, because one woman whom the father of the family had helped with digging and spading the garden gave them whitewash for painting. This was painting the rooms before Easter. We painted the kitchen and living room; my husband painted and our son helped him. We bought paint, a paint roller and a brush: it all cost about 30 euro. The work went without any problems. The last modification was on 20 June; it was necessary to paint and plaster places on some parts of the walls. The paint was bought white because its cheaper and the plaster: about 10 euro. The father of the family did the work. We varnished the frames of the windows and doors: the lacquer cost 8.70 euro. I last painted a room. I needed 30 euro for paint and my brother-in-law helped for free. We can only make essential repairs from benefits. Last year we painted and this is expensive (paint costs 20 euro). I would like to repair the dwelling, it is cold there, there is a draft through the windows and door but unfortunately, we cant afford it, so this only fix, as we are able. Last week on Saturday we painted; I cant on Sunday when I have to bathe the children. I painted, because it was dirty here; the air here wasnt good when I got up. When its a mess, you feel ashamed. I painted alone, and my oldest son (20 years old), who is at home, hung around the stove, he would have painted until the evening; for me it took two hours. I got the paint from Da, who also painted. I dont have any money; so why go crazy? It was already half spent and I asked her when she had some left over to leave it for me. It was necessary to shift the cabinets, my son helped. The neighbours didnt help. I had the roller; I didnt have to borrow one Painting rooms four months ago, repair of the facade painting. They did it themselves with the family. Paint costs around 15 euro.
3 Repair of a roof, a leak:
After a lot of rain we found that we have to repair the roofing, to buy more and to repair the roofing. So far the neighbours helped us with old roofing, which is in good condition. My brother helped me with changing the roofing tiles; we changed perhaps 100 of them and now it no longer leaks. A non-Roma neighbour promised us that hed get hold of the roofing for free. Repair of the roof by themselves, just a few roofing tiles. The roof leaked so we repaired it ourselves. We didnt buy anything, because we had the material at home. Leaking roof waterproofing the roof. I did it myself; the materials cost me 190 euro. I do such things myself; otherwise I wouldnt have the finances for it. In July 2011 they whitewashed a room (they live in a house with one room and a kitchen, without a bathroom). And they also repaired a part of the roof; they put on boards from the side. They bought wood strips from the sawmill, they chose the best boards and used them in the repair. They dont do modifications around the house due to lack of finances, but in fact they repaired a leaking roof. They paint once a year and only one room where it leaks.
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Last was repair of the roof. The family helped. They bought wood for the roof and sheet metal (an independent brick house with a bathroom and furnishings). After a big windstorm the wind took off half of the roof. They didnt have the money or the money, so they helped with what they were able. They got the sheet metal and boards from relatives, a neighbour gave them old linoleum, and so they were able to repair the roof so that rain didnt leak into the room. (They live in poor conditions with three children in a brick house without a bathroom and with one room, without furnishings and electricity.) Modification of the roof leaking, cement roofing tiles damaged after winter. The problem originated still in winter, when they had to buy a plastic sheeting to cover the interior on the side where 8 roofing tiles had cracked. They hammered the plastic sheets to beams, which then sluiced the water away to a part away from the walling. This costs 15 euro. To that was renewal of the leaking roof and walls: plaster (plaster and sand) for 10 euro, painting for 15 euro, purchase of 8 roofing tiles from a neighbour for 10 euro, 5 euro to the other neighbour for changing the tiles. Total costs achieved 60 euro. Repair due to leaking: the flat enterprise repaired this from the repair fund (two-room flat with a bathroom in a housing block in ownership of the municipality). They bought new sheeting (rubber) for the roof a month ago; this cost them 48 euro. They pulled and secured the sheeting themselves; the partner worked on this himself and his father-in-law helped. They last repaired the roof: they bought sheet metal worth perhaps 100 euro, and they removed the old sheeting and put on the new. They did the repair themselves; the roof, however, still leaks. The roof leaked, the last modification to the dwelling was repairing it. They did it themselves with relatives. The sheet metal cost perhaps 280 euro. The problem of leaking is resolved but the roof is still not fully completed. The repair lasted three days. The last modification to the dwelling was repair of a leaking roof. They did the repair themselves, putting a piece of sheet metal and unused PVC flooring over the holes. No costs for the repair. Repair of the roof it leaked. The husband worked off the material at a white mans place; he did the repair work himself and family members helped him. Painting by themselves 15 euro for paint. Ceiling repair: mesh, glue, polystyrene, plaster (25-30 euro); December 2010. We had to repair the roof (they live in a shack), because water was leaking in. We bought sheet metal in the bazaar, a large rubber sheet and my husband repaired the roof with his brothers. It didnt cost us much, perhaps 15-20 euro. Leaking roof: the original sheet metal was rusted, and so it was like a sieve. They got the sheet metal from the scrap metal yard for 10 euro, where it was sold to them for 0.60 per kilo. The father had to transport it from town (about 5 km) on a wagon borrowed from a neighbour; for loaning it he drank two bottles of a favourite wine (Milenka) with the neighbour. A nephew helped with changing the sheet metal for food. The other necessary materials, such as nails and wood, they got from a non-Roma, where the man goes on a work brigade he helps in a garden and around the house (spade work, manual digging, concreting). We dont repair anything because we dont have the money for it. When the shack begins to lead, then my husband has to insulate something (they live with five children in a shack without any infrastructure).
4 Bathroom or toilet:
They built a bathroom themselves over three months, they paid about 1,200 euro for materials. We modified the bathroom and family and friends helped. We saved up for the work. The last was reworking the bathroom; the mother of the head of the family is bed-bound (unable to walk); they got a grant from the Slovak Office of Work, Social Affairs and Family for repair of the bathroom or for its reconstruction, so that there would be a shower for the ill mother. In 2011 they reconstructed the bathroom and toilet. The man and the close family did it themselves. They bought building materials for about 200 euro. They havent managed to quite finish it yet because of the lack of financial resources. We last reconstructed the bathroom. We borrowed 1,000 euro, which Im repaying at 42 euro a month. We bought a bathtub, a toilet, tiling, wall tiles and an automatic washer. My father and brother-in-law helped with the work; its finished now. The last was changing the bathroom pipes for new ones. They did the modification themselves the husband with relatives. They didnt buy the material, together with cement they got as a gift from the mayor. The work took one day. We last reworked the bathroom and put a floating floor in the living room. All of the changed we made ourselves. We last reworked the bathroom in our flat; our family and friends did the work for us. Two years ago we put heating in the bathroom; lately we havent modified anything in the flat.
5 Tiles, floor:
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They put in tiles and insulation with fibreglass. They did it ourselves; they gave 800 euro for materials.
They changed the floor in the living room; they had an old floor in there (wooden slats), with ants coming out of it. They had to put concrete down which they made themselves; they gave about 100 euro for the materials. Afterward they put down a floating floor which cost 150 euro. We painted and we changed the floating floor, because it was old. These repairs cost us 250 euro. We changed the floor; my brothers helped. They worked gradually on it slowly. Now it is in the state it should be in. Four months ago we changed the floor, replacing the old linoleum with new one. My husband did the work. We bought the new linoleum for 80 euro. We modified the stairs the entrance into the house, which got broken. My husband made the stairs out of concrete and our oldest sons helped him (22 and 19 years). We bought the cement, which cost us perhaps 20 euro; the work went without problems and the stairs are all right. Purchase and laying of a floating floor. They did the work themselves. In the kitchen there was rubber flooring (a housing block), which after a certain number of years became cracked and destroyed. It was necessary to replace it. The material was bought for 29.45 euro, and the family did the work itself and finished in May of this year.
6 Tiled the kitchen, etc.:
We last put tiles on the wall in the kitchen around the stove and kitchen cabinet. I bought the tiles on sale, so they were not expensive (4.50 euro per square metre). I bought 5 m2, glue, grouting all came out to approximately 40 euro. A friend did it for me and didnt want anything for the work, so I evened things out with material goods I bought him a sack of potatoes.
7 Added a storey, an extension:
We added on a storey, so far it has cost 1,500 euro, but we still havent finished it. My husband is building it with his brother and my father. Theyre working on it for the second month now. They live in a portable hut, so this is very complicated, they are crammed in (two parents, four children age 13 to 22 years, plus a grandson from the oldest daughter). They last build on a vestibule to prevent losing heat in winter. They paid 50 euro for the cinder blocks used, bought the cement, sand and lime they got for free (for work the husband worked in the village and in place of money they gave him materials). They built it themselves.
8 Insulation, doors:
My husband insulated holes in the extension in the hallway. It wasnt expensive; we gave around 20 euro for it. We bought a little fibreglass.
9 Repair of a chimney, heating:
I last had problems with the chimney perhaps a week ago; it was smoking a lot. When my husband got his pay, I had it repaired. My husband did the repair with my brother-in-law, but bricks and other things relating to the chimney cost 100 euro. The family lives in a housing block (two-room flat, three people living in it, parents and their daughter); they last changed the pipe in the chimney and did the work themselves. They plan to modify the dwelling in September change the flue from the stove and repair of the chamotte in the stove. The anticipated costs are 50 euro: for material, costs for delivery. The cost for mounting it perhaps 30 euro, so 80 euro in all. They repaired a hole in the floor an old chimney sprinkled with sand and gravel (they live in an old manor house in one room without a kitchen and a bathroom and any furnishings, not even electricity; (together with children they are six persons). They made the modification themselves without investing any money.
10 Repair or reworking of waste, water:
Before the start of the year we had a problem with waste, so we had to order a company to clear the waste pipe of waste, because the pipe was blocked. They cleaned out all of the waste pipes with a snake and we paid 60 euro for the work and 50 euro for transport for the company. We fixed a leak a repair in the bathroom, a damp wall.
11 Modifications to a garden, yard, fence:
In July we put the grassy surface in the yard in order; we planted new grass and rolled it. We build a new wooden summer house and a wooden fence. The material and the work cost 2,500 euro. My cousin a carpenter and the wife helped me during the weekends. Modification of the yard we did it ourselves. We repaired the trellis fence around the house, it was torn and dogs would come to the door. It cost about 35 euro, my husband and father-in-law did it; in one day the work was done. Woodshed huts from wood for storing fuel and wood for putting in the stove in winter. Costs 60 euro (material boards, strips of wood, plastic sheets, nails).
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12 Reworking of the core:
Two months ago we reworked the core of the flat to increase space in the living room. I did the modification myself; I cut out the wall and pulled down the edge and painted. Costs for reconstruction were 180 euro. The living room is larger and the space is open from the kitchen.
13 Repair of foundations, new walls:
We finished building a fallen wall. Because we live in a settlement and we have a wooden shack, repairs to the place are always occurring regularly, mainly after rainy weather. Water leaks under the foundations of the house, and so I always repair it. I build a supporting foundation from rocks and cement, but this costs me 50 euro a month, so I only repair it after rain. We last repaired the shack. Winter is coming and we have to put the shack in order so we dont freeze. From benefits we bought wood and we put it in order. It cost us 60 euro. My brother and brother-in-law helped us and now it is done. Excavation around the circumference of the dwelling (they live in a dwelling not intended for housing, without a bathroom and water, with the electricity switched off), so that during rainstorms water doesnt lead through the dwelling, but instead collects into the drainage excavation. Excavation of a canal 20 x 20 cm around the entire circumference, plus a side channel to a hill so that it runs off.
14 Connection to a water main, water:
We had a problem with water: there wasnt enough in the well. Not long ago the village had a connection put in which they linked to their home. They did it themselves and the family helped. Replacing a faucet and an inlet hose, which flooded from their ground floor flat the 24 m2 ceiling of the basement flat below. The faucet and hose cost 40 euro, and the material for repair: plaster 4 euro and Primalex 15 euro; the inlet hose cost approximately 60 euro.
15 They put in a fireplace:
Two years ago they put a fireplace into the house; the husband did almost all of it himself; his brother helped him. They took out a loan for 2,000 euro.
16 Repair of plaster, new plaster, facade:
Falling plaster on the house: they bought cement, lime, they had sand at home. The owner of the house did it himself. The last modification related to the entry hall, where the plaster was falling. The brother-in-law helped them, and the husband assisted. It was necessary to purchase cement, lime, gravel and Primalex for the repair: it cost about 60 euro in all. It was necessary to clear the wall of the original plaster, to smooth out the wall with mortar, add the stucco and then rub it smooth. They left it to dry and then painted it. The hallway is repaired and in a good state even at present. They insulated the entire house; they borrowed 5,000 euro (a retired grandmother). They had a master builder from the village, its not finished yet. They want to put on a new facade they dont know if they will manage it, it depends on the weather. Three years ago we did a reconstruction on the house; we repaired the plaster on the outside. We didnt know how to do it ourselves; some professionals did it. The work with the materials I dont much remember, about around 700 euro. The last was repair of the external walls of the house, to prevent the dampening of the wall. It was necessary to purchase plastic sheeting and stone drainage for approximately 400 euro. The family did the repair themselves, and they borrowed the tools from the village. The repair lasted one day but the wall kept getting damp. Five years ago they insulated the family house. They did it themselves with the family. Now they are preparing to change the windows themselves. Perhaps a month ago we together with the other neighbours painted the exterior walls of our housing block; we did it ourselves and it cost around 20 euro each. Repair of fallen plaster and damaged plaster in part of the front door frame. Rough plaster for 10 euro without the finishing plaster, plus painting of the exterior with the rest of the whitewash from the plaster.
17 Change, modify windows:
Replaced three wooden windows with plastic ones because they were not insulated and the wood was damaged for years; it couldnt be renovated. Three windows with a complete offer cost 890 euro (the price includes disassembly, installation, alteration of the plaster and blinds). Because we didnt have success with the bank, a non-banking company provided a 1,000 euro loan. And in the instalment for 36 months at 40 euro a month it comes out to 1,450 euro. The bank didnt provide the finances because our income does not achieve the life minimum for a family. The leftover money was invested into clothing for the children, paint and painting roughly for three rooms 40 euro.
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We changed the windows three years ago; we both still worked then. We borrowed 2,000 euro, since then we havent made any modifications. We also painted all the rooms then.
In summer they replaced the windows and painted the rooms together about 150 euro. They did the work themselves. Replaced windows with help from the family (brick house with two rooms, bathroom and basic furnishings). Financed from savings (older couple both on a pension). They changed the windows in the entire housing block. It costs us more for paying the monthly rent: they raised it by 50 euro a month. Aside from this, we would really like them to change the entrance door, because it doesnt close very well. Insulation of the windows: during the last rain shower water leaked into the dwelling through a crack above the window frame (they live in a container a garden cottage in one room without a bathroom, electricity or water). The repair went with glaziers putty and a new coat of paint: 6 euro.
18 Building, remodel of a house, dwelling:
I built my house myself from money saved, from a private savings scheme (so-called Vielka or Bee ) and the building saving account. After using it up I was connected to the IDIA savings program, which was provided by ETP Slovensko. Then I continued in a microloan programme where I took out an interest-free loan which I am now paying back. Im glad that I have a place to live, because a house is covered and I have it furnished for housing. We did a reconstruction of rooms from microloans which were offered by ETP Slovensko. We managed to improve our housing: we changed the floor, painted the rooms and rebuilt the bathroom. The roof leaked and it was necessary to modify the bathroom and the toilet. I took out a microloan through ETP Slovensko in the amount of 1,160 euro. For the mentioned money I bought material, where I modified the floor and reconstructed the bathroom and the toilet and I want to change the roof covering. We did all the mentioned work ourselves. Three years ago we built a small house; during construction of the shack the entire family helped us, but I dont remember the sum that was spent on the building.
99 Other problem:
Last year floods the roof leaked; the ceiling got wet they had to paint it, change the damaged roofing tiles on the roof, and change the floating floor. They did it all themselves; they got 300 euro (a grant from the state). A woodshed in the yard from wood shafts and boards; we had the wood from the sawmill. The boiler broke down and water from it flooded the flat and caused the last modification in the household. The husband stopped the water, all the furnishings in the flat had to be taken outside to dry. A professional came to repair the boiler and the municipality paid for it from the repair fund that we contribute to each month. The problem is with cleaning the entrance (housing block), people need to be scolded. When I begin, they add on. I have a problem with plastic windows (they live in a housing block): they cant be opened. I called the town but they just laughed at me. Its totally bad here; there is trash in front of the block of flats and we dont have a repaired housing block. When it rains, it leaks, and we have to wipe the floors. When there is supposed to be a work brigade, no one wants to do anything and one person doesnt do anything. To get out of here, but we dont have anywhere to go. Water leaks into the housing block basement; I notified the employees of XY [the name of the company administering to the flats note from author], who put if off. After a number of visits, I managed to urge them along, and so they are working on it. Building of a fence they bought material and built it themselves from the foundations. Basically the entire settlement helped, some were helpful, others not. We last had a problem with the electricity. The annual statement came and we had a large undercharge. So I had to take out a small loan of 500 euro and pay for the electricity so that the kids were not in the dark. (I gave the money to a neighbour from who I get electricity.) We havent had any modifications, although we would need them very much, but building materials are very expensive for us. Through the summer we got rid of the trash dump which we had right behind the house we dug out a large hole.
Insulating of a housing block:
They insulated our block of flats, and they put in plastic windows. The town made the repair. We have it really nice now; Im not complaining. We had our block of flats insulated, but the light still didnt work in the hallway. The town financed the modification to the block; that is the administrator of the housing blocks.
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4. MEALS: MEAL PLANS AND FOODS FROM DIFFERENT POINTS OF VIEW

Empirical surveys of a quantitative and a qualitative character (UNDP, 2005, 2011, 2012...) are testimony regarding the poverty of Roma households. Most generally it is defined as a state characterised by a lack of basic life resources and access to services. An individual, a family or a social group cannot from their own resources satisfy the most necessary life needs. Therefore, help is needed from other social units (the state, municipality, third sector, charity, etc.). Poverty is a situation when incomes are not sufficient to cover the subsistence minimum (Strieenec, 1996, pg. 75). According to theory and a legislative definition, in addition to housing and clothing, eating the securing of food also belongs among the most essential needs of life. Which is why the situational analysis devoted relatively great attention to the method of consuming food in excluded settlements. The reasons were not only economic but also empirical: according to the results of quantitative research from 2010, 55% of Roma households with children experienced the situation that they really did not have anything to feed their children, while approximately 46% had this experience repeatedly. At the same time, extreme deprivation still increased in segregated environments, when overall 61% of households experienced an overall absence of food for children and approximately half of the households from this environment did so repeatedly (UNDP, 2012, pg. 191). Sociological findings have demonstrated that for excluded communities are often characteristic indicators of absolute poverty. That is, aside from the relative poverty in comparison with the living standard common in the given society38 deprivation acquires the traits of absolute poverty connected with a certain physiological threshold, under which the basic needs essential for sustaining existence itself are not fulfilled, including food (Filipov Valn, 1995 pg.119). Poverty and long-term unemployment go hand-inhand: according to the literature, impoverished groups of residents display the highest risk of longterm unemployment, and unemployment in return strengthens poverty.39 Several quantitative surveys (UNDP, 2006, 2012; World Bank, 2011),40 have likewise confirmed the huge measure of unemployment and the large share of long-term to very long-term unemployment in the Roma population, especially those living in spatially excluded settlements, and this research probe reached a similar result. Among all of the 192 surveyed households from 131 excluded settlements the person designated as the head of the household was unemployed in 73% of them (employed heads of the household reached 13%, and 14% had some other status). The period of unemployment among them ranged from 3 to 348 months, and the average length of unemployment for the current unemployed heads of households achieved 117.51 months, with the most occurring in those separated on the edge of a municipality (125.92 months) and segregated settlements (119.45 months), while for concentrated within a municipality this was 101.62 months. Together 79% of surveyed households did not have even one working member (16% had one working member and only 5% two or more, but usually this was non-standard employment not on the basis of a contract for an indefinite period, but more as work brigades and occasional work).
38 39 40
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Which depends on the excessive division of resources and is usually associated with education and qualication, healthy customs, family background, nutrition and housing, spending leisure time and social standing. See, for example, Mare, 2002, pg. 97. According to UNDP research from 2010 the measure of employment of the Roma population 15-64 years counted using the VZPS methodology represented 15.5% and unemployment 84.4%; for segregated settlements only 13.5% and 88.9%; in the case of Roma women only 11% and 75.1%; from all unemployed Roma residents older than 15 years, 63.6% had been unemployed for longer than one year and 46.9% longer than two years (UNDP, 2012, pg. 140-152).
Table 8 Meal plans of Roma households from excluded settlements by number of meals per day (in %)
1 meal 2 meals 3 meals 4 meals 5 meals Total Period before benefits 3 9 47 28 13 100 Period after benefits 1 36 31 32 100
Note: A total number of 191 surveyed households provided their meal plans before and after receiving benefits.
In the surveyed settlements we thus come across very concentrated and very long-term unemployment, which on average lasts for nearly 10 years. In respect to the situation of the long-term unemployed, we speak about the anomic situation and about deprivation a lot sooner, after shorter period of unemployment. The deprivation of the unemployed is linked with their exclusion from social relations and with exclusion from consumption as a central activity of modern society (Mare, 2002, pg.76). According to the author, the social impact of long term unemployment for individuals is primarily the lowering of the level of living, but also other impacts, such as the growth of stress in the family and in other interpersonal relationships, depression, loss of motivation and a feeling of helplessness; and society feels the increased consequences41 as well. In the surveyed environments a high measure of dependence on social benefits was also found; in consequence of the high rate of unemployment in these environments social benefits represent an important and frequently the only source of income for many Roma households (for more, see Chapter 2). Many long-term unemployed respondents from excluded settlements are dependent on benefits and allowances in material need and other social benefits. Therefore, meal consumption in the course of a month
in many households from excluded settlements is often based on the flow of social incomes into the households it is different before the arrival of benefits and after their receipt. What specific form it takes before benefits arrival was one of the main goals of including meal plans into the research. Another question was in what direction did the meal consumption change after the receipt of social benefits (or other incomes).
4.1. Meals before social benefits and after them42

The task of the research assistants was to write into a logbook, in as much detail as possible, what the adult members and children ate from breakfast through dinner and after, on two days during the month: one falling into the period before benefits and the other after benefits. During processing the number of meals per day was monitored, as well as meat, dairy products and fruit on the menu; further the variety of the meal plan was tracked, as well as the caloric quality and healthiness of the food. As was shown, in the period before benefits three meals per day predominated on the menu of households from excluded settlements. A total of 47% of the meal plans had this number of daily meals
41 42
We shall mention the increased demands on the state budget (unemployment benets and other support and social services, losses for uncollected taxes and tax relief), the growth of social-pathological phenomena, the instability of society. (Mare, 2002, pg. 47). We recall a note from the introductory section: from the character of the research it follows that the presented numerical values serve exclusively for comparative purposes for comparing differences between differently dened groups of excluded Roma households; they decidedly do not correspond to the quantitative range of the given value attribute in excluded Roma communities.
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before benefits, and usually the mid-morning and afternoon snacks were left out. All together 12% of the daily menus consisted of only two or one meal per day. More than three meals before benefits were stated by 41% of households, and from this, only 13% had a complete meal plan. With a shift towards spatially excluded settlements, the number of meals decreased: from the group of households from segregated settlements only 31% had more than three meals per day (without regard to their quality of healthy nutrition) before benefits; in the group of separated settlements on the edge of municipalities it was 46% and in concentrated within a municipality 59%. In comparison with the period before benefits, a shift toward several meals per day occurred in this direction after receipt of benefits (Table 8). Fewer than three meals almost did not occur on the meal plans at all: more than one-third consisted of three meals per day; on the other hand, the number of meal plans with four, but especially with five meals increased (from 13% to 32%). While before benefits 41% of the recorded menus in excluded settlements had more than three meals per day, after benefits this was 63%. Upon comparisons of the two menus for specific households it was shown that 56% of the meal plans remained in the same regimen in terms of the number of meals per day and the remaining 44% increased in the number of meals. The multiple-meal menus typically remained in the same regimen: 28% had three meals before benefits and after them, 16% had four meals before benefits and after them and 12% had five meals before and after. How, for example, meal plans of households looked before social benefits and how the number of meals changed after benefits is shown in more detail by the following examples (for more, see Appendix 1 to Chapter 3.4). As they indicate, among the households with a limited number of meals per day were solitary couples without children as well as households with dependent children. The meal plan of a family with children before benefits consists, for example, of what the head of the family was able to exchange for work and from the consummation of the existing
stores of foodstuffs, or from one meal which possibly remains also for dinner: Before benefits: Breakfast: -; Mid-morning snack: -; Lunch: Food from potatoes and flour: the family doesnt have a large difference before benefits and after benefits, because they are so heavily in debt that they live more from what others offer them. In the period before benefits they eat from supplies of potatoes and flour.; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: -; /After benefits: Breakfast: Bread, butter, salami, tea, coffee; Mid-morning snack: -; Lunch: Potatoes in different ways with cabbage, milk, pastas; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: -. (solitary couple age 40 and 41 years, both unemployed, separated settlement on the edge) Before benefits: Breakfast: -; Mid-morning snack: -; Lunch: My partner goes around the village to help for food, and we eat what he brings, but he always brings something; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: -; /After benefits: Breakfast: Bread, salami, bread cooked in egg; Mid-morning snack: Yoghurt, banana; Lunch: -; Afternoon snack: Bacon, onion, mustard; Dinner: Chicken in its juices, rice, cucumber. (three-generation family two parents with children and their families, together 7 people, 2 of whom are young children, no one works, concentrated settlement within a municipality) Before benefits: Breakfast: Nothing; Mid-morning snack: -; Lunch: Bean soup, potatoes; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Leftovers from lunch; /After benefits: Breakfast: Yoghurt, bread, butter, salami; Mid-morning snack: Leftovers from breakfast; Lunch: Chicken, potatoes; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Sausages, bread. (two-generation family two parents with children, together 8 people, 3 of whom are school-attending and 3 young children, no one works, segregated settlement 2.5 km from the municipality) Another aspect controlled during the comparisons of meal plans of households from excluded settlements was the scale of occurrence of individual food items. Especially meat and meat products were recorded on the meal menus, then dairy products and fruits. In all three commodities the same four-level scale was used: 1 = not at all; 2 = minimally; 3 = at least once a day; 4 = several times a day.
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Table 9 Meal plans of Roma households from excluded settlements by consumption of meat (in %)
1 = not at all 2 = minimally (salami and the like) 3 = at least once a day 4 = several times a day Total Period before benefits 61 12 24 3 100 Period after benefits 5 10 63 22 100
As Table 9 presents, more than 60% of the captured pre-benefits meal plans did not have meat and meat products at all, and another 11% of the surveyed households had meat only minimally before benefits, for example, in the form of salami or similar smoked products once per day. A total of 24% of the surveyed households had meat in their meal plan at least once per day and only 3% had it more than once per day. So that in the periods before benefits the meal plan of excluded Roma households contained meat at least one time per day in 27% of the recorded cases, while for the group of segregated households this was even less only 22%; in the group of separated this increased to 26% and in settlements concentrated within a municipality to 33%. A significant difference in regard to meat consumption was also recorded on the menus upon comparison of the two periods in the month. In the periods after benefits 63% of the surveyed households had meat at least one time per day and more than 22% had meat several times per day after benefits. Together 85% of the meal plans listed meat and meat products once or more times per day (before benefits this was 27%), and after benefits only 5% did not have any meat and 10% in only a minimal range. A meatless menu after benefits looked, for example, like this: Before benefits: Breakfast: Rolls, frankfurters; Midmorning snack: -; Lunch: Drop dumplings; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Bread cooked in eggs, tea; /After benefits: Breakfast: Bread with butter and jam, tea; Mid-morning snack: Fruit; Lunch: Soup, Gja
potatoes with onions; Afternoon snack: Yoghurt, biscuit; Dinner: Gja from lunch. (two-generation family two parents with 1 child age 21 years, together 3 people, the father of the family works, separated on the edge 1 km distant from the home municipality) Before benefits: Breakfast: Rolls, frankfurters; Midmorning snack: Pork scratching with bread; Lunch: Children have lunch in the school canteen; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Fried potatoes, tea; /After benefits: Breakfast: Bread with butter, salami, tea; Mid-morning snack: -; Lunch: Children school canteen; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Fries, tea, bread. (two-generation family two parents with 3 children, together 5 people, from this 3 children 2 schoolattending, no one works, concentrated settlement within a municipality) Before benefits: Breakfast: Milk, tea, bread with meat spread; Mid-morning snack: Child at school; nothing at home; Lunch: Vegetable soup, vegetable risotto, tea; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Potato mash, milk; /After benefits: No difference. (two-generation family two parents with children, together 4 people, from this 2 young children, no one works, segregated settlement 1.5 km from the home municipality) From the viewpoint of the absence of dairy products the situation on the meal plans before benefits was approximately the same (Table 10). A total of 61% of recorded meal plans for households from excluded settlements listed hardly any milk and dairy products before benefits and 30% only minimally. Together more than 90% of households did not have milk and dairy products on their menus before benefits at all or
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Table 10 Meal plans of Roma households from excluded settlements by consumption of dairy products (in %)
1 = not at all 2 = minimally 3 = at least once a day 4 = several times a day Total Period before benefits 61 31 8 100 Period after benefits 48 28 23 1 100
had them only minimally, while 8% listed them at least once per day (the repeated occurrence with different foods in the course of the day was not recorded at all). In contrast to this, in the meal plans after benefits the consumption of milk and dairy products grew moderately: nearly one-quarter of the recorded cases listed them in the post-benefits meal plan at least once a day and another 28% consumed milk at least to a minimal extent. Yoghurt, milk, cheese, or curd cheese or bryndza (type of sheep cheese) were found on their table: Before benefits: Breakfast: Bread with lard; Midmorning snack: -; Lunch: Bean soup with bread; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Bean soup with bread leftovers from lunch; /After benefits: Breakfast: Bread, plums, syrup; Midmorning snack: -; Lunch: Tomato soup, fried meat with potatoes; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Leftovers from lunch, children also a small yoghurt. (two-generation family two parents with 2 young children, together 4 people, no one works, separated on the edge 2 km distant from the home municipality) Before benefits: Breakfast: Challah bread with coffee, baby had milk; Mid-morning snack: -; Lunch: Chicken soup and lemonade; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Bread cooked in egg, baby had milk; /After benefits: Breakfast: Bread with meat spread and salami, coffee; Mid-morning snack: -; Lunch: Chicken in its juices with pasta; Afternoon snack: Frankfurters with bread and ketchup; Dinner: Cake with curd and milk.
(three-generation family two parents with children and grandchild, together 5 people, 1 of whom is young child, no one works, separated on the edge of a municipality, no distance given) Before benefits: Breakfast: Bread with lard; Midmorning snack: -; Lunch: Tomato soup, potatoes with peppers; Afternoon snack: Leftovers from lunch; Dinner: Bread cooked in egg, tea; /After benefits: Breakfast: Rolls with ham, coffee; for the children cocoa; Mid-morning snack: Yoghurt, biscuits; Lunch: Stuffed pepper, sweet steamed buns; Afternoon snack: Fruit, biscuits; Dinner: Baked sausage. (two-generation family two parents with 3 children, 2 of whom are school-attending and 1 young child, together 5 people, no one works, segregated settlement 0.5 km distant from the home municipality) However, nearly half of the surveyed households from excluded settlement even after benefits did not put dairy products on their food list.43 As the following examples present, among them were not infrequently households which had among their members children and young children: Before benefits: Breakfast: Bread cooked in egg; Midmorning snack: Bread, meat spread, apple; Lunch: Meatless goulash; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Wrapped salami, potato; /After benefits: Breakfast: Bread, butter, meat spread; Mid-morning snack: Bread, butter, ham; Lunch: Chicken soup, baked chicken, potato mash; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Bread, frankfurters. (three-generation family
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43
Although the meal plans listed butter, it usually was a margarine spread; real butter was only rarely purchased in the surveyed environment (see Chapter 2 on the consumption of foods).
Table 11 Meal plans of Roma households from excluded settlements by consumption of fruits and vegetables (in %)
1 = not at all 2 = minimally 3 = at least once a day 4 = several times a day Total Period before benefits 79 11 9 1 100 Period after benefits 53 22 24 1 100
Note: A total of 191 of the surveyed households provided their meal plans before and after receiving benefits.
two parents with children and a grandparent, together 7 people, from this 3 children 1 school-attending and 2 young children, 1 working household member, concentrated settlement within a municipality) Before benefits: Breakfast: Roll with butter; Midmorning snack: Rolls and biscuits only school-attending children, others nothing; Lunch: Drop dumplings; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: -; /After benefits: Breakfast: Roll with salami; Midmorning snack: Only school-attending children have this roll and biscuits; Lunch: Salad and cutlet; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Salami, sausage, bread. (two-generation family two parents with children, together 8 people, from this 4 school-attending and 2 young, no one works, segregated settlement 1.5 km distant from the home municipality) Before benefits: Breakfast: Bread with meat spread; Mid-morning snack: -; Lunch: Vegetable soup; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Bread with salami and tea; /After benefits: Breakfast: Bread with a margarine spread; Mid-morning snack: Meat spread on bread; Lunch: Fried cutlets with potato mash, lemonade; Afternoon snack: Young children wafer and lollipops, older children with mama potato crisps; Dinner: Again fried cutlets with potato mash as for lunch. (singleparent family mother with children, together 7 people, from this 3 school-attending and 1 young child, no one works, separated on the edge distance from home municipality not given) The situation with consumption of fruits and vegetables came out even less favourable than with meat and dairy products. Before benefits 79% did not list fruits or vegetables in their meal plans at all and 12% had them in a minimal range. At least once
a day and more often was found in only in one-tenth of the surveyed households (Table 11). After benefits, 25% of recorded meal plans had fruits and vegetables on the menu at least one time per day and an additional 22% listed them at least in a minimal range. But at the same time this means that the remaining 53% of households did not consume fruit even after benefits. The consumption of fruits and vegetables was least frequent in segregated Roma environments, where 60% did not consume it at all even after benefits: Before benefits: Breakfast: Bread with ham; Midmorning snack: -; Lunch: Meat soup, potatoes; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: -; /After benefits: Breakfast: Yoghurt or pudding, bread rolls; Mid-morning snack: -; Lunch: Cutlets and potatoes; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Bread, butter, salami. (two-generation family parents with children, together 9 people, from this 7 children, 6 school-attending and 1 young child, no one works, segregated settlement 1 km distant from home municipality) Before benefits: Breakfast: Bread with butter; Midmorning snack: -; Lunch: Drop dumplings with cabbage; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Drop dumplings leftover from lunch; /After benefits: Breakfast: Bread with salami; Midmorning snack: -; Lunch: Fried meat with potatoes; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Leftovers from lunch. (three-generation family single parent and children with their families, together 9 people, 5 of whom are children, 1 school-attending and 4 young children, noone works, separated on the edge 1 km distant from the home municipality)
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Table 12 Meal plans of Roma households from excluded settlements by variety of composition (in %)
1 = very monotonous meals 2 3 4 = average 5 6 7 = very diverse meals Total Period before benefits 22 27 32 13 3 2 1 100 Period after benefits 1 6 33 37 13 8 2 100
Note: A total amount of 191 surveyed households provided their meal plans before and after receiving benefits.
Before benefits: Breakfast: Bread with lard; Midmorning snack: -; Lunch: Potatoes with white sauce, potato pancakes; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: The same as for lunch; /After benefits: Breakfast: Frankfurters, bread, tea; Mid-morning snack: -; Lunch: Goulash, bread; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: The same as for lunch. (married couple, together 2 people, no one works, concentrated settlement within a municipality) Aside from the occurrence of individual types of foods with the processed meal menus other characteristics important for assessing the quality of eating habits were monitored. This was the variety of foods, the calorific quality of the main meals listed and healthy eating, which was assessed ex post by researchers on a scale from 1 to 7 points. In the case of the variety of meals, degree 1 recorded a very monotonous meal and degree 7 a very diverse meal plan composition and degree 4 expressed the average. In an evaluation of the diversity of meals before benefits 13% of the recorded meal plans were ranked in the average degrees, while variegated meals (degrees 5-7) was obtained in only 6%.The remaining 80% were ranked as below average in terms of variety of foods, with 22% of the menus consisting of very monotonous meals (Table 12). After benefits, the representation of menus of average variety in
particular increased: namely from 13% to 37%. After benefits the very monotonous meals dropped significantly (from 49% to 7%), while the number of very diverse menus also grew, though not greatly (from 3% to 10%). Based on the type of excluded settlement segregated Roma settlements had the lead in terms of the variety in their meal plan that is, they recorded the least varied meals. After benefits, 12% of meal plans from households from segregated settlements were assigned the first two degrees of monotony of meals (degrees 1 + 2) and on the opposite pole (degrees 7 + 6) only 5%; in the group concentrated within a municipality the mutual ratio was the opposite: 3% monotonous and 12% variegated daily menus.44 Poorly variegated daily meals with weak nutritional value occurred in the time before benefits in all three excluded environments, as the following examples indicate: Before benefits: Breakfast: Soup and fried dough this is for the whole day; /After benefits: Breakfast: Rolls, cheese, salami, butter, tomato; Mid-morning snack: Yoghurt; Lunch: Baked chicken legs, potato mash, pickled vegetables; Afternoon snack: Fruit; Dinner: Pasta with cheese and potatoes, with ketchup. (three-generation family two parents with children and their families,
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44
In the period before benets, the variety of menus was in segregated settlements disproportionally worse 53% exceptionally monotonous menus and in concentrated settlement this was 37%.
Table 13 Meal plans of Roma households from excluded settlements by caloricity of foods (in %)
1 = low calorific meals 2 3 4 = average 5 6 7 = very calorific meals Total Period before benefits 1 12 32 39 13 3 100 Period after benefits 1 11 41 29 15 3 100
together 15 people, from this 3 school-attending and 6 young children, no one works, separated on the edge 2 km distant) Before benefits: Breakfast: -; Mid-morning snack: -; Lunch: Dry bread, goulash soup with two potatoes and drop dumplings; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Same as for lunch dry bread and goulash soup; /After benefits: Breakfast: Bread, salami, butter; Midmorning snack: -; Lunch: Boiled potatoes, baked cucumber, salad cucumber; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Leftovers from lunch. (three-generation family two parents, their children and a grandparent, together 6 people, from this 3 young children, no one works, segregated settlement 2 km distant) Before benefits: Breakfast: Coffee and cigarettes; Midmorning snack: -; Lunch: Bread with lard; Afternoon snack: Coffee; Dinner: Jacket potatoes; /After benefits: Breakfast: Ham and rolls; Mid-morning snack: -; Lunch: Chicken in its juices plus drop dumplings; Afternoon snack: Lemonade, buns; Dinner: Baked blood sausage with bread. (solitary couple over 50 years old, both unemployed, concentrated settlement within a municipality) Commentary devoted to the nutrition of Roma residents in excluded communities often relate to overly calorific meals on one hand and the unhealthy dining habits on the other.45 The calorific quality of the presented daily meals was evaluated likewise on
a seven-degree scale, where 1 meant very little calories (light meals) and 7 the opposite very calorific (heavy meals). These had the form of fried foods, salads heavy with mayonnaise and the like (Table 13). Before benefits nearly 40% of meal plans could be assigned, in terms of calorific demand, to the average degree of 4, and only 16% of the menus were above average and a total of 45% were below average (13% had very low calorie meals). After benefits the share of meal plans evaluated as average remained nearly the same on the level of two-fifths; where a change occurred was in the drop in light meals and the growth in heavy meals. Nearly half of the meal plans were evaluated in the time after benefits as calorific to very calorific.46 Again, households from segregated settlements had an above-average share had calorific meals on the daily meal plan (before benefits up to 17% versus 9% in the other two environments), and after benefits here again very calorific meals came out above-average (23% versus 15% for separated and concentrated households). Examples of calorific meal plans: Before benefits: Breakfast: -; Mid-morning snack: Bread with butter; Lunch: Lentil soup, drop dumplings with potatoes; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: The same as for lunch;
45 46
See, for example, the cited report of the Office of Public Health on the hygienic and health situation in MRC. Also see examples in Appendix 1 to Chapter 4.
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/After benefits: Breakfast: Yoghurt, roll, biscuits; Midmorning snack: Bread with salami, milk; Lunch: Fried pork cutlets, potato salad, chicken soup; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Baked chicken with potatoes. (twogeneration family two parents and their children, together 5 people, from this 2 school-attending and 1 young child, father of the family works, concentrated settlement within a municipality) Before benefits: Breakfast: Bread, butter, coffee, homeproduced milk, salami; Mid-morning snack: Leftovers from breakfast; Lunch: Snap beans soup, jam donuts; Afternoon snack: Soup and jam donuts from lunch; Dinner: Leftovers from lunch; /After benefits: Breakfast: Bread, homemade spread (mix of fish, salami, eggs), tea, coffee; adults smoked pork brisket; Mid-morning snack: -; Lunch: Instant goulash soup, grilled pork brisket and potatoes; Afternoon snack: Bread, salami, butter, fruit apple; Dinner: Scrambled eggs with onion and mushrooms, bread. (two-generation family two parents and their children, together 5 people, from this 3 schoolattending children, the father of the family works, concentrated settlement within a municipality 1 km distant) Before benefits: Breakfast: -; Mid-morning snack: Bread with butter and water with syrup; Lunch: Bean soup, pasta with cheese; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Soup from lunch and bread; /After benefits: Breakfast: Yoghurt, rolls, milk, bread with purchased margarine spread, dry salami; Midmorning snack: Biscuits, lemonade; Lunch: Chicken soup, fried cauliflower, mayonnaise and potatoes; Afternoon snack: Knackwurst, bread, mustard; Dinner:
Fries with mayonnaise. (two-generation family two parents and one child with a completed education age 17 years, together 3 people, no one works, segregated settlement 1.5 km distant from the home municipality) In relation to healthy eating (the representation of quality meat, fruits and vegetables together), very unhealthy meals on the daily menu were given a value of 1 and very health a value of 7. As is shown in Table 14, none of the surveyed households from excluded settlements had very healthy eating habits before benefits, and overall only 5% of them were scored above average in terms of healthy eating. Relatively few before benefits were even placed in the average degree of healthy eating (17%), while the remaining nearly 80% of pre-benefits meal plans were evaluated as not meeting the standards of healthy eating. After benefits average (to 30%) and healthy meals (to 15%) increased on the menus, but 55% of meal plans even after benefits were not compatible with healthy eating. The primacy of segregated Roma settlements was also sustained with this aspect of dining, when up to 45% of their meal plans were assigned to the very unhealthy dining, while in concentrated this was 21%. Examples of unhealthy meal plans are given above several times, but lets recall, for example, these: Before benefits: Breakfast: Bread with butter and ketchup; Mid-morning snack: -; Lunch: Pea soup, drop dumplings with cabbage; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Bread with butter and tea;
Table 14 Meal plans of Roma households from excluded settlements by healthy eating (in %)
1 = very unhealthy meals 2 3 4 = average 5 6 7 = very healthy meals Total Period before benefits 4 31 44 17 3 2 100 Period after benefits 17 38 30 11 3 1 100
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/After benefits: Breakfast: Frankfurters with ketchup, bread; Mid-morning snack: -; Lunch: Roasted brisket, sauerkraut, steamed bread; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Leftovers from lunch brisket and cabbage with steamed bread. (two-generation family two parents and their children, together 9 people, from this 7 children 3 still school-attending and 3 young children, no one works, separated on the edge of a municipality with no distance given) Before benefits: Breakfast: Dry bread and they eat this all day; /After benefits: Breakfast: Sweets, sausages, rolls; Midmorning snack: -; Lunch: Barley soup, smoked ribs, potatoes; Afternoon snack: Soup from lunch with bread; Dinner: Soup from lunch with bread. (four-generation family two parents and their children with families and a grandparent, together 10 people, from this 5 children 2 still school-attending and 3 young children, no one works, segregated settlement 2.5 km distant from home municipality) As Graph 19 shows, from a comparison of meal plans of households before and after benefits it may be concluded that nearly three-quarters of them had a different menu, and from this 46% even very different. On the other hand, in approximately one-fourth a more or less identical menu was recorded and from this onetenth of households had a completely identical menu. The households which had identical menus were predominately those not reliant on social benefits and those to which other incomes also arrived; as well as very poor households for which the shift of social incomes was not sufficient for a more radical change in their daily food consumption. In relation to the first group, it can be said that the meal plans before benefits and after them were above-standard, and some of the respondents explicitly stated that their eating habits didnt change after benefits they cook approximately the same or they do not draw benefits and the situation thus cannot be differentiated: Before benefits: Breakfast: Bread and butter; Midmorning snack: Fruit; Lunch: Goulash; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Bread, meat spread; /After benefits: Breakfast: Bread, frankfurters; Midmorning snack: Fruit; Lunch: Bean soup, drop
Graph 19 Comparison of meal plans of Roma households from excluded settlements before benefits and after them (in %)
10
1 = completely
different
16
2 = rather
46
different
3 = rather
identical
28
4 = completely
identical
dumplings with sauerkraut; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Boiled smoked ribs, bread. (two-generation family two parents and 1 school-attending child, together 3 people, no one works, concentrated settlement within a municipality) Before benefits: Breakfast: Cheese, eggs, butter, tea, cocoa, bread; Mid-morning snack: Open sandwich with ham and salami; Lunch: Lentil soup, steamed bread and sirloin sauce; Afternoon snack: Fruit; Dinner: Lentil soup from lunch; /After benefits: Breakfast: Roasted knackwurst, boiled frankfurters, bread, vegetables; Mid-morning snack: Hot-dog or open baguette sandwich; Lunch: Soup and baked chicken with potato mash and compote; Afternoon snack: Fruit; Dinner: Toast with spreads. (two-generation family two parents and 2 schoolattending children, together 4 people, both parents work, separated settlement 2 km distant from the home municipality) Before benefits: Breakfast: Bread, ham, cheese, vegetables, tea, yoghurt; Mid-morning snack: Juice; Lunch: Chicken soup, rice, baked chicken, vegetable salad, kofola drink; Afternoon snack: Poppy-seed cake; Dinner: Potato hash;
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/After benefits: Breakfast: Bread rolls (rolls, Kaiser roll), frankfurters, vegetables, milk, cheese; Midmorning snack: Baguette; Lunch: Goulash, bread, lemonade, pudding; Afternoon snack: Yoghurt and roll; Dinner: French potatoes. (two-generation family two parents and 2 children, from this 1 school-attending and 1 young child, together 4 people, no one works, concentrated settlement within a municipality) Before benefits: Breakfast: Bread, meat spread, butter; Mid-morning snack: Roll; Lunch: Bean soup, tea, bread; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Fries with ketchup, tea, bread; /After benefits: Their meal plan doesnt change after benefits. (two-generation family two parents and 8 children, from this 7 still school-attending, together 10 people, no one works, separated on the edge of the municipality, no distance given) Before benefits: Breakfast: Bread with salami (with butter, egg, meat spread), tea and honey; Mid-morning snack: Bread with ham and vegetables; Lunch: Vegetable soup, drop dumplings with meat; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Potatoes with sour milk, bread; /After benefits: They dont receive benefits the same. (two-generation family two parents and 1 schoolattending child, together 3 people, 1 member works, separated on the edge of the municipality, no distance given) Identical meal plans before and after benefits were also recorded with very poor families. Then it had the form of a deficit meal plan in both compared periods, and as can be seen, not infrequently it actually consisted of one warm meal soups daily: Before benefits: Breakfast: We dont eat breakfast only bread by itself; Mid-morning snack: -; Lunch: Pasta or potatoes; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Bread or bokea (Roma bread); /After benefits: Breakfast: Bread; Mid-morning snack: ; Lunch: Pasta with meat or chicken with potatoes; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Bread or no dinner. (twogeneration family two parents and 3 children, from this 1 school-attending and 2 young, together 5 people, no one works, segregated settlement 0.5 km distant from home municipality) Before benefits: Breakfast: Bread, lard, water; Midmorning snack: -; Lunch: Lentil soup, bread; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Lentil soup from lunch;
/After benefits: Breakfast: Meat spread, bread; Midmorning snack: -; Lunch: Macaroni with perkelt (creamy meat sauce); Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Coffee, frankfurters and bread. (two-generation family two parents and 1 adult child age 19 years, together 3 people, no one works, segregated settlement 2 km distant from the home municipality) Before benefits: Breakfast: Bread and jam or butter; Mid-morning snack: -; Lunch: Potatoes; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Bread and butter; /After benefits: Breakfast: Bread and cheap salami; Mid-morning snack: -; Lunch: Potatoes, smoked pork knees; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Bread and common frankfurters. (two-generation family two parents and 1 adult child age 19 years, together 3 people, no one works, segregated settlement 2 km distant from the home municipality) Before benefits: Breakfast: Bread rolls, butter, jam; Mid-morning snack: -; Lunch: Potato mash with meat; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Same as for lunch potato mash with meat; /After benefits: The same. (two-generation family two parents and children with families and grandchildren, together 12 people, from this 8 children 4 young children, no one works, concentrated within a municipality) Also in the framework of different menus in the monitored two periods of the month, the research probe captured a relatively large amount of variety. Specifically, they had the form of large changes in the meal plan, such as, for example, the changeover from consumption of Roma bread and pasta throughout the entire day, without a morning or afternoon snack and practically without dinner, to fried cutlets and salad and four to five meals per day. Or a change from bread and buttered drop dumplings to Hungarian goulash with steamed bread and four meals per day. Possibly also the turnaround from eating bread cooked in egg all day to four meals and baked chicken (see also several examples above): Before benefits: Breakfast: Tea, fried dough; Midmorning snack: -; Lunch: Pasta with tomato paste; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Leftovers; /After benefits: Breakfast: Bread, rolls, strudel, butter, salami, tomato, peppers; Mid-morning snack: Biscuits,
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fruit; Lunch: Fried cutlet, salad; Afternoon snack: Yoghurt; Dinner: Rolls, butter, tomato, peppers; leftovers from lunch. (two-generation family two parents and their children, together 5 people, from this 3 school-attending children, no one works, separated on the edge 2 km distant) Before benefits: Breakfast: Bread with butter; Midmorning snack: -; Lunch: Buttered drop dumplings; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Bread with butter, tea; /After benefits: Breakfast: Bread with margarine spread, hunters salami, cocoa; Mid-morning snack: Yoghurt; Lunch: Hungarian goulash, steamed bread; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Frankfurters. (threegeneration family two parents, their children and a grandparent, together 8 people, from this 5 children 4 still school-attending, no one works, separated on the edge 1 km distant from home municipality) Before benefits: Breakfast: -; Mid-morning snack: -; Lunch: Son in school, tomato soup and drop dumplings with cabbage; others bread cooked in egg; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Bread cooked in egg; /After benefits: Breakfast: Salami, vegetables, rolls, tea; Mid-morning snack: Only children bread, butter, salami, vegetables; Lunch: Son in school (sour soup and steamed buns); at home chicken broth, baked chicken with potatoes; Afternoon snack: ; Dinner: Roasted sausage, bread, mustard. (two-generation family two parents and 2 children, from this 1 school-attending and 1 young child, together 4 people, 1 member works, concentrated within a municipality) On the other hand, in some households the arrival of benefits into the family budget brought a change in the meal plan, but not as dramatically as described by the previous examples: Before benefits: Breakfast: Coffee, cigarette; Midmorning snack: -; Lunch: Drop dumplings with leo (tomatoes/peppers/onions); Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Bread with butter; /After benefits: Breakfast: Salami, bread, bacon; Midmorning snack: -; Lunch: Vegetable soup, baked chicken, potato mash; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: We warm up leftovers from lunch, or bread and salami. (solitary couple age over 45 years, both unemployed, separated on the edge 1 km distant)
Before benefits: Breakfast: They dont eat breakfast; Mid-morning snack: Bread with butter; Lunch: Mixed soup, ribs with potatoes; Afternoon snack: Bread with lard; Dinner: Dry bread; /After benefits: Breakfast: Bread with butter; Midmorning snack: Bread with butter; Lunch: Drop dumplings with bryndza; Afternoon snack: Bread with lard; Dinner: Bread with butter. (two-generation family two parents and children, from this some with the partner, but without grandchildren, together 6 people, from this 1 school-attending and 1 young child, no one works, separated on the edge 0.5 km distant from the municipality) Some of the previous examples of menus have already indicated the different dining of children and adults several households emphasised in their responses differences in the eating of children and adult members of the household. This involved giving preferential treatment to children when eating, and several of the respondents underlined the dining of children in school. For all, at least these examples: Before benefits: Breakfast: Potato mash from dinner, water; our daughter (almost 2 years) something we have at home we try to have at least 1 yoghurt always; Mid-morning snack: We dont make a mid-morning snack at home; those who work carry bread with butter and smoked ribs to work; Lunch: -; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Smoked ribs, dry bread, tap water; /After benefits: Breakfast: Omelette with ham, yoghurt, bread, tea; Mid-morning snack: Child lemonade, biscuits, fruit; husband and mother to work bread with ham, fruit; Lunch: -; Afternoon snack: Only the child yoghurt, sweets; Dinner: Vegetable soup, pork meat in its own juices, potato mash. (three-generation family two parents, child and grandparent, together 4 people, from this 1 young child, 2 members work, segregated settlement 3 km distant from the home municipality) Before benefits: Breakfast: Bread cooked in egg (children), adults only coffee; Mid-morning snack: Bread, butter (children), adults nothing; Lunch: Soup, macaroni with meat (children in school); Afternoon snack: Bread with salami and with butter (children); Dinner: Leftovers from lunch; /After benefits: Breakfast: Yoghurt and roll (children), adults only coffee; Mid-morning snack:
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Biscuits, apple, roll with meat spread (children); Lunch: Salad, cutlet, cake (children in school); Afternoon snack: Fruit (children); Dinner: Potatoes, meat. (two-generation family two parents and children, together 4 people, from this 2 schoolattending children, no one works, concentrated settlement within a municipality) Before benefits: Breakfast: -; Mid-morning snack: -; Lunch: Son in school tomato soup and drop dumplings with cabbage; others bread cooked in egg; Afternoon snack: Bread with salami and with butter (children); Dinner: Bread cooked in egg; /After benefits: Breakfast: Salami, vegetables, rolls, tea; Mid-morning snack: Only children bread, butter, salami, vegetables; Lunch: Son at school (sour soup and steamed buns); at home chicken broth, baked chicken with potatoes; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Roasted sausage, bread, mustard. (two-generation family two parents and children, together 4 people, from this 1 school-attending and 1 young child, one member works, concentrated settlement within a municipality) Before benefits: Breakfast: Children tea with butter; parents black coffee; Mid-morning snack: Children in school; at home bread with butter; Lunch: Children in school; at home vegetable soup, potato hash; Afternoon snack: potato hash; Dinner: Soup from lunch, butter and bread, tea; /After benefits: Breakfast: Children cocoa, roll with cheese; adults coffee; Mid-morning snack: Children sweet cocoa roll sprinkled, juice; at home omelette; Lunch: Children in school; potato salad, fried cutlets; Afternoon snack: Cutlets with bread or with salad from lunch; Dinner: Cooked bacon; children sweets. (twogeneration family two parents and children, together 7 people, from this 3 school-attending and 1 small child, no one works, concentrated settlement within a municipality) The last circumstance which we managed to record was a certain seasonality of eating habits. Because the research probe was conducted mainly in the months of August and September, dining dependent on the collection of wild mushrooms was also recorded, either their direct consumption or strengthening of the meal plan before benefits with money obtained by selling them:
Before benefits: Breakfast: Scrambled eggs with freshly picked wild mushrooms, fried dough (dry); Midmorning snack: -; Lunch: Mushroom soup with drop dumplings, boiled potatoes, fried parasol mushrooms in an egg/flour/breadcrumb batter; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Roasted sausages, sweets for children, and father red wine (Milenka) and cigar tobacco for wild mushrooms sold (8 euro); /After benefits: Breakfast: Rolls, butter, salami; Midmorning snack: Biscuits, rolls, lemonade; Lunch: Grilled chicken thighs, boiled potatoes, cucumber salad; Afternoon snack: Same as for lunch; Dinner: Same as for lunch. (two-generation family two parents and 5 young children, together 7 people ( the grandfather does not live in the household), no one works, segregated settlement 2 km distant from the home municipality) Before benefits: Breakfast: Scrambled eggs from freshly picked wild mushrooms, bread and tea; Mid-morning snack: -; Lunch: Mushroom sauce and pasta; Afternoon snack: Same as for lunch; Dinner: Same as for lunch; /After benefits: Breakfast: Bread, butter, sausages; Mid-morning snack: -; Lunch: Roasted sausages, boiled potatoes; Afternoon snack: -; Dinner: Frozen steamed buns, tea. (two-generation family two parents and 3 young children, together 5 people, no one works, segregated settlement 2.5 km distant from the home municipality) On the basis of the examples of menus obtained it is possible to summarise that food consumption of Roma households from excluded settlements does not overall appear to be of particularly high quality. A relatively large proportion of the meal plans before benefits contained a small number of meals per day, little variety, monotonous meals more focused on flour-based and potatoes-based foods than on fruits and vegetables or dairy products. Households were also found which minimally in the period before benefits suffer a lack of food. Sometimes the meal plan took the real form of one hot meal per day. Before benefits, a certain portion of excluded households had an exceptionally monotonous diet. After benefits the variety of meals in the majority of the surveyed households grew, but these are to a large extent calorific and meat dishes which are added to
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the meal plan; healthy foods were rarer. Before benefits poor quality, monotonous meals without nutritional value and after benefits heavy and calorific meals such could be evaluated the eating habits of a large portion of Roma households from excluded communities. According to the doctors warning, the consumption of foods with a high content of animal fats leads to increased occurrence of overweight and obesity, which have as a consequence health problems, primarily of the circulatory system.47 If smoking and resigning to visit a doctor, which were not at all unusual (primarily for adults) among residents of excluded Roma settlements, are then factored in,48 this can have an effect in earlier and higher mortality. According to some meal plans differences in eating habits were expressed between children and adults, as well as school-attending children and those remaining at home. In adults a tendency was expressed toward giving preference to children, to whom they give food more often and of a different type. As was shown, for example, dairy products and fruits were not added even after benefits in all excluded households with children. The second dimension represents the recorded difference in the diets of children attending school and other household members. In some households the difference recorded in the eating of school-attending children in comparison with what those at home received (especially before benefits they lacked a mid-morning snack, the meals were less healthy), the programme of school dining appears as a step in a good direction. An overall view on both menus at the same time shows that after benefits no great feasting took place. For the most part, at least after benefits the meal plan of many households became only standard: a midmorning or afternoon snack was added, they allow
children to have biscuits, yoghurt or fruit; some households permitted a favourite meal, they indulged in a favourite meat in short they eat a bellyful. The probe did not capture which of the two meal plans predominated in the course of the month. But as is shown further, households permit a favourite dish once, maximally two times per month, and some households in the end only on holiday occasions. With great probability it can be assumed that it is the more deficit pre-benefits meal plans that are applied longer during the month in these households. Although modes of eating discovered during the monitoring of this aspect were varied, from permanently deficit to permanently standard, a relatively large group combine in the month a longer period of deficit eating with normal eating even after receipt of incomes especially with households reliant exclusively on social benefits. A comparison of favourite meals with most commonly prepared meals reveals more in this regard.
4.2. Disparity between favourite meals and most common meals

As the professional literature states, unemployment impacts in a principle way not only social institutions and processes the position of unemployed individuals, it also manifests itself inevitably on their social behaviour. So, if the loss of employment changes the status of a person and his roles and creates for him an anomic situation, it must also invoke his reaction to such a situation in the form of wilful or intuitive life strategies; their content is influenced in part culturally, but also by the period of duration of unemployment (Mare, 2002, pg. 103). During longterm unemployment, restraint in consumption or relinquishing of the original range of needs can be also identified as life strategies:,49 in extreme situations also in the area of food consumption. This
47 48 49
As Chapter 2 describes, this very type of illness is among the most widespread among adults in the surveyed environments. Also see more in Chapter 2 of this report. Aside from these two strategies, for example, adaption without abandonment is mentioned (alternative methods of satisfying the same range of needs) in attempts to become established on the labour market and in society (seeking work or preserving rituals associated with the status of the unemployed), resignation (falling into social isolation and apathy). For more, see Mare, 2002, pg. 104-105.
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Table 15 Favourite and most common prepared meals in Roma households from excluded settlements by type (in %)
1 = non-quality meat (fried, fatty, etc.) 2 = quality meat (sauted beef, chicken, fish) 3 = pasta 4 = vegetable 5 = unhealthy (thick, roux-based) 6 = healthy soup (vegetable, light) 7 = rice (risotto, stuffed cabbage) 8 = roux-based sauces (with steamed bread...) 9 = flour-based foods buns, pancakes, etc. 10 = potato-based potatoes, drop dumplings, pancakes, etc. 11 = fried cheese 12 = salad with mayonnaise Total Favourite food 37 20 1 3 2 7 2 8 16 3 1 100 Most common food 15 13 15 2 9 4 3 1 16 22 100
Note: A total amount of 190 surveyed household provided their favourite and most common meal.
was already indicated in the previous section, which documented the restraining in consumption of foods in the course of the month according to the level of available financial resources in excluded households.50 Another method able to indicate a reduction in food consumption is a comparison of favourite meals with the most commonly prepared meals. It can be assumed that with ideal economic conditions which do not compel them toward a limitation in foods, a household will prepare favourite meals more frequently, or with a longer-term deficit it will at least prepare a favourite meal after receiving a certain sum of money. At the same time it gives further testimony regarding the quality of food consumption in the surveyed excluded environments. Therefore, with both meals the favourite and the most commonly prepared the type of food was recorded, its caloric content and healthiness. Also from this comparison meat-based meals came out to be a great favourite from the monitored meals. Together 57% of the surveyed households put a meat
dish among their favourite meals, and from this 37% of cases were a heavy dish, from non-quality meat, such as fried meat, fatty meat, smoked brisket and the like. Quality meats, such as sauted beef, different types of chicken meat or very rarely fish, were given among the favourite meals approximately half as often. Next in line among favourite meals of Roma households in excluded settlements with 16% were different kinds of potato dishes, be it potatoes in different ways, haluky (drop dumplings) or placky (potato pancakes), potato gja (a traditional Roma potato-filled sausage), etc. Well behind with 8% were flour-based dishes (buns, different types of pancakes, so-called gypsy bread (known by different names), jam-filled donuts and the like; and then rice dishes such as risotto or stuffed cabbage leaves (7%). Other types of dishes, such as thick soups, light soups or broths, sauces with steamed bread, pasta, fried cheese and mayonnaisebased salads, found only a small preference among the favourites. Vegetable dishes did not occur among the favourite meals at all (Table 15).
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50
Chapter 2 provides more detail regarding the ow of incomes into excluded Roma households and their availability in the course of the month. It showed that through a large part of the month households have only a small portion of their total monthly incomes available; we recall that on average these were not very high.
And what do Roma households from excluded settlements cook most often? Here a different structure of dishes compared with favourites was shown. Again meat dishes were put in first place, but with a significantly lower frequency than with favourite dishes. Together they obtained 28%: nonquality meats 15% and more quality 13%. The second most frequently made dishes were again different types of potato dishes, but with a higher representation than in the favourite dishes (22%). Further, not only the frequency but the sequence of dishes differed as well: flour-based dishes were in third place with 16% behind them were pastas in different ways with 15%. Relatively often households prepared as the most frequently cooked dish different thick roux-based soups; other types were again given in a smaller range. Upon comparing these two dishes with one another by type, it resulted that in 13% of cases they were approximately identical and in 87% the favourite and most frequently prepared dishes were different. The following examples will show the differences more specifically. As the table itself indicates, considering favourite meals, there was predominately a shift from potatoes and flour-based meals or from thick soups, which are cooked more frequently toward meat-based, mainly calorific (but not only) meat dishes. Among the favourite meat dishes, fried cutlets and mayonnaisebased salad dominated in the surveyed environments, and roasted brisket, baked chicken, Hungarian or Segedinsky goulash with steamed bread, pavare (smoked ribs), baked thighs or sirloin sauce with steamed bread and meat and the like were repeated relatively often. In comparison with them the most frequent dishes were rather different: lentil or bean soup, drop dumplings, risotto, meatless goulash, potato hash, dry bread or pancakes, boiled dumplings or Roma dishes like gja (potato-filled sausage) (for more, see Appendix 2 to section 3.4) were more frequent. The most frequently prepared dishes are financially much less demanding and require a larger input of womens work. Such a type of differences between the favourite and the most frequent dishes was inherent in Roma households across the regions of Slovakia:
Favourite meal: Potato salad with fried meat children would eat this every day (4 and 2 years). Pancakes mainly with jam; Most common meal: We can rarely afford main meals; most often I cook bean soup with pancakes or bread. /Nov Zmky district Favourite meal: Baked chicken with rice, French potatoes; Most common meal: Thick soup (bean, lentil). /Zvolen district Favourite meal: Roasted brisket, potatoes. Pavare smoked ribs; Most common meal: Drop dumplings with sauerkraut, Drop dumplings with curd cheese. /Michalovce district Favourite meal: The husband likes meat mainly pork cutlets; the wife likes boiled dumplings filled with potatoes or jam; Most common meal: They most often cook (mainly if there is no money) browned pancakes. /Gelnica district Favourite meal: Cutlets, salad. Drop dumplings with bryndza (type of sheep cheese); Most common meal: Chicken perkelt (creamy sauce). Pasta with sauce and meat. /Koice environs district Favourite meal: Stuffed baked brisket; Most common meal: Homemade bean soup. Cabbage soup. /Trebiov district Favourite meal: Stuffed cabbage; Most common meal: They most commonly make potato pancakes in place of bread, sometimes they make them sweet. /Trebiov district Favourite meal: Pork ribs, sauerkraut and leavened steamed bread; Most common meal: Potato pancakes; they most prefer them with lard, with tea. /Trebiov district Favourite meal: Fried meat or cheese, fries, tartar sauce; Most common meal: Artificial fish with fries. /Vek Krt district Favourite meal: Segednsky goulash with steamed bread (last time before 1 August); Most common meal: Potatoes with sour milk. /Bardejov district Favourite meal: Potatoes and roasted meat (they had it last week); Most common meal: Baked pasta. /Star ubova district Favourite meal: We dont have any special favourite, but the children like baked chicken the most. Meat and bokea; Most common meal: Bokea we make this most often in place of bread. /Rimavsk Sobota district
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Favourite meal: Sirloin and sauce with steamed bread. Steamed buns or pancakes children love this; Most common meal: Sour soups. /Detva district Favourite meal: Roasted brisket and potatoes; Most common meal: Pasta. Bean or potato soup. /Michalovce district Favourite meal: Fried meat with potato salad: we make fried meat approximately every Sunday, but the salad only for some kind of celebration. We can list steamed buns as our second-favourite dish; Most common meal: We dont make anything in particular, most frequently bean soup with meat and fried bread. /Levice district Favourite meal: Drop dumplings with cheese. Chicken cutlets most often from thighs) and potato salad; Most common meal: Pasta dry (with oil and done, also with tomato paste or with potatoes, instant soup, sauce for pasta according to the possibilities). Fried dough dry with oil and sugar, tea with this; often this is an allday food. /Gelnica district Favourite meal: Roma meatballs with sauerkraut; Most common meal: Bodk Gypsy bread. /Rimavsk Sobota district Favourite meal: Potatoes and cutlet, cucumbers; Most common meal: Boiled dumplings with cheese. /Roava district The difference between the favourite dish and the most commonly prepared dish did not always take the form of meat versus flour-based or potato dish or a thick soup. In many poor households or households with children both of the mentioned dishes were sometimes meatless dishes, and in the better situation the opposite both meat-based dishes. Dry flour-based cakes or potato pancakes, which have different names in different regions, often occurred among the most common dishes in place of bread. One of the households stated an attempt at modulating the menu, but the lack of finances leads to commonly prepared potato dishes. After receipt of food aid51 the consumption of pasta strengthened still further in the meal plans of some households:
Favourite meal: Creamed lentils; Most common meal: Potato pancakes. /Preov district Favourite meal: Buttered drop dumplings we cook this 2-3-times a month. The children love rice and potato gruel; Most common meal: Soda cake we make this in place of bread. /Vek Krt district Favourite meal: The husband loves only drop dumplings I prepare it with tomatoes/peppers, when I have the money also with meat; Most common meal: Gja (potato-filled sausage) and my children like this very much. /Vek Krt district Favourite meal: The favourite dish in our family is perkelt (creamy meat sauce) drop dumplings and bodk (Gypsy bread); Most common meal: If I had the possibility, I would cook perkelt (creamy meat sauce) with drop dumplings for the whole family several times, but money doesnt allow for this; so most commonly we make bodk. /Levice district Favourite meal: Kyky potato-filled sausage, I last made it a month ago; Most common meal: Drop dumplings with cheese. /Bardejov district Favourite meal: Potato pancakes cooked on a skillet, buttered or stuffed ground meat; Most common meal: Spaghetti is cooked most often, because the children like it best with ketchup and sprinkled with grated cheese. /Preov district Favourite meal: Gja the majority of Roma use this name, nowadays Roma cuisine is also being modernised, so the most specifically these are stuffed intestines (we last made it two months ago); Most common meal: Potato pancakes. /Preov district Favourite meal: Fried dough with mushrooms; Most common meal: Drop dumplings with cabbage or with curd cheese. /Koice environs district Favourite meal: Drop dumplings with tomatoes/peppers and sausage (we last cooked it last week); Most common meal: Bodk Gypsy bread (we bake this often when there is no money). /Rimavsk Sobota district Favourite meal: Gja (potato-filled sausage); Most common meal: We try to change this, but we often cook potatoes. /Revca district
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51
This was an activity of the government of Iveta Radiov in 2011; during the summer our and pasta were distributed to families in material need. Some of the surveyed households from excluded environments received food aid (26%), while others awaited it at the time of the survey.
Favourite meal: Bean soup (a week ago). Drop dumplings with cabbage and bacon; Most common meal: After delivery of food aid they cooked mainly pasta (macaroni, fusilli) with pieces of meat. /Roava district The replies of respondent households at the same time confirmed that favourite meals are not made frequently at all during the month. They usually occurred on the meal plans only once per month, more rarely twice, and usually after the arrival of some larger sum of incomes into the family budget. In the end, some households can only afford a favourite dish on holiday occasions. The high frequency of preparation of the most commonly made dish follows by definition. These were recorded repeatedly during the month, and sometimes they even were in the position of being for nearly all-day consumption. Very often these are dry bread or potato pancakes cooked on a skillet, and many households consume them in place of bread, which for multiple-member households is a too-expensive food item. The message was also found among the replies that a family knows how tasty dishes are, but without money they simply cannot afford it: Favourite meal: Fried cutlet, salad or potato mash we always cook this after support comes; Most common meal: Hungarian goulash with steamed bread. /Spisk Nov Ves district Favourite meal: Fried pork cutlet and potato salad with mayonnaise we always cook this after payments (the eighth of the month); Most common meal: Fried dough with cocoa and sugar; or only greased in place of bread with bacon, sausages, meat. Chicken legs with pasta. /Spisk Nov Ves district Favourite meal: Baked chicken and salad (we always cook this after support comes); Most common meal: Meatballs with sauerkraut. Gja (potato-filled sausage) or fried dough. /Spisk Nov Ves district Favourite meal: Baked thighs with potatoes cooked in the oven (I last cooked this perhaps a week ago); Most common meal: Drop dumplings with potatoes. /Koice environs district Favourite meal: The children are very happy when we have fried cheese and fries on the table we can afford this only once a month.; Most common meal: Perkelt (creamy meat sauce) with drop dumplings because
this is the cheapest, we cant afford other stuff. Please, write down that even I know what is delicious, but without money... /Levice district Favourite meal: Chicken baked in the oven with jacket potatoes they last had it at the beginning; Most common meal: Drop dumplings with cheese. /Levoa district Favourite meal: Boiled sausages they last cooked a week ago; Most common meal: Hadrimky pancakes. /Bardejov district Favourite meal: Fried chicken with potatoes I last cooked it this month after benefits; Most common meal: Potato pancakes. /Koice environs district Favourite meal: Gja (potato-filled sausage); Most common meal: Fried dough potato pancakes. They make them every day, because they dont have money for bread, in fact, they buy half a loaf of bread in the morning so the children have a mid-morning snack at school. /Bardejov district Favourite meal: Potato balls with smoked meat and sauerkraut they made this perhaps two weeks ago; Most common meal: Pancakes they make them at least once a week. /Bardejov district Favourite meal: We most liked fried meat, but we can only afford it once a month; Most common meal: Soups (bean, lentil, tomato) with bread or pancakes. /Nov Zmky district Situations when the household cooks a favourite meal often were rarer in the surveyed environment. A household with a better financial situation can afford them (meat dish) or one whose favourite dish is not demanding; therefore they can prepare it more often even under unfavourable economic conditions: Favourite meal: Stroganoff I make it often because everyone enjoys it (last time three days ago); Most common meal: Stroganoff. /Star ubova district Favourite meal: Drop dumplings with tomatoes/peppers. Drop dumplings with curd cheese; Most common meal: Drop dumplings. /Vek Krt district Favourite meal: Boiled frankfurters, ketchup a roll; Most common meal: Boiled frankfurters the children very much want them. /Krupina district The summer season entered into the favourite but especially the most commonly prepared meals at the
111
time of the survey. As was shown, households in summer contain more variety in their dining they cook more vegetable dishes, when this is less expensive, or mushroom dishes, when the household can pick them themselves. It can therefore be assumed that in the winter months food consumption in many excluded households is even more monotonous and contains still fewer vegetables: Favourite meal: Mushroom soup (they cook it several times in August); Most common meal: Drop dumplings with cabbage, potatoes or curd cheese. /Preov district Favourite meal: Potato pancakes bandurenky (in our way), we last made them before social benefits. Potatoes are cheap but filling food; Most common meal: Since it is summer, leo (a tomatoes/peppers/onions mix) or mushrooms with eggs is cooked most often. /Preov district Favourite meal: Gja (potato-filled sausage) (see the questionnaire Dining in V. ari for the recipe); Most common meal: Goulash with frankfurters and mushrooms. /Preov district Favourite meal: Gja (potato-filled sausage) they cook this regularly, at least once a month, last time a week ago; Most common meal: Now in summer there are a lot of vegetables, which we cultivate. We had enough zucchini we make pancakes from them. Leo (tomatoes/peppers/onions mix. /Bardejov district Favourite meal: Roasted pork ribs with boiled potatoes and cucumbers or with red cabbage they last prepared these after social benefits.; Most common meal: In this period vegetables are cheaper, so perhaps, like a lot of families, leo (a tomato/peppers/onion mix) is consumed, fried cauliflower or patty pan squash. /Preov district Among the surveyed households there were some who cultivated some crops or raised farm animals.52 They did not forget to emphasise the impact of this factor on the structure of food consumption. What they cultivate is found most often on their menus: Favourite meal: Roasted pork, steamed potato bread and red cabbage; Most common meal: Now we have potatoes from the garden, so we mostly make potato
pancakes, potato bun. They also have a lot of zucchini, from which they make pancakes. /Trebiov district Favourite meal: Steamed potato bread with red cabbage made as sweet and sour and roasted pork meat (they cook this once a month). Potato salad and cutlets (they last made this at Easter); Most common meal: They most often cook beans in different ways, because they cultivate them themselves and have enough of them. They often make pancakes, either potato or flour-based. The sons like drop dumplings with tomatoes/peppers and sausage, so they cook this rather often. Every Saturday they bake a leavened cake usually rolls with jam. /Trebiov district Favourite meal: Gja (potato-filled sausage) this is his favourite, his mother makes it for him, who lives in the same village; Most common meal: He cultivates vegetables, so he often cooks something from potatoes; he has his own meat (he raises pigs). Vegetable soup is cooked most often, potatoes cooked in the oven and served with ketchup. Meat broth (when he has time), meat from the soup is cooked in the oven and rice prepared with it. He often goes for odd jobs, so now in summer he dines pretty often with people he works for (he is a mason). He has lunch at his moms place; he helps her financially. /Trebiov district Favourite meal: They have their own milk and meat (they raise pigs, cows and goats). The husband most likes drop dumplings with curd cheese and meat from soup with this. The children most like spaghetti with morcadella sauce and ketchup; Most common meal: They often cook drop dumplings with curd cheese or make pancakes. They have their own meat, so they cook it pretty often. At least once a week they make fried bread. /Trebiov district Favourite meal: The family raises pigs and also have a goat, so they have their own meat and milk. The son most prefers pancakes with curd cheese; the mother likes everything, shes not picky; Most common meal: They most often cook potato-based dishes. Semolina or pancakes. /Bardejov district As Table 16 shows, among the favourite meals of the surveyed Roma households calorific foods predominated, with a total of up to 64%, while only 11% preferred lighter dishes and one-quarter
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52
The cultivation of vegetables was given by 13% of the surveyed households and 9% raised animals, though in segregated settlement this was only 5% (see Table 7).
Table 16 Favourite and most common prepared meals in Roma households from excluded settlements by caloric value (in %)
1 = low calorific food 2 3 4 = average 5 6 7 = very calorific food Total Favourite meal 2 9 25 26 25 13 100 Most common meal 3 20 32 31 11 3 100
declared meals with an average calorific value. In contrast to this structure, among the most commonly prepared meals in excluded Roma settlements less calorific meals were found in a larger range (23%), and also meals of average heaviness; the share of more calorific meals during the monitoring of the most frequently prepared meals dropped by nearly 20%, the very calorific to 3%. Reciprocally, it was found that favourite meals in the surveyed environments are usually unhealthy: 76% of those listed were unhealthy and only 6% healthy. The structure of the most commonly prepared foods from the viewpoint of healthy eating changed only slightly. The share of unhealthy meals remained high even for
the most commonly prepared meals (70%) and healthy meals in the end declined, while only the representation of meals considered to be of average health quality increased. Very healthy meals with a value of 7 did not occur at all either among favourite meals or the most commonly prepared meals. From a comparison of favourite and most commonly prepared meals it followed that the majority of Roma households from excluded settlements do not have agreement in these two compared meals. Complete or partial agreement according to all three monitored criteria was found among them in almost one-quarter and up to 77% differentiated these two meals, while more than half of them were completely different. The
Table 17 Favourite and most common prepared meals in Roma households from excluded settlements by healthy meals (in %)
1 = very unhealthy food 2 3 4 = average 5 6 7 = very healthy food Total Favourite meal 12 24 40 18 5 1 100 Most common meal 3 31 36 27 3 1 100
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disproportion grew primarily in segregated settlements, where the favourite and most commonly prepared meal was completely different in 66% of households cases, while in case of the separated on the edge complete difference achieved 53% and among Roma households concentrated within a municipality 41%. Thus, in segregated environments the difference between the favourite and the most commonly prepared meals grew further; this means that in settlements completely different types of foods are commonly consumed than are actually preferred in a still greater range than in the other two excluded environments. A comparison of the favourite and most common meal indicated that restraint in consumption or relinquishing of the original range of needs in the area of eating is a widespread phenomenon in the surveyed environments, and with spatial segregation grows even further, minimally in a certain period of months. Residents of segregated settlement can only to a small measure regularly prepare favourite meals. Therefore, among the replies the following general message was recorded: Favourite meal: We have to cook what we have; we have to manage in each situation; Most common meal: No comment. /Detva district Summary: Many of the meal plans recorded in the research probe showed that poverty and material deprivation in this environment is a widespread phenomenon. The daily fare of many of the surveyed households does not conform to the nutritional value needed for healthy development. The deprivation of many of the surveyed households is connected with their exclusion from consumption, even from the consumption of food. This means that not infrequently there is a dramatic lowering in this environment of the level of living in regard to the social consequences of long-term unemployment. Minimally in a certain period of the month before benefits come the characteristics of absolute poverty were indicated, when deprivation comes near to a certain physiological threshold, beneath which the most basic need, such as food, is not satisfied. Several of the meal plans were very poor
Graph 20 Comparison of favourite and most common meals in Roma households from excluded settlements (in %)
17
1 = completely different 2 = rather different

53
3 = rather identical 4 = completely identical
24
and monotonous; sometimes very uncertain and bordering on hunger. At the same time the research probe showed that nutrition of Roma households from excluded settlement is on the whole not of very good quality. Their daily menus contained a limited number of meals per day, not very diverse foods and with less focus on fruits and vegetables or dairy products. Non-nutritious or calorific meals predominate in meal plans, while healthy foods are more rare to exceptional. After benefits, the variety of meals in most of the surveyed households increased, but these are mainly calorific and meat dishes that are added to meal plans. Although with the arrival of finances to the household a great deal of their daily meals change, a large portion of them give priority to unhealthy and heavy foods, or social incomes are not sufficient for other types of meals. The situation before and after benefits is diverse in households, but a change of eating habits predominated, and a shift was recorded especially in segregated settlements in the compared two time periods of the month..
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An overall view at both meal plans showed that no great feast occurred after benefits, but meal plans in essence, at least after benefits, came close to normal eating. The missing number of meals per day was supplemented; children received standard food items; some households afforded themselves a favourite food meat and they eat a bellyful. Although the modes of food consumption found upon monitoring this aspect were diverse, from permanently deficit up through permanently standard, in course of the month a relatively large group combine a longer period of deficit eating with normal eating after the acquiring of incomes, particularly in households reliant exclusively on social benefits. Even the monitoring of favourite and most common meals identified the orientation to more heavy cooking and non-quality meals in excluded Roma settlements. The research probe thus confirmed and in the examples of individual meals showed the dining habits in this environment.
A comparison of favourite and most common meals indicated that the restraint in consumption or the relinquishing of the original range of needs in the area of nutrition is in the surveyed environment widespread and grows along with spatial exclusion. Residents of segregated settlements are able to prepare commonly favourite meals only in a small measure. The tendency predominated in the eating habits of households that the more demanding favourite meals were mainly if they are meat-based meals then households can only afford them occasionally in the course of the month, and commonly cannot afford them at all. Generally, they prepare a favourite meal only one time each month and do so after arrival of incomes into the family. The main meal on the meal plan in the period after benefits and the favourite meal were in the majority of cases identical. Through most of the month they experience a limitation in food consumption which also takes the form of clearcut deprivation in nutrition.53
53
Because respondent households were at the same time prompted to share the method of preparing their favourite dishes, one of the side products of describing favourite or most commonly eaten meals is a collection of recipes from Roma households. This makes up the independent Appendix no. 3 of this report.
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Appendix 1 to Chapter 4: A comparison of meal plans of households from marginalised Roma settlements at two points of the month, differentiated by the date of payment of benefits before benefits and after benefits (the first line shows the meal plan of the household before benefits and the second line, labelled after the meal plan after benefits)
BREAKFAST 1 after bread, butter, salami, tea, coffee bread, rolls, margarine, tea, coffee bread cooked in egg (children, adults only coffee) yoghurt and roll (children, adults only coffee) bread, butter, meat spread bread cooked in egg bread, butter bread, butter, salami, tomatoes, pepper, yoghurt, biscuits, sweets bread, fried eggs, coffee bread, salami, tea, coffee bread with butter, tea, coffee MID-MORN. SNACK 0 0 bread, butter (children, adults nothing) biscuits, apple, roll with meat spread (children) bread, butter, ham bread, meat spread, apple 0 LUNCH potatoes, meat pickled beans soup, macaroni with meat (children in school) AFTERNOON SNACK 0 0 bread with salami and butter (children) DINNER Harua (potato pancakes) chicken, rice
leftovers from lunch
after
salad, cutlet, cake (children in school) chicken soup, baked chicken, potato mash meatless goulash soup, potatoes soup, meat with potatoes or with rice potato pancakes sour potato soup with cabbage Bean soup with smoked meat Drop dumplings with sauerkraut and fried meat in small cubes on top of drop dumplings Goulash Bean soup, drop dumplings with sauerkraut Bouillon soup with pasta and potato pancakes Barley soup, boiled meat and potatoes
fruit
potatoes, meat
3 after 4
0 0 0
bread, frankfurters wrapped salami, potatoes uncooked foods, leftovers from lunch, nothing? drop dumplings with meat
after
frankfurters, bread
6 after 7
0 0 0
0 0 0
bread, butter, tea bread, frankfurters bread cooked in egg
after
bread, salami, tea, coffee
Frankfurters and bread with mustard, tea. bread, meat spread Boiled smoked ribs, bread bread with butter and salt leftovers from lunch
8 after 9 after
bread, butter bread, frankfurters roll with jam children yoghurt, parents sausage with bread
fruit fruit children powdered milk children powdered milk rolls and biscuits only schoolattending children, others nothing
0 0 0 0
10
roll with butter
drop dumplings
116
after
roll with salami
only schoolattending children have this roll and biscuit snack as always children have prepaid bread rolls meat spread, plus bread rolls and tea
salad and cutlets
salami, sausage, bread
11
bread, bread rolls bread with butter, frankfurters
pea soup, boiled dumplings filled with potatoes meat loaf (pork meat) with cheese, fries, tartar sauce Food from potatoes and flour: the family doesnt have a large difference before benefits and after benefits, because they are so heavily in debt that they live more from what other offer them. In the period before benefits they eat from supplies of potatoes and flour. potatoes in different ways (with cabbage, milk, pasta) boiled dumplings or something from potatoes based on what they have available at home
nothing leftovers from lunch nothing leftovers from lunch
potato pancakes, tea
after
bread, salami
12
after
bread, butter, salami, tea, coffee bread or roll with butter (if the young children are here grandkids, yoghurt) bread rolls with a spread, sausages boiled (if grandkids are here yoghurt) bread, meat spread, butter their meal plans dont change after benefits bread with salami (with butter, egg, meat spread), tea and honey they dont receive benefits same meals tea, fried dough bread, rolls, strudel, butter, salami, tomato, peppers pancakes, tea boiled homemade sausage bread, butter bread, butter soup with pasta and potatoes
13
bread and butter
after
roasted meat with potatoes
boiled sausages, bread
14 after
roll 0 bread with ham and vegetables 0 0 biscuits, fruit banana yoghurt 0 banana 0
legume soup, tea, bread 0 vegetable soup, drop dumplings with meat 0 pasta with tomato paste fried cutlet, salad broccoli soup, steamed buns drop dumplings with meat pasta with cabbage chicken legs with potatoes soup, jam donuts, tea
0 0
fries with ketchup, tea, bread 0
15
potatoes with sour milk
after 16 after 17 after 18 after 19
0 0 yoghurt yoghurt fruit 0 yoghurt 0
0 0 leftovers rolls, butter, tomato, pepper/leftovers from lunch fried dough salami, roll, meat spread bread salami, bread, rolls, butter, tomato, peppers, biscuits soup and jam donuts leftovers from lunch
117
after 20 after
rolls, butter, cocoa, sausage rolls, frankfurters bread with butter and jam, tea bread, rolls, milk cheese, ham, tomatoes, cucumbers open sandwiches bread, tea frankfurters with mustard and bread yoghurt, cocoa, bread with chocolate spread, meat spread vegetables, salami, bread, meat spread, frankfurters bread, butter, salami, vegetables bread, meat spread, sausage bread with butter bread with a spread with butter, hunters salami, cocoa coffee, cigarette salami, bread, bacon 0 yoghurt, roll, biscuits nothing yoghurt, butter, salami, bread nothing yoghurt, bread, butter, salami bread with butter, salami, tea rolls, cheese, ham, milk bread with meat spread
fruit, biscuits 0 fruit
roasted pork neck, cabbage, steamed bread drop dumplings soup, gja (potato-filled sausage), potatoes with onion sauted meat and rice fish sticks, fries, ketchup chicken soup, spaghetti with morcadella chicken broth, chicken, rice, salad pasta with sauce and meat
biscuits, yoghurt 0 yoghurt, biscuits
sausage, bread, mustard bread cooked in egg, tea gja (potato-filled sausage) from lunch
21 after 22 after
yoghurt yoghurt 0 0
bread, rolls, butter, vegetables yoghurt 0 0
cutlets, potatoes, egg salad baked chicken, potatoes potato pancakes leftovers from lunch
23
fruit
fruit, biscuits
after
yoghurt
cutlets, potato mash
fruit
semolina, leftovers from lunch bread, butter, vegetables leftovers from lunch, bread bread with butter, tea frankfurters
24 after 25 after
apple fruit 0 yoghurt
soup broth soup, grilled meat and potatoes Buttered drop dumplings Hungarian goulash, steamed bread drop dumplings with tomatoes/peppers vegetable soup, baked chicken, potato mash lentil soup, drop dumplings fried pork cutlet, potato salad, chicken soup either bean or lentil soup, drop dumplings chicken and potatoes bean soup, potatoes chicken, potatoes baked chicken with potatoes stuffed thigh, rice vegetable soup
apple 0 0 0
26 after 27 after 28 after 29 after 30 after
0 0 bread with butter bread with salami, milk fried dough leftovers from breakfast 0 leftovers from breakfast at school at school 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
bread with butter we warm up leftovers from lunch, or bread and salami Same as for lunch baked chicken with potatoes fried dough, tea sausages, salami, bread leftovers from lunch sausages, bread risotto pancakes bread with salami and tea
118
31
after
bread spread
bread with meat spread
fried cutlets with potato mash, lemonade
small children a wafer and a lollipop, older children crisps with mama 0 frankfurters with bread and ketchup fruit
again fried cutlets with potato mash as for lunch
32 after 33
challah bread with coffee, baby milk bread with meat spread and salami, coffee cheese, eggs, butter, tea, cocoa, bread roasted knackwurst, boiled frankfurters, bread, vegetables open sandwiches, eggs boiled, vegetables, juice scrambled eggs, boiled frankfurters, bread, tea or juice Rolls bread rolls and margarine. ham and eggs, bread with butter, tomatoes bread with margarine, tea open sandwich bread, bread cooked in egg bread, real butter rolls with salami, scrambled eggs fancy bread, butter, cocoa butter, spread, eggs, frankfurters, knackwurst, bread, tea bread and tea; father coffee and a cigarette frankfurters, bread, mustard potato pancakes, tea and milk bread, ham, tea potato pancakes, tea
0 0 open sandwich with ham and salami hot-dog or open baguette sandwich fruit, pudding, fruit puree open sandwich, yoghurt open sandwich roll (margarine plus salami) open baguette sandwich with ham roll with salami and margarine open sandwich roll, banana roll, margarine, green peppers open sandwich rolls open sandwich roll 0
chicken soup and soda chicken in its juices with pasta lentil soup, steamed bread and tenderloin soup and baked chicken with potato mash and fruit compote creamy soup, skewers with potatoes and garnish beef broth, potatoes and roasted brisket
bread cooked in, baby milk cake with curd cheese and milk lentil soup from lunch
after
fruit
Topinky toast with a spread
34
vegetable salad
semolina
after
fruit
bread cooked in egg, tea
35
Bryndza soup, noodles with poppy seed bean soup, fried chicken with rice drop dumplings with cheese cabbage soup, fried meat with potatoes spaghetti with ketchup noodle soup, fried cheese, potato mash goulash soup, bread bryndza soup, roasted brisket and steamed bread, cabbage potatoes baked in the oven, with ketchup chicken soup, rice and chicken potato soup, potato pancakes with stuffing chicken soup, stuffed cabbage potatoes boiled sauted onions
bread cooked in egg
after 36 after 37 after 38 after
0 apple, roll cabbage soup from lunch with bread 0 banana, apple 0 bread with a spread
bean soup from lunch bryndza soup knackwurst, mustard, bread bread with salami noodle soup from l bread with meat spread soup with bread
39
adults nothing; older son (4 years) potatoes on peppers children yoghurt and roll child pudding
older son semolina; younger is nursing bread, ham, milk drop dumplings with potatoes frankfurters, bread potato pancakes, tea
adults leftovers from lunch; son milk and potato mash, later yoghurt leftovers from lunch same as afternoon snack drop dumplings with potatoes leftovers from lunch leftovers from lunch and potato pancakes
after
40
after 41
frankfurters, rolls bread margarine children to school
119
after
potato pancakes, bread, frankfurters
bread with a spread and salami children to school children to school bread with salami and peppers, syrup in water children to school rolls, ham, butter, syrup in water 0
tripe soup, pork meat with potatoes
sausage, bread, mustard
soup from lunch, bread
42
milk, bread, margarine
tomato soup, noodles with curd cheese
bread, omelette, tea
after
frankfurters, rolls, ketchup bread with lard
vegetable soup, French potatoes bean soup with bread tomato soup, fried meat with potatoes fried chicken, potatoes fried meat, potatoes with drop dumplings with tomatoes/peppers bean soup, perkelt (creamy meat sauce) and drop dumplings Children have lunch in the school canteen children school canteen egg soup, drop dumplings with cabbage chicken soup, Kolovrska cabbage mixed soup, ribs with potatoes drop dumplings with bryndza tripe soup, cabbage with meat and steamed bread goulash chicken wings chicken chicken, potatoes cutlets and potatoes bread with lard chicken in juices plus drop dumplings son at school tomato soup and drop dumplings with cabbage; others bread cooked in egg
bacon, bread, mustard 0
sausages, bread, mustard bean soup with bread leftovers from lunch leftovers from lunch; children also had a small yoghurt potato pancakes, tea tea, fries bacon with bread (Gypsy bodk), dough baked on the stove fried potatoes, tea fries, tea, bread roasted potatoes, fried egg Kolovrska cabbage from lunch dry bread bread with butter leftovers from lunch goulash from lunch tea, buns leftovers from lunch potato pancakes drop dumplings with cheese jacket potatoes baked blood sausage with bread
43
after 44 after 45
bread, plums, syrup rolls, butter, milk rolls, milk, butter 0 bread with butter, ham salami rolls, cocoa bread with butter, salami, tea coffee coffee they dont eat breakfast bread with butter bread with honey bread with salami tea, bread tea and bread with lard bread, meat spread, tea bread, frankfurters coffee and cigarettes ham and rolls
0 0 0 bread with lard
0 0 0 0
after
0 pork scratchings with bread 0 bread with cheese challah bread with butter bread with butter bread with butter biscuits biscuits nothing bun 0 0 0 0
46 after 47 after 48 after 49 after 50 after 51 after 52 after
0 0 fruit banana, children yoghurt bread with lard bread with lard 0 banana nothing roll 0 0 coffee lemonade, buns
53
bread cooked in egg
120
after
salami, vegetables, rolls, tea
only children bread, butter, salami, vegetables
son at school (sour soup and steamed buns); at home chicken broth, baked chicken with potatoes children in school (vegetable soup, meat and rice); adults pasta with tomato perkelt (creamy meat sauce) children in school soup broth, vegetable mash with meat; fried meat and potatoes (adults and children at home) pasta pork or chicken meat goulash soup, biscuits, milk pancakes spicy pepper stew and potatoes baked chicken, rice, vegetables meat and floury foods beef broth, beef with potatoes, apple cake sauted chicken, potatoes, pickled vegetables drop dumplings with curd cheese roasted ribs, potatoes, cucumber mushroom soup with drop dumplings, boiled potatoes, fried mushrooms in an egg/flour/breadcrumb batter grilled chicken thighs, boiled potatoes, cucumber salad drop dumplings with cabbage chicken soup, fried cheese with fries potato pancakes chicken cutlets, potatoes pasta with curd cheese baked chicken legs, potatoes
roasted sausage, bread, mustard
54
bread and butter
children bacon and bread; adults nothing
bread and butter
after
children salami and bread; adults coffee and cigarettes bread with lard, tea bread rolls, butter, salami, milk frankfurters frankfurters 0 rolls, butter, milk
bread with salami, biscuits
scrambled eggs and bread
55 after 56 after 57 after
0 0 goulash soup boiled goulash soup 0 sweets
0 0 goulash soup goulash soup 0 0
bread cooked in egg frankfurters goulash soup, cake goulash soup potato stuffing, tea frankfurters with mustard
58
bread, milk
bread, salami bread, butter, salami 0 roll with salami
bread, butter
potato pancakes
after 59 after
bread, milk bread, butter, salami, tea roll, butter, salami, tea scrambled eggs with freshly picked wild mushrooms, fried dough (dry) rolls, butter, salami bread cooked in egg roll, salami, tomatoes, peppers bread with meat spread frankfurters with mustard, bread rolls with butter and tomato frankfurters, salami, cheese, bread rolls
bread, butter 0 0
leftovers from lunch chicken meat with rice potatoes in the oven with salami roasted sausages, sweets for children, and father red wine (Milenka) and cigar tobacco for wild mushrooms sold (8 euro) drop dumplings with cheese toast with egg bacon or sausage, bread, tomatoes, lemonade bread, meat spread, butter, jam as lunch chicken cutlets and potatoes bread cooked in egg fries, ketchup, tartar sauce
60
biscuits, rolls, lemonade yoghurt yoghurt, croissant 0 0 0 0
0 0 fruit 0 0 0 0
121
64
bread, bread rolls, cheese, butter, jam, coffee, tea bread rolls, cheese, butter, ham, tea, baby food rolls with butter, salami and tea bread rolls, butter, salami, cheese bread rolls, tea, butter, yoghurt, coffee bread, fish, butter, tea, coffee salami, bread rolls, butter, biscuits salami, bread, butter, sweets bread with butter frankfurters with bread bread with butter and tea bread with salami bread cooked in egg scrambled eggs bread, frankfurters, tea bread with butter and salami bread with butter and salami sausage, mustard, bread bread with butter and ketchup frankfurters with ketchup, bread bread with butter and salami frankfurters, rolls, mustard frankfurters, salami, bread, bread rolls, yoghurt
sweets
risotto with chicken meat
risotto from lunch
after
Hungarian goulash s steamed bread drop dumplings with cottage cheese cutlets, potatoes, salad vegetable pasta with cheese grilled chicken, potatoes risotto chicken legs, rice, fruit compote potatoes with pickled cabbage baked thighs with potatoes boiled peas with potatoes cutlets with potatoes, vegetable salad drop dumplings with sauce roasted meat with rice baked chicken thighs, potatoes, cucumbers fried meat, potatoes soup, potatoes, cutlet baked thighs, potatoes pea soup, drop dumplings with cabbage roasted brisket, sauerkraut, steamed bread cabbage soup, drop dumplings with cabbage bean soup with sausage cutlets, potatoes potato or flour-based pancakes
fruit
bread, ham, eggs, coffee, yoghurt bread, butter, meat spread, cheese, tea, sweets bread, cutlets from lunch and stuff from the refrigerator pasta with cheese as lunch fried dough and scrambled eggs with onion bread, meat, tea fish, bread frankfurters with bread fried meat with rice fried thighs with drop dumplings baked thighs with potatoes potato pancakes risotto drop dumplings or pasta with poppy-seed cutlets, potatoes, cucumber salad leftovers from lunch leftovers from lunch baked thighs and potatoes bread with butter and tea leftovers from lunch brisket and sauerkraut with steamed bread leftovers from lunch, bread with sugar sausage soup at lunch, mustard, bread rissole, potatoes
65
biscuits
after
apple, sweets
66 after 67 after 68 after 69 after 70 after 71 after 72 after 73
fruit sweets biscuits sweets 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
after
74 after
0 biscuits
0 0
75
122
after 76 after 77 after
bread, cheese, yoghurt, salami bread with cheese, with butter bread rolls, salami, butter cigarette and coffee cigarette and coffee potato pancakes and tea; adults plus Turkish coffee bread, frankfurters, mustard potato pancakes with margarine, tea, milk bread with salami and vegetables; adults coffee and cigarettes bread with butter and milk bread, sausage, mustard bread with butter, salami, tea frankfurters, bread, milk bread with butter, meat spread frankfurters, yoghurt, tea, bread bread, butter, spread, tea pudding, roll with salami, milk or lemonade bread and butter salami, frankfurters, bread bread, ham, cheese, vegetables, tea, yoghurt bread rolls (rolls, Kaiser roll), frankfurters, vegetables, milk, cheese bread, butter, ham, cheese, lemonade
0 plums 0 bread with a spread, tea frankfurters, ketchup, rolls children potato pancakes with syrup in water bread with a spread and salami 0 children bread and frankfurters 0 0
vegetable soup or bean soup with smoked meat pasta with potatoes cabbage, sausage, cutlets vegetable risotto chicken soup, potatoes and chicken meat from soup vegetable soup with potatoes, drop dumplings with cabbage stuffed cabbage, grilled chicken plus potatoes egg soup, drop dumplings with cabbage steamed bread, cabbage and roasted pork ribs rice with milk at mamas stuffed cabbage at mamas
0 0 0 bread with jam, milk frankfurters and bread bread with lard the same as from lunch bread with lard and onion bread, salami, butter sausage, bread at odd jobs frankfurters, bread at odd jobs 0
cutlets, potatoes pasta pancakes from flour cutlets from lunch from lunch risotto soup from lunch and others
78
after 79
the same as from lunch potato pancakes with egg soup from lunch sausage with bread; children rice pudding meat, rice, vegetable salad at odd jobs pumpkin mash, rissole at odd jobs leftovers from lunch; otherwise rolls with butter and tea rolls, salami, lemonade fries with egg, cucumbers from lunch cutlets and potatoes fries with ketchup frankfurters, and leftovers from lunch if any bread and butter sausage boiled and chilli
after
80 after
81
vegetable soup, mushrooms boiled potatoes, fried cutlet, cucumbers baked chicken thighs, potatoes, cucumbers pork cutlets, potatoes tomatoes/peppers soup, potatoes, sauted meat, cucumbers soup, potatoes and cauliflower potatoes with meat chicken soup, rice, baked chicken, vegetable salad, cola goulash, bread, lemonade, pudding soup, potatoes and rissole, pickled cucumbers
yoghurt 0 0 0 biscuits 0 biscuits
biscuits 0 apple roll with butter 0 0 0
85
juice
poppy-seed bun
potato hash
after
baguette
yoghurt and roll frankfurters, bread or salami, milk, ketchup
French potatoes
86
yoghurt, two rolls and biscuits
drop dumplings with meat, vegetable salad
123
after
bread, butter, jam, juice
two rolls with meat spread; or bread with Nutella
noodle soup, goulash and rice soup from pork ribs with drop dumplings (without potatoes) (ribs for 0.60 per kg) leftovers from breakfast; plus frozen pizza and frozen buns instant soup with potatoes, dry bread chicken soup with liver dumplings, boiled potatoes, chicken thighs
vegetables, bread, egg or fish spread
tripe soup, bread
87
bean mash, bread
same as lunch soup from pork ribs
after
chicken thighs, potatoes, salad cucumber dry bread, tea bread with butter, bacon, onion bread, butter, coffee, home-produced milk, salami bread, homemade spread (fish mix, salami, eggs), tea coffee; adults smoked brisket bread with butter, tea bread, rolls with butter, meat spread, salami, cheese, milk, tea bread with lard bread with butter, or with meat spread, salami, yoghurt, tea, milk bread with butter, tea bread or rolls with cheese, with butter, salami, sweet buns, milk, salad pancakes with lard, tea bread, butter, salami pancakes with lard bread with butter bread with butter, tea bread with butter, tea
sweets
biscuits
frankfurters, bread, mustard, ketchup 0
88
after
coffee
soup from lunch
from lunch
89
leftovers from breakfast
snap-beans soup, jam donuts
soup and jam donuts from lunch bread, salami, butter, fruit apple drop dumplings, leftover from lunch bread with meat spread, salami, vegetables bread with lard bread with butter, meat spread, salami or ham bread with butter bread with butter and cheese, salami, fruit 0 0 bread 0 0 0
from lunch
after
instant goulash soup, grilled brisket and potatoes mushroom soup, drop dumplings with curd cheese chicken soup, fried chicken cutlet, potatoes, vegetables drop dumplings with cabbage meat in different ways, potatoes, vegetables mushroom soup chicken meat, potatoes, vegetables soup chicken, drop dumplings with chicken meat soup, potatoes with meat chicken with macaroni meat, potatoes bean soup, drop dumplings with cabbage chicken soup, grilled chicken, potatoes
scrambled eggs with wild mushrooms (onion, eggs), bread scrambled eggs with wild mushrooms same as lunch chicken cutlet a potatoes from lunch drop dumplings with cabbage meat, potatoes, vegetables from lunch mushroom soup from lunch, drop dumplings with cheese meat and potatoes from lunch drop dumplings with chicken meat from lunch as lunch potatoes with meat chicken with macaroni from lunch roasted sausage, pancakes tomatoes/peppers with pancakes chicken with drop dumplings
90
after
same as breakfast
91
bread with lard
after
similar as breakfast bread with butter as for breakfast similar as breakfast
92
after
93 after 94 after 95 after
0 0 0 0 0 0
124
96 after 97 after 98 after 99 after 100 after
bread, butter, tea bread, butter, ham Bokea (Roma bread) bread, salami, butter, tea Bokea (Roma bread), bread bread, butter, tea we dont have breakfast only bread by itself bread bread, butter, tea bread, salami, biscuits, tea
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 children in school children in school
vegetable soup, French potatoes chicken, potatoes, cabbage potatoes, bokea (Roma bread) meat, chicken, pasta, rice or potatoes potatoes, pasta or bokea (Roma bread) meat chicken, potatoes, rice pasta or potatoes pasta with meat, chicken with potatoes children in school children in school husband goes through the village to help for food, we eat what he brings but he always brings something 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 savoury scones at grandmothers biscuits, sweets
bread cooked in egg pizza potatoes, bokea (Roma bread) Bokea (Roma bread) bread meat potatoes from lunch bread or bokea (Roma bread) bread or no dinner drop dumplings with perkelt (creamy meat sauce) chicken, rice, bread, salami
101
after
bread, salami, bread cooked in egg potato mash from dinner, water; the small boy (not quite 2 years old) something we have at home we try to have at least 1 yoghurt always
yoghurt, banana we dont have a midmorning snack at home; to work they take bread with butter and smoked ribs child lemonades, biscuits, fruit; husband and mother to work bread with ham, fruit 0
bacon, onion, mustard
chicken in it juices, rice, cucumber
102
smoked ribs, dry bread, tap water
after
omelette with ham, yoghurt, bread, tea
child only yoghurt, sweets
vegetable soup, pork meat in its own juice, potato mash
103
coffee and tea, bread with butter salami, bread, butter, coffee, tea bread, meat spread, peppers, salami tea 0 rolls, ham, butter rolls, butter 0 Nesquik
pasta with sauce, baked cake soup, chicken meat, steamed bread, tomato sauce vegetable soup, chicken with rice, red beets, water 0 steamed bread tenderloin it depends meat, rice goulash soup
leftovers from lunch, =r drop dumplings with tomatoes/peppers finish soup from lunch with meat, leftovers from lunch salad, fish 0 leftovers from lunch baked chicken, rice varies pancakes
0 apple, biscuits 0 0 0 0 apple
savoury scones banana 0 0 0 0 biscuits
125
204 after 205 after 206 after 207 after 208 after 209 after 210 after 211 after 212 after 213 after 214 after 215 after 216 after 217 after 218 after 219
0 poppy-seed bun, butter, tea 0 0 bread, butter, tea rolls, butter, salami bread, butter, tea 0 child yoghurt; mother doesnt eat breakfast rolls, baby food puree bread, butter bread, salami, meat spread bread with butter and tea bread with butter, meat spread bread, butter rolls, Liptov salami bread and jam or butter bread and cheap salami bread and meat spread bread and salami, meat spread bread, ham scrambled eggs bread with meat spread rolls, soft cheese eggs omelette bread, vegetables, butter, tea milk, bread, butter semolina bread, salami tea, fried dough
0 children bread with meat spread 0 0 children have it at school children have it at school children in school 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 orange banana 0 0 banana 0 0
0 vegetable broth, sauted chicken and potatoes 0 0 soup with bread soup, meat and rice children in school; at home sour bean soup 0 vegetable soup, steamed buns baked chicken, rice potatoes on onion pasta sauce from chicken potatoes soup, chicken roasted meat rice pasta, sauce from sausages potatoes and roasted pork ribs potatoes potatoes, smoked pork knee potato soup smoked pork knee and potatoes steamed bread and sauce cutlet and potatoes rice and sauce roasted meat, sauce, potatoes risotto grilled chicken and rice stir-fry and rice cutlets, potatoes stuffed meat, rice steamed bread, cabbage, meat goulash soup
0 fruit 0 0 bread and butter fruit 0 0 milk milk 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 cheese Horalka wafer 0 0 0 0 0
0 roasted ribs and potatoes 0 0 potatoes with red peppers drop dumplings with meat pancakes 0 same as for lunch bread, scrambled eggs, tea bread cooked in egg bread and meat spread bread with butter bread, butter sliced salami, toasted bread bread, common frankfurters bread and butter bread and common frank furters bread and butter bread, butter and salami bacon, bread goulash tomatoes/peppers scrambled eggs semolina bacon, bread bread, salami cutlets, bread from lunch scrambled eggs tea, drop dumplings uchan
126
after 220 after 221 after
bread or rolls, butter, salami pasta with cheese bread, butter, salami, vegetables soup, fried dough this is for the whole day rolls, cheese, salami, butter, tomato fried dough, tea
fruit, biscuits 0 yoghurt soup, fried dough yoghurt
chicken thighs, potato mash soup, cake fried pork cutlet, potatoes, salad, vegetable soup soup, fried dough baked chicken thighs, potato mash, pickled vegetables fried dough with oil, sugar and cocoa, instant soup with pasta leavened cake with poppy seed and cacao pasta with ketchup meat cooked in its juices, potatoes French potatoes soup, steamed bread with cabbage chicken soup, sauce, pasta chicken soup, cutlets with potatoes cabbage soup, potato pancakes cutlets, potato salad pasta with curd cheese chicken cutlets, rice, potatoes tomato soup, chicken livers and floured potatoes sauerkraut with meat balls fried dough and potatoes chicken soup, chicken with potatoes lentil soup, drop dumplings chicken soup, fried chicken with potatoes tomato soup, drop dumplings with curd cheese
yoghurt 0 fruit soup, fried dough fruit
potatoes, meat fried dough with sugar and cocoa bread, salami, butter soup, fried dough pasta with cheese and with potatoes, with ketchup pasta with oil and tomato paste sausage, bread, mustard leftovers from lunch, bread with Rama margarine sausage, bread, mustard, tea potato pancakes drop dumplings with curd cheese fried dough with jam cutlets from lunch with potatoes potato pancakes eggs, bread potato pancakes same as for lunch drop dumplings with cheese risotto drop dumplings and potatoes drop dumplings with bryndza leftovers from lunch leftovers from lunch
222
after 223 after 224 after 225 after 226 after 227 after 228 after 229 after 230 after
rolls, butter, tomato, tea fried dough, tea bread, butter, salami, tomato, tea bread with butter and cheaper salami scrambled eggs with bacon bread, salami, butter bread, ham, fish salad, cheese bread, butter, salami bread, salad, meat spread, salami bread, butter, meat spread vegetables, bread, ham rolls, biscuits, pudding rolls, pudding, salami 0 salami, bread, butter, milk bread, butter, tea yoghurt, rolls, fruit, biscuits
yoghurt 0 biscuits 0 open sandwich 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 same as for breakfast children in school in school To primary school with children bread, butter, salami
biscuits 0 banana 0 0 0 cake 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
231
bread, margarine, milk
potato pancakes with sour cream
from lunch drop dumplings with curd cheese
127
after
bread, scrambled eggs, vegetables tomato and peppers potato pancakes, tea; adults coffee and a cigarette bread, margarine and salami; adults coffee and cigarettes bread, sausage, yoghurt, coffee bread, ham, frankfurters, coffee bread with lard, tea, coffee
to school with children rolls, ham, butter, tea children juice and bread with jam children to primary school bread with butter and salami, lemonade children to school rolls, ham lemonade to school rolls, ham, lemonade with children to school bread with a spread, peppers, tea children bread with ham and syrup in water; grandma yoghurt; adults coffee bread with lard, tea bacon, bread 0 0 children to school no snack; others at home potato pancakes and tea bread, butter salami and children to school 0 frankfurters, rolls 0 0
stuffed peppers and steamed bread
bread, bacon, cucumbers potato pancakes, lard, syrupflavoured water sausage, bread, tomatoes, peppers
stuffed peppers from lunch with bread
232
soup from a bone, potato hash
potato pancakes
after
chicken soup, drop dumplings from chicken meat potato soup with liver drop dumplings, sausage with tomatoes/peppers roasted chicken livers, rice
sausage and bread, mustard
233
pancakes with jam frankfurters, bread, mustard bread with lard and tomatoes
bread with butter, vegetables risotto with pork meat and vegetables
after
234
soup from a bone, pasta with egg
rice with milk
after
roll, ham, tea, coffee
chicken soup, chicken thighs, rice
frankfurters, bread
chicken legs and rice from lunch
235 after 236 after
rolls, butter, milk rolls and frankfurters bread with lard, tea frankfurters, bread, tea
vegetable soup soup from a bone, risotto sour potatoes, potato pancakes goulash, bread
barley gruel same as for lunch 0 0
pancakes bread with lard same as for lunch same as for lunch
237
potatoes on peppers
potato pancakes
after
sausages, bread, ketchup
soup, cutlets, potatoes
sausages, bread
leftovers from lunch plus potato pancakes drop dumplings, potato pancakes frankfurters with bread lentil soup from lunch coffee, frankfurters and bread
238 after 239 after
potato pancakes, tea scrambled eggs with bacon, bread bread, lard, water meat spread, bread
drop dumplings with cabbage chicken soup, potatoes, chicken meat lentil soup, bread macaroni with perkelt (creamy meat sauce) beef broth, Segednsky goulash (creamy goulash with sauerkraut) and steamed bread tomato soup, fried meat, potatoes
potato pancakes bacon and bread 0 0
240
cake, milk
bread, butter, peppers
bread, frankfurters, mustard
128
after
bread, egg, milk
bread, butter, apple
241 after
coffee coffee children tea with butter; parents black coffee
bread, bacon roll, salami children in school; at home bread with butter children cocoa bun, juice; at home omelette children they have lunch at school for 1 euro; at home bread with butter children biscuits and yoghurt; at home bread with salami bread with butter
tomato soup, roasted potatoes chicken soup, baked chicken and pasta children in school; at home vegetable soup, potato hash
bread with butter fruit
eggs leftovers from lunch soup from lunch, butter and bread, tea
242
potato hash
after
children- cocoa, roll with cheese; adults coffee children tea a bread with butter; adults dont have breakfast
children at school; potato salad, fried cutlets
cutlets with bread or with salad from lunch
cooked bacon; children sweets
243
children in school; vegetable soup, drop dumplings
bread with butter
bread cooked in egg
after
milk, bread with salami children
children in school; at home chicken soup and baked chicken vegetable soup, noodles with cabbage goulash soup, perkelt (creamy meat sauce), drop dumplings bodk (Gypsy bread) and potatoes on peppers; children in school stuffed peppers, steamed buns; children in school bean soup vegetable soup, perkelt (creamy meat sauce) with pasta potato salad and cutlets chicken and rice risotto cutlets with potatoes chicken meat with rice chicken soup, pork thigh with cream sauce, pasta
soup from lunch and chicken from lunch, noodles with cabbage
roasted sausage
244
coffee, tea
bread cooked in egg
after
rolls with ham
yoghurt, fruit
steamed buns
frankfurters with bread
245
tea, coffee, bodk with lard (Gypsy bread)
only children in school roll and bacon; children in school plus biscuits bread with butter roll, ham, yoghurt 0 0 buns yoghurt roll with salami and butter open sandwich with salami, fruit
potatoes on peppers from lunch
bodk (Gypsy bread) with meat spread
after 246 after 247 after 248 after 249 after
tea, coffee, roll with salami coffee, tea coffee, tea tea, bread, butter tea, bread, butter, salami, ham roll, meat spread, tea rolls, butter, tea bread, butter or spread, salami bread rolls with a spread or with butter, salami scrambled eggs with freshly picked wild mushrooms, bread and tea bread, butter, sausages
stuffed peppers, bread with salami pancakes with jam fruit, cake 0 0 semolina fruit 0 leftovers from lunch
steamed buns, milk eggs drop dumplings with curd cheese cocoa, bread bread, ham, cheese bread with butter bread with spread leftovers from lunch, potato pancakes drop dumplings with curd cheese or eggs
250
mushroom sauce and pasta
same as lunch
same as lunch
after
roasted sausages, boiled potatoes
frozen steamed buns, tea
129
251 after
bread, soup bread, butter, milk, bananas, apples
0 Same as for breakfast
scrambled eggs with onion potatoes, roasted sausages and blood sausages, sauerkraut dry bread, goulash soup with two potatoes and drop dumplings boiled potatoes, baked cucumber, salad cucumber dry bread, instant goulash soup with small pasta multi-bean soup from smoked ribs, drop dumplings with cheese tomato soup, potatoes on green peppers stuffed peppers, steamed buns wild mushrooms with drop dumplings stuffed cabbage fried dough with scrambled eggs goulash with bread red cabbage with steamed bread cutlets with salad risotto cutlets with potato salad risotto cutlets with potato salad cutlets and fried dough baked chicken, rice, potatoes pasta with meat cutlets with salad drop dumplings with cabbage
0 0
0 leftovers from lunch without potatoes, but with bread
252
same as for lunch dry bread and goulash soup from lunch father wine alone (wine brand Milenka)
after
bread, salami, butter bread, water, tea; youngest child mothers milk salami, sausages, bread, bacon, lemonade bread with lard rolls with ham, coffee; for the children cocoa tea, Gypsy bread bodk bread with butter and salami soup bread, ham, cheese, salami yoghurt, bread, bread rolls, tea meat, yoghurt, cheese, bread rolls bread, butter, tea bread, butter, cheese, coffee bread rolls, yoghurt, coffee, butter bread rolls, coffee tea, butter, cheese, salami rolls, salami, tea, cheese, yoghurt bread rolls, ham, coffee, tea yoghurt bread, butter, tea, ham, vegetables bread, cheese, butter, tea, salami, vegetables bread with butter
0 rolls meat spread store bought
253
after
sweets biscuits and crunchy snacks of different types 0 yoghurt, biscuits 0 yoghurt sweets 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
biscuits, lemonade, cake leftovers from lunch fruit, biscuits 0 biscuits, apple vegetables, bread 0 0 0 0 0 0 sweets sweets sweets 0 0 0
pizza; father wine
254 after 255 after 256 after 257 after 258 after 259 after 260 after 261 after
bread cooked in egg, tea roasted sausage Bodk (Gypsy bread) with a spread chicken with potatoes from lunch goulash from lunch potato pancakes salad with salami risotto from lunch cutlets from lunch, bread leftovers from lunch risotto cutlets from lunch from lunch cutlets and fried dough chicken from lunch bread with ham bread with ham from lunch drop dumplings
130
262
bread with salami roll with salami bread with butter and salami bread with butter, tea bread with salami bread with butter frankfurters, bread, mustard bread, bread rolls, butter; children yoghurt cake, jam donuts bread or bread rolls, margarine, common salami frankfurters, bread, bread rolls bread with ham yoghurt or pudding, bread rolls rolls, tea, butter, salami poppy-seed strudel, milk rolls, spread, cocoa milk, sweet buns bread with butter, tea rolls, salami, milk
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
fried meat with potatoes boiled dumplings steamed bred with cabbage and meat drop dumplings with potatoes (potato hash) backed chicken legs with potatoes vegetable soup, rissole, potatoes backed chicken legs with potatoes meat in its own juices, potatoes soup, chicken cutlets
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 dry rolls 0
leftovers from lunch, bread boiled dumplings from lunch meat with cabbage from lunch cutlets, potatoes, cucumbers goulash a bread boiled potato dumplings sausage, bread boiled potatoes with mayonnaise gja (potato-filled sausage) with pork scratchings fried dough
267
vegetable soup or bean soup
0 0 0 0 bread with salami apple fruit 0 fruit bread with butter and water with syrup biscuits, lemonade
sauted meat meat soup, potatoes cutlets and potatoes tomato soup, tomatoes/peppers chicken soup, baked chicken, potatoes, vegetable salad soup, pasta, meat, cucumber fish, potatoes, tartar sauce vegetable soup, roasted potatoes fried cheese, potatoes, tartar sauce bean soup, pasta with cheese chicken soup, fried cauliflower, mayonnaise and potatoes 0 barley soup, smoked ribs, potatoes goulash with potatoes and frankfurters
0 0 0 apple melon biscuits yoghurt bread with butter biscuits
same as lunch 0 bread, butter, salami potatoes, mushrooms rolls, salami, meat spread, lemonade cake a tea frankfurters, bread, tea roasted potatoes from lunch, tea frankfurters with bread, tea, spread soup from lunch and bread
272
0 yoghurt, rolls, milk, bread with store-bought spread, hard salami dry bread and they eat this all day sweets, sausages, rolls bread with butter or with lard
after
knackwurst, bread, mustard 0 soup from lunch with bread again bread with butter or lard
fries with mayonnaise
273 after 274
0 0 same as for breakfast
0 soup from lunch with bread goulash from lunch
131
after
rolls, bread with butter, salami, yoghurt, milk bread with butter, tea
same as breakfast
meat, potatoes, vegetables mushroom soup, goulash with sausage
bread with butter and meat spread, salami, fruit same as breakfast bread with butter as for mid-morning snack bread with butter and vegetables and fruit as for mid-morning snack bread with butter and salami bread with butter and ham
from lunch meat, potatoes and vegetables, fruit as for lunch goulash with sausage leftovers from lunch, plus cold foods bread with meat spread or spread, vegetables
275
same as breakfast
after
bread with butter and salami, children yoghurt, milk
bread with butter and salami, vegetables, fruit
mushroom soup, fried pork cutlet, potatoes
276
rolls with butter and salami, coffee rolls with butter, cheese slices, ham, vegetables (tomatoes, cucumbers), coffee bread, roll, butter, tea bread, scrambled eggs, tea Kaiser roll, butter, salami, tea bread, meat spread, tea bread rolls, butter, jam the same bread, butter bread, salami, butter bread rolls with butter the same boiled food meat with pasta no difference milk, tea, bread with meat spread not difference bread with butter and tea roll with cheese and salami, tea bread with butter, jam
bread with butter and salami
mushroom soup, drop dumplings with curd cheese
scrambled eggs with mushrooms
after
bread with butter, vegetables children in school; adults not used to eating it children in school; adults nothing children in school; adults no children in school; adults nothing 0 0 0 bread, salami, butter, cheese children snack in school 0 0 0 Child at school; at home nothing 0 0 0 0
fried chicken cutlet, potatoes, vegetables
drop dumplings with cheese
277
pasta, meat soup, pork meat, potatoes, cucumber soup, chicken thighs, potatoes soup, potatoes, baked chicken thighs, cucumber potato mash with meat 0 potatoes, meat meat with fries fries with cheese 0 gja (potato-filled sausage) 0 vegetable soup, risotto, tea 0 drop dumplings with cabbage, vegetable soup potatoes, meat vegetable soup, chicken legs with macaroni
toast, tea
after 278 after 279 after 280 after 281 after 282 after 283 after 284 after 285
0 0 0 0 0 0 bread with salami, fruit 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
boiled potato dumplings, tea potato pancakes, tea scrambled eggs, roasted sausage, bread, tea same as lunch potato mash with meat 0 same as lunch potatoes and meat cheese with fries bread rolls with butter 0 leftovers from breakfast and lunch 0 potato mash, milk 0 toast with garlic, tea bread cooked in egg potatoes, milk
132
after 286 after 287 after 288 after 289 after 290 after
no difference tea, coffee, bread with butter or lard rolls, bread with salami, tea, coffee roll with butter and salami, coffee a tea no difference meat spread bread, coffee and tea no difference bread with butter, salami tea the same bread with butter and salami the same
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 children in school; at home nothing 0
0 soup with barley, drop dumplings bean soup, macaroni with ketchup chicken soup, spaghetti with pork meat 0 bean soup, pork meat, potatoes, pickled vegetables 0 soup, corallini pasta, roasted meat 0 children in school; at home soup, potatoes, chicken 0
0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
0 leftovers from lunch soup or drop dumplings spaghetti with grated cheese scrambled eggs, bread, tea 0 bacon with onion and bread, tea 0 drop dumplings with bryndza and bacon 0 drop dumplings with bryndza and bacon 0
133
Appendix 2 to Chapter 4: Favourite and most common meals of Roma households

FAVOURITE MEALS Baked chicken with rice French potatoes Salad and cutlet Steamed bread with dill sauce Steamed buns Drop dumplings with meat Potatoes with roasted meat Potato salad and pork cutlets Stuffed cabbage leaf Roasted brisket, potatoes. Pavare smoked ribs he husband likes meat mainly pork cutlets, The wife likes boiled dumplings with potatoes or jam. Cutlets a salad: this meal, however, is prepared only during benefits or an exceptional situation. Paan drop dumplings Cutlet a potatoes MOST COMMON MEALS Thick soups (bean, lentil) Risotto Meatless goulash Fish sticks and fries Sour lentil soup Potatoes with red peppers Potato hash Goulash with sausage Goulash (meat, potatoes with snap beans) Potato mash Drop dumplings with sauerkraut, Drop dumplings with curd cheese They most often cook (mainly if there is no money) browned pancakes They also cook barley soup often Drop dumplings with cabbage o with potatoes (they last cooked it on 8.8.2011) Also risotto Boiled dumplings with potatoes Drop dumplings Boiled dumplings Bean soup Drop dumplings with cabbage, potatoes or curd cheese Hungarian goulash with steamed bread Drop dumplings uchan Drop dumplings pasta Pancakes of fried dough with cacao and sugar; or only buttered to eat in place of bread with bacon, sausages, meat. Chicken legs with pasta Meatballs with sauerkraut Gja (potato-filled sausage) or fried dough Gja (potato-filled sausage) flour-based Gja (potato-filled sausage) potato-based Rice with sauce Potato pancakes Chicken perkelt (creamy meat sauce) Pasta with some sauce and meat Grilled chicken with roasted potatoes
Cutlets and salad Soup broth (they last cooked it at the start of August) Mushroom soup (they cook it more times during August) Fried cutlet, salad or potato mash we always cook this after support comes Sauted meat with rice Leavened cake with apples, Granko chocolate powder or cocoa and butter: I last cooked this last week Fried pork cutlet and potato salad with mayonnaise (I always cook this after pay day the eighth of the month) Baked chicken and salad (I always cook this after support) Segednsky goulash with steamed bread (I last cooked this on pay day 15 August) Segednsky goulash, steamed bread Sauted meat Lentil mash Cutlets, salad Drop dumplings with bryndza
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Stuffed cabbage Cutlets with potatoes
Buttered drop dumplings we cook this 2-3-times a month. The children love rice and potato gruel The husband loves only drop dumplings Favourite dish is fried cutlet with potato salad: I cooked it on support day. And stuffed cabbage I cooked this perhaps a month ago Hungarian goulash with steamed bread (we made it two weeks ago) Baked thighs with potatoes baked in the oven (I cooked this perhaps a week ago) Risotto with meat (We cooked this two days ago) Cream sauce with rissole Steamed buns with ground sugar and cocoa, not poppy-seed (the children dont like this), or with jam Sauted cabbage with roasted meat Leo tomatoes/peppers/onion mix Stuffed baked brisket Bread pudding Smoked boiled bones plus boiled whole potatoes, cucumber and peperoncinis Goulash soup Potato salad a cutlet Fried cheese, tartar sauce and fries Roasted pork, steamed potato bread and red cabbage
Soda cake we make this in place of bread Gja (potato-filled sausage) and my children really like this Bean soup and fried dough Meat balls in tomato sauce Drop dumplings with potatoes Drop dumplings with potatoes Chicken soup Risotto Chicken soup Homemade bean soup Cabbage soup Cabbage-filled pastries Tripe soup Perkelt (creamy meat sauce) Cabbage soup Drop dumplings with bryndza with bacon Fried meat chicken a potato mash Now we have potatoes from the garden, so we mostly make potato pancakes, potato babu. They also have a lot of zucchini, from which they make pancakes They most often make potato pancakes in place of bread, sometimes they make it sweet Potato pancakes, hey like them best with lard and with tea Drop dumplings with curd cheese, cabbage or eggs Bean soup with pasta or with potatoes We can rarely afford main meals; most often I cook bean soup with pancakes or bread.
Stuffed cabbage Pork ribs, sauerkraut and leavened steamed bread Cutlets and potato salad Mexican beans Potato salad with fried meat children would eat this every day (4 and 2 years). Pancakes mainly with jam. Here in the village and maybe in the neighbouring village we most often make drop dumplings with perkelt (creamy meat sauce): my husband and children like it a lot. The children still like spaghetti, but on social benefits we cant afford it he favourite dish in our family is perkelt (creamy meat sauce) with drop dumplings and bodk (Gypsy bread);
Drop dumplings with perkelt (creamy meat sauce)
When I have the possibility, I cook perkelt (creamy meat sauce) with drop dumplings for the whole family sever times, but money doesnt allow for this; so most commonly we make bodk Perkelt (creamy meat sauce) with drop dumplings because this is the cheapest, we cant afford other stuff. Please, write down that even I know what is delicious, but without money Beans with pasta, we call it babro drop dumplings Instant goulash soup, we eat it with bread.
The children are very happy when we have fried cheese and fries on the table we can afford this only once a month Sirloin with cream and steamed bread Drop dumplings with bryndza
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Goulash (at the beginning of the month) Chicken: we last cooked it at the end of August (a month ago) chicken baked in the oven with jacket potatoes: we last had it at the start of the month Drop dumplings and perkelt (creamy meat sauce) Drop dumplings with meat and leo (tomato/peppers/onion mix) Potato pancakes with chicken Fried cutlets (pork or chicken) with potato mash Fried meat or cheese, fries, tartar sauce Pancakes Drop dumplings with meat a with sauerkraut Roasted chicken meat with rice Baked ribs with boiled potatoes, we add preserved fruit as a side Cutlets from chicken meat (most often chicken thighs), potato salad or potato mash Fried cutlets with boiled potatoes and mixed salad: I cooked it after benefits on Sunday Goulash with steamed bread Chicken cutlets, potato salad Hungarian goulash with beef and steamed bread (last time in August after benefits) Chicken cutlets with potato salad Homemade pizza: last time was perhaps a month ago Stuffed cabbage leaf Cutlets with breadcrumbs Boiled sausages: they last cooked it a week ago Kyky (potato-filled sausages): they last made it a month ago Risotto: they last cooked it three days ago. Segednsky goulash with steamed bread (last time before 1 August) Ducat buns (sweet buns with pudding) (they last cooked it at the end of July) Baked thighs with potatoes (they last had it at the end of July) Pork cutlets with boiled potatoes (after support) Baked chicken Cutlets and potatoes (we make this 2-3 times a month) Chicken cutlets a potatoes
Pasta with cheese Meat with sauce Drop dumplings with cheese Knackwurst with potatoes Drop dumplings or pasta in different ways Pasta flakes with French beans or beans Pasta with tomato sauce Fried chicken with bread Imitation fish with fries Chicken on cream with macaroni Sauted chicken livers with rice Chicken backs in perkelt (creamy meat sauce) and pasta Stuffed pork intestines with bread or with pickled vegetables Baked chicken wings with potatoes with pickled cucumbers Different pastas with sauce or only with ketchup (so-called dry) Thick goulash ( without meat and with drop dumplings) Chicken in different ways mostly with peppers and drop dumplings Potato pancakes with pork scratchings Risotto Risotto Wide pasta with curd cheese or cheese Chicken cutlets and potato salad Marikle pancakes Hadrimky pancakes Drop dumplings with cheese Boiled filled dumplings the family prefers them with jam or with potato filling Potatoes with sour milk Meat soup broth from pork bones Boiled potatoes, we serve them with sour milk Marikle (pancakes) Roasted meat on cabbage Pasta with curd cheese or cabbage Flour-based pancakes and cabbage Drop dumplings in different ways with tomatoes/peppers, sausage, cabbage, curd cheese
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Cutlet and potato salad
Stuffed cabbage
Potato pancakes marikle Potatoes in different ways (soup with drop dumplings, sweet peppers with lard) They most often cook beans in different ways, because they cultivate them themselves and have enough of them. They often make pancakes, either potato or flour-based. The sons like drop dumplings with tomatoes/peppers and sausage, so they cook this rather often. Every Saturday they bake a leavened cake usually rolls with jam. He cultivates vegetables, so he often cooks something from potatoes; he has his own meat (he raises pigs). Vegetable soup is cooked most often, potatoes cooked in the over and served with ketchup. Meat broth (when he has time), meat from the soup is cooked in the oven and rice prepared with it. He often goes for odd jobs, so now in summer he dines pretty often with people he works for (he is a mason). He has lunch at his moms place; he helps her financially. Spaghetti is cooked most often, because the children like it best with ketchup and sprinkled with grated cheese Potato pancakes bandurenky (in our way), we last made them before social benefits. Potatoes are cheap but filling. Since it is summer, leo (a tomatoes/peppers/onions mix) or mushrooms with eggs is cooked most often.
Steamed potato bread with red cabbage made as sweet and sour and roasted pork meat (they cook this once a month). Potato salad and cutlets (they last made this at Easter).
Gja this is his favourite, his mother makes it for him, who lives in the same village.
Potato pancakes cooked on a skillet, buttered or filled with ground meat Potato pancakes cooked on a skillet, buttered or stuffed ground meat
Gje the majority of Roma call it this, nowadays Roma cuisine is also being modernised, so the most specifically these are stuffed intestines (we last made it two months ago). Potatoes and roasted meat (they had it last week) Stroganoff I make it often because everyone enjoys it (last time three days ago) Potato mash and roasted meat Stuffed chicken and potato salad
Potato pancakes Baked pasta Stroganoff Steamed bread, cabbage, meat Liver-balls with sauerkraut or steamed bread, also with bread, cucumber and mustard. Instant soup most often goulash and French potatoes and meat (baked, fried, stuffed), or rice or more types of drop dumplings (with cabbage, with cheese, only with onion and peppers) Boiled potatoes or pasta, sauce with this Macaroni with sausage Drop dumplings with cabbage or with curd cheese Goulash with frankfurters and mushrooms Most common dishes are drop dumplings with meat Most common dishes are pasta with meat or poultry Drop dumplings with tomatoes/peppers with meat or sausage Cutlets Bokea (pancakes) Bokea (pancakes) we make it most often instead of bread
Drop dumplings with cheese Stuffed cabbage leaf, sides are boiled potatoes, sometimes tomato sauce Gja (potato-filled sausage) Fried bread with mushrooms Gja (potato-filled sausage) (see the questionnaire Dining in V. ari for the recipe) Fried cutlet, potato salad The most favourite meal in our family is chicken with macaroni Tltot kposzta this is a Hungarian dish, I dont even know what it is called in Slovak (stuffed cabbage leaf) We like meat in different ways Bokea (pancakes), everyone in the family likes this We dont have any special favourites, but the children like baked chicken the most. Meat and bokea (pancakes)
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Gja (potato-filled sausage) we like the most but it is expensive: they last cooked it a year ago. Drop dumplings with tomatoes/peppers Drop dumplings with curd cheese Boiled frankfurters, ketchup a roll Baked chicken with stuffing, with this rice a cucumbers Tomato sauce, steamed bread and different meats Savoury scones with knackwurst Fried cheese, fries, tartar sauce (always once a week) Cutlets a potato mash Risotto: we last cooked it the day before last. Potato steamed bread, cabbage a roasted pork neck We have to cook what we have; we have to manage in each situation Drop dumplings with meat Sirloin sauce with steamed bread Steamed buns or pancakes the children love it Fried cheese and chips Chicken with rice Smoked ribs a potatoes Bean soup Bean soup with pasta flakes Pancakes Fried meat with sauerkraut and leavened potato pancakes (fried dough) Potato pancakes and fried pork ribs Bean soup with pasta flakes Roasted brisket and potatoes Sirloin sauce with steamed bread Stuffed chicken with roasted potatoes Grilled chicken with rice: they cooked it not long ago Cutlets and potatoes Drop dumplings Bean soup Potato salad a fried chicken thighs. Bean soup: we like it a lot, we make it two-times a week Stuffed cabbage leaf: I cooked it last month after benefits Leavened cake with poppy seed we all like this: I baked it after benefits Steamed buns: I last made them last week. Jam donuts Drop dumplings with curd cheese
Bokea baked Roma bread Pasta or potatoes Drop dumplings Boiled frankfurters the children very much want them Meat in its own juice with tomato paste, potato mash. Drop dumplings made in different ways (cabbage, tomatoes/peppers, lentils, chicken meat) Rice with meat according to what we have at home Baked chicken with rice Drop dumplings with meat, cheese, bryndza Fried cheese and potatoes, rice in different ways No comment Roux-based soup Sour soup Sour bean or lentils Steamed filled buns Bean soup in different ways Pasta with sauce Potato soup Jam donuts Potatoes as potato hash Bean soup with sauerkraut Potatoes with onion and sauerkraut Pasta with sauce Pasta String beans or potato soup Sauce with steamed bread Stir-fry with chips or rice Drop dumplings Potato pancakes Chicken a potatoes Goulash soup (instant) Mnik cake dough Pasta and meat with juice Flour-based foods buns, pancakes, jam donuts Honey-cream cake Ribs we call this pavare; we eat it with bread, potatoes or fried dough. Boiled ribs pavare Pasta with tomato sauce Fried dough with meat, and sweet with jam
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Cutlets with potatoes
Egg salad Potato salad Stuffed pepper Drop dumplings with chicken meat Fried chicken with potatoes: I last cooked it after benefits this month. They have their own milk and meat (they raise pigs, cows and goats). The husband most likes drop dumplings with curd cheese and meat from soup with this. The children most like spaghetti with mortadella salami and ketchup. Gja (potato-filled sausage) (intestines stuffed with potatoes) Potato balls with smoked meat and sauerkraut: they cooked this perhaps two weeks ago. Chicken legs with peaches and potato mash The family raises pigs and also have a goat, so they have their own meat and milk. The son most prefers pancakes with curd cheese; the mother likes everything, shes not picky. Gja (potato-filled sausage) they cook this regularly, at least once a month, last time a week ago Potato salad and cutlets Segednsky goulash a steamed bread We most like fried meat, but we can only afford it once a month. Fried meat with potato salad: we make fried meat approximately every Sunday, but the salad only for some kind of celebration. We can list steamed buns as our second-favourite dish. Segednsky goulash with steamed bread Potato salad and fried cutlet Perkelt (creamy meat sauce) with potatoes Gja (potato-filled sausage) Drop dumplings with tomatoes/peppers and sausage (we last cooked it last week) The children most like pancakes with jam and cocoa powder For adults this is mainly meat with leo (tomatoes/peppers/onions) and drop dumplings Cutlets Cutlets from pork ( last time on Sunday) Drop dumplings with curd cheese Stuffed cabbage leaf Drop dumplings with cheese and meat Cutlets from chicken meat, potato salad (last time we had it was the Easter holiday)
Chicken soup Pasta with curd cheese Bean soup The most common dish I cook is pasta with cheese Potato pancakes They often cook drop dumplings with curd cheese or make pancakes. They have their own meat, so they cook it pretty often. At least once a week they make fried bread. Marikle potato pancakes Pancakes: they cook it at least once a week. Spaghetti the children like this the most: they cook it at least once a week. They most often cook potato-based dishes. Semolina or pancakes.
Now in summer there are a lot of vegetables, which we cultivate. We had enough zucchini we make pancakes from them. Leo (tomatoes/peppers/onion mix) Potato pancakes: they make them every day. Potato pancakes with tea. Soups (bean, lentil, tomato) with bread or pancakes. We dont make anything in particular, most frequently bean soup with meat and fried bread Potato hash Boiled dumplings with curd cheese (we cook this most often) Roasted potatoes we make this most often before benefits without cream, only with milk. Pasta with egg Budk Gypsy bread (we bake this often when there is no money) Bean soup sour: we always have this available and it is cheap food; it tastes best with Gypsy bread bodk. Babro drop dumplings (when beans are left over) Jam donuts (once a week) Drop dumplings with cheese Pork meat with creamy and pasta Sauces (in summer mushroom most often) with potatoes or with pasta Boiled potatoes with red pepper and onion sauted in oil Soups green bean or multi-bean from pork ribs Boiled pasta with sauce and without meat, or only with ketchup with oil, or only with oil, or instant soup
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Drop dumplings with cheese. Chicken cutlets most often from thighs) and potato salad; Gypsy gje (potato-filled sausage) Roma meatballs with sauerkraut Baked pasta with meat (the last time this month) Cutlets with potato salad Vegetable risotto Gja (potato-filled sausage) Stuffed cabbage leaf Cutlets with potato salad (last time a month ago) Cutlets, boiled potatoes on the side Ducat buns (sweet bread with pudding (they made it two days ago) Cabbage soup Boiled dumplings filled with jam or potatoes Diced meat with rice and chips Pork or chicken cutlets with chips Pork or chicken cutlets Goulash, and gje Roasted pork ribs with boiled potatoes and cucumbers or with red cabbage they last prepared these after social benefits. Stuffed baked chicken, potatoes a vegetable salad (favourite meal of the family)
Pasta dry (with oil and done, also with tomato paste or with potatoes, instant soup, sauce for pasta according to the possibilities). Fried dough dry with oil and sugar, tea with this; often this is an all-day food Pasta with beans Bodk Gypsy bread Cutlets with potato salad Cabbage leaf stuffed with meat and rice Hungarian goulash with steamed bread Chicken meat with potatoes Marikle fried dough Risotto Noodles with cabbage Baked thighs with potatoes or with bread Baked thighs with potatoes Drop dumplings with potatoes potato hash Potatoes with mayonnaise Naleniky potato pancakes with pork scratchings Potatoes and cabbage Pasta with cabbage In this period vegetables are cheaper, so perhaps, like a lot of families, leo (a tomato/peppers/onion mix) is consumed, fried cauliflower or patty pan squash. French potatoes Usually thick soups: bean, vegetable, lentil. Meals are traditional as in other families. The children, however, ate chips and fried cheese every day. They prepare the menu according to what the kids eat and the financial situation. Snap-beans soup, for example beans Pasta with sauce Pasta with juice or with tomato paste Boiled potatoes Lentil mash with frankfurters and bread Drop dumplings with fresh cabbage Stuffed pepper and tomato sauce Drop dumplings in different ways Risotto We try to change this, but we often cook potatoes. Gja (potato-filled sausage) Meat with potatoes we cook this most often
Fried cheese, chips and tartar sauce
Gja (potato-filled sausage) with bread, cucumber and mustard Classic pork or chicken cutlets, potato salad Gja (potato-filled sausage) Pavare smoked rib with a sauerkraut side dish, boiled potatoes Fried cutlet with potatoes: prepared in the classic way. Pork meat goulash with bread Potato-based steamed bread, cabbage, pork brisket Gja (potato-filled sausage) Gja (potato-filled sausage)
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We dont have a favourite dish.
Steamed bread with meat Bean soup (a week ago). Drop dumplings with cabbage and bacon. Bean soup Steamed bread, pork meat, cabbage Goulash soup with pork meat and potatoes, bread Hungarian goulash a steamed bread Pork meat and sauce Stuffed cabbage Potatoes and cutlet, cucumbers Baked pasta Steamed bread, pork meat, cabbage
We are trying to change After delivery of food aid they cooked mainly pasta (macaroni, fusilli) with pieces of meat. Drop dumplings in different ways Pasta with sauce and pieces of meat (macaroni, fusilli) Pasta with pork or chicken meat according to the date Chicken with spicy pepper sauce with potatoes, cucumber Beans with pasta flakes Boiled dumplings with cheese Mash beans, lentils, etc.
Note: Recipes for individual dishes are given in Appendix 3.
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Appendix 3 to Chapter 4: Recipes from Roma households (recipes are arranged in alphabetical order while preserving the name given by the respondents):
RECIPES FROM ROMA HOUSEHOLDS B Babro drop dumplings (beans with pasta): beans cooked until soft, add the boiled noodle flakes and add sauted onion. /Rimavsk Sobota district Babro drop dumplings: when the beans are leftover, we boil pasta flakes to add to them and put sauted onion on top. /Rimavsk Sobota district Bandurenky (potato pancakes): we boil the potatoes and properly drain them; we make them into a smooth mixture with lumps. We add flour until the dough is not too sticky. We then cut out pieces of the dough, roll them out and cook them on the skillet on one side and then the other. We then put lard on them. Potatoes are cheap but filling. /Preov district Bodk Gypsy bread: prepared from finely milled flower, water and salt, we cook them on the stove top. /Rimavsk Sobota district Bodk Gypsy bread: prepared from finely milled flower, salt, baking powder and lukewarm water. Cooked on the stove top or in a skillet. /Rimavsk Sobota district Bokea: pancakes from flour, water and baking soda. /Rimavsk Sobota district Bokea baked Roma bread: made from dough and only finely milled flour, baking soda and water are needed. /Rimavsk Sobota district Pork ribs, sauerkraut and leavened steamed bread: steamed bread classically prepared; sauted cabbage, sugar is added at the end. The pork ribs are seasoned and put into water and cooked in the oven. /Trebiov district Bryndzov haluky (drop dumplings with bryndza): we mix grated potatoes into a mass with flour and we make drop dumplings. We add the bryndza to this (with cream), and pour on fat with pork scratchings from bacon. /Koice environs district Steamed buns: I make them with leavened dough; I dont fill the buns; I cook them plain and put jam on the plate, I sprinkle on either Granko (powdered chocolate) or classic cocoa powder. /Spisk Nov Ves district C Pasta with sauce: pasta is cooked in the classic way. The sauce consists of meat, soy cubes, poultry bones or giblets, sausages or salami. The base of the sauce is oil, onion, meat, dried vegetable seasoning, salt; after frying water is added according to how much pasta there is and household members. If it has flour, it thickens. /Spisk Nov Ves district Pasta with tomato sauce or paste: we mix the boiled pasta with the tomato paste. /Gelnica district Pasta dry: pasta only with ketchup. /Gelnica district Pasta dry: drizzle oil on the boiled pasta and its ready. Also, with tomato paste or with potatoes, instant soup, sauce for pasta according to possibilities. /Gelnica district Pasta with beans: the beans need to be cooked in salted water; we season with garlic and strain them. We boil the pasta flakes in the same water. We put the cooked beans and pasta on the sauted onions; we mix it and season with paprika and dried vegetable seasoning. /Rimavsk Sobota district
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Pasta with meat: we make it with pork or chicken meat, according to the date. /Roava district
Pasta with sauce: the sauce is with pieces of meat sauted meat on the onions and thickened; boiled macaroni or fusilli can be added to this. /Roava district Pasta with cheese: we boil the pasta, the kind we have; we mix it with cheese and add butter. /Levoa district Pasta with cheese: macaroni, oil, cheese, acidophilus milk. I boil two pork knees, in a little water the cheese and I mix it. I add it to the macaroni and together with the acidophilus milk and pour in hot oil. /Koice environs district Pasta with curd cheese: boiled pasta we mix with curd cheese and add salt. /Koice environs district Pasta with egg: we boil the pasta, drizzle on oil or sauted bacon and onion. We cook the eggs and put them on top of the pasta. /Rimavsk Sobota district Gypsy gje: this is pork intestines stuffed with potatoes. The intestine needs to be cleaned very well and then filled with potatoes and cut into small pieces, which we seasons with salt, black pepper, dried vegetables; we add marjoram, a little spicy paprika and a handful of rice. The intestine needs to be boiled for about 30 minutes in water, and then baked until crunchy in a pot. /Rimavsk Sobota district Zucchini pancakes: grated the zucchini, add seasoning and egg, when there is meat, then a little ground meat, flour and bread crumbs. The pancakes are cooked in hot oil. /Trebiov district D Homemade bean soup: we boil the previously soaked beans, and when the beans are semi-soft; we throw in the sausage and cook it further. While it cooks we add potatoes, bay leaf, garlic and we add a flour roux (2 tablespoons of flour, milk, 2 tablespoons of vinegar). When it boils, we finally add cooking cream. /Bansk tiavnica district Homemade pizza: we prepare the dough from flour, yeast, oil and salt. Let it rise and then put it into a pan; we put salami, bacon, eggs, cheese on the top and bake it. /Koice environs district Tripe with paprika and potatoes: we cook the tripe in onions, we add leo (tomato/peppers/onion mix), seasonings, and in the end cubes of potatoes. /Rimavsk Sobota district Ducat buns (sweet buns with pudding): flour, barm, milk, vanilla pudding. We make small buns from the dough and we bake them on a cookie sheet. We make the vanilla pudding per the instructions, and pour it over the buns which are put on a plate. /Bardejov district Ducat buns (sweet buns with pudding): flour, barm, sugar, milk, vanilla pudding. We make small buns from the dough and we bake them on a greased cookie sheet. We make the vanilla pudding per the instructions, and pour it over the buns which are put on a plate /Bardejov district Sauted cabbage with roasted meat: fresh head of cabbage, onion, black pepper, salt, oil, dried vegetable seasoning, red peppers. Leave the cabbage to saut and slice the steamed bread. I slice onion into a pan, add oil, seasonings, salt, and cook it until golden brown, and then I add cut cabbage and leave it for 30 minutes. Slice the pork loin, cook it in the pan and add the cabbage. /Trnava district Sauted meat: we saut the meat with vegetables, leo (tomato/peppers/onion mix), bouillon, carrot, cream, seasoning. /Sabinov district Sauted meat with rice: we saut the meat on an onion base with vegetables. We add cooked rice to this, pickled vegetables or red beet root. /Spisk Nov Ves district F Imitation fish: we wrap a mixture of chicken into a pancake, wrap this in an egg/flour/breadcrumb batter and fry in oil; serve with chips. /Vek Krt district Bean soup: the pre-soaked beans are cooked for perhaps 1.5 hours, seasonings and diced potatoes are added. /Preov district Bean soup: soup with pasta or potatoes thickened to sweet and sour; potato pancakes cooked in oil are also served with the beans. /Trebiov district
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Bean soup: cook the beans and when they are soft, we add potatoes, and we can also add bay leaf. When the potatoes are soft, we mix an instant cheese sauce in water; we add it to the soup and thicken with a roux (flour water). /Spisk Nov Ves district Bean soup: in the evening soak the beans in pure water, in the morning drain them and put them into a pot together with the potatoes. When everything has softened, add the roux (oil and flour), cook it and its ready. If possible, add warmed up sausage or frankfurters or salami. Cut them into the soup and also eat them with bread. At one time my son also put sugar in his soup and the mother vinegar. /Spisk Nov Ves district Bean soup: beans, flour, eggs, salt, tomato paste, vegetables, dried vegetable seasoning. We place the pre-soaked beans into a pot, and then add the cleaned vegetables, a bit of the dried vegetable seasoning and salt. We leave the beans to cook for 2 hours, when they are soft and then from flour and egg we make the dough and roll it into a circle; we cut it into small flakes and we add to the beans. We saut the onions in a little oil, and add red paprika and the tomato paste and we add this to the cooked beans. /Koice environs district Bean soup and marikle (fried dough): 0.5 kg beans, 1 carrot, 1 parsley, 1 onion, oil, 2 eggs, tomato paste. In place of dough we can add potatoes. /Koice environs district Sour bean soup: boiled beans thickened to white, vinegar. We always have this on hand and it is cheap food, they taste best with Gypsy bread bodk. /Rimavsk Sobota district Beans with pasta flakes: we mix the cooked beans with the cooked pasta flakes; we mix in onion sauted in fat. /Roava district French potatoes: we cook the potatoes in their skins; we then clean them and cut them into circles, which we place into a greased pan, alternating with vegetables and sausages and boiled eggs. Perhaps after 20 minutes cooking we pour in the cream, to which we added a whipped egg and grated cheese with seasonings. /Preov district G Gja (potato-filled sausage): for the recipe, see the questionnaire Dining in Vek ari. /Preov district Gja (potato-filled sausage): intestines stuffed with potatoes. /Revca district Gja (potato-filled sausage): pork intestines stuffed with grated potatoes. /Revca district. /Revca district Gja (potato-filled sausage): we need for this pork intestines, potatoes, rice, onion, salt, black pepper, flour. Make a mixture, fill the cleaned trip, boil and then bake. /Rimavsk Sobota district Gja (potato-filled sausage): we add to the clean pork trip the filling semi-course flour and salt and then we carefully roll the wet intestines in flour, so that the flour sticks to the walls of the intestines. There cant be too much flour, because it lumps up and the intestines will break. Tie both ends up and boil it in water (1 hour). We then put it into a roasting skillet, add oil and cook until crunchy. My children like this very much, too. /Vek Krt district Gja (potato-filled sausage): buy the intestines already cleaned; wash them again and fill with grated potatoes which are seasoned. After boiling, bake them. /Trebiov district Gja (potato-filled sausage): pork intestines stuffed with potatoes, which are grated, seasoning and garlic added. These are boiled, and afterward baked in the oven. /Trebiov district Gja (potato-filled sausage): fill the pork intestines with grated potatoes, to which were added salt, garlic and ground black pepper. They can be cooked in salted water and after boiling back them or eat them as they are, boiled with tea. /Trebiov district Gja (potato-filled sausage): clean the intestines so that on a spoon or hand turn it inside out and the inner and outer sides are beneath flowing water; some use salt to clean it, too. The stuffing is a mass as with preparing potato pancakes. The intestines are filled to full thickness halfway along (close one end beforehand using a toothpick so that the filling doesnt leak out). Then close the other end and mash it, so that it is equally filled along both ends. Thus filled it is simmered in v salted water 1.5 to 2 hours. Then bake it. Serve it with bread, cucumber and mustard. /Spisk Nov Ves district Gja (potato-filled sausage): clean the intestines well and cut into about 30 cm pieces. Prepare the potato mix (as for potato pancakes); season the mix with garlic, black pepper, salt. Fill the intestines with the mixture and boil in water for 1 to 2 hours. Bake the boiled sausage in the oven or on a hot pan. As a side dish add bread. /Preov district
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Gja flour-based: we wash and clean the intestines well. We mix coarsely milled flour with pressed garlic, salt and black pepper; we fill the intestines with this mixture and put it in boiling water for 1 hour. We serve it with potatoes and pickled vegetables. /Spisk Nov Ves district Gja potato-based: we grate potatoes, add pressed garlic, salt, pepper, a little finely milled flour, dried vegetable seasoning and we make a thin dough. We fill the washed out trip, tie it up with string and put it in boiling water for 1 hour. Then we can serve it directly or put it in the oven and bake it for about half an hour. /Spisk Nov Ves district Gje: nowadays Roma cuisine is also being modernised, so the most specifically these are stuffed pork intestines (. Clean the intestines and soak it for half an hour in salt. We prepare the filling, which is made of dough from potato pancakes. We fill the intestines with it and boil it for perhaps half an hour to an hour on a moderate flame; be careful that the sausage doesnt pop open or crack. Then we cook them first on one side, and then the other. We serve it with bread and cucumbers. /Preov district Gje: made from pork intestines. The intestine is properly cleaned and filled with potatoes, rice, sliced onion, garlic and we spice it a lot. Its then boiled for 20 minutes. We cook the intestines in an oven to crunchy. /Rimavsk Sobota district Potato hash: cut the potatoes into tiny cubes, cook in onions, put the peppers in water and cook until soft. Pasta, the best are large squares (flakes), boiled in water. Then mix everything together and season with dried vegetable seasoning, salt and pepper. /Rimavsk Sobota district Grilled chicken with baked potatoes: we season the chicken, and put into a greased baking pan together with potatoes and bake in the oven. /Koice environs district Goulash: saut the onion in oil, we add pork meat cut into cubes, salt, spices, water and we cook it. Later we add potatoes and leo (tomato/peppers/onion mix). /Levoa district Goulash: fry 4-5 onions in hot oil, cut pork meat into cubes. When the onion is ready, add the meat, which is sauted. Then add peppers, salt and black pepper. When the meat is rather soft, add water and more seasoning, then carrots, parsley, kohlarabi and celery root. Let everything cook and then add potatoes, leo (tomato/peppers/onion mix) and finally marjoram. Serve with bread. /Roava district Goulash soup: 2 kg beef, 1 kg potatoes, 2 spoons of lard, 2 onions, spices, salt. /Poltr district Goulash soup: put potatoes to boil in a large amount of water; we add onion cut into small pieces and when the potatoes are semi-soft, we add instant goulash soup, which was mixed beforehand, and oil. Let it cook and then we add do pasta to cook in the soup. /Spisk Nov Ves district Goulash soup: we make it with pork meat and potatoes, with bread as a side dish. /Roava district Goulash soup instant: add instant soup into boiling water and cook it; we eat it with bread. /Spisk Nov Ves district Goulash with steamed bread: saut and season the meat; we buy the steamed bread in a shop. /Sabinov district Goulash with frankfurters and mushrooms: saut onion to golden brown, we add cleaned mushrooms and pour in 2 dcl of water; we add salt, bay leaf and dried vegetable seasoning. To the cooking mushrooms we add cubes of potatoes and pour in water. When the potatoes are cooked, we add macaroni and sliced frankfurters, and leave it to cook a little; we season it with spices. /Preov district Meatballs with sauerkraut: saut the sauerkraut in oil with onion; we then add salt and ground spices. We grate the potatoes coarsely as with drop dumplings. We add finely milled flour, ground spices, garlic, salt. We make a thick dough, and roll it into balls and we press sliced sausage rounds into it and boil it in hot water for 15-20 minutes. Remove them, and we can butter them a little so they dont stick together. We serve them with cabbage, and we can add when cooking part of the sausages cut into squares and ground paprika to the cabbage. /Spisk Nov Ves district H Hadrimky: boiled potatoes, flour, egg. To the boiled and mashed potatoes add an egg and flour, while the dough is still soft. Work the dough on a board into the form of a cylinder and gradually cut 1.5 cm pieces, which we roll into circles. We bake them in the oven and then add butter or oil. /Bardejov district
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Drop dumplings: flour, milk, eggs, potatoes, salt. /Levoa district Drop dumplings: flour, water, salt, egg. /Vek Krt district Drop dumplings: flour, water, egg. Serve with cabbage, potatoes or curd cheese. /Preov district Drop dumplings: course flour plus grated potatoes, mixed with water and egg. Drop dumplings are made with leo (tomato/peppers/onion mix), sausage, cabbage, curd cheese. /Trebiov district Drop dumplings: we prepare them with leo (tomato/peppers/onion mix), and when we have the money, also with meat (perkelt creamy meat sauce). Drop dumplings are either flicked off or rolled, flour, raw potatoes, salt and boiled in water. We flick them off of a spoon. /Vek Krt district Drop dumplings: we need 4-5 potatoes, which we finely grate; we add salt, semi-course flower and water. Mix everything well together. We get a dough which is afterwards flicked from a spoon with a knife in small pieces into boiling water. The boiled drop dumplings are drained and optional ingredients are added. /Roava district Drop dumplings with bryndza with bacon bits: grate half a kg of potatoes, a fistful of semi-course flour and finely milled flour, 250 g of bryndza, 20 dkg of bacon, 1 cup of cooking cream. /Rimavsk Sobota district Drop dumplings pasta: boil the potatoes whole or cut in half. When they are soft, we add pasta to them to boil. When the pasta is boiled, we drain, and mash potatoes. We add bryndza and fried bacon bits, then mix it well. /Spisk Nov Ves district Drop dumplings uchan: the potatoes are grated and a dough is made as for normal drop dumplings in the style of the whites /Spisk Nov Ves district Drop dumplings paan: only flour and potatoes are needed to make it, lard for greasing. Add what is available in the household to the dumplings: diced bacon, curd cheese, bread crumbs, etc. /Levoa district Drop dumplings with bryndza: we grate the potatoes and mix with flour and flick off the drop dumplings into boiling water. We drain them and rinse with cold water, then mix with sheeps cheese and butter. /Spisk Nov Ves district Drop dumplings with fresh cabbage: prepare in the classic way. /Preov district Drop dumplings with cabbage or with potatoes: the potatoes are boiled, others are grated and mixed with flour (coarsely milled), add salt and make a mixture which is flicked into the water with a knife. Drain the water and mix with boiled potatoes and sauted bacon bits and onion. Salt as needed. /Bardejov district Drop dumplings with cabbage or with curd cheese: everyone knows the recipe for this dish. /Koice environs district Drop dumplings with cabbage and bacon: to the boiled drop dumplings we add sauted cabbage and we top it off with sauted bacon. /Roava district Drop dumplings with leo (tomato/peppers/onion mix) and sausage: we make the drop dumplings from potatoes, flour and salt. We roast meat with sausage and leo (tomato/peppers/onion mix) and put this over the drop dumplings. /Rimavsk Sobota district Drop dumplings with meat: make the drop dumplings; make the meat in perkelt (creamy meat sauce); we mix it and serve it with sauerkraut. /Vek Krt district Drop dumplings with meat: dough we mix flour, egg, salt, water together and we boil it as drop dumplings in water. We slice the meat and fry it in onion, and then we add a little water and cook until the meat is tender. /Luenec district Drop dumplings with meat: I cut the meat into strips and fry them with onion. We clean the potatoes and grate them; we add flour and make a dough. We fry the meat and season it with dry vegetable seasoning, vegetables, tomatoes, paprika; we add red peppers and remove it. We flick the dough into boiling water, and when the drop dumplings float up, we take them out and mix them. /Zvolen district
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Drop dumplings with meat and leo (tomato/peppers/onion mix): I boil flour-based drop dumplings; I prepare the meat as with perkelt (creamy meat sauce), then we mix with the leo. /Vek Krt district Drop dumplings with curd cheese: semi-course flour, water, egg, salt, curd cheese, butter. We mix the flour with water and eggs and we make a dough. We push the dough through a course sieve into salted boiling water, thus creating drop dumplings. We boil and drain them. We melt margarine and mix it with the dumplings and curd cheese. /Bardejov district Drop dumplings with cheese: we grate the potatoes and we add flour and flick the dough into boiling water. We drain it and mix with cheese and salt. /Levoa district Drop dumplings with cheese: I grate the potatoes, and add salt and flour, and if I have them an egg. I push the dough through a sieve into the boiling water and after boiling, drain them and rinse with cold water; I then mix them with cheese and with butter. /Trebiov district Drop dumplings with cheese and with meat: classic; the meat is pork or chicken wings. /Gelnica district Drop dumplings with potatoes: 1 kg of flour, potatoes, oil, salt, onion. we make a dough from the flour with warm water, so that its thin enough to make boiled drop dumplings. We slice the potatoes and boil them and, when the drop dumplings and potatoes are cooked, we mix it all together and pour over the oil in which we sauted the onion. /Koice environs district Drop dumplings with potatoes: flour, salt, potatoes, oil, onion. From the flour and with water we make a smooth dough and push it through a sieve into boiling water. The potatoes are cut into cubes and we boil them in salted water, then drain them and mash them. The mashed potatoes we add to the boiled dumplings and we pour the hot oil from sauting the onions over the top. /Koice II district Drop dumplings with potatoes potato hash: pasta, potatoes, oil, onion. We boil the pasta in salted water and drain it. We peel the potatoes, cut them into small cubes and cook them in salted water. We drain the boiled potatoes and mix them with the pasta. We glaze onions in oil and we add red peppers. The onion and peppers we mix with the potatoes and pasta. /Bardejov district Drop dumplings with curd cheese: we grate the potatoes and make a dough with flour, a little milk and from a spatula flick the dough into hot water. We boil a few of the potatoes (3 to 4) and cut them into cubes. We mix the boiled drop dumplings with the potatoes and hot butter and we add curd cheese. /Koice environs district Drop dumplings with curd cheese: we clean the potatoes, grate them and we add flour and egg; we salt them and mix. We slowly flick the dough into boiling water from a spatula using a spoon. After boiling them we drain them and rinse them and sprinkle on curd cheese and pour sauted onion over the top. /Sabinov district Holbky (stuffed cabbage leaf): we boil the rice, ground the meat and mix with rice, we fill the cabbage leaf and we boil it. /Sabinov district Mushroom soup: barley is boiled separately, onions and vegetables are cleaned and sliced; smoked meat is added and dried mushrooms. The barley is added to the cooking soup and then it is ready to eat. /Preov district Mushrooms with egg: clean the mushrooms, slice them, wash them and cook them. Once they are soft, we add eggs. /Preov district Humer and perkelt (creamy meat sauce): meat in its juices (peppers and onion); and to this humer drop dumplings (flour semi-course, water a salt). /Vek Krt district Thick goulash: soup only as juices, meat is not necessary; a soft salami or sliced sausages will suffice, sometimes also drop dumplings are added. /Gelnica district K Cabbage soup: 1 kg pork meat, half a kg of smoked meats, oil, 1 onion, 2 sacks of sauerkraut (1 kg), 2 two cans of tomato paste. /Poltr district Cabbage soup: cabbage, water, caraway seed, salt, potatoes, oil, onion. We cut the cabbage into cubes and put them in water, which we salted and we add cubes of potatoes. When the potatoes are soft, we make a roux finely sliced onions glazed in oil, and then we add a bit of flour and cook it; we add this to the soup and let it cook. We can then serve it. /Bardejov district
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Cabbage-filled pastries: 1 kg of ground pork meat, 1 kg of beef, ground spices, 1 onion, 4 cloves of garlic, dried vegetable seasoning, half a kilo of rice. We boil the cabbage leaves and we fill them with the ground meat with rice. /Poltr district Steamed bread, cabbage, meat: we buy the steamed bread from the shop; and we prepare the cabbage in oil with onion and cook the meat in the oven. /Star ubova district Macaroni with sausage: we boil the macaroni then we add sauted onions; we cut the sausage or frankfurters into small pieces, which we mix with tomato paste and the macaroni. Season to taste, cooks in 8-10 minutes. /Preov district Barley soup: ribs are used with potatoes and barley; everything is cooked together. /Levoa district Chicken soup: we boil the chicken, add frozen vegetables to the pot and we remove the chicken and bake it. We boil the rice and cut up the chicken. We boil noodles bought in the shop separately in another pot and then we add them to the soup; we salt and pepper it to taste. /Trnava district Chicken soup: I need carrot and parsley, not frozen vegetables, chicken, dried vegetable seasoning, oil, noodles. I put water on the stove to boil and salt it and add the vegetable seasoning, black pepper and put in the cut up chicken with the bones; I put in the vegetables and cook it, until the vegetables and meat are soft. I then add raw pasta, and these cook in the soup. I take the meat out of the soup because, no one likes it in the soup; I put it on the side. /Trnava district Chicken cutlets, potato salad: we beat the cutlets then salt and season them, and wrap them in an egg/flour/breadcrumb batter and fry them. We boil the potatoes, peel them and cut them into cubes; we add salt and seasonings and then we add gherkin, mayonnaise and mix. /Sabinov district Chicken with peaches and potato mash: we lightly pound the chicken breasts and season them; they are placed on a sheet and a peach is placed on each one. A slice of cheese is placed on top just before they finish cooking. /Trebiov district Chicken in pepper sauce: we saut the chicken meat in its juices; we serve it with potatoes, cucumber. /Roava district Chicken perkelt (creamy meat sauce): the classic recipe. /Koice environs district Chicken in cream sauce with macaroni: peppers, oil, sliced we sauted onion, and then we add the meat and cook it. We add a little water, season to taste, and then add cream; we boil the macaroni. /Vek Krt district Chicken: chicken baked in the oven with jacket potatoes also baked in the oven. /Levoa district Baked chicken: we salt and season the chicken and pour on oil and put it to bake in the oven. /Spisk Nov Ves district Chicken with macaroni: the recipe is easy oil, onion, red peppers. We saut it and then, we add the cut up chicken to a pot; we salt and season it to taste and add a little water and let it cook for 35 minutes. In another pot we put tap water and we boil the pasta. /Luenec district Leavened cake with apples, Granko or cocoa powder and butter: we prepare a normal leavened dough, and roll it out flat in circle 15 cm in diameter and 1 cm thick. We add the filling to this it can be apples, poppy seed, curd cheese, cocoa and even meat (ground meat or cut into small pieces and sauted until soft on an onion and pepper base). We fold the circle in half, and press it closed around the edge so that the filling doesnt leak out. We then fry in oil like a donut. /Spisk Nov Ves district Leavened poppy seed cake: I roll the dough, pour on oil and then sprinkle in poppy seed mixed with sugar. When I have jam, I spread a bit on the bottom. I bake it in the wood-burning stove. /Spisk Nov Ves district Kyky (stuffed pork intestines): pork intestines, potatoes, salt, black pepper, pork fat, bacon. We clean the intestines well and fill them with grated potatoes, which we seasoned. We put it in a pan greased with the pork fat and put bacon on top. We bake it for an hour. /Bardejov district L
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Langoe (fried dough): finely milled flour, yeast, milk. Add tartar sauce or cream onto the langoe. /Trebiov district
Leo (tomato/peppers/onion mix): the process of preparation is simple; slice the vegetables, saut them; we can add sausage or eggs. /Preov district Leo (tomato/peppers/onion mix) with drop dumplings with meat or sausage: dough is made from finely milled (00) flour, a little salt and eggs that we mix together. Leo (tomato/peppers/onions mix) is from vegetables tomatoes, peppers, onion. I add to the pot oil, all the vegetables together with meat and we cook it until the meat is softened. We cook the dough in water, and we mix. /Luenec district Loke (fried dough): the flour is mixed with water and baking soda; they are cooked on a dry pan. /Trebiov district Loke (fried dough) (in place of bread): - semi-course flour, milk, salt, baking powder. The dough is fried in oil or on a dry pan. Sometimes they also make them sweet. /Trebiov district Loke marikle (fried dough): prepared from finely milled flour, salt, water or milk and a little baking soda. They are cooked on a dry pan. /Trebiov district M Hungarian goulash a steamed bread: we cook the pork meat with onions, we season it and add leo (tomatoes/peppers/onions mix); served with steamed bread. /Roava district Hungarian goulash s steamed bread: pork shoulder, onion, garlic, ground paprika, tomato paste, 1 leo (tomatoes/peppers/onions mix), water, salt, caraway seeds, flour, yeast, baking powder. We slice the onions and saut them, we then add the diced meat. When the butter is semi-soft, we add the tomato paste, and when the mix is thickened, we add the garlic and the ground paprika; we add the leo (tomatoes/peppers/onions) and cook until soft. We mix the yeast with the salt and baking powder, we add water and let the dough rise, we then steam the bread. /Koice environs district Hungarian goulash with steamed bread: we dice the meat into cubes and saut it with onion, we add salt, dry seasoning, caraway seeds, ground pepper, and then tomato paste and leo (tomatoes/peppers/onions mix), finally, we thicken it with flour. Sometimes I buy the steamed bread or make it at home we steam the leavened bread dough. /Spisk Nov Ves district Marikle (fried dough): pancakes from flour, water and salt. /Sabinov district Marikle (fried dough): pancakes from water, salt, flour and baking soda which are cooked on a hot skillet. /Sabinov district Marikle (fried dough): 1 kg of course flour, salt, baking soda, water. /Koice environs district Marikle (fried dough): flour, oil, cream; mix and make a good dough and fry the pancakes in oil. Eat them with meat or sweet with jam. /Koice environs district Marikle (fried dough): they make them every day because they dont have the money for bread in fact, they buy a half-loaf of bread in the morning for the children to take to primary school. They make the marikle from flour, salt and water, a little bit of baking soda. They are cooked in the oven. /Trebiov district Marikle (fried dough) dry: water, salt, baking soda, flour and sugar. The dough is shaped into the shape of a pizza and is baked on both sides on the stovetop. It is then greased with oil and sugar and served with tea. /Gelnica district Marikle (fried dough) with mushrooms:: the dough is prepared from selected flour; baking soda is added to the dough, along with egg (but the egg is not essential), salt and warm water, until a dough is made. We roll out the dough and form it into a round shape about 30 cm in diameter and 0.5 cm thickness. Then we bake it on a sheet and add butter or oil to the baked dough. We prepare fried mushrooms with scrambled egg. We fill in the fried dough with the mushroom and egg mix and roll it up. /Koice environs district Marikle (fried dough) dry: I only mix the flour, baking soda and water and make a dough; I role out the pancakes and cook them on top of the stove on a skillet. /Spisk Nov Ves district Meat in cubes with rice and chips: we cut the meat into cubes and saut it in onion and season it. We boil the rice in water (instant rice in a sack). We slice the potatoes into chips and cook them in a pan. /Sabinov district Meat with sauce: we salt and season the pork slices, and we add oil and water and cook until soft. /Spisk Nov Ves district
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Meat soup broth: pork bones, carrot, parsley, noodles, dried vegetable seasoning, black pepper. We boil the noodles and drain them. We put the pork bone with water into a pot and we cook it until if boils strongly; then we add the vegetables and season the soup. We cook it on a moderate flame and when the meat is cooked, we turn off the soup. /Bardejov district Meatballs in tomato sauce: ground meat, rice, eggs, finely milled flour, salt, tomato paste, sugar, milk. /Koice environs district Meat broth: traditionally; meat from soup is cooked in the oven and rice is prepared to go with it. /Trebiov district Mexican beans: cook the meat until semi-soft together with the vegetables; add leo (a tomatoes/peppers/onion mix) and sausage. A pale roux is made and sweet red peppers are added to it. We thicken the beans with the roux and chilli can also be added. As a side we cook pasta macaroni. /Trebiov district Milky sauce with rissole: in a pot we boil water, cut the potatoes, add ground spices; we pour in milk, and we make a roux with flour and milk. We put the ground meat into a pan and cook it for 5 in oil. /Trnava district Cake: cake dough with oil and fruit or jam on top and sprinkled with coconut. /Spisk Nov Ves district N Naleniky potato pancakes with cooked bacon bits: we grate the potatoes and add eggs, a little flower and the bacon. We cook them in oil and serve them with sour milk. /Sabinov district Nokerle (drop dumplings) with chicken meat: oil, chicken, tomato paste, flour, eggs, salt, onion, red peppers, leo (a tomatoes/peppers/onion mix), dried vegetable seasoning. We saut the onion in oil and we add pieces of cut chicken; we salt and season it and let it cook. When the meat is semi-soft, we add the leo. At the end we thicken it with the tomato paste. Nokerle: we boil the prepared thin dough from flour dough. /Koice environs district Nokerle (drop dumplings): classic style. /Nov Zmky district O Buttered drop dumplings: semi-course flour, salt, water roll out the dough. I put the beans in water to cook and the potatoes. When they are cooked, I put in the drop prepared dumplings. I make a roux using some of the drained water this is the soup; and for the drop dumplings with beans and potatoes I then add leo (a tomatoes/peppers/onions mix). /Vek Krt district Pancakes: they are made from flour, sugar, butter and salt. All is mixed together and the dough is cooked in the shape of pancakes. They are eaten with jam or with butter and milk or water is drunk with them. /Gelnica district Baked chicken wings: we clean the wings, then season and salt them; we put them in a baking pan and drizzle on oil. We add pieces of apple and bake them. We prepare the potatoes, which we boil; we drain them and put them in the oven, but before that pour on oil and salt and pepper. After baking both dishes, we serve them together with gherkin. /Sabinov district P Savoury scones with knackwurst: make the dough for the scones, mix in the knackwurst cut into small cubes. Upon baking it will have the taste of knackwurst. /Vek Krt district Pancakes: finely milled flour, 3 eggs, milk, grated apple (2 apples), vanilla, baking powder. /Vek Krt district Pancakes: they are also made from lightly bubbly water is used instead of water. To the water they add eggs, flour, sugar, a little salt and baking powder. Everything is well mixed and baked in a pan. They are filled with jam, curd cheese or Nutella. /Trebiov district Pancakes with jam and cocoa powder: we prepare them traditionally milk, egg, flour, sugar. /Rimavsk Sobota district Steamed buns: we mix the dough and make buns from them; we steam the buns for 15 minutes, according to the smell and colour we know when they are done. Put them on the plate, add ground sugar, cocoa powder, but not poppy seed because the children dont like it, or with jam. /Trnava district
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Pavare smoked ribs with sauerkraut: we prepare the cabbage, rib and water and put into a pot. We let it cook until the smoked rib is soft. We season it to taste; side dish boiled potatoes. /Preov district Roasted pork, potatoes and steamed bread and red cabbage: mash the boiled potatoes, add course flour and egg. Shape them into small rolls which we cook in salty water. We make the red cabbage sweet and sour. We season the meat, pour in water and put it in the oven to bake. /Trebiov district Baked chicken with stuffing: stuffing from rolls and vegetables, fill the chicken and tie it shut; Bake it. Serve with rice and cucumbers. /Krupina district Baked chicken and salad: I wash the chicken, then salt it, sprinkle on caraway seeds and drizzle on oil. I bake it whole in the oven. For the salad I cook the potatoes in their peel, strain them into a slicer, I add cubes of sour gherkin, boiled eggs, onion, salt, ground pepper, mayonnaise or tartar sauce (I buy this; I dont make mayonnaise at home). /Spisk Nov Ves district Baked meat on cabbage: we put the sauerkraut in a pan, and put the tenderized meat on top; we season it and put it in the oven. /Koice environs district Baked ribs: we wash the pork ribs season them and pour on a little oil; we add water and bake it in the oven. We make sure to baste the ribs in the juices it releases; I always baste until the meat is soft. We serve them with boiled potatoes and cucumbers or red cabbage. /Preov district Baked thighs: I put oil into a pan and then wash the sauerkraut. We place the seasoned thighs on the cabbage and put it in the oven. We serve with potatoes or with bread. /Bardejov district Baked thighs with potatoes: chicken thighs, oil, salt, peppers, caraway seeds. We put the seasoned thighs into a baking pan and put them in the oven. We serve them with boiled potatoes. /Bardejov district Baked thighs with potatoes baked in the oven: 2 kg of thighs, 5 kg potatoes, onion, salt, oil, spices, peppers. We peel the potatoes, slice them into wheels; we place them in a pan; we put the thighs on top of the potatoes. We put 2 dcl of oil into a cup and to this we add salt, pepper and paprika; we mix it and pour everything on the thighs. We bake it for an hour in the oven. /Koice environs district Liver balls: liver, course flour, garlic, sausage or salami in cubes, dried vegetable seasoning, egg, curry seasoning. We work it into a thick mass which we spoon into boiling water. Sauerkraut or steamed bread as a side dish; they also taste well with bread, cucumber and mustard. /Gelnica district Perkelt (creamy meat sauce) drop dumplings and bodk (Gypsy bread): classic preparation; through summer and in the fall we also add green pepper and tomatoes to the perkelt; in the winter we put in cream. /Levice district Boiled dumplings: the dough is prepared from eggs, flour, salt. The filling will either be potatoes or jam. We pour sauted bacon bits on the top with the bacon fat. /Gelnica district Boiled dumplings: semi-course flour, water, salt, oil, onion or bacon. The flour is mixed with water and a pinch of salt and is kneaded into a dough. This is rolled out on a rolling board and cut into small squares to which the filling is placed. The family prefers jam or potato filling (boiled potatoes mashed). The squares are folded over into triangles and the edges are strongly pressed together so that the filling wont come out. The raw dumplings are thrown into boiling water, which was salted beforehand. After cooking, they are removed from the water and greased in fried bacon bits or onion. /Bardejov district Boiled dumplings: flour, eggs, potatoes, bacon, salt. /Levoa district Boiled dumplings: semi-course flour, water, salt, oil, onion, bacon. We mix the flour with water, and we add a pinch of salt and we shape the dough. We roll it out on a board and cut it into small squares, to which we added the filling jam or potato mash. The squares are folded into triangles and the edges strongly pressed so that the filling doesnt leak out. We put the raw boiled dumplings in boiling water, which we salted. After cooking, we drain the boiled dumplings and butter them with sauted bacon bits or onion. /Bardejov district Boiled dumplings with cheese: classic boiled dumplings butter and we add cheese. /Roava district
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Boiled dumplings with potatoes: coarsely milled flour, salt and water. Make the dough, roll it out and cut it with a knife into squares, to which the potatoes are added. We close them and boil them in salted water until they all float to the top. They are buttered with oil and eaten. /Bardejov district Boiled dumplings with curd cheese: from flour and we prepare the dough; we roll it out and fill will potato mash. We cook the filled squares in water. We saut bacon and pour it over the boiled dumplings. We put curd cheese or bryndza with cream on the top. /Rimavsk Sobota district Potato pancakes: we boil the potatoes, drain them and make them into a potato mash without lumps. We add salt to this mash, 1 egg and we slowly add finely milled flour until the dough is no longer sticky. From the dough we cut pieces and roll them into the size of the skillet on which they will be cooked. We grease the cooked pancakes with lard or we fill them with ground meat. /Preov district Pancakes fried dough: we mix semi-course flour (1 kg), baking powder (1 sack) or baking soda (1 teaspoon) and water. We work up a semi-thick dough, and we roll out pancakes about 20 cm in diameter and 1 cm thick. We cook them in a pan on the stove. After cooking, we put oil on them; we can also tear them into smaller pieces and sprinkle cocoa powder and sugar on them. Or only greased in place of bread with bacon, sausage or meat. /Spisk Nov Ves district Potato pancakes: 1 kg potatoes, onion, garlic, 1 egg, ground spices, semi-course flour, oil. We grate the raw potatoes and we add all of the ingredients and cook them in hot oil. /Koice environs district Pancakes from flour and cabbage: the pancakes are made from flour, water and baking soda or sour milk. We mix a mass of dough and then we cook them in a pan or on the oven. /Sabinov district Stuffed cabbage: semi-boiled rice, ground meat, eggs, tomato paste, spices, oil. Mix everything together and wrap up in the leaves, which are scalded beforehand. Then boil it all together. /Koice environs district Stuffed cabbage: 1 head of cabbage, salt, 1 kg of rice, 1 clove of garlic, 5 eggs, 1 kg of ground meat, spices, 1 onion, 2 tomato paste. /Koice environs district Stuffed cabbage: the filling is wrapped into a cabbage leaf ground meat, spices, barley. /Roava district Stuffed cabbage: rinse the rice, ground meat, sauted onion, tomato paste, sweet red peppers. The meat is mixed with the rice, and the sauted onions are added; the red peppers are added at the end. Everything is seasoned. The cabbage is scalded in hot water, then taken out and filled with the stuffing; then put it in a pot and add seasoned water, and at the end the tomato paste is added. /Trebiov district Stuffed cabbage: unpeel the cabbage leaves and scald them in hot water. Into these we will wrap rice mixed with ground meat, tomato paste, sauted onion, pressed garlic and seasonings. Put the filling in the cabbage leaves and roll up the leaves and put them in a pot. Pour in the water, to which we add oil and dried vegetable seasoning. /Trebiov district Stuffed cabbage: half a kg of pork meat, half a kg of rice, onion, sweet red paprika, tomato paste, half a dcl of oil. We boil the rice and add the ground meat, chopped onion sprinkled with sweet paprika; mix everything together and a half kg of tomato paste. We fill the scalded leaves with meat and we cook them for perhaps 1 hour and 10 min. Before cooking we pour in the tomato paste. /Michalovce district Stuffed peppers: ground meat, rice, peppers, tomato paste, onions, cream, oil garlic, salt, spices, red paprika, eggs, sugar. We mix the boiled rice with the meat and we add all of the ingredients except the cream and tomato paste. We mix it well. We saut the onion in oil and add the ground red paprika; we pour in half the water. While it heats up we put the filling into the peppers; when the water begins to boil, we put the peppers in it. We mix the cream with a little flour and add it to the cooking peppers, along with the tomato paste. We season it with sugar. /Koice environs district Stuffed peppers: we clean out the core of the peppers and we put the filling inside; this consists of ground meat, precooked rice, eggs and spices. We add a little flour to the mix so that it thickens. We fill the peppers and we cook them in tomato sauce for perhaps 20 minutes on a modest flame. Tomato sauce roux, tomato paste or ketchup a water. /Preov district Stuffed chicken and potato salad: chicken filled with stuffing from 10 rolls, 3 eggs, salt and dried vegetable seasoning, garlic; we put it on the grill and we sprinkle on grilling seasoning. /Gelnica district
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Potato-filled sausage: we clean out the pork intestines and prepare the filling we grate the potatoes finely and add flour, seasoning, salt and then fill the intestine. We tie this up at both ends and boil it. After boiling, we take it out of the water and gently cook it in lard. We serve with bread or with pickled vegetables. /Sabinov district Stuffed baked chicken, potatoes and vegetable salad: stuffing rolls, perhaps 3 eggs, salt, garlic, black pepper, onion, green parsley. We wash the chicken and fill it with the stuffing; we put it in a pan and salt and season it and we add a little water which we use to baste the chicken as it cooks; we can also add more water to prevent scalding. The water we add also has a little olive oil in it. We make potato mash from boiled potatoes. /Preov district Roasted stuffed brisket: we season the ground pork meat red paprika, dried vegetable seasoning, spices, salt and we mix it together. We cut out a hole in the meat, fill it and then close it with wooden sticks. We put it on a greased pan, salt and season it and put it in the oven to bake. /Bansk tiavnica district Stuffed cabbage leaf: according to the classic recipe of the whites. /Spisk Nov Ves district Stuffed cabbage leaf: ground meat with rice as a filling for cabbage leaves. /Gelnica district Stuffed cabbage leaf: fill the scalded cabbage leaves and tie them shut. Filling: boiled rice mixed with ground meat, eggs, seasoning. We put the stuffed cabbage leaves at the bottom of a higher pot and pour water over them. It cooks for an hour and as a side dish are boiled potatoes, sometimes even tomato sauce. /Spisk Nov Ves district Pounded pork meat in cream with pasta: we cut the meat into flat sliced and braise them in a pot. We add broth from meat bones to the meat and salt and season it and add cream and flour which we mixed together. After thickening we take off the stove; we boil pasta as a side dish. /Sabinov district Chicken soup: we need chicken meat, bouillon, two carrots, oil and pasta. /Sabinov district Soup broth: the broth is made with chicken backs, seasoned, and pasta added. /Preov district Fried meat with sauerkraut and leavened fried dough: we cut the pork ribs into small pieces and saut them on the onion together with red paprika and spices. When the meat is nearly cooked, we add sauerkraut. /Michalovce district R Ribs we call this pavare: we salt the cleaned ribs and put them in hot water, to which we add peppercorns, dried vegetable seasoning and news, allspice. Bay leaf can also be added. We cook for perhaps one hour. We eat this with bread, potatoes or fried dough pancakes. /Spisk Nov Ves district Roasted chicken meat with rice: we cut the chicken meat (breasts) into flat pieces, season them and pour on oil and put them to bake in the oven. Wash the rice and then cook it. After cooking it, I drain it and add the prepared meat. We add in broth and serve it. /Sabinov district Noodles with cabbage: saut the onion in oil and add the cabbage to it; cook until soft. The noodles are cooked separately and mixed with cabbage. /Bardejov district Cutlets: batter the meat in an egg/flour/breadcrumb batter and fry in hot oil. /Trebiov district Cutlets: cut the meat into slices and batter in an egg/flour/breadcrumb batter. They are fried and boiled potatoes are served as a side dish. /Bardejov district Cutlets: we pound the cutlets from pork shoulder, salt them, season them and wrap them in an egg/flour/breadcrumb batter and fry them in oil. We boil the potatoes. /Sabinov district Cutlets and salad: the classic way. /Koice environs district Cutlets and salad: for cutlets we need pork meat, eggs, flour, breadcrumbs; for the salad mayonnaise, potatoes and salad mix. Season with spices and salt as needed. /Levoa district
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Cutlets and salad: meat, bread crumbs, eggs, flour; potatoes, mayonnaise, peas, cucumber, salt. /Levoa district Cutlets and potato salad: classic preparation. /Trebiov district Cutlets and potato salad: classic cutlet in an egg/flour/breadcrumb batter. Potato salad mayonnaise, potatoes, pickled gherkin, hard-boiled eggs. /Trebiov district Cutlets and potatoes: chicken cutlet fried in an egg/flour/breadcrumb batter. /Bardejov district Cutlets and potatoes: we pound the meat, season it and wrap in an egg/flour/breadcrumb batter and fry it. To this we serve boiled potatoes chips. /Koice environs district Cutlets with breadcrumbs: we pound the cutlets batter them and fry them. /Sabinov district Cutlets with potatoes: I pound the chicken meat, salt and season it and then I wrap in an egg/flour/breadcrumb batter and fry it in oil. /Koice environs district Cutlets from chicken meat: most often chicken thighs; to this potato salad or potato puree, sometimes boiled potatoes covered in the oil from frying; we mix with raw onion and sprinkle on vinegar. /Gelnica district Risotto: cook the rice, leave the frankfurters and vegetables to cook, mix it all and add pickled vegetables. /Zvolen district Risotto: chicken meat, mushrooms, vegetables (frozen). Saut the onion and add the rice with the vegetables; season it and cook until soft. /Bardejov district Risotto: we boil the rice, cu the meat as for goulash and boil it. We season it and we add leo (tomatoes/peppers/onion) and mix it all together. /Sabinov district Risotto: I cook the rice and the meat with vegetables separately. When it is cooked, I mix it together and serve it. /Detva district Risotto: oil, rice, peas, carrot, onion, salt, black pepper. We cut the meat into cubes and saut them in oil and onion; we then add water. We add the peas, carrots and season to taste. We pour in water and cook it. When everything is cooked to soft, we mix with the rice which we previously cooked on the oven we saut onions and we add rice and water (for 1 cup of rice, 1.5 cups of water), we cook until soft. /Bardejov district Risotto with meat: pork shoulder, frozen vegetables, rice, oil onion, spices, ground paprika. We saut the diced onion and add the cut pieces of meat; we salt and season and let it cook. We mix it with the cooked rice. /Koice II district Roma balls: 2.5 kg of raw potatoes, 2.5 kg of boiled potatoes, half a kg of sausages, pork cracklings, 5 eggs, 2 heads of garlic, 2 onions, oil, spices, dried vegetable seasoning, salt. We mix it and form from the mass small or large balls, which we roll in finely milled flour and cook in salted boiling water; we also add 2-3 spoonfuls of vinegar. It cooks for 15 minutes. We saut the onions in oil and pour them over the cooked balls. We serve it with sauerkraut. /Rimavsk Sobota district Fish fingers and chips: we fry them in the classic way. /Detva district Rice with sauce: chicken breast and cream sauce. /Sabinov district S Segednsky goulash: oil, onion, pork meat cut into cubes, sauerkraut, cream for cooking. Saut the onion and then add in the meat. Season to taste; we add sauerkraut and saut it further. We then add the cream and let it cook. We serve it with steamed bread. /Bardejov district Segednsky goulash and steamed bread: saut the pork meat on onions and when it is just about ready, add the sauerkraut, then the tomato paste, thicken it with finely milled flour mixed with milk. The steamed bread is leavened purchased ready. /Trebiov district
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Segednsky goulash, steamed bread: they make leavened homemade steamed bread they prepare the yeast in the morning and make the dough for lunch. /Sabinov district
Segednsky goulash with steamed bread: we cook the meat on the onion and spice it; we add the sauerkraut and bay leaf and let it cook together until soft. We thicken it with flour and cream and we serve it with steamed bread. /Rimavsk Sobota district Segednsky goulash with steamed bread: we saut the meat in oil with onions and add salt, paprika, caraway seed, ground pepper and tomato paste. When the meat is semi-soft, we add the cabbage fresh or sauerkraut. When the cabbage is soft we thicken with flour and we add the cream. I buy the steamed bread. /Spisk Nov Ves district Potatoes casserole: we slice the raw potatoes and add pepper, salt and dried vegetable seasoning. We put on top boiled and sliced eggs, and pour over the cream. We bake it in the oven. Before benefits we often make it without cream and only with milk. /Rimavsk Sobota district Meatless goulash: potatoes and knackwurst; eaten with bread. /Zvolen district Soda cake: flour, salt, half of a sack of baking powder, 1 spoon of baking soda. The dough is rolled out and cooked as pancakes. I make this in place of bread. /Vek Krt district Sirloin on cream with steamed bread: prepare the beef as a whole piece we boil it together with the vegetables (carrot, celery root, parsley). The boiled meat we then cut into slices; we remove the vegetables from the water and add water and season salt, dried vegetable seasoning, bay leaf. We thicken it with a roux, cream and we add vinegar at the end. /Rimavsk Sobota district Salad and cutlet: potatoes, mayonnaise, vegetables, meat, eggs, flour, bread crumbs. /Zvolen district Wide pasta with curd cheese or cheese: we boil the pasta, drain it and mix in curd cheese or cheese; we add sauted bacon on the top. /Koice environs district Pasta flakes with French beans or with beans: boiled pasta flakes; there can also be boiled and mashed potatoes; the cooked beans or French beans are mixed in and greased with sauted bacon. /Vek Krt district Jam donuts: I make the dough from yeast, flour, eggs, salt and sugar; after it rises and from it I fry the donuts in oil; I then add sugar. /Trebiov district Lentil mash with frankfurter: wash the lentils and put them in water to cook. After cooking them we add a roux and season it. We heat the frankfurter in a pan and add to the lentil mash. Serve with bread. /Preov district Lentil mash: we put the pre-soaked lentils (at least 2 hours before cooking) in a pot of water and cook them; we add the bay leaf and salt. We make the roux in another pan and we add fat to it and cook it. We add sour milk, mix and we add it to the lentils and season. /Preov district Spaghetti: when they are short of money they make spaghetti with oil and seasoned with salt and ketchup. They most like it with ground meat and mushrooms. /Trebiov district Spaghetti with ketchup: boil the spaghetti perhaps 8-10 minutes. Drain it and pour ketchup and grated cheese on top. /Preov district Knackwurst with potatoes: cook the knackwurst and boil the potatoes. /Vek Krt district T Tltot kposzta (stuffed cabbage leaf): this is a Hungarian dish; I dont even know what it is called in Slovak (stuffed cabbage leaf). It is necessary to cook the cabbage leaves in boiling water. We prepare the meat ground meat season it, put the meat into the cabbage leaves and wrap it up. We then put nicely place the meat wrapped with cabbage into a pot and pour in water and let it boil. At the end we add the tomato paste and the sliced cabbage. We eat it with bread. /Luenec district V Egg salad: we slice the boiled eggs and add mayonnaise. /Sabinov district
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Boiled sausages: we boil the sausages in water and serve with mustard. /Bardejov district Boiled ribs pavare: we most like smoked ribs. We wash them and boil them for 1 hour; we add salt, dried vegetable seasoning, black peppercorns, and allspice. We serve it with potatoes or with bread, and mustard and horseradish. /Spisk Nov Ves district Boiled potatoes: we boil the potatoes, drain them and mash them. We saut onions in butter or oil and we mix this into the potatoes. We serve them with sour milk. /Bardejov district Boiled potatoes with red peppers: boiled potatoes with red peppers and onion sauted in oil. /Gelnica district Boiled potatoes (or pasta) with sauce: we add oil, onion, vegetables and meat to a pot in that order (most often chicken wings, thighs, giblets or sausage, frankfurters, salami). We add pepper and, dried vegetable seasoning, paprika and salt. We pour in water and cook until the meat is soft. It is thickened with water and flour or with soft cheese (Karika; a favourite cheese for drop dumplings). /Spisk Nov Ves district Fried chicken with potatoes: one chicken, potatoes, oil, eggs, bread crumbs. We de-bone the chicken, batter the meat in egg/flour/breadcrumb batter and fry it; we make broth from the bones. /Koice environs district Fried pork cutlet and potato salad with mayonnaise: we roll the cutlets in flour, egg and breadcrumbs and we fry them. We boil the potatoes in the peeling and press them into cubes; we then add hardboiled eggs, carrots, peas, pickled gherkin, onion, salt and mayonnaise. /Spisk Nov Ves district Fried cutlet and salad (or potato mash): we batter the cutlet in egg/flour/breadcrumb batter and we fry them. Salad: we boil the potatoes in their peelings and clean them, slice them or push them into cubes; we can add only boiled eggs and mayonnaise or tartar sauce. /Spisk Nov Ves district Fried cutlet and potato salad: I batter the meat (flour, egg, bread crumbs) and fry in oil. Potato salad I boil the potatoes, eggs, vegetables, tartar sauce or mayonnaise; I mix everything together and add salt as needed. /Luenec district Fried cutlet with potatoes: prepared in the classic way. /Preov district Fried cheese, chips, tartar sauce: everyone knows the recipe. /Detva district Fried cheese, chips and tartar sauce: we clean and slice the potatoes and we bake them in a hot pan. We cover the cheese in flour, egg and bread crumbs, and we fry it. We serve it with tartar sauce or ketchup. /Preov district Z Baked pasta: we cook the pasta; we cut the sausage and prepare the eggs for pouring over the top and the vegetables. We then put everything into a pan and bake it. /Star ubova district Roasted ribs: we prepare the pork ribs by separating them, salting them and seasoning them; we pour on lard or oil and put them in the warmed-up oven. After they are roasted, we take them out and serve with boiled potatoes, on which we pour the fat from the baking pan. As a side dish we add fruit compote. /Sabinov district Thick soup from a roux: carrot, onion, dried vegetable seasoning, potatoes, flour, oil. I put water into a pot and I put the vegetable in to boil and sprinkle in dried vegetable seasoning. When this is cooked I clean the potatoes and cut them into cubes and put them in the pot. When the potatoes are ready, I add oil, to the pot and flour and cook it. I put it in the soup and finish cooking it. And we eat. /Zvolen district Potato mash and roasted meat: we prepare the potatoes and boil them; when they are read, then we add milk, cheese and butter and we sprinkle them with chopped onion. We first wash the meat, season it and put it in the oven. We chop onions and put it in the oven. /Star ubova district Potato-based steamed bread with red cabbage: we make the cabbage sweet and sour; to this roasted pork meat. /Trebiov district Potato-based steamed bread and sauerkraut: the boiled, cooled potatoes are mashed and egg and flour are added. A ball is made from the dough and smoked meats are put in it. They are boiled in water for perhaps 10 minutes. The sauerkraut is cooked in onion and red paprika is added. /Trebiov district
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Potato-based steamed bread, cabbage and roasted pork neck: youll find the recipe at www.sk-recepty. /Detva district Potato-based steamed bread, cabbage, pork brisket: cabbage is sauted and the meat baked. /Roava district Potato pancakes: the boiled potatoes are mashed and after cooling, eggs and course flour are added. They are cooked in a dry pan, and we like them best with lard and with tea. /Trebiov district Potato pancakes: we mash the boiled potatoes, and mix in course flour and egg. They are cooked on the oven top, and then greased with lard. They eat them with tea. /Trebiov district Potato pancakes: grated potatoes, flour, garlic; mix everything and fry the pancakes. /Preov district Potato pancakes: clean the potatoes and we then add, garlic, flour, eggs and black pepper. Mix everything well and cook the pancakes on both sides in hot oil. /Preov district Potato pancakes with pork scratchings: we grate the potatoes, then salt and season them; we add a little flour and egg and we cook them in oil. /Sabinov district Potato salad: we sliced the boiled potatoes, vegetables and eggs into cubes and add pickled gherkin, mayonnaise and we season it. Let it sit. /Koice environs district Potato salad and cutlets: we boil a half a kg of potatoes in their peeling and clean them after boiling; we add the peas and carrots, half a cup of pickled gherkin, 5 boiled eggs, 1 cup of mayonnaise and tartar sauce, salt and pepper. We fly about 2.5 kg of pork loin. /Rimavsk Sobota district Potato salad and cutlets: they prepare it in the classic way; they make the cutlets from de-boned chicken thighs. /Trebiov district Potato salad and fried chicken thighs: we de-bone the thighs (and make soup from the bones), and salt the meat. We roll it in flour, egg and breadcrumbs and fry them. We boil the potatoes in their peels, press them into cubes, and add hard-boiled eggs, vegetables, gherkin, onions and mayonnaise. /Spisk Nov Ves district Potato salad and fried cutlet: we prepare it traditionally; we slice the boiled potatoes, egg, onion, cucumbers, and we add the peas and carrots, mayonnaise, whipping cream, pepper. We make the cutlets from pork meat. /Rimavsk Sobota district Potatoes and roast meat: we peel the potatoes and then boil them; we clean and season the meat and cook it on the stovetop. /Star ubova district Potatoes and cutlet: we boil the potatoes and fry the pork cutlets, and we serve them with cucumbers. /Roava district Potatoes with red peppers: We pour onions sauted in red sweet peppers and oil over the potatoes. /Detva district Potatoes with mayonnaise: we mash the boiled potatoes, salt them and mix them with mayonnaise. /Sabinov district Potatoes with milk: we boil the potatoes, drain them and mash them. We cook onion in oil or butter and mix it with the potatoes. We serve with sour milk. /Bardejov district emovka (Brown betty): litre of milk, 1 challah bread or rolls, 2 sacks of vanilla sugar, 5 eggs, 1 Hera lard, 4 apples, 1 curd cheese. We warm the milk, sprinkle on the sugar and egg yolks. We moisten the challah bread in the milk and place in a greased baking pan, crumble the curd cheese and grate the apples arrange in layers and bake. /Poltr district
Note: The recipes are arranged by name and the order of the foods as were given by the respondents. The same dish can be located in several places based on what it is called.
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5. INDEBTEDNESS OF ROMA HOUSEHOLDS FROM EXCLUDED SETTLEMENTS54

According to theoreticians, the modern world is organised on the principle of paid work, from which the standing and importance of an individual and the living level of his family derives. Exclusion from the world of paid work weakens the position of an individual, and the living level of his family shifts below the borderline of poverty and material need. Long-term unemployment is often labelled as the ticket to the world of poverty and need Mare, 2002, pg. 75), and the preceding sections have brought a great many empirical proofs of this. Income from support and benefits only covers the basic life needs of a family with difficulty, which has the result that it drives such families into debts. The longer a person is unemployed, the worse his financial situation and the existential situation of his family become. According to the monitoring of incomes and expenditures of Roma households from excluded settlements, the income and expenditure level was determined to be exceptionally low (UNDP, 2011). It is characterised by low incomes, low expenditures and subsequently a minimal financial difference between them. The average monthly income per household in excluded environments was 597.60 euro, which in the calculation per household member meant 112.75 euro (for the Slovak Republic the calculation of average monthly income per household member was on the level of nearly 350 euro, thus, three-times higher). The average monthly expenditures of excluded households according to the monitoring was 552.99 euro per household and 104.34 per one member (average expenditures for the Slovak Republic were again approximately three-times higher nearly 308 euro per household members). Thus, the difference between incomes and expenditures achieved on average 44.61 euro per excluded household and 8.41 euro per one member (the difference of incomes and expenditures in the calculation for the Slovak Republic achieved more than 42 euro per one household member). The worse balance was recorded in households without a working member where there was at least one young child and for the group of multi-member households. For all groups of Roma households from excluded settlements, it applied that if they did not borrow a sum of money in the course of the month, their financial balance would be even worse. Since the analysis moved on the level of averages, it can be concluded that in each compared group (according to the number of members and children and the number of working members) a significant portion of the household exists for whom the income did not suffice for the monthly needed expenditures and they had to resort to loans. In the course of the monitored month, excluded households borrowed on average a sum of 34.29 euro (6.47 euro per household member), which made up 5.7% of the total monthly income for these households. On the other hand, the financial situation of households would be more favourable in the course of the month if they were indebted to a lesser extent. Payments for loans during the month were in a notable portion of households higher than the recorded difference between incomes and expenditures. If households did not have to pay back loans and debts, their budgetary balance would be more positive or expenditures would be on a higher level. As was shown, the sum paid back per the monitored month was higher than the sum borrowed; on average one household paid back in the course of
54
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We recall a note from the introductory section: from the character of the research it follows that the presented numerical values serve exclusively for comparative purposes for comparing differences between differently dened groups of excluded Roma households; they decidedly do not correspond to the quantitative range of the given value attribute in excluded Roma communities.
the month loans and debts in a volume of 57.87 euro (per one member this was 10.92 euro), which made up 10.5% of the total monthly expenditures. The share of new loans in monthly incomes was two-times lower than the percentage share of the paid back amount in monthly expenditures (5.7% versus 10.5%). In relation to the expansion of loans in the scope of excluded households, during the month a total of 27% of households supplemented their own total income with new borrowed sum. At the same time, the borrowed sums were relatively varied: the smallest sum of a loan calculated for the entire monitored month achieved 20 euro and the highest 1,000 euro (for the purchase of a vehicle in the given month); the next highest sum of a loan had a significantly smaller value (388 euro and it was a loan for repair of a dwelling; and then 214 euro). The surveyed households predominately borrowed in the monitored month sums in the tens of euro, sometimes even smaller portions. The average of loans calculated per one surveyed household achieved 34.29 euro; the amount of the loans calculated as the average in those households which actually borrowed a sum of money represented 127.00 euro. On the other hand, loan repayments were in the scope of the monitored sample of households from excluded Roma settlements a great deal more widespread; in the course of the monitored month, 68% of them made some repayment of loans or debts. The amount of the repayment was also relatively varied: the interval of the mentioned financial sums began with 10 euro and stopped at 431 euro. The average repayment for the entire surveyed sample was 57.87 euro per household and the average expended sum (for those households which during the month actually made a repayment) exceeded 85 euro. A comparison of the range of borrowing and paying off of debt among excluded households as well as the borrowed and paid back sum during the monitored
month indicated that the overall indebtedness of households is higher than the monthly result, and many debts are from older data. Data on the range and amount of the monthly repayment of debts and loans testifies to the high measure of indebtedness of households from marginalised Roma settlements. The borrowing of financial resources in the course of a month is an instrument or method which to a significant measure helps excluded Roma households sustain a more even balance of incomes and expenditures. But among them are households which still cannot manage, where despite loans, their budgets still move in negative values on average per household and per household member. A strategy founded on operative loans is widespread in the surveyed households, but it is not always able to financially balance out a deficit budget. Several qualitative and quantitative studies provide answers regarding how households in excluded settlement came to be indebted. A survey of the living conditions of Roma households, for example, showed that part of the reason for creating debts is the inability to pay fees for housing.55 From the beginning of the year, 29% of surveyed Roma households met with the situation in which they were not capable, due to financial difficulties, to pay rent, and more than 20% of them experienced this repeatedly. Together more than 41% of them (28.8% repeatedly) had a problem with regular payments for electricity, 28.2% (19.9% repeatedly) for the supply of water and 29% (24% repeatedly) for heating.56 Once a household becomes incapable of making payment for a service associated with housing, the situation is usually repeated, which testifies to the growth of debt (UNDP, 2012, pgs. 187-188). As the cited source notes, Roma households had also problems with paying for food: 38% of them signalled such a situation repeatedly and 8.6% as a one-time occurrence (together 46.6%, while from the general population only 6%), and in the case of segregated
55 56
Data collection within this research ran at the end of 2010 (UNDP, 2012). In households of the geographically near general population the occurrence was markedly lower around 4%.
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housing, problems with payment for food grew up to 51%. As the study states: a significant portion of Roma households have difficulties with the provision of basic functions (UNDP, 2012, pg. 187). In association with indebtedness, we add that the debts of Roma households originate from late payments for housing but also due to insufficient financial resources for the purchase of food. Also, according to a study by the World Bank from 2011 (World Bank, 2012) Roma households often have debts for energy. The study likewise states a high measure of expansion of informal sources of loans, that is the mutual borrowing among Roma households. In relation to the purpose for which a loan is expended, according to the study this was primarily for food and then other consumer items. Individual and group interviews with representatives from the aid profession are also telling in regard to the large indebtedness of Roma households. They spoke about the abuse of these households, despite their poverty, by different non-banking or even banking subjects. They described several stories of taking advantage of these socially weak families to put them further into debt, about their luring them into disadvantageous fast loans, about their burdening them with executor proceedings and the like. An analysis of selected situations in the scope of this research probe also warned about loans and debts from several sides. As was shown, many Roma households from excluded settlements had to borrow for transport to see a doctor or for medicines. The decision to borrow to see a doctor in these cases occurred especially if a child was ill. We recall at least some of these situations: We went to see the doctor this month with our youngest son, who had a temperature... We went on foot; we didnt have money for the bus (2 km). We picked up the medicines thanks to my mother-in-law, who loaned us the money... Perhaps three months ago our ten-year old son... fell in the yard and cut his forehead. He bled a lot, and therefore it was necessary to take him to the emergency room in the district town (17 km). We didnt have
money for the journey and the 2 euro fee for the doctor; therefore, my husband went to the local usurer. The usurer offered that he will take us... going to see the doctor cost 30 euro, which is how much the usurer collected on the day of benefits. My daughter was the last one in the family to take ill she had the flu. We went to see the doctor on foot (2 km), because we didnt have the money for travel right then. I went with my daughter; Im her mother. The medicines cost 10 euro and we had to borrow from the field social worker... The fourth child... had a splay-mouth. I got to town from the settlement on foot (this is 2.5 km)... another doctor treated us. She said that I must take my daughter to the hospital in Koice. I requested an ambulance because I didnt have any money, so she answered that this is not how it works, that its not a case that requires an ambulance; she said I have to get there by bus. I argued with the doctor and I went to scrape the money together. A neighbour loaned me 10 euro... ...our two-year-old son has a respiratory illness; weve already been to town to see a doctor two times this month (5 km). Through the autumn and winter we went to see a doctor every month. When we dont have money to travel, we borrow 4.20 euro from a neighbour (a white woman, but we like her a lot; she always helps us) for the round trip... I had to borrow money to pay for the trip and medicines; I went to town (19 km). Our little girl had a throat infection... The last trip to see a doctor was back in July... The mother had to borrow money for the bus and for medicines. The boy had a sore throat... The trip cost 1.40 euro and medicines 4.70 euro... It was necessary to go see doctor with a girl because she had a temperature. The parents went with the girl approximately 1.5 km on foot. It was necessary to pay 5.78 euro for the medicines; the parents had to borrow the money... The youngest son (five years old) was the last to see a doctor; he is often ill. He went to see the doctor in town 8 km distant by bus with his mother. They had to borrow for the bus tickets because this was before benefits... They didnt pay for the medical service; the medicines would have cost a lot, but they didnt pick them up...
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I was at the doctor with my son, who is two and a half years old; he had a temperature and cried in the night... I went to see the doctor in town by bus (one way 0.50 cents). I didnt have money for medicine, so I borrowed from my sister (10 euro). I last went to see a doctor with my younger daughter (ten years old), she had a temperature... I didnt have the money so I had to borrow from the family. I borrowed 10 euro, and the medicines cost 6 euro. I didnt have to pay anything for the journey, because the doctor is here in the village... I go to see the doctor most often with the smallest boy (eighteen months old): hes used to coughing; he gets a temperature and we have to go. It often happens that I dont have the money and then I borrow approximately 10 euro from the family. When the older boy (four years old) is ill and I need medicines for both, I borrow 15 euro... It was necessary to go see a doctor with the youngest member of the family (five-year-old daughter), because her stomach ache would not go away. The mother went to see the doctor with the little girl... The parents had to borrow 10 euro for medicine... Last time seeing the doctor: an internist, orthopaedic, neurology....Paid 30 euro for medicines, travelled by bus. He borrowed from relatives for the trip. The head of the family had pain in his teeth, he paid 10 euro for the examination he had to borrow from relatives....the bus cost two-times 1.20 euro. Another source of debts found in Roma households was in loans for the repair of a dwelling. Households which had a chance to get a loan (they had a steady income exceeding the life minimum for a family), use this often for the purpose of improving the quality of their housing. If a household was unsuccessful with a request for a loan in standard official banking institutions, it then resorted to the services of non-banking subjects with many negative consequences for the households budget and its financial situation (the growth of debts in consequence of late payments, executor proceedings and the like). The research also recorded participants in the microloan programme of the organization ETP Slovensko, which helped them improve their dwelling: We last reconstructed the bathroom. We borrowed 1,000 euro, which Im repaying at 42 euro a month. We
bought a bathtub, a toilet, tiling, wall tiles and an automatic washer... Two years ago they put a fireplace into the house... They took out a loan for 2,000 euro. They insulated the entire house; they borrowed 5,000 euro (a retired grandmother). They had a master builder from the village; its not finished yet... Replaced three wooden windows with plastic ones because they were not insulated... Three windows with a complete offer cost 890 euro... Because we didnt have success with the bank, a non-banking company provided a 1,000 euro loan. And in the instalment for 36 months at 40 euro a month it comes out to 1,450 euro. The bank didnt provide the financing because our income does not achieve the life minimum for a family. The leftover money was invested into clothing for the children, paint and painting roughly for three rooms 40 euro. We changed the windows three years ago; we both still worked then. We borrowed 2,000 euro, since then we havent made any modifications. We also painted all the rooms then. I built my house myself from money saved, from a private savings scheme (so-called Vielka or Bee) and the building saving account. After using it up I was connected to the IDIA savings programme, which was provided by ETP Slovensko. Then I continued in a microloan programme where I took out an interestfree loan which I am now paying back... We did a reconstruction of rooms from microloans which were offered by ETP Slovensko. We managed to improve our housing... The roof leaked and it was necessary to modify the bathroom and the toilet. I took out a microloan through ETP Slovensko in the amount of 1,160 euro. For the mentioned money I bought material...We did all the mentioned work ourselves... As was mentioned above, the source of indebtedness of Roma households, or the reason for arranging loans from non-banking subjects, are often arrears for energy or services associated with housing. They were also found in the scope of the situational analysis high arrears payments for heating or electricity were recorded for the payment of which the household went into debt. One of the stories found indicated the
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non-standard origin of such indebtedness, for example, drawing electricity illegally from a neighbour, which strongly evoked the usurers approach to a dependent family without the possibility of checking the actual use of energy: Meters for the radiators (they listed among the desires authors note) because we have large arrears payments for heating. We last had a problem with the electricity. The annual statement came and we had a large undercharge. So I had to take out a small loan of 500 euro and pay for the electricity so that the kids were not in the dark. (I gave the money to a neighbour from who I get electricity.) In the end consequence in the scope of the situational analysis loans were mentioned also when describing the wishes for the family as an inaccessible financial service for a family without a working member. For fulfilling their own desires, for example from the area of housing or the image about the future of their children, many households would need a mortgage or a loan; however, the absence of a work income practically destroys any such possibility for them. They are more likely to get into disadvantageous loans from different non-banking subjects or from usurers, who often times worsens a stressed financial situation of excluded households even further: If I were to find some real work, I would earn more and we could get a loan and buy a better house.
That my sons find good wives; but mainly that they are employed and can become independent (they have two unemployed sons age 20 and 22 years). They need more money; they wanted to put a new facade on the house they would take out a loan for this, but they must work (there are four adults in the family without work, three children still attending primary school). We need a new facade on the house and a roof, but so long as my husband isnt working, we cant take out a loan. Loans were also inclined to be among the desires of a family in one other position: this was the desire after completion of an executors proceeding to which the household is exposed as well as the desire that the household absolve itself of debt or the circle of usury: Health for the family; employment in the place of habitation; a new roof, completion of an executors proceeding and better social certainty. For safe movement of the family in public; that usurers didnt exist or even benefits in material need only work and pay (compulsory). All of the presented associations indicate that debts and indebtedness are not an unknown phenomenon in the surveyed excluded environments. In contrast, they confirm that without work incomes households often are unable to cover even their own basic needs, which compels them to borrow and subsequently get into debts; upon the loss of capability of the household to
Table 17 Indebtedness of Roma households from excluded settlements by amount of debt and type of housing (in %)
Segregated settlements 0, not given 1 100 euro 101 200 euro 201 300 euro 301 500 euro 501 1 000 euro 1 001 1 500 euro 1 501 3 000 euro 3 001 and more euro Total 31 12 9 7 3 14 12 5 7 100 Separated on the edge of a municipality 32 7 7 6 14 14 10 5 5 100 Concentrated within a municipality 35 3 9 7 2 10 7 10 17 100 Total 33 7 8 6 7 13 10 7 9 100
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Note: The table presents the calculation for all 192 households.
Graph 21 Average amount of debt and the provided loan of the surveyed households from excluded settlements by type of housing (in euro)
4 000 3 500 2 500 2 050,67 2 000 1 500 1 000 500 0 368,00 1 127,55 1 188,52 838,00 1 845,51 3 500,29
Debt Loan
Segregated settlement
Separated on the edge
Concentrated within a municipality
Total
Note: The graph presents the average indebtedness of households and loans provided by household only for the portion of households which listed some sum; in the case of debts, n = 130, and in the case of loans provided n = 25 (with such a small set for loans the listed sums are only orientational).
pay back the debts, this leads to executory proceedings. But not only households reliant on social incomes have and must pay back loans; households with a work income which took advantage of the possibility to get a loan and realise their ideas for example, regarding housing also have them. From all of the surveyed Roma households, not quite one-third were without debts (or did not respond to the question on household debts), while the remaining more than two-thirds of households listed some amount of debt. The indebted sum ranged from 12 euro to 30,000 euro; most often the sum given was 1,000 euro, followed by 1,500 euro, and then 200 euro. Together 28% listed debts in the amount up to 500 euro, while 23% were in the zone from 500 to 1,500 euro and 16% of them had debts of over 1,500 euro. But the structure of households according to the amount of debt differed more significantly for the group according to the type of housing. While representation of households without debts was almost the same in all of the excluded households (the mentioned one-third), the filling of the individual zones differed. In segregated settlements the smaller sums of debts predominated: a total of 31% of these households had
a debt to 500 euro, while 12% of cases had a sum up to 100 euro inclusively. In the group representing separated settlements the share of debts to 500 euro was 34%, but the interval from 300 to 500 euro had the strongest representation (14%); for the group of concentrated within a municipality the lowest debts to 500 euro occurred in total on a level of 21% and debts to 100 euro were only minimal (3%). On the other hand, approximately one-tenth of households in segregated and separated environments had debts over 1,500 euro, and for the group of Roma households concentrated within a municipality this was 27%. Each of the excluded environments has households with different amounts of debts from low up to the highest sums and the amount of debt in concentrated environments grew. This was also confirmed by the average sum owed which is shown in Graph 21. The average amount of debt for segregated settlements achieved more than 1,127 euro, for separated settlements on the edge 1,188 euro and for the group of households concentrated within a municipality 3,500 euro. At the same time the graph presents the loaned sum, i. e. the amount in euro, which the household loaned to another household, which also has a growing trend in association with the shift to concentrated
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settlements. The presented sums of offered loans are only orientational, because from the overall sample of households only 13% were able to loan money to another household; the remaining 87% could not provide such a service.57 It was also shown that the amount of debt was much greater for households with a working member (3,904.95 euro) than for households without a working member (1,492.99 euro). This is confirmation of the fact that households with a stable work income are more able to get loans and for higher sums. The research probe at the same time recorded that approximately half of the households from an excluded environment had worked up a payment calendar for the debts. At the time of the research, approximately 8% of the surveyed households had a special recipient as part of its social incomes. Summary: Empirical data from different empirical sources confirmed in terms of averages the stressed or deficit financial budget of excluded Roma households. The small incomes to these households cause a low level of expenditures and do so even with expenditures covering the most basic needs, such as food and housing. A large portion of households have problems paying for basic needs for its members and some of them are unable to do this despite frequently borrowing money. The worst balance was recorded in households without a working member, those with at least one young child and in multi-member households. From a comparison of total incomes and expenditures of excluded Roma households which managed to get recorded during one month, it followed than on average they are more or less equal. The remainder from the entire sum of incomes after subtracting total expenditures came out low (44.61 euro per household), and if a sum borrowed during the course of the month is not included in the total incomes the remainder is even much smaller (10.32 euro per household and not even 2
euro per one member). But if households were not indebted and didnt have to make loan repayments, the remainder of incomes would be on average 60 euro higher, or excluded Roma households could increase their other expenditures by this sum. The amount of income influences the principle way of managing households and the width of the period of the month through which they have financial resources available in a certain volume. The low overall incomes at the same time mean surviving most of the month with very small sums of disposable financial resources. With households with the lowest incomes this means more than half a month with a sum lower than 10 euro per one member. With such financial resources decisions on household consumption are markedly limited, and covering basic needs and unexpected basic expenditures can also be endangered households go into debt in an attempt to provide them. The research probe into excluded settlement indicated that households from excluded Roma settlements are indebted to a high degree. Their debts originate differently; often the way is unpaid rent for housing or for services or energy associated with housing. But they also borrow for the securing of necessary healthcare, for making modifications to a dwelling or for the purchase of food. Typically, debts for these household arise due to satisfying basic needs or at least minimal consumption. At the same time, it was shown that a large portion of these households has a payment calendar worked up for the liquidation of their debts. But as research assistants in the field pointed out, in several respondent households having a payment calendar, many families are unable to observe it. The research probe also recorded a certain group of families which had a special recipient for a portion of their social benefits. In some households an executors proceeding was imposed upon their inability to pay debts; in the end this occurred in several households. The chances of some families getting out from under their debts in some realistic time period was in practically negligible.
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57
The amount of a provided loan moved from 20 to 8,000 euro; in 7% of households this was a loan to 200 euro inclusively. Only 6% of the surveyed households were able to loan a higher sum.
6. NEEDS AND DESIRES IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE FAMILY AND SETTLEMENTS

A qualitative probe was focused on a more detailed representation of three selected life situations which are associated with the most basic needs health, housing and food consumption. It was shown that although the situation in excluded Roma settlements differed to a certain measure, a broad group of households live here which experience a high measure of deprivation for each of these basic needs and in many households the deprivation is combined. They encounter limited financial, spatial or social accessibility of healthcare; securing the needs for housing is not only on a low level, but sometimes even deeply below it, and they experience on a daily basis limitations or even deprivation in consumption of food. The life strategies for the monitored areas are also varied: some continue to battle and search for solutions, while others are resigned to the situation (for healthcare, modifications to a dwelling and the like). In the foundations of deprivation and poverty stands the absence of work incomes caused by deep and long-term exclusion from the labour market. The lack of financial resources for the provision of basic needs leads to indebtedness and further indebtedness of these households. Such is the real life of Roma households in excluded settlements. Do any desires and yearnings influence them? Do they have desires at all and if so, what kind? A question thus focused also became a component of the research. Desires especially aimed at ones own family were monitored, and what they would desire for improving life in their settlement was recorded separately. settlements gave some sort of response; only 3% did not respond to the question. A smaller group listed only one desire, but the majority presented combined wishes. Their contents were related to various spheres of life, from material things up through general values. On the basis of the summary score, work and employment finished in first place. In the course of the analysis it was heard several times, and it couldnt be otherwise, that the range of unemployment and its length are in the surveyed environments exceptionally high. General theories about this state not only the impact on social institutions and processes but also on the position of the unemployed and their social behaviour. We herein paraphrase again the words of Czech sociologist P. Mare, because our discourse in the case of the unemployed Roma population ignores the impacts on the social behaviour of individuals, or reduces it to the statement that the Roma dont want to work. But when the absence of employment changes the status of a person and his roles, this creates for him an anomic situation, inevitably evoking his reaction to it; unemployment is therefore the subject of measured and intuitive life strategies, and its content is influenced culturally and by the duration of unemployment. With longer periods of unemployment a person gradually becomes accustomed to his/her situation and his reactions to the living situation are adapted to it (Mare, 2002, pg. 103). Professional texts note that unemployment is not a welcomed state; therefore people try to get out of it as soon as they can. And if they do not manage to do so, they try to survive and to live in the new situation, especially with mass and concentrated long-term unemployment. As was mentioned above, life strategies
6.1. Desires for own family58

Upon surveying the wishes for ones own family an absolute predominance of households from excluded
58
We recall a note from the introductory section: from the character of the research it follows that the presented numerical values serve exclusively for comparative purposes for comparing differences between differently defined groups of excluded Roma households; they decidedly do not correspond to the quantitative range of the given value attribute in excluded Roma communities.
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with long-term unemployment are varied, and at the same time they can mutually intersect and replace one another. On one hand, this is the mentioned restraining in consumption and relinquishing the original range of needs (adaption to the situation) or resignation and apathy; on the other hand is the searching for an active starting point and non-conforming methods or persisting in attempts to integrate into society. The placing of work and employment in first place among desires for the family can signal that many of the excluded Roma households have not given up their desire for paid work, at least in speaking about it.59 The findings to a significant measure controvert the myth that the Roma dont like to work. From the submitted responses, nearly 28% of the surveyed households invoked work and employment in different associations. The desire to connect to the labour market was given independently or in combination with other desires, and different aspects of work activity were emphasised along with it. A general desires for work and employment took, for example, such a form: that we find work employment everything derives from this Some respondents desired work for themselves or for all adult members of the households, others only for its male members. To a certain measure, then, the marked influence of gender stereotyped ideas regarding the role of men and women, which are in the environments of excluded Roma communities relatively strong, were expressed here. The surveys confirmed that men are broadly perceived, relatively speaking, as the family provider and the role of women is linked more with care of home and hearth (The Image..., 2012). Households not only desire work for the family father but also for sons or sons-in-law: that the father has employment with an income; that the wife could devote herself to the family and household more
work for the head of the family so far they live through drawing mamas pension, but when she passes away, her income will be sorely missed for work for my husband and two adult sons, because its difficult to live from social benefits (two parents and two adult sons are unemployed) for work so that father and son (eighteen years old, unemployed) work and the family would then have a larger income that my husband and son have proper work and then our financial income will change and we could repair and improve our home that adult children find work somewhere; that my husband is healthy; a larger flat we have 11 children at home (our adult childrenalso live with us) that my son and husband find work my son is a trained electrician and cannot find work; to buy plastic windows that their son-in-law find work, likewise the adult children want to work; they have everything they want; they only desire health and more money that we are all healthy, that I dont have to go with the children to see the doctors; that they learn well; and that my husband find a job, that he get selected at least for activation work; that we get a municipal rental flat The side emphasised in expressions of interest in paid work was the permanence of work, the permanence of employment. This is telling in relation to the fact that households have more experience with temporary or occasional jobs which decidedly to not bring the desired effect a permanent income and certainty. At least on the level of desires, they expressed the need for stable employment; sometimes with the addition that at least for one member of the family: permanent employment at least for one person from the family for more permanent work and security for work and a stable income (both parents are unemployed)
59
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Persisting in attempts to become a part of the mainstream of society can lead to repeated nding of new employment on the formal, ofcial labour market, but with failure this effort can have the form of preserving rituals conrming the status of the unemployed (e.g. going to the labour ofce), the idea of which evaporates (neither the unemployed nor even the work ofce now do not really believe in the return to the labour market) (Mare, 2002, pg. 105).
The desire for work nearby confirms in its own way the stickiness of excluded settlements. Several respondents especially emphasised the accessibility of work in the near vicinity. Equally, the problem was mentioned of possible accessibility of low qualification work they are aware of the lack of qualification and accepted it as it is: employment in the nearby surroundings employment near the settlement and pay (there are three adults, parents and a nineteen-year-old son and all are without work, despite having completed their schooling) that they werent desperate to find work and with low qualifications and they didnt have to fear for their housing, work, subsistence; that they didnt have problems existing, that they were not hungry and could pay for everything like other people The desire for work also took the form for its improved financial evaluation, that is, better earnings. In such a context the request for becoming involved in the process of labour was connected not infrequently with the peace and security which a work income brings. Desire thus expressed at the same time implicitly indicates the great measure of uncertainty and stresses which households excluded from the labour market are permanently exposed to in their attempts to cover their basic household needs. The above citation which speaks about work as a prerequisite for removing fears regarding housing and sustenance, for removing existential problems and hunger and for strengthening the ability to pay for everything like other people in the end expresses this very explicitly and in detail: I desire a good job with good pay better financial provision; permanent work for peace; for better financial possibilities of employment for work; to experience less stress for peace for my own room; and mainly for work, for security The improving of the financial situation of the household and securing resources for a better life also took the form of general desires. People in excluded Roma settlements are aware that it is work activity that
opens up the path for a better living situation. Again, at the same time this sent the signal from the opposite side that social benefits do not provide security and the provision of needs for the life of the households: they desire work and finances to find work, so that there is more money work, so that we improve our financial situation a job, so that we improve our financial situation for work, so that we have something to live from Many households connected the desire for work with the future and education of children, by which they allude to two levels. They desired work for themselves so that they can offer the children a better education and future. The second level was emphasising the education of the children, which could help them secure better application regarding work and life. that the children are healthy, that we always work and know how to provide the children with everything to finish the facade on the house; that the children finish school and find work, likewise the adults would like to work for health; that my son finish school and finds work and marries well that my children can study at secondary school and in the future at university, and so they can help to become employed like their parents and start a family that at least the children have work and a normal life own housing; employment; not to owe anyone money; that the children have a clear future a good education and as a result employment; when they have learned, let them have more pay; if they dont want to study, let them dig and tidy up Otherwise, the desires for work were even more specific in the sense of approximating the method of expending the acquired work incomes. They were predominately connected with the chance to invest into improving the quality of housing and to furnishing a flat. As the responses indicated, they would need a work income, for example, to renew the facade on a house, for new furnishings in a dwelling, for building a bathroom, for plastic windows or
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insulation, but also for the purchasing of a better home or flat. The responses also indicated the problem of inaccessibility of loans for households without a work income. A stable work income is a prerequisite for the provision of a mortgage the huge exclusion from the labour market closes such a possibility for residents of excluded settlements: our life would certainly be better if we found work; then we could afford more: a new facade on the house and a fence they would certainly need work; if they had enough money they would buy a new bed and wardrobes for the bedroom they have only a little money; they would like new furniture, a bathroom and work for the family that my husband always has work and for the children sufficient education and obviously health; at home I would desire plastic windows and insulation If I were to find some real work, I would earn more and we could get a loan and buy a better house That my sons find good wives; but mainly that they are employed and can become independent (they have two unemployed sons age 20 and 22 years). They need more money; they wanted to put a new facade on the house they would take out a loan for this, but they must work (there are four adults in the family without work, three children still attending primary school) The combination of work and a flat, housing was given relatively often in the desires for the family: money if we had work; and a family house (to live in our own) employment, a three-room flat employment; housing for a larger flat and for work for a larger flat (four live in a house with one room and a kitchen, without a bathroom; for work for nice housing; for work to finish the house; work employment (both parents are unemployed despite completing vocational school)
Several responded added to these two a flat and work even more general desires, such as health generally, or they stated a combination of several and very diverse desires (for more examples, see Appendix 1 to part 3.6): that everyone is healthy; that I find more work that we continue to be healthy; that we find employment health, work; a two-room flat (five live in a oneroom flat) for a better flat; health; that my husband again has a job improving our housing; for finding employment nearby, at least one member of the family; and to improve our income health for the family; employment in the place of habitation; a new roof, completion of an executors proceeding and better social certainty happiness, health, work; food aid, a better house A toilet in the house; permanent employment, health for the whole family; employment for my husband More general desires related to housing finished with approximately the same level of choices, which in a large measure indicated the fact that they were presented relatively often together with the desire for employment for members of the family. Similarly as in the preceding case, it was presented independently and in combination, and emphasis was placed on its different sides. Residents of excluded settlements primarily wanted better and newer housing, or normal housing with standard furnishings: for better housing for better and nicer housing to have normal housing we desire new housing our whole house desires a new home; the municipality promised to build social flats we desire good housing; an independent yard for the children for a new house with a bathroom and bath; that we didnt have to pay high rent
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a good house; work after maternity leave
for a house where I can live like a decent person, to have heat and water for bathing because we are eight living in one room which also serves as a kitchen, room and childrens room, I very much desire better housing with a kitchen; we still live with my parents for a new flat or a house where we have electricity and water (they have a house with one room and without a bathroom; they dont have electricity or water) Desires for a larger house or flat were often expressed, behind which is hidden the great over-crowding of dwellings. Some respondents only stated a larger flat or house; others specified the number of rooms needed and others requested at least their own room for themselves or a childrens room for their children: a larger flat a multi-room flat; we have only a one-room flat a new and larger flat (7 live in a one-room tenement house, 5 of whom are children age 5 to 22 years) for a two-room flat for a larger house (they live with two small children in one room without a bathroom) for a larger house, because we have big children and few rooms (three children age 12 through 16; 1 room and a kitchen) a separate room for the children for separate rooms for the sons they are adults now (two sons age 25 and 28 live with their parents; they live in one room with a kitchen, without furnishings, not even electricity) that I secure a room for my daughters (two daughters age 5 and 7 years), that we have water in the house for a room of my own for a room of my own (they are 5 and live in two rooms) more rooms (six live in one room without a bathroom and kitchen); a separate kitchen; a repaired chimney A relatively frequent reply was emphasising the desire for housing of ones own this was predominately a family house, more rarely a flat. With housing of ones own was also found the request for legalisation of the present dwelling:
they would like their own house or flat; they complained that the municipality promised them social flats but arent doing anything for my own house the building of a new house for my own house for my own family house to have my own family house to live in a family house to finish building a family house our own that we have our own family house, that the children have their own room to own a legal house (they live in a house built illegally; it has one room, a bathroom and water, and electricity illegally) to settle the property and legalise the building (they live in a house which is an illegal building) Another group of desires were also connected with housing, in those who thought about the situation of their own children in adulthood. Several respondents desired to help their children resolve the situation with housing they would like to buy a home nearby. A single mother with a child who lived with her parents expressed the desire for independent housing; to obtain such housing under such conditions, however, is completely impossible: the purchase of a flat for our daughter who has a serious boyfriend; we would like to buy a flat within about 30 km of our home the purchasing of a home for our son (they have 2 sons, 15 and 21 years old) for a house, for our daughters and for us; health for the whole family for independent housing only with my son a flat (a single mother lives with her parents); Im on maternity leave and I dont have any income that would let me afford it Aside from general desires for housing, a relatively large group of desires for the family were focused on the modification of a dwelling. Households stated modifications of dwellings without further specification
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of what they would want to change, or in their own responses recorded exactly the change required. They desired to do or to complete the renovation of a dwelling, to bring water into the households, to build a bathroom or a toilet indoors, to repair a roof, put in new windows or tiling, and also to resolve heating or electricity in the dwelling. As can be seen, they desire to shift to the standard of housing common in the country. An indoor bathroom and toilet belonged in the scope of this block among the most frequent desires, and they pointed particularly to the huge discomfort in going to a latrine outside the building in winter. Again in this context the inaccessibility of loans for the modification of a dwelling for those excluded from valid work activity was emphasised: modification of the flat they would like to buy the neighbouring land and build on a room, in which would be a childrens room and living room we would like a new roof for repair of the roof on the house replace the roof covering and for central heating We need a new facade on the house and a roof, but so long as my husband isnt working, we cant take out a loan a floating floor, tiles in the kitchen, repair of the toilet; the facade, the gutter pipes that a water line be brought into the house if we had a real bathroom, we would be very happy reconstruction of the house, but mainly that we have a bathroom for a flat, where they will have a bed and a bathroom and a kitchen the building of a bathroom and a toilet in the house a bathroom; that we have water in the house, that we dont have to carry water from the neighbours after a bathroom and gas heating electricity and water water; that we also have electricity in the house; to properly repair our roof
for hot water in the bathroom, another source of heating the rooms; more space for living a bathroom, to repair the house both outside and inside quality housing a bathroom most of all and a toilet; to run to a toilet at night, and mainly in winter; its terrible Desires associated with internal facilities of the dwelling were generated as an independent area of interest. The majority were about standard furniture which the respondent households desired. The mentioned, for example, furnishing of a bedroom and kitchen, a sofa or bed; some emphasised their own bed. Desiring the strengthening of technical furnishings of the household, such as a television or computer, was recorded less often, and computers were defined as a desire for their children: new furnishings for the house (bedroom, kitchen) furnishings for the house new furniture a sofa, beds, a floor supplementing the furnishings of the flat, external plaster on the family house, which we dont have; and health for the family my own bed for my own bed for a new television the old one broke down for a computer we would like a computer for the children for learning and for fun for health and that we lack nothing; the children would like a computer A specific group which in its own way was also associated with housing was the different methods of expressing the desire to leave the current place of habitation. Many Roma households had only the desire to leave the excluded settlement. They wanted to get away from bad neighbours, away from the Roma community itself, to integrate spatially to a village or town, or depart to a place of seclusion:
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a bathroom, water, a source of heat in the households
for another place of habitation I have bad neighbours that I could leave and live elsewhere, outside the Roma community that the entire family live far away, somewhere in a village where there is peace and quiet; that my father not always leave home, leave my mother we would like to live in the village (they live separated, outside the village) in a family house which would have a bathroom, gas heating and new furniture; mostly we desire health and more money to move to town (Vranov district) to have a solitary house near nature A very frequent desire for the family was health, whose percentage score on the level of about onequarter put it in third place. It is as if this general desire was in contradiction with the findings regarding the last time seeing a doctor (part 3.2). On one had they put great importance on health, while on the other hand they often gave up seeing a doctor or using prescribed medicines. From the many previous examples, it follows that the desire for health is often given in combination with employment and/or housing. It also occurred, however, as an independent desire, or in other combinations. The following examples at least to represent all such responses: for health health, only health health for family health for the family is the most important thing that my son is healthy; that a bone marrow donor is found for my son only for healthy children and healthy both parents health for my children, my husband and me health; joy from life and family for health and peace health; my own social flat for health I a semi-invalid pensioner; I want health most of all for my family; but obviously we would want for money we could use more money
health; love; a larger house or a two-room heated flat (they have 1 room) only that the children are healthy; our own brick house; and more money well, we would need more things, but first of all that we are healthy; if I can dream, then a bathroom, too health; a better house, to have light and heat that my children are health and our financial resources increase; to repair the roof mainly health for my family; satisfaction with living in the family; to renovate the bathroom From other desires for the family, a better level of living had an even stronger representation. They wanted more money; they desired that their own households to get into the circumstances necessary to cover the basic needs of its members. They expressed the desire to be like other people or to live the way a person should live. A specific segment in this bloc was the desire for liquidating debts: for more money more finance; a new bathroom more financial resources; to add on one more room (they live in a house with 2 rooms and all the furnishings); to reconstruct the bathroom I desire more money; and we would like to have a larger house that we have plenty of money (I no longer believe in changes; how long am I here and has it changed?!) I would be glad if this was ours (they live in an illegally occupied portable hut) and I could pay (rent), with ...even for 50 euro to live and to have the basic things necessary for life that living conditions would improve; that we begin to live the way we should live for a family house; and to have money for a better life that we have what others have; to have our own house (they live in a wooden house without a bathroom which they got from the municipality) the normal life of a family food, water, a bathroom, electricity, a television, a washing machine; to not owe anyone money; and mainly health
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the payment of all of our debts (for electricity and water) and health for my wife and for me The last group was made up of other desires. Among them were family wishes such as the birth of a healthy child, the starting of a family by a single individual and the desire of a solitary older couple to not live alone at home. Singular desires were a drivers license for the husband, a car or the return of a husband from prison: that we have a healthy baby born; that we complete the repair of our home for another child; I want a boy (they have two girls, age 6 and 8); one more room (four live in a tworoom house with a bathroom) Im divorced and live alone; I would need a partner, but I dont want to marry anymore that we were not home alone (an older married couple septuagenarians) that my husband get a drivers license to have my own house; and a car for a large house, so that everyone had their own bed; our own electricity, but mainly health, and that my husband return from prison According to the research probe, findings regarding desires for the family were varied, but to a great measure they reflected the real living conditions. Work was not only found very often among the desires for the family in the responses of Roma households, but it was approached at from different sides. Once the content and character of the work was emphasised, its spatial accessibility or a formal work contract; other times the result of work a work income. A large portion of Roma households perceived a work income as one path to better living conditions and to a minimal life security. Many of the families also specified the use of potential work incomes they would like to invest into improving their housing conditions and strengthening their life security, families with children to their education and the future.
work activities in excluded communities. We recall the huge unemployment, the instability of jobs which are available to them, the absence of job opportunities in the nearby surroundings, the inaccessibility of permanent places for the unqualified labour force and the like. Therefore, their desire to find a job is in the surveyed environments strong with the parental generation, and also has an important place in the dreams of the future for children. Excluded Roma households devoted a great deal of attention to different aspects of housing their desires were very often linked with this particular area of life. If all of the individual sides associated with housing (better, larger, own housing, modifications to dwellings, the supplementing of furnishings and the like) were to be combined, they would together be in first place among the desires for the family. This means that deprivation in housing in the surveyed environments is exceptionally strong. Desires for the health of family members and an improvement of the financial situation and the living level were also found to be frequent personal family desires. The absolute predominance of stated desires had the character of common, basic items necessary for life; certain above-standard desires were really only exceptional.
6.2. Desires focused on the place of habitation

With desires focusing on the place of habitation the situation ended up rather markedly different compared with what respondents emphasised regarding their own families. One difference was the fact that as much as 15% of the surveyed households were unable to present anything for improving life in the community. In contrast, several expressed the desire to leave the settlement to live elsewhere (see above). This could indicate a higher measure of resignation to the condition of life in the municipality and a loss of trust in the possibility of improvement. On the other hand, approximately 6% of the surveyed households stated that they dont need anything in
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The work desires to a larger or smaller measure confirmed all of the existing knowledge regarding the
the settlement, because they have everything they need for life there. And these were primarily households from excluded communities concentrated within a municipality which gave expression of this type in the larger range (16% among concentrated and only 2-3% for segregated and separated settlements). Expressions of satisfaction had such a form, for example: we are on the whole satisfied; we have what we need here they are satisfied; they have what they need here we have everything we need in the village otherwise, nothing is missing in the village we are satisfied with the village I have no idea what; indeed, we have everything here we have everything here in the village; nothing is lacking; its enough that we are healthy because medicines are expensive The remaining nearly 80% of Roma households gave at least one proposal for a change in their settlement of habitation. Desires aimed at the local place of habitation generated, the as with desires for the family, generated work in first place. Nearly 15% of those asked desired more work opportunities for the residents of their settlement. The desires were telling about the gigantic lack of jobs in the surroundings; the responses indicated a trend toward the worsening of the situation in employment. In the desires they commented on the possible reopening of production in plants which offered them a chance at employment in the past, or opening new manufacturing, where they would employ the Roma. Several respondent households indicated the inaccessibility of proper work they are able to find odd jobs, but no one wants to employ them on contract. The desire to earn money by work and not get by on social benefits was repeatedly heard; they would like to earn their own bread with work: work more opportunities for employment for the residents that there would be the opportunity to work here
more work for those who dont have it more work opportunities, because 95% of residents here are unemployed there is no work opportunity here; its necessary to travel a long way from home for work that there was some work, because they dont even want us in the fields anymore the creation of work opportunities we used to work at the cooperative farm here all of us in the village would desire to open the plant and employ us to renew production in XY (a former plant in the village); this is mainly about employment to renew the glass works production, which was still working five years ago job opportunities on regular employment relations there are no job opportunities here; people dont have any place to be employed; I always find something Im a mason, but no one wants to give me a contract, so I work odd jobs (officially unemployed) if there was more work here, at least in the district town a new factory could start up; my husband is a mason; he earns on odd jobs, but no one wants to give him a work contract (now in the summer he works enough and our son-in-law helps him; they have enough work) work for others, especially for the men work at least for the men; a water main, gas work for other Roma; a football pitch for the children work for the Roma; and that the village put in roads and pavements peace and quiet; that people not live rough, but at least live modestly and not from social benefits that children not live in poverty and want, that they have social and legal security; this means that they live like they used to and there were no unemployed, that they work for their daily bread; that they can get an education without fees and support from the state For safe movement of the family in public; that usurers didnt exist or even benefits in material need only work and pay (compulsory) mainly the construction of social flats and more job opportunities
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But here the similarities with the wishes for the family end; the second most common desire was from the sphere of infrastructure for the place of habitation. Excluded Roma households relatively often desired pavements or roads to complete, improve or asphalt, repair them. Several emerged from the detailing of the real situation when in the case of rain they must literally walk in mud. Where there are no roads, there is no transport to bring or to strengthen transport from a settlement to a village or town, or at least a school bus to take children to school these were also among the desires of households from excluded communities: a road, roads better roads asphalt roads pavements we walk up to our knees in mud pavements, because everywhere there is a great deal of mud; a water main and to have our own electricity to repair the pavements when it rains, there is a lot of mud here; we would need a road there is a lot missing in our village, most a road to the cemetery would be necessary to build pavements; repair of the basement in the housing block the wall gets damp repair the roads so that there is no mud when it rains; public lighting asphalt roads, the lighting of the settlement an asphalt road, a water main, a food shop that they repair the road already; a bus to town (2.5 km distant from the settlement) a bus to school, an asphalt road that the children have a school bus (2.5 km from village) more connections to the village; those who have a car dont need this As can be seen from the citations already presented, the desires of excluded households were also connected with other types of technical infrastructure. As was heard in one response
everyone wants what they dont have. This was primarily sewerage in the place of habitation (8%) which they desired; further a water main and water lines (5%), public lighting and the hooking up of electricity (4%), or the hooking up of gas and gas lines (2%). Some lacked only one type of technical infrastructure, but very often the requests accumulated. They saw in their completion a prerequisite of improved hygienic habits in the settlement and increased safety: lighting (many times) repair of the lighting, because in the evening its a catastrophe streetlamps in the settlement the bringing in of electricity (they dont have electricity at all) sewerage, sewerage (many times) sewerage everywhere everyone wants what we dont have that we could have sewerage a water connection a water main and gas a water main and a gas line a water main and pavements around the shack sewerage, gas, heating improving of hygiene (they live in a settlement without water and sewerage perhaps 1.5 km from the village) A relatively large group of responses related to the environment in which excluded households live. The desires were aimed in part at neighbours and cohabitation with neighbours (8%) but also at the larger cleanliness in the surroundings (8%), behind which the human factor is also primarily hidden. Respondent households desired better neighbours, more normal, more understanding or more cultured people. They would like to live in a peaceful and quiet environment where things will not be destroyed or stolen, where adults would not argue or children not fight, where drugs would not be sold. Many expressed their own desire for great cleanliness in the
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surroundings in the settlement, on the street or in the housing block where the removal of the disorder or, for example, the function of a caretaker could help remedy this. According to one of the responses the disorder arises also near the source of public water. The responses indicated that many residents of excluded settlements are not satisfied with its environment: normal people cohabitants better neighbours the mentality of people that they were not bad to others new, better and more understanding neighbours; that they began in the village to begin building rental flats for our adult children a cleaner environment, waste removal, more cultured neighbours peace, quiet, not hardships; and cleanliness that drugs stop being sold here, that children stop fighting, adults stop arguing, that things stop being destroyed, that the thievery stop fewer bad people; a larger flat (five live in a tworoom flat in a housing block) that people not argue; sewerage for greater cleanliness greater cleanliness in the settlement cleanliness on the street improving our surroundings that the public source of water which is near our home be removed or redone; everyone who doesnt have water in their home or shack goes there to wash, and a lot of waste stays behind; filth and standing water are left there, it doesnt flow away and it gives off a smell that those who dirty the flats went elsewhere to live, because they give us a bad name order, a vegetable patch to tidy up the surroundings, insulate the flat; a caretaker to improve the block of flats, the entrance; to paint it this is tough to do; they would like to live like people in the village, in nice houses with pavements
A great deal of attention is devoted to children; facilities and spaces for children, where they could play, obtained more than 11% of the choices. These were mainly playgrounds or different climbing frames or slides, different attractions for children. According to the strength of the desire, the facilities of excluded settlements with the possibilities for children to spend leisure time came out very deficient. We note that this is despite the fact that in excluded settlements the child element of the population is the most strongly represented. The possibilities for Roma children in these environments for games and meaningful use of free time are significantly limited (a limited right of children for development): playgrounds for children (many times) a playground for children in the village that a playground for children be put here climbing frames (many times) more climbing frames for children slides slides for the children; what can I want here, just what we have more attractions for children more space and places where children could play in peace playing fields, balls playing fields for children and benches so, for our Roma children, a playing field; and repaired roads where the Roma live A significant portion of the community desires related to services of different types, and again the influence of the real situation was expressed they emphasised in their responses those things that were missing in the village. Several of the households would welcome a shop with food in the settlement or in the nearby vicinity so that they didnt have to travel a great distance when shopping, which is a problem generally but especially in winter. With the purchase of foodstuffs, one other aspect was underlined: the desire for affordable groceries. Although they had a grocery store in the village, due to the high prices
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they go shopping in the more distant town. A request for a shop with food for the poor was repeatedly recorded, at least one with basic foodstuffs: a shop with food a shop with food (it is in the village 3.5 km distant) a shop near the settlement (they have one now in the village perhaps 1 km away) they have good cohabitation, they would only wish for a shop with food near the settlement this is the worst in winter (they live on a hill) in the village they have everything; they dont have to travel to see a doctor they have one in the village; but the food in the shops are pretty expensive, so we go to Tesco or Kaufland in the district capital to do the shopping (20 km) better cohabitation; affordable food, and for the family with a very low income mainly basic foodstuffs (bread, flour, sugar); e.g. and an accessible price for getting rid of waste wood cleaning the forest after operations or extraction to not wait for benefits in material need, but for a pay check; a shop with food for poorer people a job; affordable prices for daily foodstuffs From other services excluded Roma households most desired a kindergarten directly in the settlement or for Roma kindergarten for Roma children. From educational facilities a school directly in the settlement (all nine years of primary school) also occurred among the replies. Several expressed the desire for closer healthcare services so that they do not have travel to see a paediatrician or a family doctor or for examinations. As was shown in section 3.2, the need for commuting for healthcare significantly complicates its accessibility. An occasional desire was to have postal services close by. Among services, the request for a community centre in the village or hygienic facilities with showers was also heard:60
a kindergarten a kindergarten, because they wouldnt have to take the child to the village a kindergarten for Roma children the establishing of a Roma kindergarten that we had in the village a school for grades 1-9 a doctor in the village (they currently have to walk 7 km) that we didnt have to walk to town with the children, that they build here a hospital (healthcare centre) we would like to have a doctor and a hospital closer to repair the roads; a family doctor a doctor in the place of habitation (they currently travel 14 km); a school (the children travel 8 km to school) a paediatrician, a post office, a school that there was a paediatrician here, a post office, a kindergarten and school an asphalt road, a doctor, a school a community centre Im happy with the village, but I would like it if we had a community centre here a hygiene centre with showers, a water main and hot water Like the desires for a change in the habitation of excluded settlements, housing was also found in a relatively large measure, but with a different focus. This was mainly the desire to build social or rental flats, especially with an emphasis on flats for young Roma families (8%). The responses indicated the great immediacy of the housing problem in the surveyed environments. It was shown that young families in impoverished, excluded environments have effectively only two possibilities: either remain beneath the wings in the parental family, which
60
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For context we mention that overall 43% of the 192 surveyed households from 131 excluded settlements had experience with a community centre in the settlement (38% a functional CC and 5% a non-functional one). In regard to the working of some aid non-prot organization in the settlement, 41% knew of some, while the remaining 59% did not know of any such activities in their settlement. A detailed description of the facilities of excluded settlements with CC services or NGOs appears in the updated Atlas of Roma Communities (data collection 2012 2013).
deepens even further the already deep over-crowding, or build a non-standard building a shack on their own. At least several desires indicated this in their arguments: new flats rental flats rental flats for Roma families more new flats for young families construction of flats for our adult children (we are three families with children living in a two-room flat a total of 15 people) that the municipality begin to build rental flats for Roma, that our children could live decently; my sonin-law is employed, but he doesnt have a place to live; he lives in a self-built dwelling, and he cant properly rest there he is a boiler man and he has to get up at 3 to 4 in the morning. that the municipality begin to build rental flats of lower standard, so that our children have somewhere to live when they begin to start their own families that the municipality also build flats for those Roma who live in shacks; the settlement will look better construction of new rental flats for our adult children, so that they dont have to live with us or in shacks when they are used to better; cleaner corridors in the housing block to build social flats with a bathroom and more rooms housing blocks, a water main repair the roads, flats for young couples, pavements and sewerage housing blocks; public lighting; a playground for children In addition to the occasional desires for a change in the village, such as, for example, local broadcasting in the settlement or meters on the radiators (see Appendix 2 to section 3.6), the research probe identified still two broader areas. The first related to cultural spaces and events. They desired a place where Roma could meet or a centre for leisure-time for children, youths or even adults, where they could spend time even in the case of bad weather. One of the households would welcome more cultural events for the Roma:
a place where Roma could meet, something like a cultural salon a room where young people can gather more green; a leisure-time centre for children and adults a playground for children; spaces where children could spend free time during bad weather more cultural events for the Roma The last area consisted of relations with the majority population; they expressed the desire to have good relations with the whites, that the approach toward the Roma improved, that people not judge if they dont know the living conditions that Roma households live in: good relations with the whites that we get along with our neighbours in the nearby vicinity as Roma a better approach to the Roma that in the village they dont judge people when they dont know what kind of live they have at home Desires aimed at improving life in the settlement of habitation were relatively varied; however, the specific things lacking in the settlement predominated among them. Great emphasis was placed on job opportunities in the surroundings and flats for young families; they wanted a more peaceful and cleaner environment within the settlements, and they desired the completion of its technological infrastructure primarily roads and sidewalks. A considerable group of desires associated with children: they cited the need for leisure-time facilities or furnishings for children, like playgrounds and other equipment for games; kindergartens in the settlements were often requested. In addition, a variety of requests were recorded for services according those missing in the settlement. Roma residents from excluded settlements were also lacking in cultural events, and they expressed through desires an interest in improving relations with the majority.
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Summary: According to the empirical findings, work was found among the desires for the family in the responses of Roma households not only the most often but was approached from different sides. Once the content and character of the work was emphasised, its spatial accessibility or a formal work contract; other times the result of work a work income. A large portion of Roma households perceived a work income as one path to better living conditions and to a minimal life security. Many of the families also specified the use of potential work incomes they would like to invest into improving their housing conditions and strengthening their life security, families with children to their education and the future. The work desires to a larger or smaller measure confirmed all of the existing knowledge regarding the work activities in excluded communities. We recall the huge unemployment, the instability of jobs which are available to them, the absence of job opportunities in the nearby surroundings, the inaccessibility of permanent places for the unqualified labour force and the like. The desire to find a job is in the surveyed environments strong with the parental generation, and also has an important place in the dreams of the future for children. Excluded Roma households devoted a great deal of attention to different aspects of housing their desires were very often linked with this particular area of life. This means that deprivation in housing in the surveyed environments is exceptionally strong. A general desire for health of family members and an improvement of the financial situation and the living level were also found to be frequent personal family desires. The absolute predominance of apparent desires had the character of common, basic items necessary for life; certain above-standard desires were really only exceptional (a car, a PC for the children). Desires aimed at improving life in the settlement of habitation were relatively varied; however, the specific things lacking in the settlement predominated among them. Great emphasis was
placed on job opportunities in the surroundings and flats for young families; they wanted a more peaceful and cleaner environment within the settlements, and they desired the completion of its technological infrastructure primarily roads and sidewalks. A considerable group of desires was associated with children: they cited the need for leisure-time facilities or furnishings for children, like playgrounds and other equipment for games; kindergartens in the settlements were often requested. In addition, a variety of requests were recorded for services according those missing in the settlement. Roma residents from excluded settlements were also lacking in cultural events, and they expressed through desires an interest in improving relations with the majority. Many desires of Roma households implicitly gave testimony about the poor conditions of housing and their ties to the labour market. Exclusion from the labour market at the same time means exclusion from the possibilities to improve housing. As section 3.3 about housing showed, many surveyed households live in very disadvantageous conditions and there are too few solutions to their housing situation. They do not have the financial resources for the purchase of a flat or house exclusion from the labour market closes off such a possibility. At the same time exclusion from the labour market for them means exclusion from loans and mortgages; several respondents emphasised that without work stable work they cant get loans. For many from the households the vicious circle closed: exclusion from the labour market and the absence of normal work opportunities; even simple physical survival on social benefits securing food is problematic. Exclusion from the labour market (not infrequently despite a skill or completed education) at the same time squanders the possibilities of adult children to become independent and establish their own household. This subsequently expands the parental family and leads to further overcrowding in already overcrowded dwellings. The capability of adult children to become independent is in excluded environments slim. What must happen in the next
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generation, when the housing space will still further narrow, is a difficult to predict. If we look at the literature, the huge deprivation brings unrest and reduces social conciliation. Although families cumulate resources and make up insufficient resources with self-help and mutual relief, these are not enough for overcoming the deficit. Despite the willingness and skilfulness regarding selfhelp solutions, the deep deficit of work incomes also closes off this possibility. Therefore, it is not surprising that housing was found to be the second most common area of wishes for ones family and the desire for housing for children in the settlement of residence also ended up relatively strong.
Many excluded settlements lack standard technological infrastructure, and this begins with roads and pavements. The lack of roads and transport make spatial exclusion still deeper. On one hand the request for improved hygienic relations in excluded settlements is talked about, but the existing technological infrastructure often doesnt create even the basic foundations for change. When searching for solutions it is important to remember the variety each environment is different and requires different priorities. The desire to live otherwise and the desire to work is, despite the situation of long-term unemployment, also still present.
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Appendix 1 to Chapter 6: Desires for the family

None given, doesnt know Education of children and a better future for them for a good future for the children that we are healthy, and that our daughter has a better life than we have (they have one daughter age 19 years) that the children finish school health and a decent household; higher education for the children for a holiday with the family and a new swimming pool in the yard; we are preparing the children a lot to attend a gymnzium (grammar school) that the children are healthy, that we always work and know how to provide the children with everything own housing; employment; not to owe anyone money; that the children have a clear future a good education and as a result employment; when they have learned, let them have more pay; if they dont want to study, let them dig and tidy up to finish the facade on the house; that the children finish school and find work, likewise the adults would like to work for health; that my son finish school and finds work and marries well that my children can study at secondary school and in the future at university, and so they can help to become employed like their parents and start a family that at least the children have work and a normal life Employment, work that we find work employment everything derives from this permanent employment at least for one person from the family employment in the nearby surroundings for more permanent work and security that they werent desperate to find work, also with low qualification and they didnt have to fear for their housing, work, subsistence; that they didnt have problems existing, that they were not hungry and could pay for everything like other people for work; to experience less stress; for peace for peace; for better financial possibilities of employment that the father find employment with an income; that the wife could devote herself to the family and household more work for the head of the family so far they live through drawing mamas pension, but when she passes away, her income will be sorely missed for work for my husband and two adult sons, because its difficult to live from social benefits (two parents and two adult sons are unemployed) for work and a stable income (both parents are unemployed) I desire a good job with good pay employment near the settlement and pay (there are 3 adults, parents and a 19-year-old son and all are without work, despite having completed their schooling) they desire work and finances to find work, so that there is more money work so that we improve our financial situation employment so that we improve our financial situation for work so that we have something to live from 3%
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for work so that father and son (18 years old, unemployed) work and the family would then have a larger income
that my husband and son have proper work and then our financial income will change and we could repair and improve our home our life would certainly be better if we found work; then we could afford more: a new facade on the house and a fence if I were to find some real work, I would earn more and we could get a loan and buy a better house better financial provision; permanent work money if we had work; and a family house (to live in our own) employment, a three-room flat employment; housing for a larger flat and for work for a larger flat (4 live in a house with one room and a kitchen, without a bathroom); for work for nice housing; for work to finish the house; work employment (both parents are unemployed despite completing vocational school) a good house; work after maternity leave that my son and husband find work my son is a trained electrician and cannot find work; to buy plastic windows that their son-in-law find work, likewise the adult children want to work; they have everything they want; they only desire health and more money that my sons find good wives; but mainly that they are employed and can become independent (they have 2 unemployed sons age 20 and 22 years). They need more money; they wanted to put a new facade on the house they would take out a loan for this, but they must work (there are 4 adults in the family without work, 3 children still attending primary school) that adult children find work somewhere; that my husband is healthy; a larger flat we have 11 children at home (adult children also live with us) for the family that my husband always has work and for the children sufficient education and obviously health; at home I would desire plastic windows and insulation that we are all healthy, that I dont have to go with the children to see the doctors; that they learn well; and that my husband find a job, that he get selected at least for activation work; that we get a municipal rental flat that everyone is healthy; that I find more work health, work; a two-room flat (five live in a one-room flat) they would certainly need work; if they had enough money they would buy a new bed and wardrobes for the bedroom for my own room; and mainly for work, for security for a better flat; health; that my husband again has a job they have only a little money; they would like new furniture, a bathroom and work that we continue to be healthy; that we find employment improving our housing; for finding employment nearby, at least one member of the family; and to improve our income health for the family; employment in the place of habitation; a new roof, completion of an executors proceeding and better social certainty happiness, health, work; food aid, a better house a tolilet in the house; permanent employment, health for the whole family; employment for my partner Housing better, larger, independent we desire new housing for better housing for better and nicer housing all my family desires a new home; the municipality promised to build social flats to have normal housing we desire good housing; an independent yard for the children for a new house with a bathroom and bath; and that we didnt have to pay high rent
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for a house where I can live like a decent person, to have heat and water for bathing as we are eight living in one room which also serves as a kitchen, room and childrens room, I very much desire better housing with a kitchen; we still live with my parents for a new flat or a house where we have electricity and water (they have a house with one room and without a bathroom; they dont have electricity or water) a larger flat a multi-room flat; we have only a one-room flat for a two-room flat for a larger house (they live with two small children in one room without a bathroom) for a larger house, because we have big children and few rooms (three children age 12 through 16; 1 room and a kitchen) a new and larger flat (7 live in a one-room tenement house, 5 of whom are children age 5 to 22 years) a separate room for the children for separate rooms for the sons they are adults now (two sons age 25 and 28 years, live with their parents; they live in one room with a kitchen, without furnishings, not even electricity) that I secure a room for my daughters (two daughters age 5 and 7 years), that we have water in the house for a room of my own for a room of my own (they are 5 and live in two rooms) more rooms (six live in one room without a bathroom and kitchen); a separate kitchen; a repaired chimney they would like their own house or flat; they complained that the municipality promised them social flats but arent doing anything for my own house the building of a new house for my own house for my own family house to have my own family house to live in a family house to finish building a family house our own to own a legal house (they live in a house built illegally; it has one room, a bathroom and water, and electricity illegally) to settle the property and legalise the building (they live in a house which is an illegal building) that we have our own family house, that the children have their own room the purchase of a flat for our daughter who has a serious boyfriend; we would like to buy a flat within about 30 km of our home the purchasing of a home for our son (they have 2 sons, 15 and 21 years old) for a house, for our daughters and for us; health for the whole family for independent housing only with my son a flat (a single mother lives with her parents); Im on maternity leave and I dont have any income that would let me afford it Modification to housing and furnishing of a flat modification of the flat for a new roof we would like a new roof for repair of the roof for repair of the roof on the house
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replace the roof covering and for central heating
We need a new facade on the house and a roof, but so long as my husband isnt working, we cant take out a loan a floating floor, tiles in the kitchen, repair of the toilet; the facade, the gutter pipes that a water line be brought into the house if we had a real bathroom, we would be very happy reconstruction of the house, but mainly that we have a bathroom they would like to buy the neighbouring land and build on a room, in which would be a childrens room and living room for a flat, where they will have a bed and a bathroom and a kitchen a bathroom, a toilet the building of a bathroom and a toilet in the house a bathroom; that we have water in the house, that we dont have to carry water from the neighbours after a bathroom and gas heating electricity and water water; that we also have electricity in the house; to properly repair our roof a bathroom, water, a source of heat in the households a bathroom, to repair the house both outside and inside quality housing a bathroom most of all and a toilet; to run to a toilet at night, and mainly in winter, is terrible for hot water in the bathroom, another source of heating the rooms; more space for living Households furnishings new furnishings for the house (bedroom, kitchen) furnishings for the house new furniture my own bed for my own bed a sofa, beds, a floor supplementing the furnishings of the flat, external plaster on the family house, which we dont have; and health for the family for a new television the old one broke down for a computer we would like a computer for the children for learning and for fun for health and that we lack nothing; the children would like a computer A change of place of habitation to move to town (Vranov) to have a solitary house near nature for another place of habitation I have bad neighbours that I could leave and live elsewhere, outside the Roma community that the entire family live far away, somewhere in a village where there is peace and quiet; that my father not always leave home, leave my mother we would like to live in the village (they live separated, outside the village) in a family house which would have a bathroom, gas heating and new furniture; mostly we desire health and more money Health health for health
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health, only health a healthy family health for the family is the most important thing that my son is healthy; that a bone marrow donor is found for my son only for healthy children and healthy both parents health for my children, my husband and me health; joy from life and family for health and peace well, we would need more things, but first of all that we are healthy; if I can dream, then a bathroom, too health; my own social flat mainly health; better housing for health I a semi-invalid pensioner; I want health most of all for my family; but obviously we would want for money we could use more money health; love; a larger house or a two-room heated flat (they have 1 room) only that the children are healthy; our own brick house; and more money health; and to get the bathroom in order health; a better house, to have light and heat that my children are health and our financial resources increase; to repair the roof mainly health for my family; satisfaction with living in the family; to renovate the bathroom To improve the level of living for more money more finance; a new bathroom more financial resources; to add on one more room (they live in a house with 2 rooms and all the furnishings); to reconstruct the bathroom I desire more money; and we would like to have a larger house that we have plenty of money (I no longer believe in changes; how long am I here and has it changed?!) I would be glad if this was ours (they live in an illegally occupied portable hut) and I could pay (rent), with ...even for 50 euro to live and to have the basic things necessary for life that living conditions would improve; that we begin to live the way we should live for a family house; and to have money for a better life that we have what others have; to have our own house (they live in a wooden house without a bathroom which they got from the municipality) the normal life of a family food, water, a bathroom, electricity, a television, a washing machine; to not owe anyone money; and mainly health the payment of all of our debts (for electricity and water) and health for my wife and for me Others that we have a healthy baby born; that we complete the repair of our home for another child; I want a boy (they have two girls, age 6 and 8); one more room (four live in a two-room house with a bathroom) Im divorced and live alone; I would need a partner, but I dont want to marry anymore that we were not home alone (an older married couple septuagenarians) that my husband get a drivers license to have my own house; and a car
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for a large house, so that everyone had their own bed; our own electricity, but mainly health, and that my husband return from prison
Appendix 2 to Chapter 6: Requested improvements in the municipality

No reply, dont know Nothing is needed; we have everything here we are on the whole satisfied; we have what we need here they are satisfied; they have what they need here we have everything we need in the village otherwise, nothing is missing in the village we are satisfied with the village I have no idea what; indeed, we have everything here we have everything here in the village; nothing is lacking; its enough that we are healthy because medicines are expensive Work, job opportunities work more opportunities for employment for the residents that there would be the opportunity to work here more work for those who dont have it more work opportunities, because 95% of residents here are unemployed there is no work opportunity here; its necessary to travel a long way from home for work that there was some work, because they dont even want us in the fields anymore the creation of work opportunities we used to work at the cooperative farm here all of us in the village would desire to open the plant and employ us to renew production in XY (a former plant in the village); this is mainly about employment to renew the glass works production, which was still working five years ago job opportunities on regular employment relations there are no job opportunities here; people dont have any place to be employed; I always find something Im a mason, but no one wants to give me a contract, so I work odd jobs (officially unemployed) if there was more work here, at least in the district town a new factory could start up; my husband is a mason; he earns on odd jobs, but no one wants to give him a work contract (now in the summer he works enough and our son-in-law helps him; they have enough work) work for others, especially for the men work at least for the men; a water main, gas a job; affordable prices for daily foodstuffs peace and quiet; that people not live rough, but at least live modestly and not from social benefits work for other Roma; a football pitch for the children work for the Roma; and that the village put in roads and pavements that children not live in poverty and want, that they have social and legal security; this means that they live like they used to and there was no unemployed, that they work for their daily bread; that they can get an education without fees and support from the state for safe movement of the family in public; that usurers didnt exist or even benefits in material need only work and pay (compulsory) mainly the construction of social flats and more job opportunities Roads, pavements and transport a road, roads better roads 15% 6%
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asphalt roads pavements we walk up to our knees in mud pavements, because everywhere there is a great deal of mud; a water main and to have our own electricity to repair the pavements when it rains, there is a lot of mud here; we would need a road there is a lot missing from our village, most a road to the cemetery would be necessary to build pavements; repair of the basement in the housing block the wall gets damp repair the roads so that there is no mud when it rains; public lighting asphalt roads, the lighting of the settlement an asphalt road, a water main, a food shop that they repair the road already; a bus to town (2.5 km distant from the settlement) a bus to school, an asphalt road that the children have a school bus (2.5 km from village) more connections to the village; those who have a car dont need this Infrastructure in the settlement lighting, sewerage, water main, gas, transport lighting repair of the lighting, because in the evening its a catastrophe streetlamps in the settlement the bringing in of electricity (they dont have electricity at all) sewerage, sewerage (many times) sewerage everywhere everyone wants what we dont have that we could have sewerage a water connection a water main and gas a water main and a gas line a water main and pavements around the shack sewerage, gas, heating improving of hygiene (they live in a settlement without water and sewerage perhaps 1.5 km from the village) Facilities for children playgrounds for children (many times) a playground for children in the village that a playground for children be put here climbing frames (many times) more climbing frames for children slides slides for the children; what can I want here, just what we have more attractions for children more space and places where children could play in peace Playing field, warm food in school for children playing fields, balls
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playing fields for children and benches
so, for our Roma children a playing field; and repaired roads where the Roma live Flats social, for Roma, for young families new flats rental flats rental flats for Roma families more new flats for young families construction of flats for our adult children (we are three families with children living in a two-room flat a total of 15 people) that the municipality begin to build rental flats for Roma, that our children could live decently; my son-in-law is employed, but he doesnt have a place to live; he lives in a self-built dwelling, and he cant properly rest there he is a boiler man and he has to get up at 3 to 4 in the morning that the municipality begin to build rental flats of lower standard, so that our children have somewhere to live when they begin to start their own families that the municipality also build flats for those Roma who live in shacks; the settlement will look better construction of new rental flats for our adult children, so that they dont have to live with us or in shacks when they are used to better; cleaner corridors in the housing block to build social flats with a bathroom and more rooms housing blocks, a water main repair the roads, flats for young couples, pavements and sewerage housing blocks; public lighting; a playground for children Cultural spaces and events a place where Roma could meet, something like a cultural salon a room where young people can gather more green; a leisure-time centre for children and adults a playground for children; spaces where children could spend free time during bad weather more cultural events for the Roma Shop (affordable food), kindergartens, schools, healthcare centre a shop with food a shop with food (it is in the village 3.5 km distant) a shop near the settlement (they have one now in the village perhaps 1 km away) they have good cohabitation, they would only wish for a shop with food near the settlement this is the worst in winter (they live on a hill) in the village they have everything; they dont have to travel to see a doctor they have one in the village; but the food in the shops are pretty expensive, so we go to Tesco or Kaufland in the district capital to do the shopping (20 km) better cohabitation; affordable food, and for the family with a very low income mainly basic foodstuffs (bread, flour, sugar); e.g. and an accessible price for getting rid of waste wood cleaning the forest after operations or extraction to not wait for benefits in material need, but for a pay check; a shop with food for poorer people Services others a kindergarten a kindergarten, because they wouldnt have to take the child to the village a kindergarten for Roma children the establishing of a Roma kindergarten that we had in the village a school for grades 1-9 a doctor in the village (they currently have to walk 7 km) that we didnt have to walk to town with the children, that they build here a hospital (healthcare centre)
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we would like to have a doctor and a hospital closer to repair the roads; a local doctor a doctor in the place of habitation (they currently travel 14 km); a school (the children travel 8 km to school) a paediatrician, a post office, a school that there was a paediatrician here, a post office, a kindergarten and school an asphalt road, a doctor, a school a community centre Im happy with the village, but I would like it if we had a community centre here a hygiene centre with showers, a water main and hot water Environment neighbourhood, cleanliness, order, safety normal people cohabitants better neighbours the mentality of people that they were not bad to others new, better and more understanding neighbours; that they begin building rental flats for our adult children in the village a cleaner environment, waste removal, more cultured neighbours peace, quiet, not hardships; and cleanliness that drugs stop being sold here, that children stop fighting, adults stop arguing, that things stop being destroyed, that the thievery stop fewer bad people; a larger flat (five live in a two-room flat in a housing block) that people not argue; sewerage for greater cleanliness greater cleanliness in the settlement cleanliness on the street improving our surroundings that the public source of water which is near our home be removed or redone; everyone who doesnt have water in their home or shack goes there to wash, and a lot of waste stays behind; filth and standing water are left there, it doesnt flow away and it gives off a smell that those who dirty the flats went elsewhere to live, because they give us a bad name order, a vegetable patch to tidy up the surroundings, insulate the flat; a caretaker to improve the block of flats, the entrance; to paint it this is tough to do; they would like to live like people in the village in nice houses, pavements Relations with the majority population good relations with the whites a better approach to the Roma that in the village they dont judge people when they dont know what kind of live they have at home that we get along with our neighbours in the nearby vicinity as Roma Others anything can be bought, but we dont have any money peace for the family, health; another life than now social security meters for the radiators because we have large arrears payments for heating a functioning broadcast system nearby
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7. PRINICPLE FINDINGS
According to the professional literature, social exclusion is a process which limits the individual, families and groups or entire local societies in their access to resources that are necessary for participation in the social, economic and political life of a society... In association with this process access to institutions and services, social networks and opportunities for development which are commonly accessible to the majority society is then forbidden to people for a significant period (Pierson, 2002, pg. 7). Social exclusion is expressed in different areas of life; the cited author, for example, differentiates: poverty and low income; limited access to the labour market; thin or non-existing social networks; housing and life in the context of locality; exclusion from services (Pierson, 2002, pg. 7-8). The research probe into households from excluded settlements recorded all types of exclusion: limited access to healthcare, low quality of housing, self-help and mutual help with a family and locality when solving common life situations, the indebtedness of households and limited access to the labour market. On the basis of the research findings, it is possible to state that members of many surveyed households from a spatially excluded environment do not share in equal measure the material and non-material sources of society and in their distribution and redistribution; this often leads to their striking separation from the usual life style of the common population (Mare, 2000, pg. 285-286). stomach ache, vomiting and diarrhoea, are also among the common illnesses in Roma children. Preventive check-ups and vaccinations in excluded settlements are almost solely a matter for children; adults predominately go for control only upon the finding of more serious illnesses. The compiled cases of the last time seeing a doctor also indicated several barriers in access to medical care in a significant portion of marginalised Roma communities. Spatial exclusion itself immediately establishes problems with access to medical care. The majority of recorded cases had standard medical services relatively distant, whether this is a paediatrician or a family doctor for adults; with the accessibility of an emergency room or hospital treatment or hospitalisation the distance of healthcare deepened still further. For overcoming the distance to medical care families from excluded settlements must expend special efforts. In the conditions of poor financial situation of many excluded Roma households going to see a doctor on foot is not uncommon; in several cases they overcome a journey of some kilometres even with an ill child or with their own illness. Only a few from excluded households have their own vehicle available, and a relatively frequent strategy is using a passenger car of someone from the neighbourhood. Such a journey to see a doctor is either an accompanying activity of the vehicle owner to a distant location, or the household renting the car for the purpose of an urgent journey to see the doctor. Then to pay the costs they mainly borrow, and even cases of usury or working off of debts accrued for transport were found. Public transport is also a problem for households from excluded settlements when going to see a doctor, because for some settlements, it is not accessible at all or excluded households cannot afford it for financial reasons. But problems of marginalised communities do not end with spatial limitations in the accessibility of medical care. The poor economic situation complicates the
Seeing a doctor and the accessibility of healthcare

In Roma communities medical care for children is given priority over adults. Adult members of a household see a doctor usually only with more serious illnesses, and they do not consult a physician with common illnesses such as colds or stomach problems. Aside from colds and respiratory illnesses, problems with the digestive system, such as, for example,
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accessibility and quality of care for many of these households. Not only are financial resources not available to a large portion of excluded Roma households for transport to see a doctor, but also for fees and prescribed medicines, which forces families to borrow or leads to giving up and a limitation of needed treatment.
The quality of housing and modifications to a dwelling

As was shown, with households from excluded communities, aside from the consequences of spatial segregation of the place of habitation itself, which are in several cases fatal, there are many others and they have a negative impact on the possibilities of integration into the individual area of the public sphere housing in poor quality dwellings, which often complicates the hygienic situation of households, is added to the image of their living conditions. This qualitative research probe confirmed the findings from quantitative surveys a much higher concentration of non-standard dwellings (not brick houses and flats in housing blocks) in segregated environments. According to a subjective evaluation brick family houses and housing blocks in excluded settlements are of varying quality from excellent to very poor for life, and non-standard dwellings are almost exclusively connected with disadvantageous conditions. The monitoring of the official status of a dwelling also indicated that the deeper the spatial exclusion of the place of residence, the higher the occurrence of unofficial buildings. At the same time, unofficial (so-called black) buildings significantly more often take the form of dwellings of nonstandard building materials, and in the case of brick houses they are less frequent in excluded settlements. Critical opinions evaluating the living conditions from the side of residents of such dwellings themselves is strongly linked with illegal buildings, which take the form most often of non-standard dwellings in segregated or separated settlements. Unofficial buildings arise more easily in segregated settlements; at the same time these are not homes of the standard
type and the residents of such dwellings themselves dont see their living conditions in a positive light. The linking of these aspects indicates that the building of a non-standard dwelling in segregated environments is for its residents a starting point for poverty; this is for many poor households from excluded environments the only way they are able in the given financial and social situation to provide a roof over the head and to fulfil one of the most basic conditions for life. The methods of acquiring a dwelling in an excluded settlement determined on the basis of the research probe are relatively different and they are different according to the type of settlement and to the type of dwelling. This could indicate that the processes leading to segregation or separation of housing are in reality varied. It occurs by buying a dwelling in excluded environments, further by building a dwelling in such settlements or by inheriting a house from parents, by occupying an abandoned dwelling, but also by allocation of housing from a municipality. Households which got their current dwelling from the municipality occurred in all three types of excluded settlements, with the highest share in the scope of separated settlements on the edge of a municipality. The findings indicate that municipal flats for the socially weak are not infrequently located outside of a municipality predominately on its edges. The situation from the viewpoint of the type of dwelling, methods of acquiring it and the ownership relation regarding a dwelling seem to be very disparate in excluded settlements. With many of the surveyed households the formal status of the lived-in flat or dwelling was not clear, which in and of itself does not create a good starting point for housing stability and the quality of life for a household and its members. The subjective evaluation of living conditions, which were the most unfavourable for segregated settlements and non-standard dwellings, confirmed this. The research probe repeatedly and in detail showed that Roma households from excluded settlements often inhabit non-quality dwellings, and the situation is the worst for segregated settlements. Not only are
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non-standard dwellings or shacks concentrated in segregated settlements, but they often remain without the most basic facilities. But problems with dwellings were found in all three types of excluded environments; in each of them households were found living in dwellings not corresponding with the criteria of quality, whether the size of the home or flat was involved or its over-crowdedness or deficiencies in basic technical furnishings. Cases were not unusual in which individual deficiencies were combined together over-crowdedness with poor technical furnishings, etc. The quality of housing of many households from excluded settlements showed marked deficits and lagged significantly behind the common standards of housing in Slovakia. The majority of EU countries have accepted some type of housing policy which should support the development of housing, its accessibility and ensure a minimum quality of housing defined through minimal standards. Many of the conditions of housing found in excluded Roma settlements decidedly do not satisfy standards. The unavailability of water in dwellings and the absence of sewerage, problems with energy and methods of heating lag far behind any standard even minimal standards. Over-crowded housing and limited space for its residents reduces chances at any development. The widespread occurrence of a situation when each member of a household not only does not have his or her own room but not even his or her own bed is alarming. The recorded stories of the last modification to a dwelling pointed to three basic associations: maintenance of a dwelling predominates over more principle improvements in the quality of dwelling; for many households even basic maintenance of a flat or house is financially inaccessible; an absolute majority of housing modifications are done by the households themselves, or with the help of relatives and friends, while paid services are used only exceptionally. Even the latest modifications carried out in the current dwelling did not indicate a stronger trend toward improving the existing quality of the housing in excluded settlements.
Questions relating to social housing or integration play a key role in the social policy of the EU. The Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union in Chapter IV article 34 states: In order to combat social exclusion and poverty, the Union recognises and respects the right to social and housing assistance so as to ensure a decent existence for all those who lack sufficient resources, in accordance with the rules laid down by Community law and national laws and practices (Charter..., 2007).. In association with housing the central governments of states, which develop their own housing policies, are primarily responsible. Slovakia faces many challenges in this regard, for example, how to renew the housing fund, how to plan and resolve the expansion of towns and villages, how to support sustainable development, but also how to help the young and disadvantaged groups. Households from excluded settlements decidedly belong to a disadvantaged group, as indicated by all of the monitored parameters of housing quality. The findings cry out for principle measures in the interest of correcting the existing status, especially in association with the demographic development of this part of the population and with the growing need for flats for the growing trend in the number of newly established families and their slender chances of obtaining housing themselves. One of the most important factors influencing methods of housing in the Roma population in general is their territorial distribution, or the measure of their concentration in individual regions. But an inseparable part of their housing is also the character of the settlement whether of the settlement or urban type. The characteristics of housing for the Roma, according to P. Navrtil on the basis of an analysis of the situation in Czech Republic, are as follows: the concentration of Roma residents in the objectionable, old housing fund in the ownership of the state; segregation practices of municipalities, impossibility of renting a flat in another location due to racial prejudices of the owners; the origin of ghettoes;
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illegal occupancy of flats, housing in flats without a rental contract (Navrtil, 2003, pg. 124). It can be stated that in Slovakia these not only apply in full measure, but ultimately there are a great many more segregation practices.
Eating habits in Roma communities

Many of the meal plans recorded in the research probe showed that poverty and material deprivation in this environment is a widespread phenomenon. The daily fare does not conform to the nutritional value needed for healthy development. The deprivation of many of the surveyed households is connected with their exclusion from consumption, even from the consumption of food. This means that not infrequently there is a dramatic lowering of their level of living in regard to the social consequences of long-term unemployment. Minimally in a certain period of the month before benefits come the characteristics of absolute poverty were indicated, when deprivation comes near to a certain physiological threshold, beneath which the most basic need, such as food, is not satisfied. Several of the meal plans were very poor and monotonous. On the basis of the examples of the menus, it is possible to summarise that food consumption of Roma households from excluded settlements does not appear overall to be of particularly high quality. A relatively large proportion of the meal plans contained before benefits a small number of meals per day, little variety, monotonous foods more focused on flour-based and potatoes-based dishes than on fruits and vegetables or dairy products. Households were also found which minimally in the period before benefits suffer a lack of food. Sometimes the meal plan took the real form of one hot meal per day. Before benefits, a certain portion of excluded households had an exceptionally monotonous diet. After benefits the variety of meals in the majority of the surveyed households grew, but these are to a large
extent calorific and meat dishes which are added to the meal plan; healthy foods were rarer. Before benefits poor quality, monotonous meals without nutritional value and after benefits heavy and calorific meals such could be evaluated the eating habits of a large portion of Roma households from excluded communities. According to the warning doctors, the consumption of foods with a high content of animal fats leads to increased occurrence of overweight and obesity, which have as a consequence health problems, primarily of the circulatory system.61 If smoking and the giving up of going to see a doctor, which was not at all unusual (primarily for adults) among residents of excluded Roma settlements, are then factored in,62 this can have an effect in earlier and higher mortality. According to some meal plans differences in eating habits were expressed between children and adults, as well as school-attending children and those remaining at home. In adults a tendency was expressed toward giving preference to children, to whom they give food more often and of a different type. As was shown, for example, dairy products and fruits were not added even after benefits in all excluded households with children. The second dimension represents the recorded difference in the diets of children attending school and other household members. In some households the difference recorded in the eating of school-attending children in comparison with those at home received (especially before benefits they lacked a mid-morning snack, the meals were less healthy), the programme of school dining appears as a step in a good direction. An overall view on both menus at the same time shows that after benefits no great feasting took place. For the most part, at least after benefits the meal plan of many households became only standard: a midmorning or afternoon snack was added, they allow children to have biscuits, yoghurt or fruit; some
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61 62
As Chapter 2 describes, it is this very type of illness that is most widespread in the surveyed environments. See also more in Chapter 2 of this study.
households permitted a favourite meal, they indulged in a favourite meat in short they eat a bellyful. Although modes of eating discovered during the monitoring of this aspect varied from permanently deficit to permanently standard, a relatively large group combine in the month a longer period of deficit eating with normal eating even after receipt of incomes especially with households reliant exclusively on social benefits. Even the view through the monitoring of favourite and most commonly eaten meals identified the orientation to more heavy cooking and non-quality meals in excluded Roma settlements. The research probe thus confirmed and in the examples of individual meals showed the dining habits in this environment. The tendency predominated in the eating habits of households that the more demanding favourite meals were mainly if they are meat-based meals then households can only afford them occasionally in the course of the month, and commonly cannot afford them at all. Generally, they prepare a favourite meal only one time each month and do so after arrival of incomes into the family. The main meal on the meal plan in the period after benefits and the favourite meal were in the majority of cases identical. Through most of the month they experience a limitation in food consumption which also takes the form of clearcut deprivation in nutrition
households without a working member were there was at least one young child, and in multimember households. From a comparison of total incomes and expenditures of excluded Roma households which managed to get recorded during one month, it followed than on average they are more or less equal. The remainder from the entire sum of incomes after subtracting total expenditures came out low (44.61 euro per household), and if a sum borrowed during the course of the month is not included in the total incomes the remainder is even much smaller (10.32 euro per households and not even 2 euro per one member). If households were not indebted and didnt have to make loan repayments, the remainder of incomes would be 60 euro higher, or excluded Roma households could increase their other expenditures by this sum. The amount of income influences the principle way of managing households and the width of the period of the month through which they have financial resources available in a certain volume. The low overall income at the same time means surviving most of the month with very small sums of disposable financial resources. With households with the lowest incomes this means more than half a month with a sum lower than 10 euro per one member. With such financial resources decisions on household consumption are markedly limited, and covering basic needs and unexpected basic expenditures can also be endangered households go into debt in an attempt to provide them. The research probe into excluded settlement indicated that households from excluded Roma settlements are indebted to a high degree. Their debts originate differently; often the way is unpaid rent for housing or for services or energy associated with housing. But they also borrow for the securing of necessary healthcare, for making modifications to a dwelling or for the purchase of food. Typically, debts for these household arise due to satisfying basic needs or at least minimal consumption. At the same time, it was shown that a large portion of these households has a payment calendar worked up
Indebtedness of households from excluded settlements

Empirical data from different empirical sources confirmed in terms of averages the stressed or deficit financial budget of excluded Roma households. The small incomes to these households allow only a low level of expenditures and do so even with expenditures covering the most basic needs, such as food and housing. A large portion of households have problems paying for basic needs for its members and some of them are unable to do this despite frequently borrowing money. The worst balance was recorded in
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for the liquidation of their debts. But as research assistants in the field pointed out, in several respondent households having a payment calendar, many families are unable to observe it. The research probe also recorded a certain group of families which had a special recipient for a portion of their social benefits. In some households an executory proceeding was imposed upon their inability to pay debts; in the end this occurred in several households. The chances of some families getting out from under their debts in some realistic time period was practically negligible.
desires were very often linked with this particular area of life. This means that deprivation in housing in the surveyed environments is exceptionally strong. A general desire for health of family members and an improvement of the financial situation and the living level were also found to be frequent personal family desires. The absolute predominance of stated desires had the character of common, basic items necessary for life; certain above-standard desires were really only exceptional (a car, a PC for the children). Desires aimed at improving life in the settlement of habitation were relatively varied; however, the specific things lacking in the settlement predominated among them. Great emphasis was placed on job opportunities in the surroundings and flats for young families; they wanted a more peaceful and cleaner environment within the settlements, and they desired the completion of its technological infrastructure primarily roads and sidewalks, but also sewerage, water mains and the like. A considerable group of desires associated with children: they felt the need for leisure-time facilities or furnishings for children, like playgrounds and other equipment for games; nursery schools in the settlements were often requested. In addition, a variety of requests were recorded for services according those missing in the settlement. Roma residents from excluded settlements were also lacking in cultural events, and they expressed through desires an interest in improving relations with the majority population. Many desires of Roma households implicitly gave testimony about the poor conditions of housing and their ties to the labour market. Exclusion from the labour market at the same time means exclusion from the possibilities to improve housing. As section 3.3 showed, many surveyed households live in very disadvantageous conditions and there are too few solutions to their housing situation. They do not have the financial resources for the purchase of a flat or house exclusion from the labour market closes off such a possibility. At the same time exclusion from the labour market for them means exclusion from loans
Desires for the family and requested changes in the settlement

According to the empirical findings, work was found among the desires for the family in the responses of Roma households not only the most often but was approached from different sides. Once the content and character of the work was emphasised, its spatial accessibility or a formal work contract; other times the result of work a work income. A large portion of Roma households perceived a work income as the only way to better living conditions and to a minimal life security. Many of the families also specified the use of potential work incomes they would like to invest into improving their housing conditions and strengthening their life security, families with children to their education and the future. The work desires to a larger or smaller measure confirmed all of the existing knowledge regarding the work activities in excluded communities. We recall the huge unemployment, the instability of jobs which are available to them, the absence of job opportunities in the nearby surroundings, the inaccessibility of permanent places for the unqualified labour force and the like. The desire to find a job is in the surveyed environments strong with the parental generation, and also has an important place in the dreams of the future for children.
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Excluded Roma households devoted a great deal of attention to different aspects of housing their
and mortgages; several respondents emphasised that without work stable work they cant get loans. For many from the households the vicious circle closed: exclusion from the labour market and the absence of normal work opportunities; even simple physical survival on social benefits securing food is problematic. Exclusion from the labour market (not infrequently despite a skill or completed education) at the same time squanders the possibilities of adult children to become independent and establish their own household. This subsequently expands the parental family and leads to further overcrowding in already overcrowded dwellings. The capability of adult children to become independent is in excluded environments slim. What must happen in the next generation, when the housing space will still further narrow, is a difficult to predict. If we look at the literature, the huge deprivation brings unrest and reduces social conciliation. Although families cumulate resources and make up insufficient resources with self-help and mutual relief, these are not enough for overcoming the deficit. Despite the willingness and skilfulness regarding selfhelp solutions, the deep deficit of work incomes also closes off this possibility. Therefore, it is not surprising that housing was found to be the second most common area of wishes for ones family and the desire for housing for children in the settlement of residence also ended up relatively strong. Many excluded settlements lack standard technological infrastructure, and this begins with roads and pavements. The lack of roads and transport make spatial exclusion still deeper. On one hand the request for improved hygienic relations in excluded settlements is talked about, but the existing technological infrastructure often doesnt create even the basic foundations for change. When searching for solutions it is important to remember the variety each environment is different and requires different
priorities. Despite the situation with long-term unemployment, the desire to live otherwise and the desire to work is also still present. The relatively great desire, differently motivated, of excluded Roma households for economic integration and stable jobs in the areas around their habitations inspires the question: why is there such desperately high unemployment in excluded environments? Aside from the lack of work opportunities in the regions with excluded settlements there are also the individual and social impacts of long-term unemployment. Since the world of modern society is organised on the principle of paid work, from which the standing and importance of an individual and the living level of his family derives, the situation of long-term unemployment of members of a households leads to several consequences which the professional literature has described rather well. In the mentioned perspective of the key position of paid work in society long-term unemployment has the following possible effects: it destroys the work ethic and contributes to demotivation of the unemployed to seek a place on the labour market, which in the end leads to his definitive exclusion from this market; it devastates human capital of the unemployed, because the unemployed persons not only cannot maintain it, but they cannot even innovate their own work capabilities and qualifications; at the same time, long-term unemployment stigmatizes the unemployed and evokes in him distrust of potential employers, who can instinctively explain the fact that certain individuals are long without work as a personal defect (they have unusable qualifications, a lack of work habits, are unreliable, querulous, lazy or have other problematic characteristics); long-term unemployment represents in a work organized on the principle of paid work an identity crisis for a person (Mare, 2002, pg. 75). The consequences are huge and many in discussions about the situation of Roma households often disrespect or ignore them.
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APPENDIX: ACCESSIBILITY OF BASIC INFRASTRUCTURE AND SERVICES FOR RESIDENTS OF MARGINALISED ROMA COMMUNITIES
The questionnaire for the research probe with the working name of situational accounts contained a battery of questions which related to different characteristics of specific settlement habitation sites, thus the specific space for the life of marginalised Roma communities (MRC). The distance from the home municipality and from the district centres was monitored, along with basic infrastructure within the municipality and in the marginalised settlements, the accessibility of basic facilities and services, the possibilities of transport and community work in the settlement. The assigning of such indicators to the survey had several objectives. Aside from zooming in on the specific condition in settlements and on an outline of the intervals in which the facilities the settlements lived in by Roma communities move, this was the need for some attributes in statistical classifications during the analysis of incomes and expenditure strategies and behaviour, as well as an attempt to verify some indicators and their comprehensibility for researchers before the repeated monitoring of Roma settlements with the name Atlas of Roma Communities. There was decidedly no ambition to carry out a representative survey of marginalised Roma settlements; the research activity had the form of a research probe into Roma settlements accessible to the selected collaborators.
Structure of the sample of surveyed settlements by territory and type of spatial exclusion
Overall, field collaborators (researchers) managed to record the situation in 151 spatially excluded settlements (a list of their names is in the appendix). Together they visited 125 towns and villages in Slovakia from six regions and 25 districts. Within some villages or towns several Roma settlements are found,63 therefore, the number of Roma settlements is higher than the number of municipalities visited. The distribution of the surveyed Roma settlements in terms of covering the territory of Slovakia is detailed in Table 1. The Koice Region was represented by the most settlements (58), followed by the Preov Region with 45 settlements and the Bansk Bystrica Region with 42 settlements. The territory of western Slovakia was represented by six marginalised Roma settlements out of the total number of 151.
Table I Surveyed Roma settlements by regions and districts

Trnava Region Nitra Region Bansk Bystrica Region Preov Region Koice Region Total Number of districts 1 2 9 5 8 25 Number of MRC 2 4 42 45 58 151
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63
Near some villages even three segregated Roma settlements arose; on the territory of some towns are several concentrated Roma settlements or a combination of settlements on land affiliated with one village they have a segregated settlement outside the village or on its edge and a concentrated community within the village.
Table II Surveyed Roma settlements by type and stated distance from the home municipality (in % and km)
Settlements with zero distance from home municipality (in %) Total - from this settlements labelled as: segregated separated on the edge of a municipality concentrated within a municipality 40 0 23 94 Settlements spatially distant from home municipality (in %) 60 100 77 6 Interval of distances (in km) 0.2 5.0 0.2 5.0 0.2 2.0 0.5 1.0 Average distance (in km) 1.33 1.61 1.05 0.83
The captured sample of marginalised Roma settlements was differentiated according to type of spatial exclusion. Researchers labelled approximately 30% of them as being a segregated settlement, while another 38% of the surveyed settlements qualified as separated on the edge of a municipality and the remaining 32% was made up of marginalised communities concentrated within a village or town. The relatively balanced resulting representation of the individual types of spatial exclusion created the possibility for mutual comparison of the individual types of housing from the viewpoint of equipping with basic infrastructure and the accessibility of basic civic facilities.
remaining 60% was more or less distant from the home municipality. The interval of the distances between the settlements and the home municipality was relatively broad: from 200 metres to 5 kilometres. As Table II shows, all settlements designated by researchers as segregated settlements were at a certain distance from the home municipality, and this distance was the same as that for the sample of surveyed settlements as a whole (from 0.2 to 5 km); the average distance was more than 1.6 km. Among Roma settlements separated on the edge of a municipality 23% were given zero distance from the municipality, and for 77% of them a certain spatial distance was declared; this was from 0.2 to 2 km, and the average stated distance was just over 1 kilometre. Among Roma settlements declared by researchers as settlements concentrated within a municipality again, for a small group a certain distance do the municipality was listed. Researchers considered 6% of settlements as concentrated within a municipality but listed for them a distance from the municipality from half to one kilometre (average 0.8 km). Specifically these were cases of settlements which belonged to municipalities in a much expanded geographic space.64 From the viewpoint of the third objective of this research activity, i.e. the verification of indicators to repeated mapping of Roma communities, it is necessary to point out the importance of a very exact
Distance of surveyed settlements from the home municipalities and centres

The research probe again confirmed that the situation of marginalised Roma settlements in Slovakia is markedly varied in terms of the distance from the home municipality. On one hand such settlements are a component of the interior geographical space of a village or town, but they also arise outside municipal residential areas and do so at different distances from the municipality. On the basis of the classification of researchers, a total of approximately 40% of settlements of the surveyed sample resided in the interior territory of a municipality, and the
64
It was probably difficult for them to determine which of the spatially expanded parts still consists of territory in the municipality. Specifically in this research probe, these were the municipalities of Vyn Slovinky, Kokava nad Rimavicou and Gelnica.
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Table III Surveyed Roma settlements by type and stated distance from the district town (in % and km)
Settlements with zero distance from the district town (in %) Total - from this settlements labelled as: segregated separated on the edge of a municipality concentrated within a municipality 15 10 19 16 Settlements spatially distant from district town (in %) 85 90 81 84 Interval of distances (in km) 1.2 54.0 1.2 47.0 2.0 54.0 3.0 45.0 Average distance (in km) 18.27 19.93 15.95 19.22
and detailed defining of the individual types of Roma settlements, as well as a detailed definition of what is considered to be the residential areas of a municipality and when a settlement is outside of them. In this regard it will be necessary to give researchers very exact instructions, possibly also with specific examples and in written form.65 According to the estimated distances from the district town the surveyed sample of Roma settlements were divided into a ratio of 15% to 85%. Thus, 15% of the surveyed settlements were linked directly to the district town and the remaining 85% were geographically distant from the district town. Naturally, the distance from this well-known administrative junction, where the more demanding healthcare and social services or unemployment services are usually located, was very diverse. The interval of the distances had a span exceeding 50 kilometres (from 1.2 to 54 km). On average for the entire sample of surveyed Roma settlements the distance from the district town represented more than 18 kilometres. Segregated settlements were least often linked directly to the district town (10% of them belonged administratively to the district seat), and in the case of separated and concentrated settlements this was 6% and 9% more. Roma settlements separated on the
edge were according to the research probe on average nearest to district towns (not quite 16 km), and for segregated settlements or those concentrated within a home municipality the average distance for the district town was near to 20 km. Although the research probe carried out was unable to paint an overall picture regarding the distribution of Roma settlements from administrative district centres, the data indicated that they more often originate at more distant spaces, and that one-tenth to one-fifth of them is directly near district towns. The majority of residents of excluded settlements are spatially distant from a district town, some even by tens of kilometres. Table IV indicates that in approximately one-fifth of the surveyed Roma settlements researchers identified some physical (natural or man-made) barrier between the Roma settlement and the home municipality; the remaining 81% was listed without a barrier. Different types of barriers occurred in the responses and not infrequently they were combined. Overall the probe recorded 10 types of barriers, or combinations of them. Most are related to segregated Roma settlements (10 types of barriers recorded), and then settlements separated on the edge of a municipality (5 types found with them). For Roma communities concentrated within a municipality which were
65
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In the scope of this research probe, detailed training of researchers took place, but they did not receive instructions in written form. Also, in the scope of the training what constituted municipal residential area or outside of municipal area was not defined, which with some types of arrangement of villages or towns in space could lead to an unclear interpretation and the subsequent designation. But as was mentioned above, the probe did not have the ambition to replace mapping, but more to help identify weak indicators for repeating the Atlas of Roma Communities monitoring. For further processing of data, the characteristics of settlements were not modified; the designation of type as was identified by the researchers remained in place.
Table IV Surveyed Roma settlements by type and stated barrier between the settlement and the home municipality (in % and numbers)
Settlements Settlements without barriers stated with a stated barrier (in %) (in %) Total - from this settlements labelled as: segregated separated on the edge of a municipality concentrated within a municipality 81 19 Number of types of barriers (number) 10 Most frequent barrier (frequency) 1. stream or river (12-x); 2. railway line (6-x); 3. road (6-x)
53 86 100
47 14 0
10 5 0
included in the research probe the field assistants did not list any physical barriers.66 Watercourses were most often listed as a barrier: a stream or river (sometimes together with a bridge) occurred in tens of settlements, and in another two a watercourse was recorded together with a main road or a railway line. The second most commonly listed barrier was a railway line; one was listed independently in the case of five surveyed Roma settlements, and with one settlement together with a watercourse. Roads were also ranked among the most frequent barriers (a regular road or a high-speed one) with a total of 6 settlements, 4 of which were listed independently and 2 in combination with another barrier a stream or a forest. The following were also listed as a natural or manmade barrier between a Roma settlement and the home municipality within the research probe: a meadow, a field, a forest alone or a forest with a railway tunnel, or more distance.
Surveyed Roma settlements by furnishing with basic infrastructure

Another area which was the focus of attention within the research probe was the covering of the surveyed
settlements with technological networks which are ranked among the basic civic furnishings of a place of habitation. The research logbook contained a total of eight items of technological furnishings, three related to the road network (pavements, roads within the place of habitation and between the settlement and the home municipality); the others consisted of: sewerage, an electric main, public lighting, a gas main and a water main. As Table V shows, no technological infrastructure had one-hundred percent coverage recorded; with each type a group of settlements was found which do not have the given infrastructure available. An electricity main and a paved road between the settlement and the home municipality were recorded in the most settlements: 96% of the surveyed settlements had an electricity main and 93% had a paved road leading to the settlement. Approximately three-quarters of the surveyed settlements had paved roads within the place of housing (77%), a water distribution network (75%) and public lighting within the settlement (73%).Other technological infrastructure occurred in the surveyed settlements a great deal less: paved sidewalks within the place of housing was recorded in just over half of them (54%), sewerage in less than half (48%) and settlements equipped with a gas networks were the least (only 38%).
66
Here it is necessary to mention that during the training of researchers for data collection no special attention was paid to specifying or dening spatial barriers or obstacles; the logbook only presented in the form of examples in parentheses a wall, a stream and a railway line. The researchers, however, were invited to record anything that to them that appeared to them as a barrier. Such an approach was deliberate; it aspired at obtaining the broadest scale of possibilities for further more detailed research, so that barriers already know could possibly be supplemented.
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Table V Surveyed Roma settlements by type and furnishing of basic infrastructure (in %)
from this settlements labelled as: Infrastructure in the place of housing Paved sidewalks in the place of housing Paved roads in the place of housing Paved road between settlement and municipality Sewerage Electricity main Public lighting Gas main Water main Total 54 77 93 48 96 73 38 75 segregated 31 69 91 42 93 60 22 62 separated on the edge of a municipality 46 65 91 51 95 65 28 70 concentrated within a municipality 86 98 96 51 100 96 65 92
Note: The table presents the percentage share of settlements for which the researchers recorded the presence of the given furnishings.
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The situation differs significantly according to the type of settlement involved in terms of spatial exclusion. The worst infrastructure was confirmed to be in segregated settlements, and this applies for all eight types of infrastructure monitored. While all of the settlements concentrated with a municipality were covered by electricity mains, 5% from separated on the edge of a municipality and 7% of segregated settlements from the surveyed sample did not have electricity. Although on average 93% of the surveyed settlements had a paved road connecting the settlement to the home municipality, in the case of concentrated this was 96% and in segregated and separated 91% (thus 9% of settlements did not have a paved road connecting it to the home municipality). A great difference was manifested also with the coverage by other road networks. A total of 98% of concentrated settlements had paved roads within the place of habitation, but only 65% and 69% of separated and segregated settlements had them. The difference was even greater for paved sidewalks within the place of habitation: 86% of concentrated settlements had them in comparison with 46% and 31% for the remaining two types of settlements. Thus, nearly 70% of the surveyed segregated settlements did not have paved sidewalks within their place of habitation. A similar proportion to the disadvantage of segregated settlements was also confirmed with other types of infrastructure: 58% of segregated settlements did not
have sewerage, while in separated and concentrated settlements this was not quite half; 38% of the surveyed segregated settlements did not have a water main, while among separated settlements this was 30% and in concentrated within a municipality only 8%; up to 40% of segregated and 35% of separated settlements did not have public lighting, while from those concentrated within a municipality this was only 4%; and 78% of segregated and 72% separated settlements were without a gas line, while among concentrated within a municipality this was 35%. The type of spatial exclusion is decidedly defined on the basic of the equipping of settlements with technological networks and infrastructure. Roma communities are often settled in places without basic technological support for quality housing, or technical infrastructure is brought into these settlements in a smaller range or not at all. The fact that some settlements, even those concentrated within a municipality, are without basic civic facilities can indicate on one hand that Roma settlements are created right in those regions and municipalities where the overall infrastructure is weaker or marginalised, or they do not have the financial or other prerequisites for full technological infrastructure. Cases are also known of disconnecting of some concentrated settlements from some infrastructure networks for different reasons.
Table VI Surveyed Roma settlements by type and furnishings with basic infrastructure versus connected households (in %)
- from this settlements labelled as: Total main in the settlement (n=151) Households connected to the public water main total (n=151) Households living in a settlement with a water main that were connected to it (n=113) Sewerage in the settlement (n=151) Households connected to sewerage total (n=151) Households living in a settlement with sewerage that were connected to it (n=73) Gas main in the settlement (n=151) Households connected to gas total (n=151) 75 55 70 48 36 75 38 19 segregated 62 47 75 42 29 68 22 9 40 93 67 71 separated on the edge of a municipality 70 54 73 51 44 86 28 11 31 95 81 83 concentrated within a municipality 92 63 64 51 35 68 65 37 50 100 92 92
Households living in a settlement with a gas main 43 that were connected to it (n=58) Electricity main in the settlement (n=151) Households connected to electricity total (n=151) 96 80
Households living in a settlement with an 83 electricity main that were connected to it (n=145)
Note: In each settlement the situation was recorded for only one household typical for the given settlement.
However, even the equipping of a settlement with technological networks does not mean that these are equally accessible for all households who live in the settlement. This is indicated by a comparison of the equipping of households in the given settlement. The connection of households67 to technological networks came out from the measurement of the research probe to be lower than the accessibility of the given type of infrastructure in the specific place of habitation. While from 151 surveyed settlements researchers listed a water main with 75% of them, from an equal number of 151 Roma households, each of which represented a settlement (one typical household for each settlement), only 55% had a connection to the water main. This means that not all of the
households utilise this type of infrastructure, although it is present in the settlement. Similarly, from households which inhabited settlements with a water network, 70% were actually connected to it. In other words, this means that in approximately 30% of the surveyed settlements which researchers listed as being equipped with a water main, a typical Roma household is not connected to it. With a harder and more minimalist condition it is possible to state the following: in 30% of the surveyed settlements which researchers listed as being equipped with a water main, there is at least one Roma household which is not connected to the water main. And as Table 6 presents, a similar principle also applies for other types of infrastructure: on average 25% of the
67
In each settlement the situation was recorded for only one household typical for the given settlement.
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surveyed Roma settlements with sewerage installed had at least one household which was not connected it; in 57% of the surveyed settlements with a gas line, at least one family lives without being connected to the gas network; and finally in 17% of the surveyed settlements with electricity installed at least one household lives without an electricity connection. Both indicators used also suggest that the phenomenon of not connecting or not utilising infrastructure, despite its being available in the settlement, is overall more frequent in segregated settlements. But it was recorded even in Roma settlements concentrated within a municipality; in the case of non-connection to the water network it was in the end highest for concentrated settlements (36% of concentrated settlements within a municipality with water mains had at least one household without a connection to the public water source versus 25% for segregated settlements) and with connection to sewerage the same as for segregated settlements (32% of settlements with sewerage, but with at least one family without a connection). This may be a consequence of problems during the assigning of concentrated parts of smaller villages according to technological furnishings: a village has the given infrastructure network, but in the excluded part of the village it is not accessible (it is not installed at the site of residence of Roma households; they did not build a connection point or they are for various reasons disconnected from drawing on the given commodity from the supply of water or electricity or the like). Individual deficits in technological infrastructure for the surveyed settlements were combined differently. With the parallel monitoring of five basic technological networks (without sidewalks and roads), 17 combinations of individual deficits can be formed. A total of 28 settlements in the sample were fully equipped with all five surveyed technological networks, which was less than one-fifth (18.5%); in the remaining more than 80% of settlements some items or several items from basic infrastructure was lacking. The most numerous in the surveyed sample of
Roma settlements were represented by those which lacked only a gas main (nearly one-fifth), and in second place were settlements which lacked only sewerage (20 settlements; more than 13% of the total number). Gas and sewerage together were lacking from 15 settlements, while 14 settlements were without gas and public lighting. According to the total number, settlements which at the same time did not have a water main, a gas main and sewerage followed (13 settlements), and then settlements only with an electricity main water, gas, public lighting and sewerage were all lacking (12 settlements). Other combinations of deficiencies in settlements were represented less often. Four settlements from the total sample of Roma settlements did not have even one of the monitored five technological distribution mains. In summary, aside from the sample of 28 surveyed settlements with complete infrastructure (none were lacking) and the 4 settlements which were lacking all five technological networks, the distribution by the number of deficient furnishings was as shown in Table 7. Approximately one-third of the surveyed settlements were lacking one type of technological infrastructure, while one-quarter were lacking two types, 13% three types and nearly 9% of them had a deficit of 4 types. The research probe confirmed that the equipping of Roma settlements with technological infrastructure is overall relatively low, and this is not a very good foundation for achieving a standard quality of life for the households living in such settlements. At the same time the great diversity of marginalised Roma settlements in relation to the furnishings of technological infrastructure was confirmed. For settlements lacking a public water main, the source they used for obtaining drinking water was specially surveyed. According to the responses of researchers the replacement source for drinking water was most often public or a community well; this was listed in 19 settlements. Wells were tracked without specification or without spatial or ownership determination (for example, in ones own yard, ones
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Table VII Surveyed Roma settlements by cumulated deficit in the furnishing of basic infrastructure (numbers and in %)
Combination of missing furnishings for 5 items (number of missing items sewerage, electricity main, public lighting, gas main, water main) 0 has all five technological networks 1 lacks only a gas main 1 lack only sewerage 2 lacks a gas main and sewerage 2 lacks a gas main and public lighting 3 lacks a water main, gas main and sewerage 4 lacks a water main, gas main, public lighting and sewerage 2 lacks a water main and sewerage 3 lacks gas, public lighting and sewerage 5 lacks all five networks 2 lacks sewerage and public lighting 1 lacks only public lighting 2 lacks a water main and gas 3 lacks a water main, gas and public lighting 3 lacks a water main, sewerage and an electricity main 3 lacks a water main, public lighting and sewerage 4 lacks gas, public lighting, sewerage and an electricity main Total Number of lacking types of infrastructure in summary: no items lacking 1 item lacking 2 items lacking 3 items lacking 4 items lacking all 5 items lacking Number 28 28 20 15 14 13 12 5 4 4 2 1 1 1 1 1 1 151 28 49 37 20 13 4 Share in % 18.5 18.5 13.2 9.9 9.3 8.6 7.9 3.3 2.6 2.6 1.4 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 0.7 100.0 18.5 32.5 24.6 13.2 8.6 2.6
own well, etc.) which researchers declared with 14 of the surveyed settlements. With five settlements a community water main with one tap or hydrant or outlet was listed, and in the case of four settlements a spring or stream was recorded. Specific expressions of the source of drinking water contained the following statements: public well in the settlement; public common well; one water tap for the entire settlement; one connection in the settlement everyone draws on it; in the settlement is one outlet; a common hydrant in the settlement; own well; well in
the yard; well near the house; they have a well and a water main there; a public source of water; up to now village wells a non-running water main; a spring underground; a spring for underground water; a forest spring; a stream; a well and a river; or again a public well and packaged mineral water.68 The research probe confirmed that the accessibility of drinking water in several Roma settlements is a problematic affair. Not all residents of Slovakia have the right to access safe drinking water without problems.
68
In the report we present specic statements about sources of drinking water with the hope that they can help with the surveying and specifying of logbooks and questionnaires for preparing the MRC monitoring.
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Table VIII Surveyed Roma settlements by type and stated distance from a kindergarten (in % and km)
In the settlement (in %) Total - from this settlements labelled as: segregated separated on the edge of a municipality concentrated within a municipality 6 4 7 6 In the home municipality (in %) 86 87 88 84 Further (in %) 8 9 5 10 Interval of distances (in km) 0.2 15.0 0.2 5.0 0.2 3.0 0.5 15.0 Average distance (in km) 1.89 2.06 1.09 3.86
For future measurement of the technical equipping of spatially excluded Roma settlements it is possible on the basis of the research probe to recommend a more detailed identification of the individual facilities forming the basic technological infrastructure of settlements in relation to the seat. First of all, it will be necessary to strictly differentiate and track separately the equipping of the home municipality and the equipping of the specific Roma settlement, which is necessary to define exactly whether this is for example one street in the village or one housing block. Second of all, it is equally essential to use a much more detailed scale for mapping the equipping with technological infrastructure rather than only stating the presence or absence of the given equipment in a settlement. The scale should be more detailed, for example, with an estimated connection of households of Roma settlements to a specific network, or the monitoring should be supplemented by a real survey of the status of all households living in a settlement.
communication with basic offices, postal and cultural services were integrated into the research. For each individual service or facility whether they were accessible directly in the settlement, in the home municipality or in a more distant municipality was recorded; the distance to the service from the place of habitation was also presented in kilometres. Only 6% of the surveyed Roma settlements had a kindergarten directly in the settlement, while 86% of them stated the home municipality as the site of the kindergarten facility and with 8% still another, more distant municipality (Table VIII). The average distance between the settlement and the place of the nearest functioning kindergarten achieved not quite 2 km, while the interval of given distances was relatively wide from 200 metres to 15 kilometres. The very small share of kindergartens directly in the settlement were typical for all three types of settlements this applied the same for segregated and separated as well as for concentrated Roma settlements within a municipality. The higher average distance to this educational service and the significantly broader range of the interval of the distance to a kindergarten for settlements concentrated within a municipality may indicate that many Roma settlements concentrated within a municipality originate in very small villages without basic facilities with services which are spatially distant from a village or town with functioning facilities for the given service.69 The highest average distance for concentrated settlements is repeated with the majority of the monitored services of civic facilities.
Surveyed Roma settlements by spatial accessibility of basic services

The research probe into spatially excluded Roma settlements attempted to capture their heterogeneity also by the accessibility, more exactly the spatial accessibility of basic services. To do so, the monitoring of 13 types of public services which related to the fields of education, different types of healthcare services, the possibilities for buying groceries and other goods, the possibilities of
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Table IX Surveyed Roma settlements by type and stated distance from an elementary school, grades 1-4 (in % and km)
As Table IX shows, a primary school for the first through fourth years directly in the excluded settlement belonged to the minority of the sample: only 7% of the surveyed settlements had one. The majority of them had the closest primary school for the first through fourth years in the home municipality; approximately one-tenth had one elsewhere. The average distance of these educational facilities expressed in kilometres was more than 2 km; the smallest given distance was 200 metres and the largest up to 15 km. Even education of the first degree of primary school ended up in the scope of the surveyed sample the most distant to settlements concentrated within
a municipality (more than 4 km); the average distance for segregated settlements achieved 2.3 km and for separated on the edge of a municipality 1.3 km. Primary schools of the second degree are, according to the research probe, still more distant from the perspective of marginalised Roma communities. On average up to 40% of the surveyed settlements had a school for older school-attending children outside of the home municipality. A well-known practice was confirmed: when the first years of primary education are still accessible to smaller villages, they do not have the capacity for fulfilling
Table X Surveyed Roma settlements by type and stated distance from an elementary school, grades 5-9 (in % and km)
69
At least such types of settlements Roma settlements concentrated within a municipality which lacks facilities with services in general and are spatially distant from an equipped village or town managed to get captured in the scope of this research sample. On the other hand, in segregated settlements another circumstance can have an inuence: if they are spatially distant from a home municipality without facilities for a service, and roads lie in the direction to a village equipped with that service, their distance from the home municipality to the service can paradoxically draw near.
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Table XI Surveyed Roma settlements by type and stated distance from a shop with food (in % and km)
and operation of all nine years.70 At the same time the average distance from the settlement to the primary school of second degree ranged from 100 metres up to 16 kilometres, and on average this was 4.1 km. For the possibility of shopping for residents of marginalised Roma settlements attention was devoted to two types of shops with food and with other goods. In relation to spatial accessibility of a food shop (Table XI), 18% of the surveyed sample of marginalised settlements had one directly in the settlement; the remainder had a food shop available in the home municipality. In the context of all thirteen monitored services this was the most
accessible one overall. The average distance to a food shop was 1.2 km, and with the measure of exclusion to segregated environment this distance was moderately extended (to 1.6 km for segregated municipalities). For shops with other goods a rather significantly different situation was shown in this case in up to one-quarter of the surveyed settlements the residents had to travel outside the home municipality to do the shopping. The average distance for all settlements was approximately 4 kilometres, and the largest measured distance to a shop with different goods was 24 kilometres (Table XII).
Table XII Surveyed Roma settlements by type and stated distance from a shop with various goods (in % and km)
70
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Since the research probe into the equipping of excluded Roma settlements formed only a supplement to the two main research activities, attention was not devoted in it to the question of assigning children to special education schools or the placement of Roma children and children of the majority population to different educational facilities. Despite the fact that simple spatial accessibility of compulsory education was followed, certain signals managed to be captured in this regarding a more complicated situation with education in excluded settlements. Some of the eld assistants pointed out that: in villages are special primary schools for years 1-9; common primary schools only for years 1-4. For preparing the monitoring of MRC this means to survey facilities of settlements and accessibility of education in more detailed divisions, i.e. for each degree of primary school education to monitor common and special school separately, as well as the existence of special classes at common primary schools and the like. With a combination of schools the level of their attendance by individual groups of children (Roma and the majority population) should be captured.
Table XIII Surveyed Roma settlements by type and stated distance from a local doctor (in % and km)
Three types of healthcare services were covered in the survey: the distances to a local doctor, a paediatrician and to a dentist were surveyed. The situation in their spatial accessibility was relatively balanced; however, excluded settlements had a local doctor nearby (Table XIII). Approximately three-fifths had a local doctor in the home municipality (only 3% directly in the settlement); the residents of the two-fifths of settlements behind it had to travel outside the home municipality. The average distance for the entire surveyed sample came out to be nearly 5 km; however, settlements were recorded from which it was necessary to travel 19 km to see a local doctor. The same highest distance was also found with a paediatrician (Table XIV), but the average distance was a kilometre longer. Dental services came out from the survey of spatial accessibility of healthcare as the most distant. More
than half of the surveyed Roma settlements had this service further than in the home municipality; they had to travel a distance of 6 km on average for a dentist. In the case of all three healthcare services segregated Roma settlements were without any representation of such services directly in the settlement, though more often than the other two groups they had the given service in the home municipality; however, to reach a service they had on average to overcome approximately the same distance. In each of the surveyed types of MRC a group with problematic access to basic healthcare services was recorded.71 Among the very distant services for residents of marginalised Roma settlements was the possibility of withdrawing money from a cash point machine. Only a small group of the surveyed sample of Roma settlements had a cash point machine directly in the
Table XIV Surveyed Roma settlements by type and stated distance from a paediatrician (in % and km)
71
For more details on the strategy of overcoming problems with the distance of healthcare services, see Section 3 of this research report.
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Table XV Surveyed Roma settlements by type and stated distance from a dentist (in % and km)
settlement (this was usually in a town environment); on the other hand for 60% a cash point machine were further away then the home municipality. The average distance to such a facility exceeded 8 km, and the longest recorded distance was 27 km. According to the results, postal services were also among the sporadic services located directly in the place of habitation; the majority had it accessible in the home municipality (more than 70% of settlements), while residents of one-quarter of the surveyed Roma settlements had to travel outside the home municipality for postal services. On average a post office was more than 3 km distant from the settlements, though in some settlements this was as much as 24 km. Primacy in the distance of marginalised Roma settlements from the basic 13 compared services clearly belonged to the office of labour, social affairs and family. Although the individual district offices created branch workplaces bringing social services or employment services closer to the place of habitation
of clients, for many residents of excluded communities they still remain spatially distant. The average distance was found to be on the level of 12 km, and the highest recorded distance was 39 km. Together three-quarters of the surveyed Roma settlements had services provided by the offices of labour, social affairs and family other than in the home municipality. These are services to which marginalised Roma communities are exceptionally connected, about which the high measure of unemployment and the high measure of social reliance found for excluded Roma settlements are both telling (UNDP, 2012). With some settlements the distance differed: social services were, thanks to the establishing of branch worksites spatially more accessible, while employment services, which remained in the district seats, also remained exceptionally distant spatially. Two areas of culture were also included in the list of surveyed services these were facilities for possible cultural and religious experiences. It was show that
Table XVI Surveyed Roma settlements by type and stated distance from a cash point machine (in % and km)
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Table XVII Surveyed Roma settlements by type and stated distance from a post office (in % and km)
marginalised Roma settlements only occasionally have a cultural centre within their space (none from segregated settlements). A cultural centre was predominately located in the home municipality (we recall for many segregated settlements still relatively distant spatially); one-tenth of the sample of settlements even had the nearest cultural centre in another village. The average distance to such a cultural facility was approximately 3 kilometres, with the largest recorded distance of 24 km (Table XIX). But in the scope of the research other forms of access to cultural facilities for residents of MRC were not monitored (the potential carrying out of their own cultural activities, possible participation in organised activities, ultimately even the actual functioning of such facilities), nor the actual use of these facilities on their part. In the scope of the mapping of MRC,
these aspects of cultural exclusion/separation could be monitored in a more detailed design. In relation to church, this belonged on the basis of the survey results as among the most accessible facilities, and with an average distance of 1.6 km, it ranked right behind a food shop and was more accessible than a kindergarten (Table XX). Overall as much as 96% of the surveyed Roma settlements had a church in the home municipality, and a small group had one directly in the settlement. The potential possibility for practicing religious faith according to the data found seems to relatively broad for excluded communities; however the membership of a church to a specific church organisation, or even the predominating religious faith in the surveyed settlements was not monitored in the research probe.72
Table XVIII Surveyed Roma settlements by type and stated distance from an office of the Slovak Office for Work, Social Affairs and Family (in % and km)
72
Therefore, the diffusion of such needs among residents of marginalised Roma communities is not known, similarly as the equivalence of religious membership of a church in the settlement with the religious faith predominating among its residents.
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Table XIX Surveyed Roma settlements by type and stated distance from a cultural centre (in % and km)
According to the data gathered, the offices of labour, social affairs and family are the most distant in the overall summary to residents of spatially excluded Roma settlements, and behind them was the possibility of taking money from a cash point machine. On the other hand, in terms of averages they had a shop with food and a church closest to them. In general, from a comparison of individual regions, the largest distance from public services occurred in the Nitra Region and the Bansk Bystrica Region. Recommendations in connection with the mapping of marginalised Roma communities in this area could focus on the following aspects: when monitoring the spatial accessibility of basic services it will be advantageous to instruct researchers in regard to determining distance for example, through the kilometres presented in the travel timetables for a direct connection from the place of habitation to
a municipality with the nearest service used; a specification and detailed instructions are also necessary to direct at an ambiguous or multivalent situation, e.g. if a special primary school is in the home municipality but a regular primary school is in the neighbouring one, or a situation differentiates for the first and second levels of education. In the case of settlements with such a structure of schools, it will be necessary to specify the approach to resolving the situation whether to leave for recording several possibilities or to lean to the larger occurrence.
Surveyed Roma settlements by possibilities of transport

The preceding section presented several facts exemplifying the spatial distance of many services necessary for daily life in marginalised Roma settlements,73 which brings up the question of
Table XX Surveyed Roma settlements by type and stated distance from a church (in % and km)
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73
Nearly every survey focused on this environment has also pointed out the separation or distance of excluded Roma settlements from basic services educational, healthcare, cultural, social and the like (UNDP, 2005, 2011,2012; World Bank 2012; CVEK 2011).
accessibility to transport. Settlements isolated and distant from services are in general with the securing of the needs of a family reliant to a high measure on transport connections, or on personal transport. In regard to the second possibility, the low level of incomes found (see part 3 of the final report), as well as the worse economic situation in households living in marginalised Roma settlements (UNDP, 2012) warrant the assumption of households from these settlements being less equipped in terms of their own transport resources. All of these contexts led to the questions regarding the accessibility of public transport to be included in the research probe that was carried out. As Table 21 presents, from the total sample of marginalised Roma settlements included in the survey with 73% had confirmed regular transport from the settlement, and 27% did not give any such possibility. Accessibility of public transport directly in a settlement varied significantly by the type of settlement: the settlements most cut off from transport possibilities were connected with separated Roma communities on the edge of municipalities and with segregated settlements (40% and 34%), while from settlements concentrated within municipalities this was only 8%. According to the type of transport bus transport was the most accessible in marginalised settlements (52%), and was followed by a combination of bus and railway transport (10% of settlements). Exceptionally, a train was the only type of transport recorded; 10% of settlements declared
use of city mass transit (settlements on the edge or within a larger town). However, even the declared accessibility of public transport in a settlement did not automatically mean sufficient coverage by transport resources. Aside from the fact that using public transport represents an additional burden for the financial budget of households, mainly those with more members, the number of transport connections in some settlements was markedly limited. The given range of connections in the course of the day with individual settlements was from 2 to 18 for segregated settlements, from 3 to 20 for settlements separated on the edge of a municipality and from 2 to 30 for settlements concentrated within a municipality. The smaller number of transport connections was significantly more frequent in segregated settlements, and a higher number of connections per day were linked with settlements concentrated within a municipality. The overall accessibility of public transport and its frequency during the day was in segregated settlements smaller, which contributes to the deepening of their spatial exclusion. Only a minimum of settlements (6%) listed special bus connections for transport of children to school. Such a service occurred moderately more frequently (8%) for children from settlements concentrated within a municipality and from segregated settlements (7%), while children from settlements separated on the edge of a municipality knew it the least.
Table XXI Surveyed Roma settlements by type and stated possibilities for transport (in % and km)
There is regular transport (in %) Total - from this settlements labelled as: segregated separated on the edge of a municipality concentrated within a municipality 73 67 60 90 Number of connections (range; %*) 2-30; 16% 2-18; 9% 3-20; 9% 2-30; 31% Transport children to school (in %) 6 7 4 8 Interval of distances to stop (in km) 0.1 3.0 0.2 3.0 0.1 1.0 0.1 1.5 Average distance to stop (in km) 0.4 0.6 0.5 0.3
Note: *After the semicolon is the percentage share of municipalities which gave in response to the question on the number of connections per day a non-specific reply of the type a lot, regular transport, etc.
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Another problem, even with the existence of transport connections, which speaks about the overall accessibility of public transport, may be the distance to the nearest stop. On average for the entire sample, this represented 0.4 km, and for segregated settlements came out the highest (0.6 km). The interval of recorded distances to the nearest stop for public transport was broadest for segregated settlements (from 200 metres to 3 kilometres), and for separated and concentrated settlements the maximum distance from a stop ranged on the onethird to one-half level. All of the indicators used pointed to the lowest accessibility of public transport in those marginalised Roma settlements, which had limited spatial accessibility to public services. Such findings indicate the multiple marginalisation of some settlements, primarily segregated settlements.
The expansion of activities for children from marginalised Roma communities moved in approximately equal proportions as with the preceding two aid subjects two-fifths of settlements confirmed work with Roma children and in threefifths the occurrence of such activities was missing. The finding indicates that subjects working in specific settlements are active in the framework of a broader spectrum of activities; if some aid or support subject is found in settlements and is developing its activities, they are devoted not only to helping adults but gradually specialise also in working with children. With activities intended for children the submitted form requested specification of the subject which is working in this field. The majority of responses gave general activities of different clubs with schools, leisure-time centres, youth clubs, extracurricular club activities or community centres (low-threshold and without specifications) and churches. From the more concrete names of organisations working with children of MRC, the following list was generated from the respondent households and collaborators: Quo Vadis, the Roma association Odnyi, the civic association (OZ) OZ Nov cesta, ETP Slovensko, Navo Nagle, OZ Romix, OZ Venzia, KZRS, the Roma OZ Vo farebnom svete, OZ Regionlny rozvoj rmskej kultry, the Christian Centre, Church of the Brethren, the Salesians, the Evangelical Church has among Roma children the club Besiedka, the Archdiocese charity. A positive report from the research probe into marginalised Roma settlements is the presence of direct field work in these communities. A look at Table 22, however, indicates that despite the assumption of moderate over-evaluation of the share of settlements with helping subjects, settlements in which no help was recorded still form a majority. The sad story is the finding of non-functional community centres, which could be a result of the existing setup of support and functioning of field social work on one hand, or the misuse of resources or improper choice of implementing organisation on the other. In relation to work with Roma children, there are in Slovakia settlements with several
Community work in a settlement

The last circle of indicators attempted to capture the volume of community work in the scope of the surveyed settlements. For this purpose the presence of community centres in the surveyed settlements was monitored, along with the working of non-profit organisations in their space, with special attention devoted to work with Roma children. According to the empirical findings a total of 43% of the surveyed settlements had some experience with community centres, and in the majority of them there was a community centre functioning at the time of the survey; only 7% declared a non-functioning facility. The differences according to type of settlement were not great; the activities of community centres were only moderately higher in segregated settlements (46% versus 40% for separated and concentrated settlements). Helping nongovernmental organisations (NGO) developed their activities in not quite 40% of the surveyed settlements, and 60% of the sample were ranked as settlements without such aid. Among the three types of settlements segregated settlements recorded the least experience with the work of NGOs.
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Table XXII Surveyed Roma settlements by type and stated opportunities for transport (in % and km)
Community centre in the settlement Total - from this settlements labelled as: segregated separated on the edge of a municipality concentrated within a municipality Functional 36 42 33 33 Non-functional 7 4 7 8 No 56 54 60 59 Aid NGO Yes 37 31 39 41 No 63 69 61 59 Activities for children Yes 40 37 46 45 No 60 67 54 55
Note: The presented data on the working of community centres and NGOs in marginalised Roma settlements may be moderately overevaluated in comparison with reality, because collaborators recruited for data collection were in fact from the circle of the aid professions. It can therefore be assumed that they visited preferentially the places of their own operations.
possibilities,74 but also those where activities of this type are not organised. And according to the empirical findings, these made up the majority. Excluded Roma communities essentially need direct work in the field to overcome the vicious circle of poverty and social exclusion. All surveys repeatedly carried out in these environments come to such a conclusion. Responsible institutions and the decision-making sphere in Slovakia should finally resolve the permanent sustainability of community work in marginalised Roma communities (mainly financial) and set selection criteria for projects of field workers not according to the secondary characteristics (connections, lobbying), but according to the positive results in the field. In relation to the prepared mapping of MRC, it would be worth considering supplementing the surveying in communities by the specific names of successful nonprofit organisations and community centres directly in the field and from different stakeholders, which could help identify organisations and subjects suitable for support. With unsuccessful projects, such as, for example, non-functioning community centres, recording the story of the facility and why the activity ended unsuccessfully could be of help.
Summary The research probe into 151 marginalised Roma settlements confirmed the significant diversity of these settlements in Slovakia and pointed to possible problematic aspects of mapping them. Roma settlements in Slovakia are differentiated by the distance from the home municipality and the type of spatial exclusion. They have very different equipping of basic technological infrastructure, and found among them are settlements without any infrastructure, others lacking several technological networks and still others only one network, while a portion of the settlements are fully equipped with infrastructure. Great heterogeneity was recorded also according to the accessibility of basic civic and cultural services. For many marginalised settlements kindergartens and primary schools for the first degree of education are spatially distant, and for the second degree of education children from these settlements must overcome a still greater distance. Residents of many excluded settlements must resolve the great spatial distance with healthcare services or with necessary shopping for the household. On average offices of labour, social affairs and family, where they are often clients as a consequence of high
74
At the same time with some of the surveyed settlements the activities of several subjects were found: club activities on the premises of a school combined with a working leisure-time centre, community centres, social workers, church or Roma and non-Roma non-profit organisations. From specific club activities, the following were recorded: singing, music or dance clubs (traditional Roma dance, hip-hop, etc.), computer and Internet clubs, sports activities of different focus (football club, etc.), cooking and sewing courses for young people, artistic workshops and the like.
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unemployment and social dependency, are the most distant for them. Even the shifting of some offices from a district town deeper into the region of the district was unable to eliminate the spatial distance. They must also overcome large distances for the possibility of withdrawing money from a cash point machine, and postal services and transport services are also problematic for some settlements. Although in many settlements community centres began to operate or non-profit organisations began to develop their activities in them, a large portion of settlements still do not have such opportunities. The prepared mapping (ATLAS of Roma communities 2013), which is able to capture the situation of marginalised Roma communities in an exhausting way, should in the interest of better and more quality results devote attention to the following areas and problems: The type of spatial exclusion is in some settlements difficult to clearly determine; therefore it will be necessary to define exactly the individual types of Roma settlements; at the same time to define in detail the residential areas of a municipality when a settlement is within a municipality or on its edge and when it is outside a municipality. In the course of training, researchers must receive exact instructions with specific examples given and this must be in written form. The research probe recorded different types of objects presented as barriers between a settlement and the home municipality, which in some settlements were combined; before the mapping possible types of barriers require detailed specification; this should not be left to the arbitrary decision of researchers. Their training should devote attention to a segment with the defining of obstacles and barriers. It was found that field collaborators described in different ways the source of drinking water in settlements without a (functioning) water main; replacement sources of drinking water should be
also clearly defined in the logbooks and questionnaires prepared for mapping. The carrying out of the probe into groups of Roma settlements also ran into problems in the exactness of measuring of the technological equipping of settlements; a clearer and more detailed identification of facilities of infrastructure in relation to the settlement were shown to be necessary. Specifically, this means exact differentiation of the equipping of the home municipality and that of the Roma settlements which belong to it; at the same time it is necessary to use a detailed and exact scale for measuring facilities; this should be based either on qualified estimates of the share of connected households in a settlement to the individual networks or the mapping of settlements should be supplemented by a survey of the actual state of connection directly in the households (at least randomly selected within the settlements). The research probe did not devote special attention to the known problem of assigning children to special education schools or segregation in schools, but only to the spatial accessibility of compulsory education; several signals managed to be captured in this regard about the complicated situation with the education of children in excluded settlements; on the basis of them, it is possible to recommend for monitoring the furnishing of settlements and the accessibility of education using a scale in the most detailed segmentations. To track both degrees of primary education separately for common and special education schools, to supplement the surveying with special classes at schools, to record with a combination of different types of schools in a settlement also the composition of the children at the individual schools. Pilot measuring of the spatial accessibility of basic civic services also pointed to some problem areas; for examining it seems advantageous to recommend the teaching of researchers regarding the determining of distances, for example, through kilometres listed in travel timetables for
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direct connections from settlements to municipalities with the nearest useful service, or equip them with an aid for estimating the distance. In reality multivalent situations could also occur (for example, some service is in the home municipality and also in another, but which could be closer to the settlement, etc.); for these cases it is necessary to specify the process of resolving the situation (to employ several possibilities or a majority occurrence). With some services this would require supplementing accessibility to the given facility with the possibilities of its use (for example, a cultural centre, a church and the like.). The lower accessibility of public transport for residents of marginalised Roma settlements can lead to a deepening of exclusion and the multiple marginalisation of some settlements; aside from the challenge for the decision-making sphere for
thorough consideration of the impacts of cancelling connections on additional marginalisation of regions, this empirical finding also inspires towards methodological recommendations; the mapping of MRC should strengthen the segment regarding transport opportunities for settlements. The lingering low coverage of marginalised settlements by community work directly in the field is a challenge for solving its long-term sustainability and expanding it to a wider circle of settlements; the prepared mapping of MRC could contribute to fulfilling this aim by identification of organisations and subjects suitable for support of direct working in settlements (to supplement the surveying with the names of non-profit organisations and community centres by good results from practice, or by reasons for unsuccessful projects).
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MRC SETTLEMENTS LIST (name of village or town district)

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9. 10. 11. 12. 13. 14. 15. 16. 17. 18. 19. 20. 21. 22. 23. 24. 25. 26. 27. 28. 29. 30. 31. 32. 33. 34. 35. 36. 37. 38. 39. 40. 41. 42. 43. 44. 45. 46. 47. 48. 49. 50. Zvolen Zvolen Detva I (family houses) Detva Detva II (housing blocks) Detva Vrbnica I Michalovce Michalovce: Mlyn(sk) I (housing blocks) Michalovce Hnojn Michalovce Zvadka I Gelnica Rokovce Levoa Sverov Bardejov Petrovany Preov Rudany I Spisk N. V. Markuovce I Spisk N. V. Jarovnice Sabinov Medzany Preov Tura nad Bodvou Koice okolie (surroundings) Hruov Vek Krt Moldava nad Bodvou I Koice okolie Moldava nad Bodvou II Koice okolie aca Koice 2 Trnava I Trnava Trnava II Trnava Bansk tiavnica B. tiavnica Kokava nad Rimavicou Poltr Zlatno Poltr Klenovec Rimavsk Sobota Hna Rimavsk Sobota eovce Trebiov Slovensk Nov Mesto Trebiov erhov Trebiov Michaany Trebiov Ba Nitra ata Levice Rimavsk Sobota R. Sobota Bystrany Spisk N. V. Spisk Podhradie: Rybnek Levoa ehra Spisk N. V. Ptor Vek Krt Daov Lom Vek Krt Buince Vek Krt Modr Kame Vek Krt Sklabin Vek Krt Vek Krt V. Krt Ostrovany Sabinov Richnava Gelnica Vek Blh Rimavsk Sobota Raany Sabinov Sabinov I Sabinov Kecerovce I Koice okolie arisk Michaany Sabinov Kruov: Gerlachov Bardejov
216
51. 52. 53. 54. 55. 56. 57. 58. 59. 60. 61. 62. 63. 64. 65. 66. 67. 68. 69. 70. 71. 72. 73. 74. 75. 76. 77. 78. 79. 80. 81. 82. 83. 84. 85. 86. 87. 88. 89. 90. 91. 92. 93. 94. 95. 96. 97. 98. 99. 100. 101.
Lukov I Bardejov Lenartov I Bardejov Gerlachov Bardejov Rokovany Sabinov Drustevn pri Hornde Koice okolie Milpo Sabinov Hra Trebiov Hre I Trebiov Kuzmice Trebiov Vojice Trebiov Preov: Solivar (Pod Hrdkom) Preov Preov: Star tehela Preov Preov: Tarasa evenka Preov Star ubova I S. ubova Star ubova: Podsadek S. ubova Gelnica Gelnica Vyn: Slovinky Spisk N. V. Vek ari Preov Rusk Nov Ves Preov Fiakovo: mesto Luenec Nitra nad Ipom Luenec Fiakovsk Kove Luenec Rimavsk Baa R. Sobota Rimavsk Pla R. Sobota elovce I: osada Vek Krt Cerovo Krupina Krupina Krupina elovce II: obec Vek Krt Lky Michalovce Iaovce Michalovce Slavkovce Michalovce Malice Michalovce bince Michalovce Michalovce Michalovce Sobrance Sobrance Rankovce Koice okolie Jasov Koice okolie Torysa I Sabinov Drienovec Koice okolie Lastovce Trebiov Nin ipov Trebiov Trebiov Trebiov Kamenn N. Zmky Pohronsk Ruskov Levice Btka R. Sobota Velince R. Sobota Abovce R. Sobota Radnovce R. Sobota Kr R. Sobota Hostiovce R. Sobota Doany: Rokovce Levoa
217
102. 103. 104. 105. 106. 107. 108. 109. 110. 111. 112. 113. 114. 115. 116. 117. 118. 119. 120. 121. 122. 123. 124. 125. 126. 127. 128. 129. 130. 131. 132. 133. 134. 135. 136. 137. 138. 139. 140. 141. 142. 143. 144. 145. 146. 147. 148. 149. 150. 151.
Spisk Hrhov Levoa akarovce Gelnica Jaklovce Gelnica Margecany Gelnica Mria Huta Gelnica Rimavsk Se R. Sobota Jesensk R. Sobota Krivany Sabinov Peovsk Nov Ves I Sabinov Malcov Bardejov Snakov Bardejov Hrabsk Bardejov Kurov Bardejov Uzovsk Pekany Sabinov Lipany Sabinov Olejnkov Sabinov Slovinky: Nin Spisk N. Ves Gelnica: Hj Gelnica Mirkovce Preov eha Preov Tuhrina Preov Gemersk Hrka Roava Hucn Revca Jelava I Revca Pleivec: osada I Roava Pleivec: osada II Roava oltovo Roava Pakov Roava Detva III (housing blocks) Detva Zvolen II (separated) Zvolen Detva IV (houses separated) Detva Detva V (family houses separated) Detva Detva VI (housing blocks separated) Detva Vrbnica II Michalovce Michalovce: Mlyn(sk) II (shack) Michalovce Zvadka II (concentrated) Gelnica Rudany II Spisk N. Ves Rudany III Spisk N. Ves Markuovce II Spisk N. Ves Moldava nad Bodvou III Koice okolie Sabinov II (settlement) Sabinov Kecerovce II Koice okolie arisk Michaany II Sabinov Lukov II Bardejov Lenartov II Bardejov Hre II Trebiov Star ubova II S. ubova Torysa II Sabinov Peovsk Nov Ves II Sabinov Jelava II Roava
218
LITERATURE
Andal o divipen. Koice: ETP Slovensko Centrum pre udraten rozvoj 2009. Atlas rmskych komunt na Slovensku 2004. Bratislava: S.P.A.C.E., IVO a KCpRO. Dta o udskch prvach rmskych ien. Bansk Bystrica: Kultrne zdruenie Rmov Slovenska 2009. EU SILC, 2011: Zisovania o prjmoch a ivotnch podmienkach. Bratislava, tatistick rad SR 2011. FILIPOV, J. VALN, S., 1995: Prstupy k definovaniu a meraniu chudoby. Ekonomick asopis, 43, 118-129. FRA UNDP, 2012: The situation of Roma in 11 EU Member States Survey results at a glance. Hodnotiaca sprva o vsledkoch 1. etapy Programu podpory zdravia znevhodnenej rmskej komunity za roky 2007 2008. Bratislava: rad verejnho zdravotnctva SR 2008. Charta zkladnch prv Eurpskej nie Charta zkladnch prv Eurpskej nie. Wien: FRA. Chudoba Rmov a socilna starostlivos o nich v Slovenskej republike. 2002, Bratislava: Svetov banka, S.P.A.C.E, INEKO a OSI. IVANOV, A., 2012: Making Inclusive Truly Inclusive. In: Development and Transition. Opportunities for Roma Inclusion. Issue 19. June, 2012. Bratislava: UNDP. KUS, Z., 2011: Bytov politika a dostupnos bvania na Slovensku. In: Gerbery, D., (ed.) Potrebujeme socilny tt? Niektor vahy (nielen) o verejnej politike. Bratislava: FES. MARE, P., 2002. Nezamstnanost jako sociln problm. Praha: SLON. MUINKA, A., ed., 2012; Podarilo sa: Prklady spench aktivt na rovni samosprv smerujcich k zlepeniu situcie Rmov. Preov: Preovsk univerzita v Preove, stav rmskych tdi. MUINKA, A., BEN, V., (eds.), 2011: Pokrzov obnova SR: Zvyovanie zamestnanosti a inklzia Rmov. Preov: Slovensk spolonos pre zahranin politiku, Preovsk univerzita a rad vldy Slovenskej republiky. Nrodn akn pln socilnej inklzie (NAPs/INCL) 2004 2006, Bratislava: MPSVR SR 2006. Nrodn sprva o stratgich socilnej ochrany a socilnej inklzie pre roky 2006 2008, Bratislava: MPSVR SR 2008. Nrodn sprva o stratgich socilnej ochrany a socilnej inklzie na roky 2008 2010, Bratislava: MPSVR SR 2010. Oznmenie Komisie Eurpskemu parlamentu, Rade, Eurpskemu hospodrskemu a socilnemu vboru a Vboru reginov zo da 5.4. 2011. Rmec E pre vntrottne stratgie integrcie Rmov do roku 2020. KOM(2011) 173 v konenom znen. Obraz rmskej eny. Zvolen: Quo Vadis, 2012. PIERSON, J., 2002: Tackling Social Exclusion. London: Routledge. Program podpory zdravia znevhodnench komunt na Slovensku na roky 2009 2015. Bratislava: rad verejnho zdravotnctva SR 2009. SCHEFFEL, D., 2009: Svinia v iernobielom. Slovensk Rmovia a ich susedia. Preov: Centrum antropologickch vskumov. Stratgia SR pre integrciu Rmov do roku 2020, Bratislava: rad vldy SR. STRIEENEC, ., 1996: Slovnk socilneho pracovnka. Trnava: AD. KOBLA, D. LEONIKAS, T. TPNKOV, M., 2008: Etnicita ako tatistick ukazovate pri monitorovan ivotnch podmienok a diskrimincie. Bratislava: UNDP/FES.
219
UNDP, 2002: The Roma in Central and Eastern Europe: Avoiding the Dependency Trap. Regional Human Development Report. Bratislava: UNDP. UNDP, 2006: Sprva o ivotnch podmienkach rmskych domcnost na Slovensku. (J. Filadelfiov D. Gerbery D. kobla) Bratislava: UNDP/FES. UNDP, 2012: Sprva o ivotnch podmienkach rmskych domcnost na Slovensku 2010. Bratislava: UNDP. UNDP, 2012b: Nejasn vsledok: Pomohli projekty ESF Rmom na Slovensku? Zistenia z analzy projektov
v rmci OP ZaSI v programovom obdob 2007-2013. Bratislava: UNDP. UNDP, 2013: The Housing Situation of Roma Communities. Analysis of the UNDP/WB/EC Regional Roma Survey Data. (Tatjana Peric) Bratislava: UNDP. VAEKA, M. REPOV, I., 2000: Intitucionlna bza rieenia rmskej problematiky na Slovensku v sasnosti. Bratislava: International Organization for Migration. WORLD BANK, 2011: Protecting the Poor and Promoting Employability. An assessment of the social assistance system in the Slovak Republic.
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UNDP, Europe and the CIS Bratislava Regional Centre Grosslingova 35 811 09 Bratislava Slovak Republic Tel.: (421-2)59337-111 Fax.: (421-2)59337-450 http://europeandcis.undp.org

A Situational Analysis of Selected Aspects of The Living Standards of Excluded Roma Households in Slovakia

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A Situational Analysis of Selected Aspects of The Living Standards of Excluded Roma Households in Slovakia

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Published by UNDP Europe and the CIS, Bratislava Regional Centre

In cooperation with the Institute for Public Affairs

Author of the report is: Jarmila Filadelfiov

MEDICAL CARE: NEED, ACCESSIBILITY AND APPROACH

HOUSING AND POSSIBILITIES OF MODIFYING A DWELLING

NUTRITION: MEAL PLANS AND MEALS

INDEBTEDNESS OF ROMA HOUSEHOLDS

NEEDS AND DESIRES IN THE PERSPECTIVE OF THE FAMILY AND SETTLEMENTS

1.2. Focus of the study and the methodology used

Graph 1: Structure of the sample of 192 Roma households by region (in %)

Western Slovakia Central Slovakia Eastern Slovakia

segregated settlements separated on the edge of a community

concentrated within a community

Graph 4: Number of working household members by type of housing (in %)

0 members 1 member 2 members 3 members

separated on the edge

concentrated within a community

1 member 2 members 3 members 4 members 5 members

6 members 7 members 8 members

0 children 1 child 2 children 3 children

2. MEDICAL CARE: NEED, ACCESSIBILITY AND APPROACH

Households with children

Households without children

Households with children Households without children

Head of the household or partner

Child (accompanied or alone)

Grandparents or other relatives

on foot public transport own car other car EMT ambulance

on foot public transport own car other car EMT ambulance

11,29 14,90 9,10

10,89 9,64 14,76 23,50

Did not pick up

Graph 15: Evaluation of approach of healthcare personnel (in %)

Normal Poor Not given, not applicable

For more, see: http://www.employment.gov.sk/prispevok-na-zdravotnu-starostlivost.html.

Appendix to Chapter 2: Last time seeing a doctor

Problematic trip to see a doctor lack of money:

3. HOUSING AND POSSIBILITIES OF MODIFYING A DWELLING

3.1. Type of dwelling, its status and evaluation of living conditions23

3.2. The quality of dwellings by size characteristics and technical furnishings

17 83 0.84 5 49 31 12 3 1.59 3.80 47 53 0.53

12 88 0.92 3 35 39 13 10 1.99 3.31 32 68 0.69

3.3. Modification of a dwelling: types of repairs and expended costs

Graph 16 When households made the last modification to a dwelling (in %)

we do it always, when needed no response

Graph 17 Last modification to a dwelling in excluded households by type of modification (in %)

Graph 18 Who made the modification in the dwelling (in %)

4 = purchased service 5 = administrator of the flat

Appendix to Chapter 3: Last modification to a dwelling

12 Reworking of the core:

4. MEALS: MEAL PLANS AND FOODS FROM DIFFERENT POINTS OF VIEW

4.1. Meals before social benefits and after them42

4.2. Disparity between favourite meals and most common meals

1 = completely different 2 = rather different

3 = rather identical 4 = completely identical

leftovers from lunch

bread, butter, tea bread, frankfurters bread cooked in egg

bread, salami, tea, coffee

roll with butter

roll with salami

salad and cutlets

salami, sausage, bread