Stanislav and Zdenka Rakas live with their four children in a Roma, or Gypsy, settlement on the outskirts of Svinia, Slovakia.

Habitat Faces Challenges in Eastern Europe

When it comes to discrimination, one would be hard-pressed to find a more marginalized segment of international society than the Roma (also known as Gypsies). According to the European Roma Rights Center, they remain one of the most deprived ethnic groups of Europe. There is ongoing and documented discrimination against Roma in housing, employment, education, health care and other areas in many countries throughout the region. Even so, Habitat for Humanity struggles to continue to help build decent housing with a small, but permanent, Roma population in Svinia, Slovakia.

The effort has not been without its challenges. It has taken several years and a multitude of partnerships to establish a presence in this tense, divided community.

Even today, Habitat continues to face the challenge of persuading ethnic Slovaks to put aside differences so that Habitat can build with the Roma population. Funding is available, Habitat's self-help model has been taught and accepted, the Roma community and volunteers are ready to build. But, as is so often the case when Habitat works with divided communities, a change of heart is needed.

The Svinia project was conceived by David Scheffel, a professor of cultural anthropology from the University College of the Cariboo in British Columbia. While on a 1993 summer school expedition in Slovakia, Scheffel was deeply moved by the decrepit living conditions he saw in Svinia and decided to do something about it.

Since that time, much has been invested in economic and community development. Time, money and effort have gone into the project. The soil is prepared; the "mustard seed" is placed in its furrow. The Roma community of need represents one of Europe's most severe housing problems. In Slovakia alone, there are more than 600 "Svinia-like" settlements that are "home" to some 150,000 Roma. The same situation is repeated in large numbers throughout Eastern and Central Europe, with poverty housing conditions that rival those of the third world.

Charles Smith, the first Roma mayor in England, sums up the challenge. "I know you can change things," he says. "Unfortunately, it often takes 25 years to do it. ... No one should be left sitting at the edge bearing resentment and feeling excluded. We must always strive for inclusion, openness and equality, and an open fair democracy is the best way to achieve this with everyone feeling able to participate, without fear of prejudice or discrimination."

It is a noble ideal and one that Habitat yearns to fulfill in Svinia. That it will succeed is still in question.