It is beyond doubt that every individual is part of some community. Their existence in human society is determined by dependence on opportunities to exist in the main social stream, interpersonal relations with the wider environment, the level of individual moral competence, and the possibilities of leading a quality life for themselves and their family. We understand this dependent human existence as meaning that every human life has a unique, inimitable and inalienable human value and dignity. In line with this idea and with Komenský (In Loran, 2009, p. 153), we state that “everyone who is born, is born with the main goal that they should be, above all, a human being.” And this regardless of their belonging to the ethnic majority or minority culture, religion, skin colour, political affiliation, or social status, etc. Yes, we deliberately point to humanity, which, especially in the last decade, we have felt to be strongly deficient in many accepted and implemented political-executive decisions, measures, programs and projects in practical national social policy during ongoing reform transformations. And this especially in relation to socially weaker layers of society, such as, for example, seniors with low pension income, people working for minimum wage, or those who work but whose employer does not pay them even minimum wage for several months, excluded and marginalized people with a lifelong zero status in the national labour market. These are people existing in “hungry valleys” because they have no other option or opportunity. In coherence with these statements, we point out that if humanity had not been missing in the previous political-executive decisions especially in relation to the socially needy population, social reality would certainly not today be as it is in our territory. For example, the existence of hungry valleys, long-term unemployment of a numerically large part of the productive-capable population, which already exists in poverty to the level of destitution, exclusion, or marginalization with marked dependence on material-need benefits and specific social interventions by social workers, have become facts and indicators of social reality. To support our argument, we can cite several indicators from the reports on the social situation of the population in the Slovak Republic for the years 2008 and 2009, which indicate the realities outlined in the description. For example: a decline in real gross domestic product in 2009 of “5,7%” (report…,2009, s. 6) compared to 2008, which points to a significant decline in economic performance. Compared to 2008, in 2009 there was a significant increase in the price level of all basic foods and services of roughly “21,2%” (report…,2009, s. 6). This indicates that food price levels rose faster than real monthly income from dependent activity. Furthermore, there was a decline in labour productivity and employment, a rise in the unemployment rate to “12,5%” (report…2009, s. 17), which represents roughly 374 600 people, and especially long-term unemployment for 1 to 2 years by “6 900” people (report…2009, s. 19, report…2008, s. 20) compared to 2008. In more than 2 years, unemployment increased by “11 800” people (report…2009, s.18, report…2008, s.20), and long-term unemployment of over one year was “165 100” people (report…2009, s. 18). Job seekers recorded as long-term unemployed for more than one year are mostly people with basic education and without completed basic education, in the number of “115 119” (report…2009, s. 23). In our view, it is natural that the socio-economic realities outlined and many others became the object of study in both theoretical and practical social work and andragogy of the poor. Social interventions, or often specific interventions as tools of these theoretical-empirical disciplines, are in the processes of their provision also determined by ethical principles of social work, especially in relation to marginalized and excluded Roma communities. “It is therefore very difficult to imagine these activities without ethical linkages” (Dávideková, 2009, s. 40). Under the conceptual category of the ethical principle in social and andragogical work, we understand something like a moral base, moral awareness, the key idea, a rule for knowing and acting in our approaches to the specific client, or a specific target group living existentially in a segregated settlement or another settlement.
If we understand the contentwise primary ethical principle as something like the moral basis of our knowledge and action, then from this primary ethical principle we can derive further subprinciples as determinants of social interventions provided to marginalized and excluded Roma clients, which should guide us. In our view, these are the following subprinciples: 1. Human dignity and humanistic approach to the specific client. 2. Justice and equality of opportunities. 3. Honesty and conscientiousness. 4. Benevolence. 5. Client autonomy. 6. Trustworthiness of the social worker or social andragogue. 7. Preference for social and individual ethics in social services. In this connection, we also need to emphasize that “moral norms are created by humans and values, which through discourse become mediated by their reasoned content, correspond to the abilities and possibilities of the social worker. The functionality of moral norms depends on the ability of the social worker to understand their meaning, to identify with them to such an extent that they become part of his or her own moral attitudes also in relation to marginalized Roma communities” (Hajduk, 2009, s. 67).
As a conclusion of our contribution, we permit ourselves to present our normative proposal. We believe that in relation to marginalized and excluded Roma communities, we should prefer the application of a new form of practical social work, namely inclusive-educational social work, which we can identify as a specific form of our professional practice. This would be a form of work that could become a bridge for support by securing social security, social literacy, and social justice for the affected population. This social justice represents a “basic moral category” (Vanková, 2009, s.29) and often determines the attitudes of many social workers in relation to excluded Roma from settlements. And although we understand the concept of social justice as a moral category embedded in principles that according to Mátel (2010, s. 65) most often express: “1. Confront negative discrimination…2. Recognize diversity…3. Distribute resources fairly…4. Confront unjust policy and practices…5. Work in solidarity.” In the context of what was said earlier, we state that existing applied practice of many politico-executive measures indicates that without providing specific inclusive-educational social interventions to marginalized Roma and applying specific approaches and Mátel’s ethical principles in relation to them, it is not possible to include the target population into desired structures of society and the labour market. And this, in terms of Komenský, all who were born are born with that main purpose, to be human beings, we can realize and achieve only if a larger part of us can reassess their current approaches and procedures, especially in relation to the excluded and marginalized object of our practice.
Author: Doc. PhDr. Tibor Loran, PhD. List of bibliographic references
[1] DÁVIDEKOVÁ, M. 2009. Values, ethics and social sensitivity in social work. In Základy sociálnej práce. Brno: MSD, 2009. 282 s. ISBN 978-80-7392-109-5. [2] HAJDUK, Ľ. 2009. Philosophy of justice. Bratislava: Štátny pedagogický ústav, 2009. 140 s. ISBN 978-80-89225-49-1. [3] KOLEKTÍV AUTOROV. 2009. Report on the social situation of the population of the Slovak Republic for 2009. Government document. Bratislava: Ministerstvo práce, sociálnych vecí a rodiny SR, 2009, 104 s. No ISBN. [4] KOLEKTÍV AUTOROV. 2008. Report on the social situation of the population of the Slovak Republic. Government document. Bratislava: Ministerstvo práce, sociálnych vecí a rodiny SR, 2008, 145 s. Bez ISBN, [5] KRAUS, J. 2008. Dictionary of foreign words (academic). Bratislava: Slovenské pedagogické nakladateľstvo, 2008, 1054 s. ISBN 978-80-10-01425-5. [6] LORAN, T. 2009. Paradigm of creating Roma human capital. Bratislava: ŠPÚ, 2009, 170 s. ISBN 978-80-89225-56-9. [7] MÁTEL, A. a kol. Ethics in social work. Bratislava: Vysoká škola zdravotníctva a sociálnej práce sv. Alžbety, 2010, 183 s. ISBN 978-80-89271-85-6. [8] MOJTOVÁ, M. a kol. 2008. Selected chapters on ethics for students of healthcare and social occupations. Bratislava: Vysoká škola zdravotníctva a sociálnej práce sv. Alžbety, 2008, 125 s. ISBN 978-80-89271-40-5. [9] VANKOVÁ, K. 2009. Social justice versus education in the school system in the territory of Slovakia. In Pedagogical-psychological and intercultural aspects of teachers’ work with students from a different socio-cultural environment (Ed.: R. Rosinský). Nitra: UKF:FSV a Z, 2009, s.29-50. ISBN 978-80-8094-589-3.
(1) Marginalized Roma communities - we understand them as the real-explicit state of socioeconomic degradation of numerically large human communities, which in our conditions usually live in ethnically segregated, excluded settlements (most often in settlements, or urban districts, or unimolecular ghettos) without civilizational infrastructure (for example, water, gas, electricity, barrier-free land transport, etc.) and without access to standard civilizational services (for example, educational, social, legal, healthcare, banking services, etc.). Usually, these territorially and socially delimited rural local settlements in segregated form are inhabited only by people who consider themselves Roma, verbally declare their belonging to the Roma minority and the Roma local community (of which they are part) and the settlement environment in which they live existentially and regard it as Roma. Individuals forming these communities are socially needy and dependent on means-tested benefits, have zero status on the labour market, are semi-literate to illiterate, and their socio-pathological behaviour explicitly carries signs of poverty of abilities. Given the actual needs and problems of this community, status in municipalities and cities, this is a specific target group of all forms of social and educational work, which requires social workers and educators to apply especially specific inclusive social interventions.
The lecture was delivered at the international scientific conference Applied ethics in social work and other helping professions, which took place on 20. – 21. October 2010 in Piešťany and was published in the proceedings of that conference: MÁTEL, A. – SCHAVEL, M. – MÜHLPACHR, P. – ROMAN, T. 2010. Applied ethics in social work and other helping professions. Proceedings of the international scientific conference. Bratislava : VŠZaSP sv. Alžbety. 413 s. ISBN 978-80-89271-89-4.