Kategorie: Vignette

Betwixt and between: Is it easy or difficult to be a broker of migration?

Betwixt and between: Is it easy or difficult to be a broker of migration?

„My job is easy because I’m Slovak. I already know most of the things my clients ask me about and if I don’t, I call someone and find out.“ „It’s hard because we’re always standing between everybody else. The Migration Office, the independent NGOs, and […]

One body, many members: About religious self-expression and belonging

One body, many members: About religious self-expression and belonging

I step into the cool, dimly lit chapel on the second floor of the theological college. The air is heavy with incense. People greet me on all sides, children run between the benches, some are sitting motionlessly in silent prayer. It’s time for the Holy Mass […]

Guests and other mortal enemies: How refugees experience hospitality

Guests and other mortal enemies: How refugees experience hospitality

If asked which qualities are typical for their country, Slovaks frequently respond with “hospitality”. The touristic website “Authentic Slovakia” even declares Slovakia the most hospitable country in the world! No offense, dear Slovaks, but that statement is somewhat unoriginal. Hearing citizens declare their country inhospitable is […]

We’re all in this together: Discussing extremism with extremists

We’re all in this together: Discussing extremism with extremists

Knock knock. Hesitantly I open the door to my room in the hostel, the cheapest one in Žilina. It is 10 pm, freezing cold outside and the front door was locked – How did the person get into the building? In front of me: A […]

A traditional Slovak Christmas dinner or The rocky road from the stomach to the heart

A traditional Slovak Christmas dinner or The rocky road from the stomach to the heart

The community center is glowing with lights and a busy hustle; there are candles and lightning chains lining along walls and shelves; the promising scent of frying oil penetrates every corner of the half-parterre flat in the Bratislava center. Today is the Christmas celebration of […]

A Question of Faith: Teaching tolerance in a Northern Slovak mountain town

A Question of Faith: Teaching tolerance in a Northern Slovak mountain town

The sun barely penetrates the thick mist this early Thursday morning, but the spirits in a small blue minibus are light: Three activists, two musicians, a photographer and me are on a mission to the northernmost stretch of Slovakia, the Upper Orava region. „Azim dschan […]