„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 […]

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 […]

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 […]

In the past few weeks, an ad campaign of an international liquor brand has caused quite a stir in the Slovak media landscape. The slogan on the posters displayed around cities and on social networks sounds “Slovak moms, you have beautiful daughters”. The illustrative picture […]

Who are the people helping refugees in Slovakia? They are female, under 50 years old, and have spent several years abroad. This minimal definition accounts for virtually everyone active in public or voluntary refugee care. Take the staff of Mareena, the new-born civic association for […]

In the framework of the Biennial Meeting of the Society for Social Anthropology, I filmed several videos refugees and asylum contestants in Bratislava. The conference theme was „displacements“ and it was created to be an online only, multimedia, carbon-conscious gathering. I wanted to take advantage of […]

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 […]

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 […]

So the European Court of Justice rejected the legal action of Slovakia and Hungary against the refugee redistribution quotas. According to this European Union policy, Slovakia is required to take in 902 refugees from overburdened Italy and Greece. How did the press react to this […]