Torsello, Davide - Pappová, Melinda: Social Networks in Movement. Time, interaction and interethnic spaces in Central Eastern Europe - Nostra Tempora 8. (Somorja-Dunaszerdahely, 2003)
Interaction, migration and change
204 Renata Weinerová Denmark) introduced a visa obligation for Slovakia in the years 1998-1999. Czech asylum establishments were relatively easily accessible and since the year 2000, they even made the residence procedures easier. Roma asylum applicants could freely travel within the Czech Republic and were not limited in their contacts with their country of origin by their absence of travelling documents since the Czech/Slovak border can be crossed with only an ID card. According to an unnamed source, 650 Roma from Slovakia asked for political asylum in the year 1999. These applicants stated a Slovak or Hungarian nationality. None of the applicants complied with the conditions for being granted political asylum. Following in-depth research by the Czech government with regard to arrivals in 2000, the following details became available. Most of the 723 asylum seekers came with their families; there were only 48 individual applications. A very high percentage (43%) concerned children up to the age of 15. On the other hand, only 9% of the applicants fell into the group aged 41-60. The division male/female is roughly equal, which is normally not the case with other asylum seekers. Another remarkable feature was that Roma nationality was stated only by a small number of applicants (54 cases), whereas 72% of the applicants stated the Slovak nationality. Most of the applicants come from the towns in the district of Michalovce, the Slovak Republic, with an intention to apply for the asylum. Some of the asylum seekers had already applied before in various countries, such as Hungary, Switzerland and Germany. During their first month in the quarantine camp in Vyšší Lhoty in northern Moravia, Roma asylum seekers are usually contacted by I0M workers, who hold interviews with them and try to find solutions to the issues which motivated the asylum applicants to migrate so that they could be resolved in their country of origin. If the political asylum applicant decides to return to the country of origin, they try to make this return easier for him by covering the travel expenses and by making a contribution for the first two weeks of their stay in the country of origin.18 Due to the fact that usually nothing has
