NEARLY one half of Slovak citizens meet with Roma only in public places, and do not personally know any member of this ethnic group, according to a poll commissioned by the Association for Culture, Education and Communications within a campaign entitled "We live Together."
The poll was conducted on 3,353 respondents older than 14 years of age in May 2005.
A total of 36 percent of respondents said they knew some Roma, but were not in regular contact with them. About one-fifth of Slovaks reported regular contacts with Roma, while nine percent have Roma as close neighbors, five percent work with them, and four percent have friends among them.
The poll also found that discussing racial issues is not very common in Slovak families. Almost 40 percent of families touch on this theme once a year at most, while 18 percent talk about it once every six months, and only five percent debate it several times a week.
Compiled by Martina Jurinová from press reports
The Slovak Spectator cannot vouch for the accuracy of the information presented in its Flash News postings.
