The article describes the life of the Rába Slovenes in the Raba Valley, Hungary, after the amnesty of 1953, when all deportees including the Porabje Slovenes became "homeless". After they were released from the camps they were not allowed to return to their homes and were outcasts, expelled from some towns and from the border area and were added to the lists of people under (political) observation. They were finally allowed to return to their homes only three years after the closure of the camps, in 1956, when Hungary started to settle its relationship with Yugoslavia. After presenting the new beginning of the life of the deported families and the consequences of their exile to the labour camps, the article draws on testimonies of the surviving camp inmates and documents from Hungarian archives.
COBISS.SI-ID: 1935494
The article outlines migration to Slovenia after World War II. The author explains the changes in the ethnic structure of Slovenia’s population under the internal Yugoslav migrations. It presents the main ethnic groups in Slovenia and their migration hinterland. It explains the factors behind immigration and presents the theory of pseudo-voluntary migrations. The article highlights the present-day migration to and from Slovenia as well as the main reasons triggering the latest wave of emigration from Slovenia.
COBISS.SI-ID: 13251405
The authors first present the concepts of intercultural learning and intercultural competence, and then on the basis of a theoretical model of intercultural competence development, as formulated by Darla K. Deardorff (2006, 2009), explore the intercultural competence of teachers in Slovene schools, who teach Roma pupils. Drawing on an analysis of reflective diaries written by 21 teachers, they conclude that the majority of the participating teachers demonstrate a lack of knowledge and understanding of cultural differences and often do not go beyond the ethno-centric perspective. In the absence of critical reflection on their values, expectations, thoughts and behaviour the teachers often implicitly (and unconsciously) contribute to the preservation of the existing unequal social relations between majority and minority groups. However, to raise awareness of such behaviour and to overcome the status quo, broader systemic changes that will support the development of teachers’ intercultural competence and the implementation of the principle of interculturalism in education will be needed.
COBISS.SI-ID: 61204578
The article brings a presentation of original results of a field research on mobility of the Porabje Slovenians, which was carried out within the interacademy project Mobility, integration and adaptation along the Hungarian-Slovenian border in the year 2014, comparing them with results of other relevant research studies and literature. The authors first present the major socio-economic landmarks that have either impeded or enhanced people’s mobility. The main part of the article focuses on the study of mobility across the Hungarian-Slovenian border in the current social situation (frequency, reasons, obstacles, opportunities) in perceptions of the Porabje people, especially members of the Slovenian community. According to the research results, visits to Slovenia – apart from the pragmatic kind like shopping and work – are also related to maintenance of cultural and family ties, while visits to Austria are more pragmatic and are mostly due to shopping and work. Moreover, answers of the Porabje people also point out the fact they are beginning to perceive the negative consequences of the open border as well.
COBISS.SI-ID: 13273421
The paper considers whether bilingualism has an economic value in Slovenia's two ethnically mixed regions, or whether its value is more related to identity, and restricted primarily to the personal, educational and cultural spheres. Specifically, it asks whether bilingualism is rewarded on the labour market and what local people think about this issue. The two regions of the country that are officially bilingual are presented, with a focus on minority rights, language planning and education policy. In addressing the central question of the paper, the situation in both the public and private sectors is examined to see whether bilingual language skills play a role during recruitment processes and whether those who function bilingually in the work environment are financially rewarded. In addition, the opinions of bilingual speakers regarding the value of the minority language in their areas are also explored. A picture of prevailing attitudes towards the economic value of bilingualism and foreign language knowledge is obtained from a survey of the views of leading managers in companies based in Slovenia. Empirical data are also offered as to which languages are favoured by individuals and companies investing in informal language learning or training.
COBISS.SI-ID: 61970786