Living beyond the Pale: Environmental Justice and the Roma Minority

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Central European University Press Budapest – New York Sales and information: ceupress@ceu.hu Website: http:/ /www.ceupress.com Environmental Justice and the Roma Minority Environmental Justice and the Roma Minority Richard Filcák ^ Richard Filcák ^ CONTENTS List of Abbreviations and Acronyms List of Tables List of Figures Acknowledgements Introduction CHAPTER ONE Environment, Poverty and the Roma PART I CHAPTER TWO Environmental Justice and Entitlements CHAPTER THREE The Roma of Slovakia PART II CHAPTER FOUR Rudnany: A Tale of the Old Liabilities CHAPTER FIVE The Svinka River: People, Water and the Environment CHAPTER SIX A Regional Snapshot Overview PART III CHAPTER SEVEN Patterns of Environmental (In)justice CHAPTER EIGHT Roma? Not in My Backyard CHAPTER NINE Trends and Reverting the Trends Annex Shifts in Approaches References Index ^ Richard Filcák is researcher at the Institute for Forecasting of the Slovak Academy of Sciences ^ On the cover: Cesta domou©Jan Kasz LIVING BEYOND THE PALE We find Roma settlements on the outskirts of villages, separated from the majority population by roads, railways or other barriers, disconnected from water pipelines and sewage treatment. Why are some people (or groups) better off than others when it comes to the distribution of environmental benefits? In order to understand the present situation and identify ways to address the impacts of these inequalities we must understand the past and mechanisms related to the differentiated treatment. The situation and discrimination of the Roma ethnic minority in Slovakia is examined from the perspective of environmental conditions and injustice. There is no simple answer as to why there is environmental injustice. Environmental conditions in Roma settlements are just one of the indicators of failures of policies addressing the problem of poverty and social exclusion in marginalized groups, structural discrimination, and internal Roma problems. Environmental injustice is not an outcome of the “historical determination” of the Roma population to live in environmentally problematic places. As the author justifiably claims environmental justice is a relatively new area of scholarship, not only as regards Roma but more widely in relation to the Central and Eastern European region. Based solidly on existing work in the USA and UK, the author charts the extent and main types of environmental hazards to which Roma communities are commonly exposed, as well as their historical and social origins, before suggesting plausible solutions to what appear intractable problems. As such, the book represents an important addition to resources available for tackling an endemic and deteriorating situation by offering both a well-researched analysis and practical guide to averting an impending human disaster. Will Guy, University of Bristol 225130 786155 9 ISBN 9786155225130 90000 > FILCAK_layout.indd 1 FILCAK_layout.indd 1 16.7.2012 15:29:59 16.7.2012 15:29:59 Living Beyond the Pale ...