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Slovakia has scope to provide shelter to more refugees: president

Xinhua, April 28, 2016 Adjust font size:

Slovakia has scope to provide shelter to further refugees, announced Slovak President Andrej Kiska on Wednesday.

Kiska made the remarks at a meeting with Assyrian Christian refugees at the Diocesan Pastoral Center in Nitra in the Western part of the country on Wednesday.

"As a successful country, Slovakia must think about how to help people whose lives are at stake. It's our duty, while we have far more scope to do it than has been used to date," stressed Kiska, who came to Nitra to see how 149 Iraqi Christian refugees are doing in the town and some nearby villages.

"It isn't easy to come from such a country to an entirely different environment. I wanted to see what's bothering them, how they're doing in getting acclimatized, and how we can help them," said Kiska.

Integration of Iraqi Christians in towns and villages in Nitra region is a joint project of the Slovakia Interior Ministry, Nitra Diocese and civic association Peace and Good. The group of refugees arrived in Slovakia in December, and after a three-month stay in an integration camp in Humenne in the Eastern Slovakia, they were placed in Nitra and some nearby villages. The adults are now attending courses in Slovak, while children are attending schools.

According to Peter Brenkus from Peace and Good, the project has revealed several massive gaps in Slovak legislation.

"For example, we've found out that our schools aren't set to be able to teach children of foreigners," Brenkus said, adding that further similar projects would require intense cooperation of various bodies, including government institutions, civic associations and religious entities. Enditem