SAV: Ukrainians Feel Accepted since Outbreak of War But Live in Uncertainty

Bratislava, February 25 (TASR) - Since the outbreak of the war, people from Ukraine have felt accepted in Slovakia but live in uncertainty, according to a research by experts from the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAV), TASR learnt from SAV spokeswoman Monika Tinakova. In cooperation with the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, from September 2023 to the end of 2024, they are mapping refugees' experiences. In November and December 2023, the researchers conducted four focus groups, which, according to the spokeswoman, revealed the diversity of the refugees' experience. "However, the diversity is connected by gratitude for being accepted in Slovakia but also general uncertainty without more specific ideas about one's own future," said Zuzana Ocenasova from the SAV Institute of Social Communication Research. Experts also spoke with mothers who came to Slovakia, while their family remained in Ukraine. "Although women often managed to get a job, many of them, despite their university education, perform unqualified and low-paid jobs," noted Petr Mezihorak from the SAV Institute of Sociology. According to Tinakova, the recent reduction of the allowance for those providing accommodation for Ukrainian refugees can also contribute to uncertainty. am