Refugee Camp - the perspective of personalistic approach in social work

Living in Europe, in times of globalization and development, it is hard to believe that it is here, at our doorstep, that we are witnessing unprecedented humanitarian crisis. Thousands of refugees are forced to stay in inhumane conditions, deprived of basic rights, without any perspectives for change of their situation. Current humanitarian crisis reveals deeper crisis of our European values, crisis of our humanity. We find ourselves, our societies facing important ethical dilemma. The article focuses on the essence and meaning of the work of humanitarian workers and volunteers, who offer basic help and support to people remaining in the camps on the Balkan Route. Basing on personal experience of volunteer work in the camps in Greece, Serbia and Slovenia, the author attempts to present the situation of refugees, as a group severely marginalized by the system that they have no influence on. Within the fences of the refugee camp the rule of law is de facto suspended and it may seem that other moral values get suspended as well. People in the camp are deprived of emergency aid and information. Surrounded by armed soldiers and police they are reduced to quotas, masses, and numbers. Under such circumstances, the human presence in the camp, manifested in empowering approach to refugees is most crucial, as it breaks the wall of indifference built between “us” and “them”. These are the values which are essential to social work. The article aims to show how they can be manifested and put into action through personalistic humanitarian work in the camps.
 

Eugenics and its importance for social work

Social work is a unique profession composed of many different aspects and built on interdisciplinary theory. Its perception depends on many factors as well as on a person himself/herself. Social work is based on looking to the future with the person in need. However, it should also look back and learn from history. Eugenics – as an important area to explore – was a threat to people as it focused on improving them by interfering in their lives. As a result, today’s social work professionals work with people with far more psychological problems than they used to have. In order to help them social work should recognize the similarities from the past and (re)build our identity based on the values that will be imperishable.
 

Pragmatics of verbal communication in the sport climbing. Selected examples from the range of experience typhloeducation

Increased in recreational climbing interest which is used by educators and therapists due to the specificity of the discipline equipped with a number of specific advantages. In order to optimize the teaching, to ensure safety and for building lasting motivation, it is necessary to efficient communication. The article presents the results of research on the quality of communication in teaching young climbing people with damaged eyesight. The presented conclusions based on participatory action research using the method of service learning enabled to select the universal means of communication and recommendations relating to the selected examples in the field of experiential learning.
 

In permanently introducing this new section to our periodical, we wish to call the reader's attention to a unique approach we are consciously taking. In a desire to identify impending foci in our field, we have invited the youngest of our colleagues - MA and PhD candidates in social work - to act as our reviewers. Furthermore, considering the vast multitude of scholarly articles published annually, we have asked our students to primarily focus on this segment which is more likely to reflect the most recent findings. That said, we have not set a strict date range in the hope that our reviewers will freely discover or recover studies which might have been overlooked heretofore.

Izabela Jajkiewicz- Tina Mattsson Intersectionality as a Useful Tool: Anti-Oppressive Social Work and Critical Reflection. Journal of Women and Social Work. 2014. 29(1) 8-17.

Olga Maciejewska - Roni Strier, Sharon Binyamin Introducing Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practices in Public Services: Rhetoric to Practice. British Journal of Social Work. 2014. 44(8) 2095-2112.

Zofia Markiewicz - Scott Harding, Kathryn Libal Iraqi refugees and the humanitarian cost of the Iraq war: What role for social work? International Journal of Social Welfare. 2012. 21: 94-104

Noemi Rakus - Frederic G. Reamer Ethical Challenges in the Technology Age. Social Work Today. 2015. Vol. 15 (1) 14-18