The Scars of the Erasure_web

Erasure_4a 10.1.11 20:29 Page 129THE ERASURE AS A VIOLATION OF LEGALLY PROTECTED HUMAN RIGHTS129as well as the majority of other countries, through the right to social financial assistanceand child benefit. Social financial assistance and child benefit are thetypes of income that are not tied to previous insurance or contributions paid. InSlovenia, every person with permanent residence in Slovenia who does not haveany income or whose income is below the legally determined minimum, is entitledto social financial assistance. Moreover, according to Article 65 of theParental Protection and Family Benefits Act, 43 one parent who has residence inSlovenia is entitled to the child benefit if the income per family member doesnot exceed 99 percent of the average salary in the country.Article 25 of the UDHR, which applies to all residents in the territory of asignatory country regardless of their legal status, states that everyone “has theright to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himselfand of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessarysocial services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sickness,disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstancesbeyond his control.” Children and mothers are entitled to special care and assistance.Article 11 of the ICESCR defines this right somewhat differently: “TheStates Parties to the present Covenant recognize the right of everyone to an ade -quate standard of living for himself and his family, including adequate food, clothingand housing, and to the continuous improvement of living conditions.”The field study group that researched the consequences of the erasureamong individuals and families came across many examples of severe povertythat was the result of erasure, but the affected people, who had no legal statusor valid documents, could not turn for help to any state institution dedicated toresolving social distress. They could only turn to Caritas or the Red Cross, thetwo institutions that do not check one’s legal status. Emina described her experienceof social distress following the erasure.It was very difficult to earn a living. Those were hard times. For example, if mychild needed something, I used what my brothers gave me. If I had something, Isold it to be able to buy food. So that the child was not hungry. Or I went to themarket, sometimes I bought cloth and then made bags and things like that. ThenI went to the market to sell it, for 30 tolars at that time, to make a living. To beable to buy food for the child. (Emina, 47, and Jasmin, 19)Indira, whom we already met in the section on the right to work, continuedher story as follows:It was hard for children without documents. I worked, their father left and whenI’d come home the older one was so … nervous. I’d come in tired, wanting only tolie down, and he was nervous. He’d say that he was not like other children, that hehad nothing and couldn’t do anything with his friends, so it really hurt me. […] If43 The law was adopted in 2001 and later amended. Before its adoption, the child benefit was regulated by the FamilyBenefits Act, Uradni list RS No. 65/1993.