The Scars of the Erasure_web

Erasure_4a 10.1.11 20:29 Page 6060 THE SCARS OF THE ERASUREOver the past two decades Slovenia has thus created, in collaboration withother countries, particularly EU member states, a vast and complex apparatusfor dealing with aliens. However, experience shows that human mobility cannever be fully controlled and even less managed, be it migration within a legalframework or outside it. People will always move around Slovenian territory regardlessof whether or not they have permission to do so. Moreover, ever stricterand more rigorous measures only create more people who do not fit into any ofthe legally stipulated categories but still reside in Slovenia permanently or temporarily.These people are by no means passive subjects. They actively co-shapetheir environment and primarily social welfare, but in so doing they are incomparablymore at risk than the rest of the population. Since alien status has assumedthe function of a mechanism regulating access to practically all rights,the ‘illegal’ label attached to them is reproduced and multiplied within virtuallyall walks of life, becoming a constant feature of whatever they do. Persons withouta residence permit in Slovenia cannot obtain a work permit and cannot accesseducation (apart from elementary education), health services and the like.Yet they continue to live in the country. They did not disappear with the government’sabstract decision which turned them into illegal residents.Having no legal status, these people as a rule engage in formal relationshipscircumventing the legal norms, meaning that in addition to facing the threatof deportation, they are also exposed to sanctions and enormous expenses inother areas of life. 6 Moreover, they are also vulnerable to exploitation and extortionin other relationships, both within the private sphere and in contacts thatwould otherwise be subject to various formalized rules, 7 or they are compelledto opt for survival strategies that are criminalized. 8 Whatever the case, for suchpeople “illegality” has become an internalized drive of their existence.Another implication of this situation is that the absence of legal status indirectlyaffects close family members as well. Although social contacts are notgoverned by arbitrary decisions of the state authorities concerning people’s legalstatus, the loss of the latter nevertheless has significant impact on the dynamicsof family and other relations, since a person plunged into illegality or threatenedby it faces difficulties in all aspects of life and therefore cannot fulfill satisfactorilythe assumed social roles. Even worse, “illegality” is also part of inheritance, soit frequently blights the family tree like an incomprehensible inherited diseaseuntil a cure is provided by a fortunate combination of circumstances that bringreality in line with the legal provisions, enabling such persons and their descendantsto “legalize” their existence.6 For example, sanctions included penalties for illegal work, while expenses included the payment of medical treatmentas a result of not having medical insurance.7 For example, in the area of employment or accommodation, where legal status would have enabled them to exercisetheir rights.8 In such a case, everyone is subject to sanctions regardless of status.