Sir
It was a late Sunday evening, I had a huge pile of papers to deal with but, as usual, I started reading my favourite Sofia Echo instead. After finishing the business pages, an intriguing title drew my attention - "Football, corruption and God". I wondered what football, corruption and God had to do with each other, so I started reading the article. I am truly sorry I did.

Being married to a Lithuanian, who has been living in Bulgaria for three years now and who adapted to the Bulgarian life and work-style in a heartbeat, I found it very interesting to get to know how other foreigners feel about living here. It was not new to me, having worked as a none-governmental organisation leader and currently as a real estate company manager, that corruption is a far more serious issue that we, "the poor folks of Bulgaria", would like it to be. It was also not a surprise that the foreign community in Bulgaria noticed it - it is more than obvious. However, the overgeneralisations about corruption in Bulgaria that I read in the football-corruption-and-God article are nothing but outrageous. Freedom of speech is a great thing, but in the department of journalism at Sofia University I learned that when you try to sell an argument, you need verified examples and evidence to back it up. Instead, Mr. Koos Schouten, the author of the article, simply commented on what he heard from somebody, who knew somebody, who heard that... Knowing that alcohol is seldom a good adviser, I am really frustrated that an "alcohol-fuelled" discussion can result in an article.

Again, I fully agree with Mr. Schouten that corruption is definitely an issue in Bulgaria, a problem that must be addressed and solved as soon and cleanly as possible. It is also great that external spectators point out the problem - this can be useful. But then again, corruption is an issue everywhere in the world, Europe and the United States included, although it may not be as obvious as it is here. I have a few very good stories from numerous corners of the world to back that statement up. Like, for example, my being physically attacked by a stoned Dutch citizen in the heart of Amsterdam and being asked to pay "under the table" to certain authorities to arrange protection for me during my stay in the Netherlands. Which I, of course, refused to do. I was tactful enough to never mention that story in the presence of Dutch people until now.

What Mr. Schouten fails to notice in his writings is that people who give bribes, are just as much a part of the problem as the ones who receive bribes. It is funny how the author condemns bribing but not his companions, who obviously willingly take part in the vicious circle of paying for what the Bulgarian authorities are obliged to give and do anyway. And let's be honest, guys, you bribe the authorities not to save somebody's life but to earn more money. Unfortunately, it is very easy to trick a foreigner, who has no idea how the system works here, into giving a bribe. Bribing and getting what you want is easy. What I do in such occasions is that I hire an expert, who advises me how to proceed and having my work done without bribes. Of course, it is a time-consuming process but this is how I successfully refuse to participate in the bribe phenomenon, which Mr. Schouten and the larger part of the Bulgarians dislike so much.   

Dear Mr. Schouten, if you want to write about corruption in Bulgaria, please do carry out an investigation, research the problem and then make a point. I will be more than happy to assist you in this just cause. However, remarks like "If you want to function in this country you'd better calculate these bribes into your business plan or get the hell out" are nothing more than shallow overgeneralisations. Speaking of God, He is my witness that I successfully made and implemented many business plans, some in collaboration with foreigners, without having to bribe anybody. I don't mean to be rude but if you needed bribes to make your business plan work, probably there was something wrong with the plan. As for football - good luck to the Dutch national team and Marco van Basten in the World Championship. I support them with all my heart and voice as I always have.

Stanislava Ciurinskiene, manager of "ASIMA" real estate agency
Cross-cultures
and sub-cultures

Sir
I have been following with interest the various pieces regarding cross-cultural awareness but unless I have missed something, no one has mentioned the fact that within any culture there are sub-cultures and within those sub-cultures there are further sub-cultures.
I would agree that one can generalise about any particular culture but the assumption that awareness in itself is going to be of any real value except, for example, to know that the English are different from the Welsh and that they are different from the Scots and that they are different from the Northern Irish who in turn are different from those in the South.  The same can be said of any culture be it American, Western or Eastern European, African, Chinese, Japanese, Mediterranean, Turkish or any other - it would be crass to suggest anything else. 

When Professor Michael Minkov apparently suggests that an awareness of cross-cultural differences could alleviate the problems of fanaticism, I think he is wrong.  I return to my point about sub-cultures, there are always going to be people of whatever race, colour or creed that see themselves as underprivileged, and some of these people will resort to violence, and these with any shadow of a doubt are the fanatical few.  Yes, they will be able to influence the gullible into believing that in one way or another violence is the answer, but history shows that this is not the case.  Most changes in attitude have been brought about by more subtle means because even the most gullible have found eventually violence merely begets violence and therefore there are no rewards as a result.

Yours faithfully

Peter L Knight MA
Priselci, Varna