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Roma ghetto in Sofia to be razed

Tue, Apr 06 2010 11:53 CET 3185 Views 27 Comments
Roma ghetto in Sofia to be razed

Photo: Reuters

A Roma ghetto in the Sofia borough of Vrubnitsa will be razed as part of a "spring clean-up operation" in the capital, the private Bulgarian television channel bTV reported on April 6.

The ghetto, consisting of barracks, sheds and other illegal constructions, is perched on municipal land. Citizens of Vrubnitsa signed a petition in January 2010 demanding that the Roma be expelled from the site.

As a consequence of the awareness raised from the petition, municipal authorities decided that the area should be cleared, and within days.

Some of the buildings have already been flattened, mostly by the Roma themselves who decided to take the initiative once they realised that the decision was final.

The ghetto will be razed at the cost of 40 000 leva to be covered by taxpayers, bTV said.

On January 14, 2010, Bourgas municipality had ordered a Roma ghetto in the city's Slaveikov borough razed.

The Roma site, which at the time consisted of about 20 shacks and other "shelters", was near a major railway junction. Bulldozers arrived and flattened the buildings in the perimeter while the Roma were expelled.

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Comments

Anonymous Valeri Thu, Apr 08 2010 17:33 CET

Of course, it's all about me;)

Anonymous R in Sofia Thu, Apr 08 2010 16:13 CET

Valeri - well, that proves it: we will let anyone come to America - including you.

Anonymous vv Wed, Apr 07 2010 20:26 CET

Jn Bulgarians are Bulgarias, not 'whites' you reduce them rhetorically...yet you call gypsies 'roma' not 'browns' does that make sense?
why don't you buy bus tickets for them to come to London?

Anonymous Cosmos Wed, Apr 07 2010 18:02 CET

Hi Val I am not sure about spotty ones but the bartenders better watch out our girls are a hard bunch.

Here in the UK we have a duty under law to look after the scroungers and beggers children first.We have tried to intergrate our own Gypsies but its a waste of time.

Why should the tax payer in any country have to clean up there disgusting mess its about time the good people of Bulgaria said enough is enough and to (JN) what has colour got to do with this.
[...]

Read the full comment />
I have seen first hand the disgusting state they left behind not far from Varna I am sick and tired of them begging in the streets of Varna dragging there babies in tow trying to make you feel guilty, they should be stopped from begging then they might get a job also the parents of these 14 year old girls should stop encouraging there daughters to get pregnant Its disgusting.

Anonymous ivaylo chatov Wed, Apr 07 2010 11:01 CET

ah, jn, you warm and fuzzy bleeding heart leftie who just wants love and harmony amongst all beings! the romantic in you, wearing the pink glasses of lovey-dovey idealism, must be disgusted with the hideous level of discourse below. and rightfully so! all these white supremacists with they blood thirsty instincts who seek to clobber to poor gyppos/pikeys/roma and not seek to integrate them must be shown the moral high ground.
you are right, lofty intellectual highmindedness is a great thing, it is a virtue in itself, and should be pursued at all cost. the world must see [...]

Read the full comment that man can live amongst man in the spirit of true brotherhood.
in this world, however, there is something you will not willingly notice, because it will disturb your pinko lefty world view. it is called reality. and the reality of the gypsies is that they have never sought to integrate into mainstream society in any significant numbers. they have never sough to receive much education, even when it was free during "advanced socialism" and just dropped out after primary school. they have never sought to inhabit the housing estates built for them, like the average bulgarians did. they have never sought to demonstrate, through concrete actions, that their reputation for deceipt, criminal intentions, and other illegal practices.
they have never moved beyond their uncivilised tribal days in the indian subcontinent, and they have lived in europe for millenia. unlike other minorities, like the jews, they have never sought to integrate.
so how are europeans to integrate them?

Anonymous jn Wed, Apr 07 2010 10:39 CET

The comments here are awful, stupid and uninformed. As long as whites will look at Roma that way, the problem will continue.

Anonymous Blacky Wed, Apr 07 2010 10:20 CET

Where are they expected to move in? More time on streets begging and St. No provision for accommodation been made?

Anonymous bg dave Wed, Apr 07 2010 07:58 CET

well said desen ive lived in this lovely country for 5 years.yes im a brit my origin,my family as seen all the unsightly messes these romany have done varna ,yambol sliven, sofia, many more.when you go around slachev briag in summer they pester all the holiday makers they come here to relax
and enjoy there holidays.the ordany bulgarians are very hard working people as you people should know there wagers are not fantastic. these romany dont work only some.its also not good for the goverment and traders here. it puts holiday makers off ive seen it.cosmos youve also [...]

Read the full comment got a valid point there , they would rather steal.as theres been a few insidence resently going towards sofia, a scotish family also a english family, valeri if u feel so strong about them let them live near you then you would find out, people understand they are human beings.bulgaria is a beautiful country like ive said and for people like these to make it look scruffy. should be also made to clean the places up.

Anonymous Valeri Wed, Apr 07 2010 07:26 CET

Even the Americans will have a hard time integrating them and they are very good at co-opting into their culture.

The first time I saw a Roma in the US was at a restaurant, where the parents sent the kids to steal the tip from a table.
I had to do the double take on that one - at first didn't think anything about it, but after I looked and - sure enough - Gypsies!

Anonymous JJ Wed, Apr 07 2010 03:05 CET

They can go to America!

Anonymous Valeri Wed, Apr 07 2010 00:17 CET

cc;)
lol;)

Cosmos, bring your friends too! (not the spotty ones, you know the type I am talking about) and populate BG with Brits - nothing against it!

Just behave, no hitting the heads of bartenders, no bitching on forums, and no getting drunk on football matches!
What's so hard about that?

Anonymous cc Wed, Apr 07 2010 00:12 CET

shame Roma's shelter being torn down..they should just all up and move to London, free benefits as long as they vote Labour!! Get to it! election is may 6

Anonymous Cosmos Tue, Apr 06 2010 23:17 CET

The only problem is we did have an empire but now the empire wants to live in the UK we are running out of room,so the only thing left is to move to Bulgaria I will hang on a bit longer so that all the Bulgarians and Roma have gone.

Anonymous Valeri Tue, Apr 06 2010 21:25 CET

Cosmos,
look at it as "reunification" - our Roma and the remnants of your vast Empire - the lovely South Asian majority;) Don't you want to see them running slow motion into each other's arms at the airport? I am sure all of the 5-6 white Brits one normally sees there, will move over to witness the emotional reunion...;)

Anonymous Cosmos Tue, Apr 06 2010 20:16 CET

Please do not send them to the UK we have enough scroungers of our own.Every country has tried to help the Roma but they do not want it without strings. If they do end up in your neck of the woods dont forget to bolt down the manhole covers and anything else that is worth nicking.

Anonymous Hoosier Tue, Apr 06 2010 19:32 CET

Bush and Company has been gone for the past year. Its now his third term with new puppet. As far as the Roma goes, they will never change. The Communists tried and really made an effort, but they don't want to. So send the scum where people think they are being abused. UK and France are nice spots.

Anonymous Valeri Tue, Apr 06 2010 19:06 CET

"Those crime and housing problems are just a product of the discrimination against the Roma and the failure to integrate"


No, the problem with housing is a product of them having all those babies. There is no "integrating " them trust me. There is zero difference between the way they live, and the fast majority of the people of India. Individuals can integrate, not groups. There needs to be a serious effort in lowering their birth rate, which is bigger danger for BG than all of Iran's missiles.

Anonymous Valeri Tue, Apr 06 2010 19:00 CET

"No, well then scapegoat the Roma while the real thieves flourish."

That's like saying that no blacks should be prosecuted for street crimes because Bush&company are the real criminals starting wars and such.
Makes no sense.

Good move Boyko!

Anonymous Imanuel Tue, Apr 06 2010 18:58 CET

Good news? Where are the Roma supposed to go? Those crime and housing problems are just a product of the discrimination against the Roma and the failure to integrate them into the Bulgarian society. Something has to be done. Destroying their ghettos is not a solution, but a scandal.

Anonymous Mike Tue, Apr 06 2010 18:39 CET

I agree with Dan.

Anonymous Interested Outsider Tue, Apr 06 2010 18:30 CET

With theft, embezzlement, and stealing public monies rampant in the Government, will the bulldozers come to knock down the big encampment of officially elected and appointed crooks in Sofia? No, well then scapegoat the Roma while the real thieves flourish.

Anonymous*******Tue, Apr 06 2010 18:12 CET

This comment has been removed by the moderator because it contained foul, abusive or discriminating language

Anonymous Dan Tue, Apr 06 2010 17:23 CET

Good news for who? Those who live in the area, perhaps. It doesn't solve the problem of Roma housing or crime. It just relocates it. It is bad news for others.

Anonymous Tsar Kiro Tue, Apr 06 2010 17:16 CET

yes it is good news.

Anonymous Cosmos Tue, Apr 06 2010 16:52 CET

Best news I have heared for ages,the crime rate will now go down by at least 80 per cent in that area.

Anonymous Peter Tue, Apr 06 2010 14:02 CET

It's a start, how many more to follow?

Преглед на профил Десен Tue, Apr 06 2010 12:47 CET

Good news!


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