Lyulin Stamenov/Sofia Echo
Roma inhabitants of the ghetto
in Sofia’s Lyulin neighbourhood were
forced to pack all their belongings
and move to the Hristo Botev
district this week.
THE forced removal of a Roma ghetto from Sofia’s Lyulin neighbourhood to the Hristo Botev district this week should be viewed as a positive thing, according to Georgi Parushev, the executive director of the foundation Support for the Roma People 2000.
About 250 Roma people, who have been living in trailers and houses along the Ring Road, had to leave the site because it had been sold to superstore chain Billa, which plans to build a hypermarket there.
But though they were moved against their will, they are being housed temporarily in trailers with water and electricity, and will be moved into new houses as soon as they are built, through a joint project by the Sofia Municipality and the European Investment Bank.
Mr Parushev said: “It would have been very difficult, practically impossible to send all these Roma people back to their places of origin.”
Sofia Mayor Stefan Sofianski has issued an order for the demolition of the illegally erected houses in Lyulin.
But the age-old problem lingers on in Bulgarian politics – politicians really remember the Roma people only when they need them. The gypsy minority in Bulgaria is working up to being high on the agenda of political parties on the eve of this summer’s parliamentary elections, Mr Parushev.
He told The Echo: “We are courted a lot before elections, and forgotten about so easily after them. Those vulnerable to trust in various things suffer most whenever promises are not kept.”
Mr Parushev produces a documentary broadcast at the Bulgarian National Television about the problems the Roma people in Bulgaria face. He is also the publisher of Gitane magazine – a political, economical, and cultural review of current Roma difficulties and routine matters.
Mr Parushev, himself a law graduate, advises his fellow Romas to attempt to reach a higher standard of living through education.
He is the author of a book of poetry – A Song Will Come, and a narrative one – The Troopers of the Illusion. Georgi Parushev said his book was rebellious. His poetry cast a protesting and ironic view on the historic events since 1989, in the context of all political processes happening now, he said. He told The Echo: “My book reveals that democracy is a chimera for the Roma people; and I am a trooper of the illusion of promises.”
Mr Parushev says every human has the initiative and the desire for progress. “But the Roma people have forever been faced with numerous obstructions. Before the major changes which started in 1989 in Bulgaria, communities were hidden away in ghettos. The Roma people were not prepared for most problems, as they were used to the state taking care of them.
“Socialist society integrated all Bulgarians, and secured an existence minimum. In the meantime, there were Roma ghettos; ignorance and lack of education pervaded the Roma communities.
“A sudden discovery was made after the change of the political regime. All became unveiled and the previously withheld information created the myth of the Roma people. After the loud announcement about the Roma’s existence caught them unprepared, the socialists-created paradigms made Roma people feel ashamed of their origin.
“That is the politicians’ hidden idea – to make us feel underestimated and unworthy. The politicians so far have transformed Roma people into parasites.
“Unemployed Roma people receive social support that is less than the minimal average salary, and is insufficient for securing their basic needs. The Roma people started getting accustomed to their status and meagre existence. Bulgarian economics is all monopolists who are prejudiced, selfish, and overly bureaucratic towards Romas.”
That is why today most of Bulgaria’s Roma population of 700,000 do not fit snugly into the current market situation.
Mr Parushev said: “The majority of the 700,000 Roma people in Bulgaria are not ready to accept these changes because of our low educational level and professional qualifications.”
Some Roma people are hired without the necessary qualifications, and then underpaid.
Roma people have had their own culture and identity although they have been a nomad people with neither flag nor country. Their traditions and customs have not been widely spread nor preserved. Mr Parushev said: “They remained at an archaic level because they didn’t develop.”
Motivation for higher education and a wish for success are lacking within Roma people, according to Mr Parushev. However, he said: “I am noticing lately a change in the value system of my people – they have started realising the need for better education and personal success. People see education not as a basis for being cultured and intelligent, but as a basis for being competitive on the labour market. There has never been a greater number of people eager to study and develop.”
University students of Roma origin now number more than 450, which is considered a success. There is now the largest percentage of Roma students in economics, science, political science, and history than there has been in the last 12 years.
“International relations and computer sciences, psychology, medicine, and law are among the prestigious sciences that the Roma people have experts in.”
***
April 8 marked the remembrance day of the Gypsy Holocaust – on this date over 600,000 gypsies were burnt in Hitler’s death camps.
It has been a day of celebration in memory of those who died since the establishment of the International Union Romani in London in 1970.
This year Bulgarian President Petar Stoyanov joined the Roma celebrations in the Fakulteta district of Sofia.
About 250 Roma people, who have been living in trailers and houses along the Ring Road, had to leave the site because it had been sold to superstore chain Billa, which plans to build a hypermarket there.
But though they were moved against their will, they are being housed temporarily in trailers with water and electricity, and will be moved into new houses as soon as they are built, through a joint project by the Sofia Municipality and the European Investment Bank.
Mr Parushev said: “It would have been very difficult, practically impossible to send all these Roma people back to their places of origin.”
Sofia Mayor Stefan Sofianski has issued an order for the demolition of the illegally erected houses in Lyulin.
But the age-old problem lingers on in Bulgarian politics – politicians really remember the Roma people only when they need them. The gypsy minority in Bulgaria is working up to being high on the agenda of political parties on the eve of this summer’s parliamentary elections, Mr Parushev.
He told The Echo: “We are courted a lot before elections, and forgotten about so easily after them. Those vulnerable to trust in various things suffer most whenever promises are not kept.”
Mr Parushev produces a documentary broadcast at the Bulgarian National Television about the problems the Roma people in Bulgaria face. He is also the publisher of Gitane magazine – a political, economical, and cultural review of current Roma difficulties and routine matters.
Mr Parushev, himself a law graduate, advises his fellow Romas to attempt to reach a higher standard of living through education.
He is the author of a book of poetry – A Song Will Come, and a narrative one – The Troopers of the Illusion. Georgi Parushev said his book was rebellious. His poetry cast a protesting and ironic view on the historic events since 1989, in the context of all political processes happening now, he said. He told The Echo: “My book reveals that democracy is a chimera for the Roma people; and I am a trooper of the illusion of promises.”
Mr Parushev says every human has the initiative and the desire for progress. “But the Roma people have forever been faced with numerous obstructions. Before the major changes which started in 1989 in Bulgaria, communities were hidden away in ghettos. The Roma people were not prepared for most problems, as they were used to the state taking care of them.
“Socialist society integrated all Bulgarians, and secured an existence minimum. In the meantime, there were Roma ghettos; ignorance and lack of education pervaded the Roma communities.
“A sudden discovery was made after the change of the political regime. All became unveiled and the previously withheld information created the myth of the Roma people. After the loud announcement about the Roma’s existence caught them unprepared, the socialists-created paradigms made Roma people feel ashamed of their origin.
“That is the politicians’ hidden idea – to make us feel underestimated and unworthy. The politicians so far have transformed Roma people into parasites.
“Unemployed Roma people receive social support that is less than the minimal average salary, and is insufficient for securing their basic needs. The Roma people started getting accustomed to their status and meagre existence. Bulgarian economics is all monopolists who are prejudiced, selfish, and overly bureaucratic towards Romas.”
That is why today most of Bulgaria’s Roma population of 700,000 do not fit snugly into the current market situation.
Mr Parushev said: “The majority of the 700,000 Roma people in Bulgaria are not ready to accept these changes because of our low educational level and professional qualifications.”
Some Roma people are hired without the necessary qualifications, and then underpaid.
Roma people have had their own culture and identity although they have been a nomad people with neither flag nor country. Their traditions and customs have not been widely spread nor preserved. Mr Parushev said: “They remained at an archaic level because they didn’t develop.”
Motivation for higher education and a wish for success are lacking within Roma people, according to Mr Parushev. However, he said: “I am noticing lately a change in the value system of my people – they have started realising the need for better education and personal success. People see education not as a basis for being cultured and intelligent, but as a basis for being competitive on the labour market. There has never been a greater number of people eager to study and develop.”
University students of Roma origin now number more than 450, which is considered a success. There is now the largest percentage of Roma students in economics, science, political science, and history than there has been in the last 12 years.
“International relations and computer sciences, psychology, medicine, and law are among the prestigious sciences that the Roma people have experts in.”
***
April 8 marked the remembrance day of the Gypsy Holocaust – on this date over 600,000 gypsies were burnt in Hitler’s death camps.
It has been a day of celebration in memory of those who died since the establishment of the International Union Romani in London in 1970.
This year Bulgarian President Petar Stoyanov joined the Roma celebrations in the Fakulteta district of Sofia.
