- Plamen Chetelyazov
- Plovdiv
- Bulgaria
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Is Western Europe indifferent to Bulgarian agony?
Bulgaria is officially the EU`s poorest member. The salaries rarely exceed 250e. The country is one of the most corrupted in the EU according to the Transparency International Index. The census data confirmed that over the twenty-year period, emigration represented a 6% loss in the total population. High emigration levels were accompanied by low fertility rates, which contributed a further 12% loss. Moreover – the country has unenviable Press Freedom Index. Reporters without borders rank Bulgaria 87 which is a great retreat because back in 2003 Bulgaria ranked 34.
On 24 February more than 300 000 Bulgarians went out into the streets to express their indignation against the political monopoly and its derivatives – the monopoly of the market, the corruption, the poverty, the unemployment, the criminality... The people shout „We want future” and want radical change of the political system because the elections push in alleged new parties made of worn out politics in disrepute. Some of the demands are: no immunity for the members of the Bulgarian Parliament, limit of their mandates, recall of all former deputies, majoritarian voting system.
So far there is no adequate response from the political elite only a cosmetic change of the government and ugly but successful attempts to mount the protest.
The spokeswoman of the European Commission Pia Hansen said: “There is a democracy in Bulgaria and we respect that” but It must be a lie because few days ago Europe blocked Schengen membership for Bulgaria due to the functionality of the judicial system.
At the same time there is a wave of desperate people who literally set themselves on fire. 4 people already died for a month and one is still fighting for his life. The most famous case is the death of Plamen Goranov and now his name stands for this dreadful and shocking epidemic. The 36 years old photographer and mountain climber set himself on fire in front of the municipality building in his hometown of Varna on Feb. 20.
Closing Statement from Plamen Chetelyazov
Capitalism does not confer the same status as democracy! In this system the money is at the same time the capital potential, the ultimate goal and the greatest might. This basis contributes to the spreading of corruption, exploitation, manipulation, emotional degradation e.t.c. One of the ugliest defects is that people are learned to consider those who are poorer also less cultured, intelligent and capable.The real alternative to capitalism is a working democracy aiming at the progress of creative education and true freedom.
Christophe Cop 500+
Do you care about your friends more than people you don't know?
The same goes for any problem: the further away (percieved distance), the more ignorant I feel about it.
On moments when it's drawn into my field of attention, suddenly my care spikes and I can't stay indifferent (at least as long as it's in my attention-field). When it comes to enacting upon it: that's another treshold.
So as for Bulgaria within Europe: it's currently not in the field of attention of the majority of members of parliament (they have other problems I suppose)
I think that any problem or agony is bad.
The thing is: who is going to solve it? I can always look at other people or groups or nations to solve my or my shared problems...
I cannot expect them to feel obliged to respond though.
If I am ardent enough to strive for a given problem, then I will enact upon it.
Don't be angry if the rest of the world doesn't see your problem. That's just the way it is. The real question is: what can you do to make the most progres in solving the problem.
Self-organise, become politically active, and propose sollutions to influential people (or become influential yourself).
Plamen Chetelyazov
It is very difficult for Bulgaria to exercise influence on the life in Angola or Laos. But it is not so difficult for the European Union to exercise influence on the life in Bulgaria because our country is actual part of the union. That is why I asked “Is Western Europe indifferent” instead of “Is Western Civilization indifferent”. And you are wrong – in our case EU is obliged to respond and has the means. Not by sending money or army but by sending clear message of compassion and anxiety.
I believe that it is impossible to become politically active in Bulgaria unless you are part of or dependent on the corrupt political status quo. It is not only me - that was one of the main reasons for the protest! Some of the demands were: no immunity for the members of the Bulgarian Parliament, limit of their mandates, recall of all former deputies, different voting system. The people here want radical change of the political system because the elections push in alleged new parties made of worn out politics in disrepute and we do not have real choice – the same faces under different colors and platforms over and over again.
You say: “The same goes for any problem: the further away, the more ignorant I feel about it.” Do you feel that this is right? I don’t. I know it is true but I don’t feel it is right! And I must be much more active no matter that I am poor. And I will try. Everyone must!
Plamen Chetelyazov
Plamen Chetelyazov
"One in five Bulgarians live in poverty earning less than the equivalent of 120 euros per month. One in three young Bulgarians can not find work while private companies have accumulated alarmingly high debts preventing growth. Electricity bills have soared. There have been street protests across the country demonstrating against low incomes and corruption forcing the government to resign. In the last three months six people have died after setting themselves on fire in public..."
Watch the reportage here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=XKZ5zOlDBsA#!
Rada Leenders
bart hsi
The EU Central Bank should urge and guarantee capital loss for the oil companies like British Petroleum , Royal Dutch Shell, TOTAL or StatOil to invest and explore the Bulgaria Black Sea region for oil/gas. Believe me, we in the U.S. are drilling using fracking right in our backyard, and the contamination problem can be solved with reasonable cost. And the EU Administration can easily set up an agency bank in Bulgaria with a loan from the EU Central Bank to make SMALL LOANS DIRECTLY TO BULGARIAN INDIVIDUAL SMALL BUSINESSES, like that in India, without going through the government there.
I am a business and economic major in my undergraduate study. Believe me that capitalism is not a dirty word, at least it is better than government sponsored economic model. I don't have to use examples. Look for yourself. Furthermore, the conditions like you described there, really do not have that much more "wealth" to be 'explored" by the capitalists anyway. Remember, almost all the "rich countries", even China, started thru the route of capitalism.
Plamen Chetelyazov
I like your suggestion that the EU Administration can easily set up an agency bank in Bulgaria with a loan from the EU Central Bank to make small loans directly to Bulgarian individual small businesses without going through the government. The development of this idea will definitely help.
I am not a specialist but I do not believe that fracking is safe. Our sole wealth is what’s left of our nature and tourism is the only allegedly successful branch here. And I say “what is left of our nature” because by means of corruption large areas of the cost and the forests were built-up without any adequate ecological evaluation.
You say that “almost all the "rich countries" started thru the route of capitalism” but we do not have the time to evolve – we are small nation with only 6000000 people and as I said the census data confirmed that over the twenty-year period, emigration represented a 6% loss in the total population. High emigration levels were accompanied by low fertility rates, which contributed a further 12% loss.
What we really need is an urgent and applicable surviving plan aiming at the important areas of social policy.
bart hsi
If you are interested, I recommend for you to read one of the current (or just expired recently) TED Discussion under the title of "...Is capitalism sustainable ....". In the discussion, there is a major current of ideas saying that although capitalism is far from perfect, there re still no systems which are clearly better than it at current time or in the past.
Let me also refer you to search the economic development of Poland, which is one of your fellow EU member countries and also one of Bulgaria's fellow countries formerly under the sphere of influence of the Soviet Union. By the way, I just read in today's news report that Hungary is also developing the idea of small loans to the small and medium businesses in their new policy. That's all I want to say. Wish you the best of luck.
Plamen Chetelyazov
David McDonald
Plamen Chetelyazov
Otherwise I don't trust anonymity. I prefer to criticize the defects of the system with my true name and face. As I said: each person must show permanent intellectual and emotional resistance! Each one of us must take the individual responsibility in his own life and fight the defects of capitalism!
Spas Simonov
It is a great talk and shows exactly what you are saying - poor people are perceived to be less educated, but what is worse - less intelligent and this is scary as hell, because to judge someone's capacity as a human based on the money he/she has is downright the bottom of our so called "progress".
Plamen Chetelyazov
Spas Simonov
Plamen Chetelyazov
Makeze Keze
And history is filled with shining examples of enough people caring and deciding for a course of action that might not be the best economical choice. For Petes sake, we are discussing this on a TED forum... if nobody cared, there wouldn't be this website we are writing on right now!
That said, mainstream Europe does currently not care a lot for Bulgaria. But that doesn't mean that with the right advocates, it can't change.
Plamen Chetelyazov
TED is a great phenomenon indeed. Some of the talks are so inspiring! You are right - even if the authorities are careless there are still people who care and I was unfair.
Heather White 10+
I'm interested to learn that primary eduction spans 6 - 15. Is secondary education also compulsory? What is the percentage enrolment of ethnic Bulgarians in secondary education? What does completing secondary education entitle kids to do? Gain a place at university? If so, your secondary schools are equivalent to our Tertiary Colleges.
UK Education
Primary ages 5 - 11 6 years
Secondary ages 11 - 16 5 years - National exam syllabus starts age 14, exams taken at age 16
Tertiary College ages 16 - 18 2 years - Advanced university selection qualifications taken at age 18
University ages 18 - 21 3 or 4 years
This problem of low Roma educational participation is surely linked to their distinct and separate social identity coupled with their bizarre feelings of entitlement. Wow! What a combination! Roma kids would perhaps benefit from extra motivational input in their early education to help overcome the influence of their families. Are Roma families settled, or do they still travel? How old do the girls traditionally get married?
It seems Bulgaria needs to foster national solidarity. Does it have a compulsory National Service (either military or civil)?
If Roma feel entitled, I guess they don't pay taxes. How does the government deal with this issue? Greece and other southern EU countries have a problem with this too. So perhaps it's timely to have a EU wide discussion about Tax. Perhaps paying taxes should be linked to social rewards like benefit / pension / health care entitlement or to qualify for a passport. I can't help feeling that EU citizens need to take pride in paying taxes - rather than feeling foolish for doing so. Perhaps if it was the sole responsibility of the man of a household to pay, and it became linked to manhood - men would fall over themselves to say how BIG their tax bill was ;-)
Plamen Chetelyazov
Plamen Chetelyazov
Roma kids would definitely benefit from extra motivational input in their early education but many of them must earn their daily bread. There are several big Gypsy ghettos in Bulgaria but Roma families still travel a lot. I do not know the exact statistics (I am not sure if there is one) but when the gypsy girls are 15 years old traditionally they are already married with a child. Recently there was a journalist investigation on the subject because it is illegal to have sexual intercourse with a minor (under 18) but the authorities only shrug their shoulders.
We do not have a compulsory National Service.
The authorities don’t force the Gypsies to pay taxes and that is a key reason why our social system is on the verge of collapse. All governments ignore the problem and shift it upon their inheritors.
Plamen Chetelyazov
Plamen Chetelyazov
Heather White 10+
Britain from the 18th to mid 20th centuries was in a similar state. The industrial revolution was devastating to the social structure. Rural poverty moved people to urban work in unsafe factories for little pay. They lived in overcrowded, unheated, insanitary conditions. Cholera, dysentery, diphtheria & TB were common. Child & maternal mortality was high. People worked 16 hours/ day 6 1/2 days a week (church being the only rest-bite). Children worked from 5 years - exploited for their nimble size or good eye sight. The environment was highly polluted - rivers were open sewers and the air was so bad, Birmingham became known as the Black Country. Poisonous smog killed hundreds each year. Crime syndicates ruled each community - Oliver Twist was a social commentary not a work of fiction. Life was short, hard and brutal.
I have no respect for many of the eastern European beggars who are now a common sight in the larger towns and cities of the UK. Their only other occupations appear to be theft and prostitution of their own trafficked women! If eastern Europeans aren't angry, why should anyone else care? You need fire in your bellies not in your hair! If it means social protest against crime, exploitation and corrupt politicians / judges - so be it. Make a stand. Yes, the struggle will be difficult - but isn't the prize worth it?
Plamen Chetelyazov
Heather White 10+
Public opinion is strongly against these people. The problem is, there are so many of them, and they are so visible (they congregate in large groups), that we assume they are representative of these countries. Please understand that eastern European countries are exporting an image of their countries that are becoming a stereotype across western Europe.
The issue of Bulgarians, Hungarians and Romanians swamping the UK to claim benefits is a live political issue. Laws are currently being passed to restrict benefits and housing being given to these groups. I would like the UK government to go further and deport any EU citizen back to their country of origin if they are convicted of a crime.
What are your feelings about reading this? Are you shocked or angry at my views? Am I expressing intolerant right wing opinions? Or am I only expressing what any sane, law abiding citizen of Europe is thinking? How would you like these people to be dealt with across Europe as a whole? You seem to suggest that the EU is too soft on them and lacks the understanding of the difficulties caused by having them live amongst law-abiding, tax paying citizens. How should things be allowed to change so as to benefit the majority of citizens, without persecution?
Plamen Chetelyazov
No, I am not suggesting that the EU is too soft on the Gypsies. I am saying that the EU is not familiar with the specificity of the ethnic characterization of Roma and the Gipsy lifestyle and that is why they are too hard on Bulgaria with the accusations of discrimination. Here is an example – one out of many. The Council of Europe body ECRI stated in its June 2003 third report on Bulgaria that Roma encounter "serious difficulties in many spheres of life", elaborating that: „The main problems stem from the fact that the Roma districts are turning into ghettos.” ECRI missed the fact that the Gypsies purposefully separate themselves into ghettos because there they can build illegal houses and can avoid paying rates and taxes. That is why the advisor on Roma and Sinti issues at the OSCE, N. Gheorghe remarked during a meeting: “…many of the Roma confuse public services with rights to which they are entitled and which are guaranteed by the welfare state” ... Concerning the issue of the electricity supply it should be noted that dwellers of such neighbourhoods sometimes refuse to pay their electricity bills. This attitude could at least in part be explained by the fact that “…Romani mahala-dwellers believe they have rights as citizens to electricity and other services, and that the state has an obligation to provide and to a large extent to subsidize them”. Here is the detailed article: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Roma_in_Bulgaria . Pay attention to the „Problems of exclusion and discrimination”.
Plamen Chetelyazov
The problems are very deep and are slipping out of control. Many Bulgarians believe that the Bulgarian political elite prefer the current status of the Gypsies because they have several hundred thousand poor and illiterate electors whose votes literally cost a beer with two grilled rissoles and a loaf. Moreover – there are large amounts of EU money earmarked for this problem and I have already talked about our corruption index. I can see the solution in an international team of specialist who are familiar with the Gypsies and the Bulgarian reality in order to create long-term plan with short-term urgent actions aiming at lawfulness. But it will be difficult because Gypsies have already excluded themselves from the society and even if they find the will to change their lifestyle they will again miss the capabiliti.
Plamen Chetelyazov
Simion Belea
Plamen Chetelyazov
It had been a vigorous and continued protest but it faded unsatisfied. The politicians succeeded in getting on the wave of people's dissatisfaction and directing it on the political breakwater guarding the status quo.
Not only that there was not a single gesture of support from the west but also there are ridiculous British insults. I am talking about the English politicians who scare their electorate with the upcoming Bulgarian emigration. There are many things that can be said about this infamy and maybe it needs a different debate but the most important thing is that the Bulgarians who wanted to emigrate to England are already there.
I fear that the deaden tension in Bulgaria and the European neglect open widely the doors of our parliament for radical nationalism in the upcoming elections.
So - what about the people who set themselves on fire? As I said - It is a fearsome obsession, a final and dispirited appeal. These are real human beings who prefer to end their life in terrible pain instead of continue their struggle with this wicked reality. And even this extreme call for help grew silent. What about their relatives ha?
Each person must show permanent intellectual and emotional resistance! Each one of us must take the individual responsibility in his own life and fight the defects of capitalism! I know that it sounds discouraging but I can not see another option instead of the life of a hermit.
walter crockett
Paul Lillebo
Sorry that I don't have anything more encouraging, but I wish you and your countrymen all the best. You will get through this period, we just don't know how yet.
Plamen Chetelyazov
Paul Lillebo
I don't think we've arrived at the ideal economic system yet. What we've learned from our current systems and those in the past will, I trust, some day result in a system that rewards people not only as competitors but also as cooperators, yet does not stifle individuals under excessive governmental regulation. I've written a short piece on that at my web site, Blue Ridge Journal: http://www.blueridgejournal.com/brj-neweconomics.htm
Plamen Chetelyazov
chad manderscheid 10+
Plamen Chetelyazov
Bulgaria is a European Union (EU) member country. The EU institutions have the means and even the obligation to force the rulers of Bulgaria to grow up and play nice but they miss the willingness. Bulgarians do not know why Western Europe misses the willingness especially after the last fierce protest and its strangulation and vitiation. Bulgarian people clearly show that they don’t believe that “there is a democracy in Bulgaria” unlike the hypocritically statement of the spokeswoman of the European Commission. At the same time Bulgarian authorities clearly show that they don’t want democracy in Bulgaria and have the means to maintain the depraved status quo. Bulgarian people don’t need foreign money or foreign army but clear foreign messages of compassion.
I have lived and worked in the US. Trust me – our labor markets have nothing in common. Not a thing! But otherwise you are right about many things.
I can not even imagine what it is like in the world`s poorest countries. Or the nations engaged in war... What happened in Boston… They say one of the victims is just a 8 years old kid. Just a kid! Real human beings are dying of hunger and explosives, dying because of a primitive malice all over the earth. There is so much suffering in this world. And capitalism clearly shows that it is not only unable to inspire but actually is suppressing the emotional evolution of our civilization because in this system the money is at the same time the capital potential, the ultimate goal and the greatest might.
Basically I would like people of all countries to influence their Governments to realize that the emotional recession is the real threat and that the emotional evolution is far more important than the technological progress.
Tom Lennard
William Scurr
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qY64fJugfCQ
The EU dictates what happens in its countries through regulation and I find it ridiculous, extraordinary and truly saddening that they have not stepped up and helped Bulgaria establish some democracy. Even if I was not against the EU I would and hope people are shaking their heads in anger and disgust. How can they spend millions on going to elections around the globe but not eradicate corruption in one of its own member states? A simple answer would be that they are more bothered about the money and keeping their social project funded. You have my best wishes but unfortunately usually the only way for change is through social disorder and I truly hope that you do not need to resort to this.
Plamen Chetelyazov
Alexander Nikolov
Plamen Chetelyazov
By the way when I say “Is Western Europe indifferent to Bulgarian agony” I do not allude only to the governing body of the EU but to the European citizens as well. So far only you and I comment on the topic and we are both from Bulgaria… I am not surprised. After all in a capitalist system (and capitalism does not confer the same status as democracy) the money is the ultimate goal and the greatest might. So the people are learned to consider those who are poorer also less cultured, intelligent and capable. That is why the West-Europeans consider us primitive and just do not care.
Alexander Nikolov
Plamen Chetelyazov