On the spotlight: roma in Bulgaria.

Abstract

One day, while doing my job as usual, I was suddenly struck by the sensation that I was not tolerant towards the Roma minority in my own country. What I was feeling for them was fear mixed with suspicion. More often than not, they have played such an irritating role in my life – noisy people who suddenly interrupt my peace and quiet, always begging, always nagging and complaining. Funny how the before mentioned characteristics are the ones I despise most in me. This way, for my perceptions, the image of the Roma people was the cumulative image of my own negative traits. And then I remembered an interview with a 50-year-old Romani woman on the national TV “BTV”, June 2011, in the morning blog.. I realized how shocking it was to find out that she looks, speaks and behaves truly intelligently. She was very concerned about the future of her two children who she educated with the cost of heavy work shifts. I remembered just how much I liked her, how much her rationale resembled that of my own mother. And finally I remembered that I couldn’t believe she belonged to the Roma community… I realized that Roma people and I are on the same side of the coin, we have lived through rejection, discrimination and mistrust towards our personalities. If I am not tolerant towards them, I actually am not tolerant towards me myself…