And thank God, he is not Bulgarian

Forgive me, grandparents, who taught me that Christ’s faith is the most righteous! Forgive you too – relatives on the paternal line, who gave kindly and dearly for Bulgaria to prosper, and believed that democracy would bring us something good!

Forgive me, my teachers, who taught me that I should speak good English, know my native Bulgarian without a mistake, have good grades in elementary school and high school, and then in university. I know you love me and want me to achieve a lot in life.

But I, Polly Teneva, am overcome with despair. I had to go around the center of the capital – to shop, to go through the pharmacy. Alas, this proved impossible. Dirty, ugly and dug up! A sad sight! It is the same after the mayoral elections. Naturally, because things cannot be fixed with a magic wand.

At the corner of “Rakovski” and “Graf Ignatiev” I sit down to drink a cappuccino with a friend. Kamen and Trayanka talk to me. Murgavelkov people who do not beg for money. They complain. They were from Dupnitsa and were accommodated in a home for temporary residents in the capital.

In the morning they threw them out on the street, they don’t know where to sleep. Kamen is a painter, looking for a job, but no one offers him one. They have brothers and sisters. I feel sorry for Trayanka and give some pitiful five leva. She is shy, she won’t let me take a picture of her with the phone. I still manage. I shop in the nearby “Billa” and walk around the center. That chicken can’t roll over!

Meters from Rakovski Street, the terrain looks like a bombed out place. It’s amazing how the employees of the Ministry of the Interior pass through here?

The “General Gurko” – “Sixth of September” intersection has been dug up, and people are working like ants. They drag themselves around, drink coke and water because it’s warm, eat sandwiches and throw the napkins into the ditch. Containers are difficult to reach. The old man who doesn’t know how and where to cross, but is holding a bag – bought something to eat – rubbed me.

“I’m going to die here, girl!”, one of the workers, sitting in front of the Press Center of the Ministry of the Interior, tells me. And he explains to me that

no one is asking them to meet deadlines

“Let the next mayor of Sofia think of him, what a shame! There are bombs planted in this town”, concludes the worker and rushes to the chemical toilet, which has an unpleasant smell, to say the least. I offer him a bucket of yogurt, he accepts it and starts to pay for it. I refuse, I feel sorry for the man. I dare not ask him what kind of money he takes here in the center of the capital. It is probably not easy for the employees in the Press Center of the Ministry of Internal Affairs to come to work, but there is no way!

Kamen from Dupnitsa knows how to paint, but has no job. He wonders where they will spend the night with his sister Trayanka, who is ashamed to show her face.

I realize that I have not fulfilled my mother’s prescription and I am drawn to the pharmacy of “Rakovski” and “Graf Ignatiev”. A pretty pharmacist asks me what I want, I look for the prescription in the bag, while the lady says: “If it’s for an antibiotic, only with an electronic prescription, you know?”. To know! I watch TV, read newspapers.

I buy my grandmother Stoyanka every Monday “Over 55”

Grandma is 78 years old, she was a chemistry and mathematics teacher. Students still call her on the eve of September 15 to ask how she is. They love her, many claim that because of her they enrolled in chemistry and mathematics at university. Grandma is healthy, but has difficulty walking. Has worn joints. It is not easy for her to attend physiotherapy at their neighborhood polyclinic because her GP has prescribed procedures. He walks with a cane, follows the prescription. He says that it is difficult to live in Lyulin, that the neighborhood is drowning in misery and dirt.

And thank God, he is not Bulgarian! Because he left us in the mud – to be the poorest country in the European Union! Regardless of the name of the mayor of Sofia and by which political party he was appointed, regardless of the personality of the prime minister, nothing depends on the president. I wonder what we under-30s are supposed to do? Well, there are already families with children among us! What future awaits our children?

Polly TENEVA, Sofia, 29 years old,

with excellent English and Bulgarian, with a well-paid job, but ready to emigrate

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