Sir
SO, 15 years after the supposed end of communism in Bulgaria, we come to the question. Is Bulgaria truly a nation of laws? No, not even close.
The politicians running the country, regardless of party, have made a set of cosmetic laws. It is a pretend set of laws in a pretend nation.
Let’s look at some of them.
First, it is illegal to sell expired food. Yet I go to any large supermarket in the country and easily find expired food for sale.
A friend of ours running a small store was inspected by the health department. Since they could find nothing wrong, the inspector said, “Well, I’ll have to find something wrong and fine you. So, I’ll just say you are selling old sirene (cheese).” The owner was livid and rightfully so.
Is this what Bulgaria wants?
Then there is the little matter of traffic laws. Yes, Bulgaria has the usual “laws.” However, in reality they are nothing more than suggestions. Never once in living here in Bulgaria have I not seen at least one car run a stop sign or a red light. Sometimes, obviously just to make it more interesting, it is a bus or the police. Yikes!
Next, we have the silly registration laws for foreigners. Although my family and I have travelled in at least 10 different European countries, Bulgaria, naturally, is the only one where anyone has to register with the police. If the people running the joint are so afraid of tourists, why don’t they register them at the border when they get their visa stamp? Why? It would make too much sense, obviously.
Now we have the judicial system. The court system in this fair land resembles something out of Stalinist Russia or Nazi Germany. Don’t take our word for it. Go ask a Bulgarian friend!
One, of many examples, follows. Some Bulgarian friends of ours own a computer business in a large Bulgarian city. A few years ago, crooks broke in and robbed them of every last penny from their business that they had in cash. It was no small sum.
Naturally, the police eventually found and arrested said crooks. What happened? The presiding judge dropped all charges. When our friends went to their lawyer, this is what he said: “It is better to be alive and healthy than dead. I would not pursue this further.”
Is this justice in Bulgaria? Would this happen in any EU country?
Next, there is the law concerning property. No foreigner can buy Bulgarian land until 2007. No non-EU citizen can do so until 2014. Why is it in any other nation in the world anyone can buy and sell property? Hello? Didn’t communism end in 1990? And what are other nations doing for reciprocity concerning this matter?
As any foreign resident knows, the small business situation here is simply a very bad joke. Why is anyone required to have 10 Bulgarian employees? How greedy is the government? How foolish are they to expect than any foreigner would want to start a small business here. Hello, is anyone home?
Take a look at psychiatric care in Bulgaria. I challenge you to go to any bughouse in the land. The conditions there are simply despicable. How can Bulgaria ever get in the EU with such horrible psychological care?
What about the orphanages? Why is it that nearly all of them are located in the boondocks? Naturally, someone wants to hide what the true situation is from others. Why do Bulgarian orphans have to languish for years in terrible orphanages that often take advantage of them and sell gifts given to the kids by foreigners? What a disgrace to the nation.
Now we have the nightmare that is the national health system. How is it that medical care under communism was better than it is now? Why does the government threaten to confiscate things from poor people if they can’t afford to pay into a broken system? Don’t they have any shame at all?
Yes, then there is the price of electricity that is causing Bulgarians in mass to turn back the clock and heat with wood so they won’t freeze this winter. How can it be that electricity in Bulgaria is more expensive than in California, which has the most expensive electricity in the entire US?
Fortunately, there has been some progress in Bulgaria. The people that have reformed the tax system deserve kudos and a lot of credit for improving the situation.
Then there is General Borissov. This man has nearly single-handedly taken on the Mafia, counterfeiters and gang crimes in Bulgaria with great success. He simply must be given his due for a very difficult job well done.
But, where is Bulgarian now, 15 years after Communism supposedly ended? In nowhere land. The rich get richer, while the middle class and poor can hardly pay for the basic necessities of life.
Both Germany and Japan were totally and completely devastated in every way following World War 2. Yet, 15 years after the war, they were rapidly becoming economic powerhouses.
Just what went wrong in Bulgaria?
First, regardless of how much money the EU or America pumps into Bulgaria to keep the country afloat, the problem is that the government simply does not have a clue of what to do. The money disappears into the notorious Bulgarian bureaucracy, and would be better simply flushed down the toilet for all the good it has done.
Regardless of which political party is running the joint, they are simply incapable of providing for Bulgarians’ needs or building a nation based on law. The Bulgarian people deserve a better fate.
For instance, the Roma people were far better off in 1990 than they are now. I could take you to one of several Bulgarian villages where these people live like virtual animals. No work, no medical care, no food and no decent clothing. So, what has any Bulgarian government since 1990 done to solve this problem? Answer: nothing more than mere empty words and meaningless platitudes.
It would be very good for any politician holding office now to ask Bulgarians what they think of them. Bulgarians rightfully have a bilious hatred for their politicians. They sit and fiddled for 15 years while Rome burned. Frankly, I have not heard one good word about any Bulgarian politician, regardless of party, for seven years.
Bulgarians deserve better. They deserve a nation of laws, good government and a judicial system that works. They deserve that Mafia gang and drug lords be in jail. They deserve an economy that works, affordable prices and a decent living wage.
A Potemkin nation based on a house of cards laws simply will not work. Cosmetic changes are just that – cosmetic.
Naturally, when 2007 rolls around, and Bulgaria is considered for EU membership, what will happen? One puff of air will blow the entire house of cards down.
There will be two EUs. Countries like Greece, Germany, Spain, Denmark, Hungary, etc. that have real laws and a real republic. Then there will be the other EU. Namely, house of cards, Bulgaria.
It is high time that the people running the country took care of their own people and solved their problems with real laws that make real sense. They simply must be held accountable and must be responsible for their actions.
Pretend laws only result in a pretend republic.
– KM Brown