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Reporter Danko Handrik travels around Bulgaria with a benevolent look. Yes, and he does not fail to cite the statement that this is the poorest country in the EU, where people have the lowest average income. And at the very beginning of his report he talks about other problems, which the guard of the lighthouse in Shabla talks about. And most of all – about the tensions in the Black Sea, where the interests of Russia and NATO collide. “It feels like there is some tension that is worrying,” Danko Handrik was quoted as saying by Deutsche Welle.
“You used to live better”
The reporter then met with 80-year-old Rachko Stoychev, one of the first non-photo producers in Northeastern Bulgaria. Rachko is proud of what he achieved then and believes that Bulgaria was a better place to live, and since 1991 the country has been going downhill. “It used to be better, there were cooperative farms, people had jobs, they were given some of the produce, there was food three times a day, work clothes were free. Now there are only for the rich,” Rachko said.
In Kavarna, the reporter enthusiastically photographed the works of a car mechanic who was restoring old cars. And in Balchik he met perhaps his most interesting interlocutor: 62-year-old Andreas Pozur.
Andreas, who lives in Balchik
Pozur, who practices Ayurvedic medicine, is married to Bulgarian Valentina, with whom he bought a house in Balchik. Two-storey house with a vineyard, for 40 thousand euros. Andreas is very happy with his life in Bulgaria. He praised the charm of Balchik and told the reporter: “It is not easy for the Bulgarians. After the changes, which were actually a change of the system, it was very difficult for them. It was not very fun for them before, but. But they grit their teeth, they don’t complain, they move on. ”Andreas Pozur feels not only good, but also safe in Bulgaria, the reporter quoted him as saying.
According to Andreas, the rumors that Bulgaria is full of criminals were just stupid clichés. It is just as peaceful and quiet in this country as in Bavaria, says the German. Yes, Bulgarians have problems with structural change, emigration and the pandemic, but people are tightening and fighting, says Andreas.
“There is almost no financial support from the state, that is – people have to help each other. Family, friends – these are very stable structures here. Something good, in my opinion.” Andreas very sweetly describes how Bulgarians do not understand the complaints of some Germans : “Let’s have your problems!”. “And we in Germany often forget that we live in paradise,” he concludes.
Andreas Pozur mentions that many young people are leaving the country, and the MDR reporter finds the exact opposite: the young Bulgarian Bela Yolova, born in New York, who today works remotely from a wonderful modern office by the sea in Sozopol and says: “I really see potential in Bulgaria, but I also understand why they are leaving, but I think that the country has the potential to get better, there are many opportunities for young people here, I see my friends, they have potential for development, I hope the state knows it and will do more for those young people who want to stay. “
A rock event
The reporter of the German television discovers another Bulgarian topic, which is worth telling to his audience. True, Kamen Bryag’s “July” is hardly comparable in potential to the talents of young people in Bulgaria, but in Danko Handrik’s report it looks like an original event that every rock music lover in the world should experience.
Towards the end of his report, the German journalist meets us with the pensioner Pancho, who went fishing off the coast of Sozopol, and with the former commander of the border post Vasil Popov, who still finds an excuse for the East Germans shot on the Bulgarian-Turkish border.
The author ends the film about Bulgaria and his series “From the Baltic to the Black Sea” with the topic of borders – the borders during the Cold War and the borders today. “After this meeting one loses his mind and words. And he begins to think about what exactly is a “border”? And what fates intertwine around it? Questions that we, in the heart of Europe, have almost forgotten today. Because here borders are often just a dash on the map. ”
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