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Just a couple of days after our country has been hit by the natural calamity, a new calamity has been born in the social networks: a wave of anti-Roma hatred – “Why there are no Gypsy volunteers?”, “Gypsies are just queuing for up for aids”, “Gypsies are guilty” – these are just few of the titles in the social networks (happily they are not so explicit in the official media, but still …) So what is going on? Or maybe it is easier to blame Roma instead of looking for those who are really guilty? And if Roma have been blamed for the situation in Varna, who is to be blamed for the floods in Dobrich, Kilifarevo, Debelets, Veliko Turnovo? Or it probably serves someone to shift the focus? It is easy. Here we are used to this: “The thing I love the most is to hate” – an anecdote says …

Happily, the people who are not “seduced” by the hatred speech are much more – it is not just by accident that more than 700 000 BGN has been already collected through the donation number. The disaster that came across the people in Asparuhovo (Varna), Dobrich and Veliko Turnovo united many people and provoked a wave of sympathy and willingness to help in the whole country, including the Roma neighbourhoods. Thousands of Roma, including many people living abroad, joined the SMS campaign “DMS Varna”. Many people donate: through the Bulgarian Red Cross, or through places organized in the Roma neighbourhoods. Dozens of volunteers already went to places that suffered the most and joined the cleaning and reconstruction work.

Roma organizations from the whole country spontaneously started to organize campaigns in support of the victims. Two hours after the disaster „Co-Participation” Associationwhich is based in Asparuhovo neighbourhood was already there and started to clean the demolished houses and save their inhabitants.

Since Sunday the volunteers of Center Amalipe from Novi Pazar and Shumen travel every day to help for the cleaning of the streets and houses. Tomorrow (Tuesday), around 15 volunteers from the Community Development Centers in Pavlikeni and Veliko Turnovo will join the cleaning of the mud from the streets and houses in Kilifarevo. On Wednesday they would go to Dobrich and Varna. The Community Development Center in Kameno and Etropole are also ready to send volunteers.

Ten Roma health mediators arrived today in Varna and started disinfection work and vaccinations in the most marginalized parts of Asparuhovo neighbourhood. They will stay at least a week to prevent the appearance of epidemics: a threat that appears for all inhabitants with the warming of the weather.

Only a day after the disaster Integro Association and Roma women from Razgrad donated funds for the suffering people. “Sun for Everybody” Association together with Community Development Center in Pestera started collecting humanitarian aid. At the same time, the school parliament of “St. Paisii Hilendarski” Gymnasium addressed all schools in Amalipe network the school in Varna (which is also part of the network) and all the people in need. Many schools followed their example: Kitanchevo, Plovdiv, Streltsi, Aleko Konstantinovo and many many others. Bulgarian, Roma and Turkish kids study in these schools together. The children do not have anything to divide among themselves! How not to be an optimist when you see the real active civic position of these young people who do not classify disaster according to the color of the skin.

Many other organizations for which is hard to reach the regions in need, do the same: they are really too many to be able to enumerate all of them.

Roma volunteers help all victims, no matter in which neighbourhood they live and what language they speak. For example, all the families that suffered the flood in Kilifarevo are Bulgarian families, but Amalipe volunteers will be there – because there are people in need…      

Solidarity and empathy are not just qualifications. They are a human need, a need that takes one of the highest places in Maslow Pyramid. In our society which is torn from inside by contradictions and hatred, there is a natural need to help the people in trouble and this need unites us and helps us overcome differences. It unites Bulgarians and Roma! Let’s hope this will help us overcome division!