Boyan Rashev*
(the original text was published in Dnevnik daily)
Beginning of July I sent this text to dnevbnik.bg to be published. It exploded in the social media and turned into one of the most read articles on the Bulgarian protests.
A month later, it seems that nothing has changed. So I decided to translate it into English to show Europeans what is happening in Bulgaria.
We’ve been protesting now for 17 days. There’s no indication those in power have the intention of fulfilling our wishes. And they aren’t many. Simply to disband parliament and schedule new elections. Nothing more than this.
Nothing surprising. In the history of Communism there has been no renunciation of power without blood or a deal – at least none come to my mind. But we are not offering either. We are simply telling them that we no longer believe them and in a peaceful manner we are inviting them to depart from the National Parliament, which they have turned into a guarded pigsty. They answer by appointing officials, forging laws, throwing pittance, and ignoring us – much more successfully than we ignore them.
They lie about our numbers – according to the Ministry of Internal Affairs we fluctuate between 2000 and 3000 every evening and the media are reporting these numbers even though it is obvious to every journalist in the square that we are an order of magnitude more.
They lie about our behavior – they arbitrarily try to show and prove that we display violent tendencies and that we are a public menace. And that they have to arrest us before we injure a senior MP, even though he’s an idiot.
They lie about who we are and our motives – from the miserable idiots, alcoholics, and drug addicts to the rich, spoiled Sofiyantsi (ed. Sofia citizens). The hippies gather to get wasted and roll around on Eagle’s Bridge. Together with them the oligarchs park their SUVs and go to the parade every night to prevent The Party (ed. Communists) from getting their money and handing it to the poor. I’d bet the electorate in Polski Trambesh and Novi Pazar (ed. small BG towns where most people vote for the communists) believe in one version or the other.
They’re sure we will shout, walk around, write, and talk; we’ll complain and in the end we’ll give up and mind our own business. Because this is the way it has always been, this is who Bulgarians are… or at least those whom they know.
They completely underestimate us!
Besides being a protester, husband, father, entrepreneur and manager, I also have a hobby. It’s called an ultramarathon – running exasperatingly long distances without a break through difficult terrain. My protesting inhibited me from participating in the Vitosha 100k (I’m angry – I waited all year for it).
What does this mean for them?
It means I handle fatigue, thirst, hunger, cold, lack of sleep, and continually increasing pain for seemingly endless amounts of time and in spite of it all, I continue to move towards my goal with the unshakable conviction that at some point I will succeed no matter how unreachable and impossible it may appear. And the more the barriers, the more pleasure it is for me to continue forward!
This means that
they are screwed because I simply don’t give up.
I rarely miss a protest. I look at the people and don’t believe my own eyes. I listen to their words and I don’t believe my ears. I talk with them, but it’s like a monologue.
I see myself thousands of times. Fathers (and mothers) in their thirties with young children who are obviously doing well. Managers and entrepreneurs, artists and professionals – people like me that simply don’t give up! Confident because they have achieved something. Despite those in the guarded pigsty.
I see myself ten years ago. Young people in their twenties. Educated and full of hopes and dreams. Europe is at their doorstep – there are no visas or borders. But they want to stay or to return and they are seeking a reason to do it. They love Bulgaria and they want a future here. They want opportunities now and they are looking for them with us because we are creating these opportunities.
I see my parent’s generation. Some of them realize how much they have achieved and how easily it may be taken away. Others know what they haven’t done and come to redeem their inaction. All of them know the craftiness of The Party (ed. Communists) better than us and they are here to defend us and our children. Because they love us.
I see my children. For them this is a merry parade and we’ll make it such that they remember it this way. But also to be proud they were there. Because it will be a part of history.
I see myself thousands of times. And
they look at us, but don’t see us
because they know only lust, gluttony, greed, sloth, wrath, envy, and pride, which blind them to cleanliness.
They don’t know that we exist.
We are the generation of the transition – those who have weathered the storm and haven’t followed the flow to foreign countries. We remember Communism, but it hasn’t corrupted our consciousness. We are wearisome of the years of transition, but they haven’t killed our dreams. We value and believe in Bulgaria’s progress, but we know how much better it could be and we want more. We know that not everyone is a rascal because we don’t think of ourselves as such.
We achieve everything with persistence and struggle, and they offer us children’s allowances. We have morals, which they think they’ve removed from the genes of Bulgarians. We don’t want much from them – simply the rule of law and security – and they offer us Bolen and Debeleevski (ed. diseased and obese; coming from the names of two of our most notorious politicians in power). We want to love not only our country but our state as well, and they drive us to abhor it; to not even want it, so they can have it for themselves.
We are a nation that wants freedom and democracy, and then think we are a people simply used to wearing a yoke.
“We are not paid, we pay.”
We develop, we create, we produce, we pay taxes. The entire state and everyone who receives something from it breathes and moves primarily thanks to us. We have the right to veto and we have to use it.
Every month, in the name of our company and its employees, I pay them more than ten thousand leva (5000 EUR). What would happen if I stopped paying them since they aren’t fulfilling even a single one of our expectations? (It is not a violation of the law – the funds simply acquire interest, which I would pay with pleasure. But not to them…)
How long would they last if the many others did the same?
I don’t think they would be celebrating on 9 September (ed. official BG national celebration day during the Communist regime).
*Boyan Rashev is a founder and managing partner at denkstatt Bulgaria Ltd., the premier sustainability consulting company in the country. He is married with two small kids and has a passion for ultramarathon and mountain running.
