Amalipe Center’s statement on the demolition of housing in the quarter of Sofia. ‘“Zaharna Fabrika”’
Center ‘Amalipe’ expresses its deep indignation and concern regarding the demolition of housing in the district. ‘“Zaharna Fabrika”’. This is not just the removal of illegal houses. It is a human tragedy that leaves behind crying children, desperate mothers and families deprived of a roof and hope.
The systematic marginalisation of the Roma community has once again been dressed up in the language of “legality”, but the actions – carried out with no real alternative and in defiance of the interim measure from the European Court of Human Rights – speak of something else: a lack of humanity and institutional indifference.
Providing even more marginalised, gutted buildings – which do not meet basic living standards – is not an alternative. These are not homes. It is not a solution. Moving the ghetto from one place to another does not eliminate poverty, does not solve social problems, and certainly does not create justice. The solution is for people to get real, habitable housing, distributed in different places around the city – just like everyone else lives.
Social policies cannot and should not be carried out with an excavator. We insist that any change must begin with a meeting, a conversation and a partnership – not with fear and destruction. Solutions must be sought with the people directly affected by one measure or another. Vulnerable groups are not the enemy. They are part of society and deserve the same dignity and protection that every Bulgarian citizen expects.
We call for:
- Urgent support and provision of temporary shelter and care for the victims;
- The development of a real, long-term housing policy for vulnerable families;
- A full investigation of the case, including actions taken despite the court order;
- Effective participation of the Roma community in the development and implementation of policies that directly affect them.
It is time to stop seeing poverty as a fault and difference as a threat. It is time to build a society where the right to a home and dignity is not dependent on ethnicity or address registration.
We at Amalipe will continue to push for justice, for equality and for humanity – not just in word, but in deed.
Personal opinion (in support of the statement)!
As a person from the Roma community and as a professional who has been working for social inclusion and equality for years, I cannot remain silent in front of what is happening in the capital’s Zaharna Fabrika neighbourhood. This is not just another demolition of ‘illegal houses’ – this is another obliteration of human dignity. It is the tears of mothers, the frightened looks of children, it is the silence of those who once again have no voice.
To send in the diggers before you have given your hand for a solution – this is not legality, this is violence under the guise of order. To leave families without shelter, without an alternative, without security – this is not politics, this is institutional inhumanity.
I ask: where was the dialogue? Where was the social policy? Where was Bulgaria as a country that respects its human citizens?
We who work on the ground, who meet the difficulties and hopes of the Roma community every day, know: there is another way. There is a way where decisions are made with humanity, not with a bulldozer. There is a way in which children do not fall asleep in tents, but in homes with warmth, security and a future.
We call on institutions to take responsibility – not just for their actions, but for the people they affect. We call for immediate and real support for the remaining homeless families. We call for a real conversation about what it means to be part of a society – regardless of ethnicity, address or square footage.
Roma in Bulgaria are not a problem. Indifference is the problem. And we will not be silent.
Author of the text: Atanas Atanasov, Center “Amalipe”
Sources of the images – BTA, Facebook