Hi all,

Well I've never seen life in Bg as bad as it is at the moment. There is little life anywhere is this area. Everything is dead, few people are out and about. The shops are deserted and many have closed up. Last week they were active shops now they are empty. I think this crisis has hit this area of Bg last week badly and with luck we are at the bottom, like in the uk a month or 2 ago. I cant believe how bad it is. Today I was talking to friends, Bulgarians who own shops, there are a few people window shopping but absolutly no sales. Prices are coming down to encourage us to buy. I was offered a pine double bed for 120 leva new in the shop, take it away with me, at 2.20 leva to the pound that was 50 quid approx

Few people are out in the evenings, most places are empty. In my village everyone is trying to get work from me, or borrow money. Few people have any money to spend. But saying that many shops are giving credit to get people to buy. Now they are stoping the credit as they have no money coming in only have money owed to them.

In my area, it seems to have gone crazy. I saw for the first time since being here, a mother crying with her daughter and baby. Aneta asked what was wrong. The answer was I have no food for any of us, my baby has no food and I have no way to get any. Her husband is in Holland trying to get some work. Everyday I'm getting the locals asking me for money and as I have the same problems as everyone else, I have to say sorry I can't help you. I've never in my life seen things so hard, I grew up in a poor region, but it was not like this is here.

Problem is there is no answer, there is no work, no way to get income, even the thiefs are only stealing what they can use. There is no point to steal to sell as no one is buying. Food and useful items are being stolen, TV's and DVD's are being left as there is no way to sell them. Is that crazy or what.

Just felt a little sad, so thought I'd write about how I feel and why.

We're all chasing work and money, but there is little of anything to be had. Only dreams and much wishing. If I could earn money selling that I'd get bucket loads of the stuff.

What a crazy world it is at the moment.

Tony

Hiya Tony I hear what you say there and my heart goes out to those less fortunate than I, especially the lady who can feed her children we in the west would probably never get to that state of affairs as we have the government making sure to some degree that none would ever be in that state although there are some that would argue the point :roll:it's the same the whole world over and at the moment I don't see an end to it, I know we keep being told that things ore on the uo :scratch: but I don't see it anywhere, I to have been to many parts of the world and seen poverty at its worst so I know what your saying, I guess all we can do is and try and give hope to others

Hi Ashley,

Aneta and I just went to Strazhitsa this evening, to cheer us up, it was dead. We saw 3 trucks on the road, we normally see 20 or so on the way there and back. I can't remember ever seeing it this dead in all the time I've been here. Is amazing, the center was also dead, A few teenagers were there, 1 family and 4 girls. We came home just as we went.

The good news was Petya, the woman crying this morning borrowed some money fron another in the village and was ok, for now. But for how long, you can only borrow so much and then it stops.

As you say, it is the world over. I don't think there is any answers to any of it for the moment. Just a bit depressing for now.

still life goes on for us,

Best wishes, my friend

Hi there,
We see a different side of the coin where we are I think, You look round Elhovo, Yambol etc and there appears to be money all around, theres new shops opening people sitting in cafe's bar's and resturaunts wining and dining. we were in Stara Zagora earlier this week as I had to have an operation and to look at the people there you wouldn't think there was any money problems at all.
Of course in the villages it is different there isn't the same kind of income and some villagers often only getting a few stotinkies a ltr for their milk or vegetables but what is the answer ?

I think what you have both said above is correct, I do believe that depending where you live makes a whole difference, I lived just outside Yambol for some time and I have to say although I did see poverty overall it was fairly affluent, and the same applies to the village where my house is overall they wasn't any obvious problems [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

I have to say that in the 13 years we have been here Bulgarians in certain areas have become much better off. This depends 100% on where are you are living, over the last 5 years there has been a lot of work in areas with the large construction that has been going on, (another thing whether workers were paid enough) and in fact were we lived there were not enough workers for the jobs that had to be filled. As in walks of society there were people even then that did not want to work and begged for money. Workers would come from all over Bulgaria just to work in Sunny Beach, and to look at the villages that border the resort you can see the improvement to peoples houses. The credit crunch has had a big impact on jobs etc, and if you are unfortunate to live in an area that has no employment then this area will be hit even harder. But if we go back 13 years there were villages that had died even then due to no work and the young people moving away to towns were there was employment, some villages still only have people in them that have bought just holiday homes. In my opinion in some areas it will get worse, I dont think we have seen the last of it yet, building last winter on the coast was down and this year I doubt if much will continue only on properties that have been sold.

I guess it's going to be differant whereevr you are in fact that would apply to world wide, but as you say whats the answer?

Pretty bad for the Bulgarian local community here as well in the north west, no work to be had and shops closing, although the empty ones seem to be having a facelift in Lom, so none too sure where that money is coming from.
Talking to one of my Bulgarian friends yesterday who is an amazing seamstress and who has been out of work for the last month as her employment place closed down again, and I didn't realsie that even when she was working ...8.30 am till 5 pm, she was earning 8 leva a day for makiing clothes all day long!!
She is also an amazing cook, but there are few jobs to be had in the local cafes and restaurants and even if you get one the hours are horrendous, working conditions appalling and again somewhere between 8 and 12 leva a day depending where you work.

I live in a small town, and previously in a village, but it is basically the same for men who cannot find work, they eventually get depressed and don't want to do anything except sit around, which is the same in the UK or anywhere else for the longterm unemployed, the motivation disappears and depression takes over.

The villagers simply survive by growing masses of everything, working in the gardens and their plots of land from dawn till dusk every day, preserving everything and keeping chickens, goats, maybe a cow or pig etc.

The old ladies are out now collecting bundles of twigs and branches from the woods by the river and then stagger home with the bundles on their backs and it is just an endless circle of labour for survival.

There is no real answer, we all have to just hang on and hope it will get better soon, although any financial improvement won't really help this region as there is no work in most instances unless you up and leave to work in Italy or Spain. Very sad.