How do we deal with discrimination, do those working in various non-governmental organizations feel like foreign agents… Deyan Kolev from the Center for Interethnic Dialogue and Tolerance "Amalipe" speaks on the topic to FACTI.
- Mr. Kolev, are you a foreign agent because you are a representative of a non-governmental organization, and the Law on Foreign Agents is being commented on… How do you feel…
- I feel like a Bulgarian citizen who works for the better education and future of the entire Bulgarian society, and in particular the Roma community. The absurd law/actually a bill/ on the registration of foreign agents, which is being proposed once again, would lead to the designation of millions of Bulgarian citizens and practically all working NGOs as foreign agents. I will not be an exception.
- Is there pressure on civil society and non-governmental organizations...
- Unfortunately, such pressure has been there for years. For decades, the words “Sorosoids” and “human rights defenders” have become a pejorative term in our country, denoting evil planners who threaten traditional conservative values against “dollars and euros” poured in from abroad to destroy prosperous Bulgaria. The entry of ultra-nationalist parties into public life and the National Assembly (especially after 2005, when Ataka “unexpectedly” became a parliamentary force and remained so for 15 years) further strengthened this rhetoric, turning it into part of the “new normal”. Before, we used to say that “drought, slush and Grisha (after Grisha Filipov, Prime Minister from 1981 to 1986)” were to blame for the crisis, and now - gypsies, migrants, LGBT (a different word is used), Sorosoids, human rights activists and all kinds of “projectors”, that is, NGOs. This trend especially intensified after the attempts to adopt the so-called “Istanbul Convention” (Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence), when the offensive “gender” quickly entered and became the biggest threat hanging over the heads of the unsuspecting and never read the said convention. The pressure on the few organizations that had been fighting domestic violence for years and had the imprudence to include “gender” in their name was so strong, and the silence of “moderate politicians” and statesmen was so deafening, that they were forced to change their names or cease their activities. Thus, four decades later, Bulgarian politicians once again became perpetrators/co-perpetrators of the “Renaissance Process”, this time on a small segment of civil society that works on such a large topic of domestic violence and gender inequality (let me be forgiven, but in this case “gender” is a more correct word than the other English word “sex”)…
- What was 2024 for civil society?
- The past 2024 marked new peaks in terms of pressure on civil society. The attempts and even the steps taken are not original or authentically Bulgarian, but copy worrying practices from countries that are openly authoritarian/totalitarian or moving in this direction. Without claiming any originality, I can highlight several important events:
- the changes in the education law of August 7 (formally aimed at the non-existent “LGBT propaganda in schools“, but in reality aimed at limiting the opportunities for schools and kindergartens to work with NGOs)
- the proposed additional changes in the education law, in the Child Protection Law and other legal and regulatory acts…
Thank God they were not adopted, but they created additional fear among teachers and principals. To top it all off, there was the proposal by “Vazrazhdane“ to adopt a Law on the Registration of Foreign Agents – an absurd bill for a European Bulgaria. But against the background of the amendment to the Preschool and School Education Act adopted in one day at first and second reading on August 7, as well as against the background of the existence of similar laws in Hungary and Slovakia (i.e. EU countries), the bill has caused serious concern not only among non-governmental organizations. Business has also reacted with alarm. Since October, I have held numerous conversations with school principals, teachers, as well as educational mediators and other representatives of the Roma community. After they became familiar with the texts of the proposed draft law, they also expressed serious concerns.
On the one hand, not only will they be deprived of the opportunity to receive help and assistance from non-governmental organizations, but they themselves will have to register as foreign agents.
It sounds absurd, but hundreds of thousands and even millions of Bulgarian citizens of all ethnicities will fall under the blows of this law because their relatives (spouses, children, parents, etc.) are abroad. They work there and send funds to Bulgaria. It is significant that trust in the political class is so low that almost no one in these discussions has objected with the argument “our members of parliament are principled and intelligent people who will not allow this to happen“… I am afraid that the hope for many, especially for representatives of the civil sector, is that this will not be allowed by European institutions and parties. For me, this is sad, it is not good for our hope to be in factors outside Bulgaria. But I cannot deny that the political class here has contributed a lot to the distrust in it.
- Every year we hear that education in Bulgaria is a priority, that work is being done. You – in the “Amalipe“ center, are working hard for integration in schools. How is it, is it working?
- Many encouraging things are happening in the field. From our experience, I can say that we have helped the schools we work with (247 schools from all over Bulgaria) to reduce dropout rates to a minimum -
over 60% of them did not have a single dropout student last year.
The percentage of those boys and girls (I emphasize – and girls) who continue at least in the first stage of high school (up to 10th grade) has increased significantly. When we started working with schools, only 39% of primary school graduates continued in high school. Last year, this percentage exceeded 97. This is remarkable progress, which is due to the hard work of schools, educational mediators, as well as the positive development and modernization of the Roma community itself. I am tempted to think that it is also due to the support that educators, mediators and their directors receive from “Amalipe“. This support is not financial, but pedagogical, methodological, and is highly appreciated by schools and local communities.
- The topic of domestic violence continues to be relevant. We have a law, but what is the effect… Does it work…
- The problem is extremely serious, and it is present in all ethnic groups, social groups, and does not particularly depend on income or education. As you know,
We encounter examples of domestic violence every day, very often it also occurs in families with university education…
I do not expect that the Law is the only means of solving the problem. We need to help victims in many ways, including by creating public intolerance to any kind of domestic violence. We must stop thinking that what happens in our neighbor's house is his personal matter and almost his right. On the contrary, this can happen to our daughter, sister, close friend… Therefore, we must show intolerance, have the courage to react and signal to the competent authorities about any kind of domestic violence. Also, to give courage and help the victims, as well as to stop any possible perpetrator.
- How do you view the changes in the Law on Preschool and School Education. As changes with some vision or with the aim of limiting the interaction of NGOs with educational institutions?
- The changes to the ZPUO were adopted without the consent of the Ministry of Education and Science and those working in the field of education. Shockingly, in one day of first and second reading, the representatives of the people banned in schools “propaganda, popularization and incitement in any way, directly or indirectly, of ideas and views related to non-traditional homosexual orientation and/or determination of gender identity different from the biological one.” The text was submitted by the PP “Vazrazhdane” the fourth or fifth time before and was always rejected in the parliamentary Committee on Education and Science. Unexpectedly for “those untried in politics” this time the bill became a Law with impressive support from almost all parliamentary groups. It is said that the real reason for this sudden support among some groups was related to the political struggles to replace the then Speaker of the National Assembly, and among others - with the hope that they would attract media attention and support from voters... In any case, the change in the ZPUO had nothing to do with “LGBT propaganda in school”.
Both from the statement of the Ministry of Education and Science, and from numerous subsequent discussions, it became clear that such propaganda DOES NOT EXIST in classrooms and there was never a real reason for the changes in the law.
It is clear to many that the changes in the education law were aimed at, or at least have as a consequence, limiting the influence of NGOs in educational institutions. These changes were preceded by parliamentary questions about the contracts that schools and kindergartens have with NGOs. A survey by a non-governmental organization was cited as a formal reason for the initiated change (later it turned out that it was online and was not distributed through schools, i.e. it is not about “computers”, but pure “compotes”) and a number of others. The worrying thing is that Bulgaria is one of the countries in which the real role of NGOs in education is extremely underestimated. The state budget does not delegate resources for this, and what will happen after yet another hysteria about bad NGOs that threaten education? The truth is that the influence of non-governmental organizations in preschool and school education is mostly a result of the efforts of the organizations themselves and the willingness of schools and kindergartens to implement innovations in partnership with the organizations. The autonomy of schools and kindergartens to partner with civil associations and community centers is a key opportunity that “opens” the system for the introduction of innovative content and, above all, innovative approaches to working with students and parents, as well as for additional training for teachers. It is no coincidence that it is precisely these schools and kindergartens that achieve success and are prone to innovation.
- Discrimination! This is another topic you are working on. How do we deal with it – at school, on the street, in society…
- Discrimination exists in many different manifestations in the education system. Unfortunately, it is often direct and there are still teachers who insult their children, call them pejoratively "gypsies" and many others. Even more often we encounter indirect discrimination, such as setting low expectations for Roma students (expecting that they are only good in music and sports classes). Still in many places, school and kindergarten principals with students/children of different ethnicities separate Roma into separate classes and groups, although this is a categorical violation of the Education Law, Art. 99, para. 4 for schools and Art. 62 para. 4 for kindergartens. The law has been in force since 2016, but segregated classes and groups are a practice to this day, we have not punished school and kindergarten principals for this violation. We often encounter discriminatory attitudes towards Roma teachers. I want to emphasize that any form of discrimination is painfully accepted by children and their parents. Today's youth are particularly sensitive in this regard. In some cases it is an exaggeration, but in many others the problem is real. The philosopher Berkeley has a brilliant idea that “Perception is reality”. Everyone who works in education must fight against any form of discrimination – at least in the classrooms children and youth should feel protected and equal.