Towards the end of the century, Zdenka Todorova often came to me in the editorial office of “Democracy“. Zdenka is a Bulgarian from Tsaribrod, a writer and from a family of writers. Yugoslavia was falling apart, the Bulgarians from Bosilegrad and Tsaribrod believed that better times were coming after almost a century of brutal Serbianization.
And they pinned their hopes on the UDF, as did the “internal Bulgarians“. And these hopes were disappointed. But I do not want to delve into this topic. Another time.
Zdenka spoke good Bulgarian, with that characteristic thickening of the L, which was later sung by „Hypodil“ in „Skakauec“.
When she spoke of our compatriots in Serbia, Zdenka called them „seduenetione“. Somehow, she couldn't bring herself to say people. And I almost always corrected her.
Zdenke, I'm shouting, you're a politician, a people's awakener, call them „people“, or at least „the people“. Now that I think about it, she was right to call them population. At least for the Bulgarians here, it's completely appropriate.
Zdenka is one of the last Bulgarian awakeners. Of those whose portraits we put on the walls and every year on November 1st we pay our respects. Some paradoxically, some not, the spirit of Bulgaria has been preserved more abroad than here.
(But not with the new emigration, there total denial already reigns)
Zdenka has done more for Bulgaria than all the patriots. Today's patriots call for us to hate, while Zdenka taught Bulgarians to love. Bulgaria. And, since she was at one time also the chairman of the Helsinki Committee, if she were in Bulgaria, they would beat her.
And maybe not. We don't beat our awakeners. We simply ignore them.
The holiday of the awakeners was created during the rule of the farmers in 22-23. The proposal came from the Minister of Education in the government of Alexander Stamboliyski - Stoyan Omarchevski, who in turn took the idea from a letter from an ordinary peasant. The name of the holiday was given by Prof. Boyan Penev.
I will not explain who it is, it would be too long.
By the way, but not by the way, during Stoyan Omarchevski's mandate as Minister of Education, which lasted about two years, over 1,000 schools were opened in Bulgaria. In the years after wars, reparations, poverty and terror.
I do not want to draw parallels with today's reality. Let me just say that a real reform would be if all students in Bulgaria started studying in one shift, and not getting up at dawn when the officials are still sleeping or going home at night when the same officials have already had two or three rakias.
But let me get back to the awakeners.
It occurs to me that a people who celebrate their awakeners indirectly admit that they were asleep.
I am gnawed by the suspicion that they have not woken up. And worse - that they do not want to be woken up.
Happy holiday.