British expats Christine and Eric Thompson moved to Bulgaria in 2016 with dreams of a more peaceful life, surrounded by stunning nature and low costs, but 9 years later they complain to the "Daily Mail" that the realities are different, as, according to them, Christine was almost killed twice by incompetent doctors in state hospitals.
Following the couple's adventure, their four-bedroom house for 242,000 pounds, a stable and land for their horses at the foot of the Balkan Mountains, is on the market and they are making plans to leave Bulgaria forever, writes "Daily Mail". The English report that at first they got what they needed - a quiet life, low prices, a pleasant climate and friendly locals.
They say they gradually found that over time the prices for food were no lower than in Germany, France or the UK, and the service was generally terrible. Christine and Eric talk about great corruption, about the fact that during the nine years they spent in Bulgaria, parliamentary elections were held very often and all the governments formed were coalitions.
"The country has no direction", says Christine.
However, the biggest problem for the couple is the country's archaic healthcare system, which has caused Christine lifelong health problems. When they first arrived in Bulgaria in 2016, Christine was taking the drug Cordarone for an irregular heartbeat, with strict instructions to stop after six months, but on the advice of local doctors she continued to take it for three years, causing damage to her heart and thyroid gland. A different drug prescribed later on further complicated matters.
"We are leaving because healthcare is far from the standards in Western Europe - they have almost killed me twice and I fear they will a third time", Christine told the "Daily Mail".
British border security officers have been sent to the Balkans for the first time to tackle illegal immigration as talks continue to open "return centres" for migrants in the region, Home Secretary Shabana Mahmood announced, BNR reported.
Meeting in London with colleagues from the Western Balkans and other European countries, Shabana Mahmud said such officers had been sent to Albania, Serbia, Montenegro, Kosovo, North Macedonia and Bosnia and Herzegovina to stop migrants using the countries on their way to the UK.
She said the Western Balkans region was a “main transit route” on illegal migration and has instructed British law enforcement to consider “all available options“ to stop the region being exploited by people smugglers.
British border guards are training their local counterparts on how to use drones and biometric technology, including fingerprinting and facial recognition, to track the movement of illegal migrants through the countries.
They are also sharing new techniques for identifying visa and passport fraud.
The government is in talks to deploy Border Force officers to the Western Balkans, alongside colleagues from Frontex, the EU border agency, for joint operations to track and arrest people smugglers.
The region is one of the main routes for people smuggling into Europe: nearly 10,000 migrants have entered through the Western Balkans this year. Many of them cross the English Channel in small boats.