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61 images Created 3 Jan 2011

Roma in Bulgaria

In the year 2005 in Sofia, Bulgaria, an unprecedented effort by the Central and South-Eastern governments was started as the "Decade of Roma Inclusion 2005-2015", to join effort in making improvements to the socio-economic status of the Roma population within Europe.

Half way into this initiative, I journeyed to Sofia, the very city where was to began a new era of tolerance and acceptance for the Roma to look for signs of improvements in their lives.
Unfortunately, I had to go to Fakulteta Mahala, the largest Roma ghetto in Sofia to encounter Bulgaria's Roma population. Bulgaria is the European country with one of the highest percentage of Roma population with 5% of Roma, yet Roma are hardly visible outside the Roma ghetto of the city.
The ghetto is totally separated, a world quite apart from the rest of the city with shops, church and school totally segregated. Normal city services, like waste collection, road management, transport does not reach the ghetto. Ordinary Bulgarians do not enter the ghetto.

The reality is that for most Roma, improvements have hardly reached them.
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  • Tearsheet hanging on the wall in the home of Sali Ibrahim, the Roma poetessa that is living in Fakulteta Mahala roma ghetto in Sofia.
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  • Sali Ibrahim
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  • Roma gypsies in the roma ghetto of Kjustendil in Bulgaria.
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  • A Roma gypsy man walks with his horse in the river that runs across the Roma ghetto in Kjustendil, Bulgaria.
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  • A Roma woman in her home in the Roma ghetto Fakulteta, Sofia, Bulgaria.
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  • Roma children on a horse wagon in the roma ghetto Fakulteta in Sofia, Bulgaria.
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  • Roma gypsies in the roma ghetto of Kjustendil, Bulgaria. A roma woman and child outside their home in the ghetto.
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  • A roma gypsy woman trying to clean the surrounding area of her habitation by sweeping rubbish to the river that runs through the  roma ghetto of Kjustendil.  The river runs by the sheds where the roma people live and it has become the place where uncollected refuse is thrown into. Kjustendil, Bulgaria
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  • In the roma ghetto of Fakulteta a roma woman is rummaging through rubbish.
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  • Daily life in the Fakulteta roma ghetto in Sofia, Bulgaria.
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  • Services like road maintenance, electricity, waste collections, public transport are not present in  Fakulteta, the roma ghetto in Sofia.
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  • Roma gypsy woman in the roma ghetto in Sofia called Fakulteta. Sofia, Bulgaria
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  • Roma gypsy woman in her home in the Fakulteta ghetto in Sofia, Bulgaria
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  • In the Roma gypsy ghetto of Fakulteta in Sofia there is a school where only Roma children go to, hence the name segregated school. This is an ongoing problem because this schools have no access to the level of education given in the remaining schools of Sofia.
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  • The school in Kyustendil roma ghetto so called segregated school where only roma children go to. This is one of the big challenges that Bulgaria is facing in that segregation is present even in education. The head mistress of the school..Kyustendil, Bulgaria.
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  • Second day of a roma gypsy wedding in the roma ghetto of Kjustendil, Bulgaria. The woman's loss of virginity is celebrated by the roma population in the ghetto. They are married during their teens to ensure that she is virgin.
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  • Second day of a roma gypsy wedding. The spouse is taken from her home and the loss of her virginity is celebrated by the whole village. Kjustendil, Bulgaria.
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  • Second day of a roma gypsy wedding in the ghetto of Kjustendil, Bulgaria. The woman's loss of virginity is celebrated by the roma people of the ghetto. The roma gypsies take turn to dance with the spouse.
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  • Roma gypsies in the roma ghetto of Kjustendil selling shoes on the door steps of  their home.
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  • From the side of the roma ghetto overlooking the rest of the city of Sofia. The road divides two different worlds.
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  • A Roma security watching over the only school in the ghetto. This is commonly regarded as segregate school as all the 1000 pupils are Roma.
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  • Roma in the illegal camp of Zitkovac in the outskirts of Mitrovice.  The camp lies next to the rubbish dump of the town. Roma are unwanted by both the Serbian and the Kosovan side of the town. They survive with some support from humanitarian organisations and by sellin things they found in the skips.
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  • Roma Gypsies living in Fakulteta Mahala, Roma Ghetto on the outskirts of Sofia, Bulgaria
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  • A roma gypsy home in the roma ghetto Fakulteta in Sofia, Bulgaria.
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  • Daily life in Fakulteta Mahala,the largest roma ghetto in Sofia Bulgaria.
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  • Roma gypsy outside a shop in the roma ghetto of Fakulteta Mahala, in Sofia, Bulgaria
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  • Roma gypsies often sell goods in the Roma ghetto as unemployment is rife among them. Most goods are illegal and therefore only sold in the ghetto.
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