The Bratsigovo home birthplace and stepmother by Hristo HRISTOV
There are 87 children between the ages of 7 and 19 living in this home. Thirty-eight of them are Roma, two are Turkish, and forty-seven are Bulgarian. Six of the children have no living relatives, 38 have one surviving parent, and 49 come from low-income families and families with more than 1 children. The service staff amount to 32 people. Nadya Kazakova, the principal, is paid 440 leva per month. She has a higher education in Chemistry and Physics. She is currently doing a second MA course in Management of Social Activities for Youth and Children. Of the additional staff, 11 have higher education qualifications and are paid between 347 and 450 leva per month. Supporting personnel receive 218 leva, the treasurer - 250 leva, the accountant - 315 leva. Younger children’s rooms reveal the overall neglect - missing bed linen, no pillows or blankets on the beds. With older children it seems much cleaner and tidier: they have everything and that is because, as they said, they clean their own rooms and get the linen they need from the store-room. Two control visits have been paid to the home for the last 6 months: one by the national Ombudsman and one by the Hygiene and Epidemiologic Inspection. Boys’ have unrestricted access to girls’ dorms. There are already couples. It is as clear as daylight that older boys are “dating” younger girls. During my talks with the boys it transpired that sex in the home is not a taboo. There was even a 14-year old girl with a love bite on her neck. It turned out she had a boyfriend who is 19. The principal knows about this ”interaction” between the children but is unsure of what to do. There has not been a psychologist at the home for a year now. Kotse, 14, who is from Peshtera and has one parent, gave the younger Mincho a black eye. As it happens, this is quite normal. I asked the principal why Mincho had the black eye but she said she nothing of the case. The boy itself
wouldn’t say who did this to him, in fact, he wouldn’t speak at all. HAS THERE BEEN SEXUAL ABUSE IN THE HOME? A week before my visit to the home, the night supervisor Mrs Valkova was looking for one of the younger children. She checked the boys’ bathroom and it turned out that one of the three cubicles was locked. Krasimir told the supervisor he was in there. She went back out and waited for him. Sometime later Krasimir, 16, emerged from behind the bathroom doors together with a younger boy. The supervisor spoke to both children and from young Georgi’s story it was clear that Krasimir has made the latter satisfy him orally. The supervisor called the police. The older boy was taken to the police station in Bratsigovo where he got beaten up. Krasi denied doing anything to the younger boy. A bit later Georgi also started denying anything had happened. Upon his return to the home, Krasimir attempted suicide. In order to demonstrate his innocence, he stabbed himself twice in the stomach with a pair of scissors. The police and supervisors left him to in peace. THE HOME’S BRUTE IVAN THE DRIVER The driver of Petleshkov Home regularly beats up the younger and older children for just about any reason. One of those children is Mitko. Kotseto tells us how the driver beats the younger children as well. Ilian was the only one who dared speak about this. He is 15 and from the village of Bratanitsa. He only has his father, as his mother died when he was 8. “Six months ago Ivan the driver beat me up. He was banging his fists into my head because at 11.30 one night I tried to jump out of OBEKTIV1