EMERGENCY FUNDS FOR ROMA COMMUNITY IN SOFIA BULGARIA

In Sofia, Bulgaria there lives a tribe of people who keep the world beautiful. This group of Romani have been hidden away, living in conditions that are almost impossible to comprehend from the western perspective. They live in what is essentially an emergency evacuation center. Over 30 families were forced to move to this location as a result of a series of home demolitions carried out by the municipal government. Ironically the same municipal government that employs them and keeps them living in limbo with wages too low to save and buy a home in a society too racist to rent an apartment to a Roma.

The building is entirely unsafe. While families each have their own bathroom with their individual room, that's about the only positive thing that can be said. The doors don't lock, hot plates and plug in burners are used for food preparation (incredibly unsafe), there is no functional heating or cooling, wires are sticking out of the walls, the elevator is broken (a child actually died there), part of the building has no running water, and there are holes in the roof. Along with all of this a police station is next door and they can come in at their leisure to inspect the community, which sounds great not having locking doors.

This tribe is employed by the municipality that has them living in these conditions. They were promised a raise two years ago but have yet to actually see that raise. They can't complain or even miss a day of work. For every singular day of work they miss they are penalized two days worth of pay. They do not work a set schedule, they work until the work is done, no overtime and no one to complain to or protect them. They do not get provided any winter gear to do their job. When I say they clean the streets I mean they literally take shovels, they go out at 3 am in a blizzard to shovel the snow off the roads in the capital city in jeans and a sweatshirt because it's all they have and the municipality who has them living in squalor, without heating doesn't even provide them protective gear for winter. I'm asking to please help us help this tribe. They need first proper protection for the weather while they work and a way to keep their children warm. Hopefully we can do more but anything we can do is better than what they have been subject to by the society taking advantage of them now. Thank you for your generous caring.