Update October 6th: Refugees complain in Sofia.
I’ve been receiving alerts (dozens of them) about the refugee crisis in Bulgaria for weeks now, sorry I didn’t get to the story sooner.
A few days ago a reader sent me this BBC story about the head of Bulgaria’s refugee agency being fired because the problem is getting out of hand. Bulgaria is the poorest nation in the European Union and has the misfortune of being on the border with Turkey which is apparently letting Syrians just pass through their borders and move on further into western Europe.
In my view, Turkey is simply advancing the Islamic doctrine of immigration (Al Hijra!).
From the BBC:
The head of Bulgaria’s refugee agency has been dismissed as the EU country struggles to cope with increasing numbers fleeing the conflict in Syria.
Nikola Kazakov was fired by Bulgarian Interior Minister Tsvetlin Yovchev for failing to handle the influx.
The UN’s refugee agency last month described Bulgarian centres for displaced Syrians as “dire”.
Mr Kazakov said Bulgarian leaders had ignored his warnings of a refugee crisis even as they asked for EU help.
Bulgaria is the gateway to the European Union for refugees fleeing Syria via Turkey, many crossing the border illegally to seek asylum.
It now receives up to 100 mainly Syrian refugees a day – a sharp increase on the four per month arriving a year ago.
Bulgarian officials said on Wednesday that 2,377 migrants had been detained on its border in September alone.
Kazkov warned superiors in June of the pending crisis!
Mr Yovchev, the interior minister, said Mr Kazakov’s “inadequate organisation” was to blame for the problems at the country’s three refugee centres.
But Mr Kazkov insisted he had warned the government of an impending refugee crisis in June but was ignored, the Sofia News Agency reported.
The article is focused on the UN complaining that the refugees aren’t being well cared-for (what else is new!), and the Bulgarians are asking for help from the European Union (good luck with that!). I’ve seen many articles in recent weeks about how the citizens of Bulgaria are furious about what is happening to them.
Last month Mr Youchev said more than 4,000 people were seeking asylum in Bulgaria, a number he called a “disproportionate burden” for the EU’s poorest nation.
He appealed for other EU states to host some of its refugees and provide financial assistance.
Meanwhile a Bulgarian publication warns of the potential for terrorists to be among the refugees.
From the Standart (they need a little better English translator, but you will get the idea):
Some of the Syrian refugees in Bulgaria may be terrorists as Syria currently trains terrorists which it spreads around the world, terrorism expert Col Ivan Boyadzhiev told on Nova TV today citing two Israeli sources.
The expert supported his claim with the fact that some of the Syrain illegal border crossers to Bulgaria carry large amounts of cash and valid IDs. [pay attention to this business about “refugees” with large amounts of cash—-ed]
According to Boyadzhiev, the Syrian terrorist cells are seeking less protected countries, as they get caught fast in the USA. [I don’t know what that means, how many are getting into the US across our borders???—ed]
Th ecolonel noted that having a refugee shelter in the Sofia suburb of “Vrazhdebna” just ”meters away” from the Bulgarian capital’s airport was an ”alarming” idea.
Boyadzhiev also alerted that some Iraqis, Jordans and people from across the Middle East are trying to enter Europe through Bulgaria by presenting themselves as Syrian refugees without ID papers. [We are hearing this all over the world even as far away as Australia! Everyone is a Syrian now!—-ed]
He was also adamant, that Bulgaria needs European help in dealing with the current refugee situation which is runnining out of control.
It is definitely running out of control!