Monday, October 08, 2007

Online petition to help Bulgaria's abandoned disabled children

This petition is at http://www.bgpetition.com/izostaveni_deca/index.html. It is triggered by the shocking BBC film about a Bulgarian institution for disabled children (I've blogged about this film at http://mayas-corner.blogspot.com/2007/09/bulgarias-abandoned-children.html). Unfortunately, the petition is for Bulgarian citizens only.

2 comments:

Estranged said...

I signed the petition. The only problem I have with it is "Find and punish those, who're responsible for this".
OK, who's guilty?

The staff of these homes consists of ignorant, simple minded people, and that's why they treat the children as vegetables. So what? Punish them? Or maybe, blame the government?(yeah, that works every single time)

In fact, every citizen is guilty too, because we have all closed our eyes for the reality of these places. We don't want to know what happens there. That's why this situation has remained unchanged for decades. But let's blame someone else for this.

I think we don't need scrapegoats. We should rather focus on something more constructive instead, like demanding changes in the system.

Maya M said...

Welcome to my blog, Estranged. You have a point and I see it. But I think it would be good if a proper investigation is done and some of those responsible receive their due.
Ordinary employees at care homes are mostly ignorant, but the directors presumably have some education. Why do some of them do their job quite well while others turn the care homes into death camps?
Then, as far as I know, every deceased person in Bulgaria must be seen by a doctor who must then write the cause of the death in the death certificate. What doctor has seen these children and hasn't he mentioned that they had been starved to death?
More than 10 years ago, in the hungry Videnov winter, several children died of starvation and freezing in the care home in the village of Djurkovo. I am sure this happened because employees plundered the food and fuel for their own families. Investigation was carried out but nobody was indicted. I think this contributed to the outrageous present state of these institutions.
I agree that the society is responsible. But in Bulgaria, it is exhausting to be a good citizen. You must care about education, you must check for "businessmen" destroying our nature, protest and get beaten or arrested, you must protest also when cancer patients are deprived of their life-saving treatment, you must integrate the Gypsies. I don't see why we ordinary citizens must be blamed for not being superhumans while the government gets away with everything.