A family living in Sopot has been repeatedly harassed by their Gypsy neighbors. In addition to the constant night noise and loud music, they collect all kinds of waste, which often burns, and as a result twice caused fire in the house of the victims, the second was with great material damage.
The victims contacted Iskra.bg. They shared that in their hereditary house, located on Stara Planina Street, six people live permanently – a grandmother, a mother, a father and three children – two boys and a girl. They have had problems with their neighbors for years. In connection with this, they have written many complaints and signals – to the police, the municipality and all responsible institutions, but so far there has been no result.
Their house was built in 1963, and that of the gypsies – in 1980. In the beginning there were no conflicts between the two families. They started between 2007 and 2008, when one of their neighbors got married. With the arrival of the new son-in-law the family began listening to music loudly and burning of waste, among which tires and copper cables predominated.
„They burn whatever they find in the garbage cans – TVs, refrigerators break, engines are cut.“
The family pointed out that their garage and porch, which are located behind their property, border on that of their neighbors. The latter, on the other hand, although they had a much larger yard, did not burn the waste in the middle, but on the border with the other. As a result, the Bulgarians began to send signals. However, the prosecutor’s office returned letters to them stating that they could not initiate pre-trial proceedings. Complaints have also been filed with the mayor. No action was taken again.
Due to the inaction of the institutions, the first incident occurred. In 2017, the gypsies accumulated a lot of waste in their yard, which they decided to set on fire. During this time, the Bulgarians smelled a strong odor coming from the back of their house. It turned out that their porch had started to burn. They called 112. A fire brigade arrived at the scene, but not the police. Firefighters managed to put out the fire and material damage was inflicted on only one beam.
„We have talked to the people in question many times, but they tell us that they are in the yard and can do whatever they want.“
The victims also said that the water supply to the property of their neighbors has been stopped due to unpaid bills. As a result, the gypsies smashed the fire hydrant located next to their house and bathed there, poured water, watered their animals and generally used it for domestic and drinking purposes.
A signal for this problem was sent to the institutions, but they just passed the ball. However, this proved to be key in the summer of 2020. Around 13:30 on July 22, the Bulgarians again smelled burning tires. At first they did not see a fire, but a few minutes later it covered their entire porch.
„The fire was over 10 meters high. It was very scary.”
The cables on the recently replaced electrical panel also caught fire. One son of the family cut off the power supply. At the same time, the fire spread from the porch to the roof of the house. Between 15 and 16 minutes after the signal, firefighters arrived, according to the victims. They started to put out the fire, but they ran out of water and a second fire truck came. They had to pour from the fire hydrant, but the closest was exactly the one that their neighbors smashed.
It was during this time that valuable minutes were lost to pour water from a more distant hydrant and as a result the damage became even greater, the family said.
Pre-trial proceedings were initiated in the case. During it, an investigating policewoman filmed the scene. The victims were then summoned for questioning at the Karlovo Regional Police Department. Around October 22, the submission of materials began. In them they saw that there was not a single adult questioned by their neighbors. Only the children who claimed that there were no adults with them at that time.
„They want to shift the blame on the children.“
The presentation of the materials states that the fire started from their neighbors, but the perpetrator is unknown, the victims of the fire claim. They asked for an adult to be questioned.
The day after the fire, the family was visited by Sopot Mayor Deyan Doinov. According to them, initially he did not want to go, and later he did not want to enter the property, where the damage was huge. He gave them BGN 100 personal funds, but the victims did not receive a penny from the municipality.
„The justification for not giving us funds from the Municipality was that it is poor because of the COVID pandemic. There were a lot of excuses.“
A donation account was organized. Good people transferred money to them and collected a little over BGN 3,500, but according to them the damage was nearly BGN 50,000. This is not the end of their problems, and despite the two fires so far, their neighbors continue to burn waste and the hydrant has not yet been repaired.
„There was a general meeting in the municipality. A member of our family insisted that the fire hydrant be checked. However, the respondent requested that the expertise be prepared first. There were competent authorities. We were also told that they had handed it over to the water company. We talked to the Head of the Supply and Sewerage Service of Karlovo. He claims to have received signals from other people as well. Even the collector reported the problem. One time when he remarked to them not to use the fire hydrant for pouring water, they threatened him with a knife.“
„We have sent many signals to the RIEW for garbage, as well as on the green phone. But there is no result. The last time it was very shocking was when we talked to a department head. Without conducting an on-site inspection, he told us that he had called the mayor and he replied that there was no such thing. And they asked us what to do? Well, let them come and see. No result.“
In addition, the family is worried that infections may come from their neighbors’ yard because they have no sewerage and have built a septic tank. They commented that with a heavier rain the situation became unbearable. They say that many gypsies live in their area, but all of them, unlike their neighbors, are conscientious, pay their taxes, bills and work. They also share their doubts that two of their neighbors work in the Municipality of Sopot and because of that they enjoyed a certain type of privileges.
The victims, who are strongly disillusioned by the lack of adequate measures and deepening problems, sought help from the Organization for the Protection of Bulgarian Citizens, thanks to which the first article on the case was prepared.
To be continued!
