A week of shame?

Riots in Katunitsa

It's been a bad week for Bulgaria.

It's been a sad week as well. Sad for the family of Angel Petrov, the 19 year old boy who was intentionally dragged to his death by a minibus driven by criminals associated with Kiro Raskov. And sad for the family of the 16 yr old boy who tragically died of a heart attack as a result of the ensuing protests. Sad for hundreds of thousands of Roma who were subject to outpourings of hate speech and violence throughout the week. Sad for the thousands of, mostly young, Bulgarians who were poisoned by this hatred and took to the streets to protest and march on Roma ghettoes.

There were very few voices of reason this week. The Prime Minister and President stood together against the ethnic protests. Relationships between the two are not good so this was an important event. But perhaps the most compassionate voice came from an unlikely source, the father of Angel Petrov, who painfully spoke of his grief but still called for calm.

Riot Police

There weren't many voces of calm however. VV Siderov frog marched his thugs up and down Bulgarian cities stirring up emotions and anti Roma hatred. The same Siderov is alleged to have organised violent attacks on peaceful, praying Muslims in Sofia earlier this year. He's standing for President in October. Let's wait and see.

The so-called free media helped to fuel the fires of hatred with the some of the most irresponsible coverage I have ever witnessed. This is from a Novinite.com editorial earlier this week:

"Tsar Kiro comes from the typical derelict, garbage-strewn streets of Bulgarian Roma ghettos, which are home to most of the country's 375,000 Roma - although unofficial data estimates their true numbers come closer to 750,000, out of a population of 7.8 million. Here he lived together with skinny men rooting through piles of rubbish alongside pigs and fat women in flowing skirts cradling babies."
Novinite.com is a respected news source. It is the largest provider of English language Bulgarian news in Bulgaria and the world. It is quoted widely internationally and this is type of vitriol it spewed out this week. Much of the press coverage was the same.

As the week progressed the apologists crawled out from under their rocks. These weren't ethnic protests, they said. These were protests against organised crime and government inaction (Ironically, this government has tried to do more than any other in recent times).

Protests in Sofia

But if all this were true why have we not seen street protests against the corrupt and rotten judiciary who acquit the most heinous criminals for no reason?  Why are there no marches against the corrupt police, the "ethnic Bulgarian" mafia bosses who terrorise the communities in which they live, the corrupt tax officials, the corrupt government officials who demand facilitation (bribes) at every opportunity? Why are there no investigations into where the many Ferarri and Porche drivers got their wealth from? Where are the protest marches against these people? Where are the nightly vigils?



The truth is that this week ethnic cleansing, racist mobs took to the streets of Bulgaria. Fueled by the many, many injustices in this country they turned their hatred towards the most vulnerable and against those who are least able to defend themselves. Just as Facebook became a vehicle for change in the Middle East it became the life support system of racism as more than 70,000 of its Bulgarian members used it to organise nightly protests.

Proud Roma children

As the week draws to an end, there is a small glimmer of light, however. So far, the Roma have remained calm despite the gross provocation (Two Roma were beaten up last night in Blagoevgrad and another killed in a car accident). "Amalipe", an NGO responsible for interethnic dialogue and tolerance, has sensibly cancelled a "Roma" pride parade this week. In its place Roma children will distribute drawings and essays they have written entitled "I Am Proud to Be Bulgarian and Roma." Unlike many of their compatriots, they have every right to be proud.

Will you be my friend?

Simone Back RIP

I've always found the concept of finding friends through social networking sites i.e. Facebook slightly bemusing. In general, I know who my friends are. I have always felt happy to have a few good friends who I know I can call upon at any time if I need them.  For me that is enough.

At every opportunity Facebook offers you the possibility to meet new "friends" who are "friends" of your "friends" and therefore will want to be "friends" with you. Ultimately the objective is to get as many "friends" as possible and, presumably, you will have more "friends" than your own "friends". The "average" user on Facebook has 130 "friends".  But can you really have a meaningful friendship with two or three hundred people?

Simone Back had 1,048 (one thousand and forty eight) Facebook friends. I say had, because Simone is dead.  She committed suicide. At 10 pm on Christmas Day 2010, Simone posted a suicide note as a status update on her Facebook page saying she had just taken an overdose of pills. She died the following day. Her Facebook "friends" commented on her status. One said she was a liar. Another said that she "does this all the time". There were many comments, some voiced concern, but no one raised the alarm.

Facebook's objective is to build a global database of "friends" in order to generate online advertising so that ultimately the company can be sold to the benefit of its existing 500 shareholders.  So the next time you click "add XXXX as a friend" make sure they are a real friend. Like Simone Back, you never know when you might need one.

As an aside, Facebook is currently estimated to earn c. $2bn a year.  Current valuation of the company ($50 bn) is therefore c. 25 times revenue which is ridiculous.  In order to realise that value they will need to generate  more revenue and to that they will need a more targeted advertising model than their current crude display ads.  What this all means is that your privacy is under threat.

Don't get me wrong.  I see enormous value in social networking sites such as Facebook.  It's just that I also put a real value on friendship and my personal privacy. Some tips.  Check your Facebook privacy settings. You wouldn't let strangers wander around your house and look at your personal stuff would you?  Download and install Adblock to get rid of those pesky ads.  Download and install Ghostery to prevent others monitoring your online browsing habits. And talk to your friends every now and then!

Are you a glamourous Facebook user?

Makes you think though........

Click here if you think you are glamourous!