Zdravka Momcheva from London: Voting is a civic duty for Bulgarians in Britain

published on 10/27/24 8:15 AM

Zdravka Momcheva

Photo: Krasimir Martinov

"We need unity and togetherness. For us, Bulgaria is our family, it is our home" - Zdravka Vladova-Momcheva, a Bulgarian living in Britain, told Radio Bulgaria.

Ten days ago she was in Sofia to receive another award from the Executive Agency for Bulgarians Abroad for her patriotic activities as a writer, public figure and teacher at the Bulgarian school "Ivan Stanchov" at the Embassy of Sofia in London.

"I am very attached to Bulgaria. I come back at least once a year and I am always happy to see successful young people. I hope to return to my homeland one day.

I came to Sofia this time with an apocalyptic feeling - because I follow the news closely and I am really worried about whether Bulgaria will have a new government. I really want it to get out of this vicious circle of elections. But when I came here - to Sofia and to my home town of Veliko Tarnovo - I saw these cities full of life. Sofia seems so green, vibrant, clean, and compared to London it seems a much more relaxed and welcoming city.

Our greatest potential is our people, our young people. And I believe that this potential will bring prosperity to Bulgaria. Because we are not worse than the other nations, in fact we are better in many ways. We must have good self-esteem and not feel inferior to anyone. Under no circumstances! We have made cultural contributions to the world before and we are doing it now. What we need in these times is unity and solidarity.

Is there unity and solidarity among the Bulgarian communities abroad, we ask Zdravka Momcheva?

"I think that our community in the UK is very close-knit. We have Bulgarian bazaars, we have Bulgarian shops, there is a wonderful cultural institute that organises wonderful events with guest writers, singers, musicians, exhibitions and so on. We have a foundation called Friends of Bulgaria - at the beginning of December they organise a charity ball at our embassy for Bulgarian children with special needs. So we maintain this communication and connection with Bulgaria. We would be happy if Bulgarians in Bulgaria would reciprocate.

Christmas Charity Ball of Friends of Bulgaria Foundation.

How are London elections organised and is the Bulgarian community active in them?

"Perhaps because of the influence of a well-regulated country like Britain, I say this with respect, the Bulgarian community here is more disciplined. More and more people feel it is their duty to vote, partly because they would like to go back one day and live a normal life in their homeland".

How will you personally vote? Are you going to vote or are you going to skip?

"No, I will not skip the election. I hope to give my vote and my trust to people who will do more for Bulgaria than for themselves. I vote for unity. That is my key word".

How does Bulgaria look to the outside world? Is it represented in the British media, we ask our compatriot?

"I have some news that I think you will like. The truth is that Bulgaria occupies little space in the media. But why is that? Because we are part of the global processes and we are involved in them, as is the whole of Europe.

I travel and I observe. And I want to tell you that Bulgaria is in a much better position, even economically, than many other countries that are much more visited and better known, but which do not look so good to me these days. As for the attitude towards Bulgaria, I will tell you that the ordinary people, the English people, are very interested. I'll start with our food - our sarmas, our banitsas, but also our costumes, our folklore, our language. Not to mention our amazing nature and all the sunshine we have.

So, if I may say so, it is not a criticism, but we Bulgarians suffer from a complex of whether we are good enough. Not only are we good enough, but in many ways we are much better than other nations. The point is that we need to believe in ourselves and like ourselves more.

Photos: Krasimir Martinov, Executive Agency for Bulgarians Abroad, schoolbgembassy.org.uk, BGNES

Translated and posted in English: E. Radkova

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