site.btaBulgaria Has to Deal with New, Bigger Wave of Refugees

Bulgaria Has to Deal
with New, Bigger Wave
of Refugees


Sofia, September 29 (BTA) - Bulgaria has to deal with a new,
bigger wave of refugees, State Agency for Refugees Deputy
Chairman Vassil Vurbanov told a BTA-hosted news conference on
Monday. Vurbanov reported a considerable increase in the number
of persons received in the country's refugee centres every
month, from 645 people received in June to 1,088 received so far
in September, with another 100 or so persons awaiting
registration.

The accommodation capacity of the refugee centres has increased
from 1,130 last year to more than 6,000 at present, but the
balance has been upset. This is so because at the beginning of
September there were as many refugees entering the centres as
there were people leaving them after receiving an official
status or because they wished to leave, but now the inflow
exceeds the outflow by at least 1,000 people.

One of the problems is that after receiving an official status,
the refugees have nowhere to go and most of them choose to stay
on in the refugee centres. At present, 350 out of a total of
3,045 refugees in the centres have an official status.

If the inflow continues at the current pace, the capacity of the
centres may be filled up by the year's end, Vurbanov warned. He
noted that many refugees view Bulgaria as a country of transit
on their way to Western Europe.

Employment Agency Executive Director Asen Angelov said that 36
foreigners who have refugee status or humanitarian status have
been registered with job centres as unemployed. Forty-eight such
persons have been assisted in finding a job this year.

Angelov said the relatively small number of refugees seeking
jobs in Bulgaria is due to their poor Bulgarian language skills,
documentation-related problems and/or low motivation. Direct
exchanges with job centre administrators show that in most cases
these people are not motivated or are downright unwilling to
work in Bulgaria, he said.

Data from the State Agency for Refugees shows that as at July 30
there were 1,881 people accommodated at refugee centres in
Bulgaria, which was 41 per cent of the accommodation capacity.
The largest number, 893 people, were staying in Harmanli, not
far from the country's southern border, and the smallest number,
43, were in Banya, a little farther away from the border in
Southeastern Bulgaria.

Speakers at the news conference unveiled a project called
"Together in Europe," which is aimed to address issues
associated with foreigners seeking protection in Bulgaria. LI/VE