Bulgaria leaves Ukrainian refugees to fend for themselves

The government’s housing programme for the accommodation of Ukrainian refugees is being terminated due to the attitude of most Ukrainians, Deputy Prime Minister Kalina Konstantinova announced on Monday.

Authorities have made it clear that Bulgaria cannot afford to support Ukrainian citizens in beachfront hotels after Tuesday (31 May) due to the start of the summer tourist season.

Instead, the state has provided accommodation for refugees in state-run hotels in the provinces, but interest in relocation is so low that the programme was cancelled before it began. Most refugees have refused to move at the last minute due to the uncertainty of where they will be accommodated. Only 62 refugees travelled by train from the Black Sea cities of Burgas and Varna to inland regions.

Since the start of the war, 110,000 people have been given temporary protection and shelter in Bulgaria. The Ukrainian refugees on the Black Sea coast, who have nowhere to go after 31 May, will be given temporary accommodation in the buffer refugee centres in Sarafovo and Elhovo.

The deputy prime minister said the authorities had received a number of personal requests from some of the refugees, which cannot be met.

She explained that Bulgaria has done “everything possible” to provide people fleeing war with a warm home and security. “We have done everything possible not to set up tent camps, as in other countries,” she said. Bulgaria has provided accommodation in hotels on the Black Sea coast for many Ukrainian refugees.

Social tensions have arisen in the country due to the subsidies for hotel accommodation. The price of a refugee’s stay is €600 per month. The minimum wage in Bulgaria is €360, and the average pension is €300. This was used by the extreme pro-Russian nationalist Vazrazhdane party, whose supporters waged a powerful campaign on social media. This campaign was based on the traditional Russophile sentiments in a significant part of Bulgarian society.

“Our empathy is still so great and boundless, but our ability to offer more than tents and vans has been inexplicably sabotaged. Protection is a right, not an obligation, so I will not allow any more empty buses to go (which the state has paid for and organised), not a single empty car. The development of the situation from that moment is in the hands of the Ukrainian community in Bulgaria,” said the deputy prime minister. She appealed to all refugees who do not need shelter to declare it.