| operations |
| comment | | "parent_author":"dek",<br>"parent_permlink":"dek-photography-beyond-our-comfortable-bubble",<br>"author":"l0k1",<br>"permlink":"re-dek-dek-photography-beyond-our-comfortable-bubble-20160929t192950657z",<br>"title":"",<br>"body":"Homelessness is not a bigger problem here in Bulgaria,<br> overall,<br> than in my home country of Australia,<br> or in the place I got trapped on the street,<br> the Netherlands. But there *is* less support. Perhaps part of the reason is that in general,<br> if you are Bulgarian,<br> you can get some kind of basic disability pension or benefit depending on what the problem is,<br> and the other part is,<br> although people are poor here,<br> they do actually give quite a lot to beggars on the street. \n\nThe disinterest in politics,<br> although you wouldn't know it watching the TV,<br> in Bulgaria,<br> greatly impressed me. In many,<br> more wealthy countries,<br> everyone is actually joining in the nonsense,<br> and think that any of this makes any real difference,<br> and that somehow their country is special because it is less corrupt than silly little Bulgaria,<br> Romania,<br> or other similar countries. \n\nIn fact,<br> I have seen first hand in Amsterdam,<br> that this is not the case at all. The Amsterdam city council was probably more corrupt and crony-influenced than anything I have seen here in Bulgaria. I got to work in a restaurant that was supposedly 'safe' even though they had two standing warnings from the council about the hygiene and safety standards. I washed dishes,<br> and rats were frequent visitors to the pile of trash bags that got accumulated behind me.\n\nThe city council itself deliberately limits the amount of services for disadvantaged people,<br> and it makes rules that make housing them a lot more difficult. You could easily spot,<br> if you looked,<br> many many properties in Amsterdam that were unoccupied. I met several people who were living,<br> contrary to council zoning rules,<br> in industrial and commercial properties,<br> and the Council has been running a campaign for many years to try and shut down the DIY squatter scene there.\n\nI left the Netherlands because there was no way for me to get off the street. Within 4 months I had a job and I was living in a house,<br> and I still am,<br> but I am about to go into arrears on my rent and I am in no position to even go to an interview without facilities to clean my clothes.\n\nI have often thought about documenting the homeless people here in Sofia. There is some particularly destitute ones,<br> but then,<br> again,<br> I have also heard that some of these people are prostituted into this job,<br> I was sold black market cigarettes when I was in Plovdiv,<br> by some kind of asshole bully like this,<br> or at least,<br> that was the impression she gave me. I have heard from people that begging in a significant number of cases,<br> is in fact something of a professional trade,<br> and there is some who are coerced into doing it.",<br>"json_metadata":" \"tags\":[\"photography\" " |
|