Approximately 35 kilometers outside Lovech sits Bezhanovo, a rural village housing approximately 1,200 residents. What once was a booming industrial town is now a community divided by religious beliefs and customs. The streets are bare, the homes abandoned, everything seems desolate. Everything, except the occasional group of young men holding a 42oz of the cheapest liquor, the horse and buggy carrying the old man down the street, and the sweetest sound of children laughing in the distance.
The sound of innocence ricochets through the town, engulfing an outsider like myself into a far distant world. A world filled with children who laugh when 6 North Americans attempt to say ‘thank you’ in Bulgarian. A world where friendship can be built with a soccer ball, a deck of cards, or nail polish, and where everyone is viewed as equals through the eyes of God and the stereotypes we were born into hold no value.
Romani people, or Gypsies, are one of the largest ethnic minorities in Bulgaria. They aren’t concentrated in one specific region; rather, they are spread throughout the country. Depending on who you talk to, they make up about 5% of the population. These communities tend to have higher crime, birth, death and poverty rates, many of them not completing school past grade four. Official unemployment rates are also at an all-time low; however, prostitution, drug trade, and children purchases are on the rise. Children are being sold into marriage for as little as a goat to as much as 50,000lv, or roughly $25,000, and the purchases come in all different fashions.
In 2009, a gypsy couple was featured in The Telegraph for getting engaged at the ages of 6 and 4. This future couple attended their wedding and reception not fully understanding when they are of legal age they will be bound to one another. If for any reason they decide not to honor their commitment, the young girl’s family will be responsible for repaying her suitors family three fold, which equals $80,000.
Other young women are raised knowing they will be able to attend the annual Gypsy Bride Sale. Here young, pure girls glam up in their best clothes and jewelry with the hopes of attracting a rich Gypsy man aging from 16 – mid 40s, or even older, but the exportation of these children are considered a cultural norm.
While sitting around the dinner table in Bezhanovo with a family of church elders, pastors, and their children, Rick*, our translator, tells my team similar stories. Not too long ago, a mother sold her daughter to an older gentleman for a few cattle and a small amount of money, and another couple pawned their children off to their grandmother while they fled to Spain. People of this community don’t think twice about multiplying their family just to gain income, but there are a few who want to give their children the best life.
George*, one of the church elders, our host while in Bezhanovo, and a previous Gypsy, fills his home with his love and the love of his Heavenly Father. When George’s oldest son Peter* was 4, George packed up his young family and his mother and moved them to the Bulgarian side of Bezhanovo. He was tired of being labeled a Gypsy, didn’t approve of their cultural habits and didn’t want his children to grow up in that environment.
Peter is now 14 and an older brother to two siblings. He is a freshman in high school and so full of life. He is the exact replica of his father. Both carry themselves full of pride, full of the life they live and what they have achieved. They tend to stand back in large groups and pass the attention onto others.
Peter’s younger brother, John*, is the most amazing 12 year old. I formed a connection with him with no words. He is the first to your side when you’re in need, and the first to laugh at your misfortunes. He is eager to learn and smarter than he lets on. He protects his younger sister, Mary* from Peter, but is the first to pick on her in the midst of his boredom.
The youngest of Yvonne’s children, Mary, is a combination of both of her brothers. At first, the 8 year old is shy very standoffish. She tends to cling to her mother when she is facing the unknown, but when she gets to know you she becomes a firecracker. She has might and power pouring out of such a small body.
These children are just a few success stories my team and I have heard while in Bulgaria. There is a small amount of hope for these children, they just want to be loved and loved the right way. Seeing my team interact with kids of all cultures is proof that each World Race team brings hope. If another team were to live in Bezhanovo for more than 3 days, there is no doubt in my mind the love of Jesus would be sweeping through the town.
But this cannot continue to happen without your help. If you want to hear more success stories like George and his young family, help me stay on the race. I am still in need of support in order to reach my next deadline by October 31st.
*Names have been changed
