US Ambassador: Bulgaria Needs More Effort in Roma Integration

The US Ambassador to Sofia, James Warlick, calls for more Bulgarians to become involved and take responsibility for the Roma issue. Photo by BGNES

The US Ambassador to Sofia, James Warlick, believes the main problem Bulgaria faces after the return of local Roma from France would be their integration.

According to Warlick, the discussions and to controversy surrrounding the deportation wrongly focus on the actions of the French authorities, instead of looking at the main issue – making Roma part of the Bulgarian society. The Ambassador pointed out more Bulgarians must become involved and take responsibility.

Warlick was in the coastal resort Tsarevo Thursday to officially open a new bridge, connecting the Roma quarter with the rest of the town. The bridge was built in one and a half months for the cost of BGN 60 000.

The US Ambassador said the northeastern Tsarevo quarter where Roma and Bulgarians live together, can serve as a model of how integration must be carried out.

At the end of July, during an emergency meeting of the cabinet, France decided to deport Roma, following clashes between the latter and the police in central France.

Most of the Roma in France came from Bulgaria and Romania after the two countries joined the EU in 2007 and are seen by the majority of the French as a threat to security, according to France Press.

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