On 7
th March 6 representatives of IRRSA (Violeta Ampova, Bilyana Krusteva, Anina Yovkova, Georgi Arbov, Georgi Vulev and Dimitar Cherkezov) took part in the MEP Marusya Lyubcheva’s initiative “The refugees in Bulgaria and the responsibility of today’s generation”. They were selected along with 10 other people by a special essay contest on the topic “What is the biggest challenge, related to the refugees, that Bulgaria faces?”
The first part of the initiative took place in visiting the Registration – reception center for refugees in Vrazhdebna, where the participants got to know the conditions in which the refugees live and they also met the refugees themselves. After that the group visited the United nations High commissioner for Refugees in Bulgaria (UNHCR), State Agency for Refugees, Internal Security and public order parliamentary committee, UNICEF Bulgaria and Bulgarian Red Cross Refugee – Migrant Service. During those meetings the group met in details the refugee crisis’ problem, the situation in the refugee centers, the procedures for receiving refugee status and Bulgarian citizenship and they also met the different points of view of each of those institutions regarding the different ways for resolving the problem.
After the visits the participants were divided into groups, each of which has the task to prepare its own evaluation of the situation with the refugees on the basis of the so far gathered information and also to make their written recommendations for the most effective way of dealing with the situation. Each group will have the opportunity to present its recommendations during the second part of the initiative, which will be held in the EU parliament in Brussels.
