A new and even bigger wave of refugees has been pouring into Bulgaria over past months. More than 100 illegal immigrants, mostly from Syria, were detained in Sofia over the weekend. According to the State Agency for Refugees the number of refugees crossing our borders in September has almost doubled compared to June this year, with more than 1,088 people registered, though their numbers are growing. This gives cause for concern that the time is nearing when the special refugee transit centres will soon be filled to capacity. At this time the number of incoming refugees exceeds that of outgoing refugees. By the end of the year the number of people in need of help may well exceed the temporary accommodation capacity of 6,000.

The ongoing tendency of immigrants regarding Bulgaria as a temporary stopover continues; that is the reason why they are not looking for jobs or taking steps for their social integration here. What problems is the State Agency for Refugees encountering in the registration and accommodation of illegal immigrants? Here is the answer from the Agency’s deputy chair Vassil Vurbanov:

“The Agency registers the problems, whereas the refugees, once they have obtained status, step out into society and have to be integrated. The problem is they have nowhere to go. Most of them have spent all their money to pay traffickers and can’t afford to pay rent. In these cases they have to stay on at the temporary shelters. The number of people who have applied for refugee or humanitarian status is growing. However, the procedure takes time, one month or more and that is one more reason why they stay on at the regional centres. Many refugees want to go on to the countries of Western Europe. We have had requests for information about more than 5,000 people who have been registered in this country. It is hard to imagine what would happen if half of these refugees were to be turned back to us. We would be full to capacity and would be unable to accommodate incoming refugees in their growing numbers. Last year we had a capacity of accommodating 1,130; now our capacity is bigger and conditions at the refugee transit centres are better.”

After obtaining official papers, the refugees can start looking for work in Bulgaria. For the time being, however the number of people who have started work is still insignificant, with only 36 refugees having registered at the job centres. National Employment Agency Director Assen Angelov:

“We distribute information materials in different languages, including Arabic, French and English. Nonetheless the results are negligible. At this time there are 36 people with refugee or humanitarian status registered at job centres in Bulgaria; another 48 have found a job since the beginning of the year. The reasons for this are: inadequate knowledge of the language, as well as some purely legal obstructions, such as lack of permanent address or documents attesting to education and qualification levels. These people are not motivated to start work, but we must not overlook the benefits they could bring to our economy. Most are professionals in different sectors with a secondary or university education. It is the State Employment Agency’s job to identify the professional qualifications and education of immigrants and help them find a suitable job, but only if they want to find work and if they seek our help,” says in conclusion National Employment Agency Director Assen Angelov.

English version: Milena Daynova