Strong tea with a few drops of milk and many herbs with unforgettable flavors - a drink caressing the palate very sweetly at first to later leave a bitter taste in the throat lasting for a few hours: this inimitable drink is served by Goundzha Tchokhal in his tavern Gourkha where guests can enjoy Indian and Nepali cuisine.

Thirteen years ago Goundzha arrived to Bulgaria from remote Nepal. He is a professional cook and had no idea he would come to Sofia. In 2002 he was offered a visa and a job in this country. At age 14 he knew that cooking was his great passion. The warm milk with honey and the donuts of his mother served as an inspiration for him. Working at Gourkha is a way for Goundzha to feel closer to home and to recreate the atmosphere of the East.

Goundzha says more about work and the labor market in Bulgaria:

„I am not looking for work: work is looking for me. Whoever wants to work can find a job in Bulgaria anytime. This is my thinking. If you want to work, have interest in work and a profession - you work. No one is the boss among us. We are equal. Everyone works depending on their skills. I never think that life is hard; that it is hard to do business in Bulgaria and that there is no work. This is rubbish. As far as I am concerned, any time I want to hire waiters or bartenders I cannot find many. Most people think that in other countries jobs will be available to them overnight. This however is not the case.”

According to Goundzha the secret of success is in equality among people. He himself is both a cook and waiter. He also counts on strong will and the courage to wrestle with hardships.

Not all immigrants and refugees though are as happy as Goundzha. Not all of them are lucky to find the job they studied and dreamt for. In latest figures the environment in Bulgaria is adverse to job seekers who are immigrants or refugees. Stumbling blocks include institutions, red tape, the language, specialized jobs and sentiments in society. Experts who recently met at a roundtable for a discussion of employment of highly qualified hands have agreed that the state is not keen on integration and that there is a deficiency of job seekers in sectors that do not require higher education.  The website jobs4migrants.bg was presented as part of the solution to the problem of unemployment among newcomers. Innovations in the system are expected to be made in the future aimed to facilitate the procedure for obtaining a work permit.

English version Daniela Konstantinova