Democratic Bulgaria coalition earned the highest number of votes in the state of Massachusetts located in New England, USA. 278 people supported Democratic Bulgaria and 267 Bulgarians voted for There is Such a People party (ITN). The coalition GERB-SDS earned 71 votes and placed third, indicate data of the Central Election Commission. According to different statistics, between 3,000 and 5,000 Bulgarians live in this part of America.

The Bulgarian community in Boston is very united, probably because the city is much smaller than Chicago and New York, says Rumiana Pavlova-Plotnik who has lived in the United States for 20 years and is among the co-founders of the Bulgarian Center in New England. The Bulgarian Center is entirely organized by volunteers and was founded in 2013. Rumiana also volunteers at the Bulgarian school “St. St. Cyril and Methodius” and the Bulgarian church “St. Petka”. She has been involved in financing and refinancing of social and health programmes for a decade now.

„A strong social programme requires a strong private sector. For this to happen, bureaucracy and corruption must be eradicated – Rumiana Pavlova said in an interview for Radio Bulgaria.– It is much easier in a law-governed country. Perhaps, America is not the perfect example. We also have our problems here, as in any other country, but the system definitely works much more efficiently. The social programmes are partially financed by the state and there is a much stronger partnership between the state and the federal government. However, people comply with the law-this is the basis of a well-functioning country.  We vote so actively here and participate in Bulgaria’s political life, because we want and hope that Bulgaria will become a country of law and order and a country that can prosper. The eradication of corruption lies at the heart of this.”

Rumiana Pavlova contends that the political parties represented in the 46^th National Assembly simply must form a cabinet:

“Bulgaria has remarkable, talented people, people with political skills and people who have the courage to make the necessary changes, but they should be given a chance. Many of us who live here left Bulgaria due to the lack of opportunities and the lack of order in Bulgaria. Many people would return to their home country, given the chance. There are people like me who would join in from a distance in support of non-governmental and charity causes and businesses. I follow the development of the IT sector and social entrepreneurships in Bulgaria and I participate in one way or another-with donations and contacts. I am trying to find different ways to help. I very much hope that a future Bulgarian government will be successful in eradicating corruption structures, so as to be able to attract additional investments from the United States, Western Europe and other countries which are interested in developing the private sector. Stable social programmes and the private sector go hand in hand. This is my personal opinion and I hope that the new government in Bulgaria will be able to achieve this goal.”

English version: Kostadin Atanasov

Photo: courtesy of Rumiana Pavlova-Plotnik