One step forward, two steps back. This has been of the dance of Bulgarian-Serbian relations, according to Darko Anachkov, chairman of the only Bulgarian organization in the city of Vranje. In an interview with Radio Bulgaria, he described the current level of bilateral relations as unsatisfactory and pointed out that there was a need for serious talks to solve important problems of Bulgarians in Serbia. According to him, the organizations of compatriots in Serbia can be initiators of talks, but there must be a will from both countries to put the problems on the table.

The southern Serbian city of Vranje is located nearly 150 kilometers away from Sofia. It is one of the major centers of the Moravian region, with a population of over 70,000 people. For eight years, a Bulgarian-Serbian Center has been operating there, as its initiatives are mainly aimed at introducing young people to Bulgaria.

"The Bulgarian-Serbian Center in Vranje has existed since 2018 and is dedicated to preserving the national identity of Bulgarians in this city,” its chairman Darko Anachkov says and adds: “According to the official census, about 600 people belonging to the Bulgarian national minority live in the city, but this number is certainly significantly higher, since a large part of the people are from mixed marriages, but unfortunately there are also those who, for reasons known to them, hide their Bulgarian origin. We have new members every year - people who pay an annual membership fee and this is an honor for them."

There are 35 official members of the center, but many more people are involved in its activities and events, the most recent of which was a martenitsa workshop for children.

"We implement many initiatives with the children of Vranje because we want them to learn Bulgarian, to get acquainted with the tradition and history of their ancestors. At the moment there is no other option - we do not have a Bulgarian school, we do not even have a translator from Bulgarian," Anachkov tells us.

Almost all projects of the Bulgarian-Serbian Center are supported by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Bulgaria and the Consulate General of Bulgaria in Niš.

According to unofficial statistics, the Bulgarians in Vranje are about 2-3 thousand people, Darko Anachkov tells us. Many of them do not speak the Bulgarian language well, some do not speak it at all. "It is necessary to work with these people in order to make up for lost time," says the chairman of the Bulgarian-Serbian Center, which has a number of initiatives aimed at improving the knowledge of the Bulgarian language among our compatriots in this part of Serbia:

"We have a library in the association. Thanks to the Consulate General, the 13 Centuries Bulgaria fund and other organizations, we found books and last year we held 2 courses in the Bulgarian language. We also organize preparatory courses for those who want to be students in Bulgaria. In recent years there has been a much larger number of students studying in Bulgaria, as the biggest interest is in medical specialities and information technologies."

In addition to ethnic Bulgarians, the initiatives of the Bulgarian-Serbian Center are widely open to all residents of Vranje.

"As an association, we also work for the Serbian citizens, because we believe that there is a need for them to become more familiar with the traditions of Bulgaria as a country with a rich European culture. There are some prejudices related to Bulgarians in Serbia. And we have a task to change this," Darko Anachkov says.

Publication in English: Alexander Markov

Photos: Bulgarian-Serbian Center in Vranje, glaspress.rs, Dr. Radostina Stoyanova, personal archive