A conference was held earlier this month in Sofia that focused on security of children in Bulgarian schools. The organizers from the Trade Union of Teachers at the Confederation of Independent Trade Unions in Bulgaria (CITUB) view the problem of security in the schooling process in its many aspects and believe that they should be properly analyzed.

Chavdar Hristov, CITUB Vice President argued that safeguarding the life, health and security of children in school is an integral part of countering various interests that come from abroad.

In the context of the new challenge that faces Europe, notably, radicalization among young people from various groups and ethnicities, the conference in Sofia announced the findings of a long-term poll. The main question in the poll that has included dozens of school principals and teachers from regions with ethnically mixed population was whether processes of radicalization are underway in Bulgarian schools.

Prof. Tatiana Dronzina, leading the team of the survey, told Radio Bulgaria that she had taken part in a similar poll executed in Central Asia where she met with members of the so-called Islamic State there. Dronzina recalled that radicalization would not necessarily grow into terrorism with a view to radicalization that is only verbal. If strictly verbal this kind of radicalization is a sign of freedom of speech, analysts explain.

The big problem is that the picture of noticed signs of radicalization among certain groups in Bulgaria has been changing very fast. This is confirmed by the findings of a 2016 survey of the behavior of groups of students in 26 regions of the country. More about the findings, from Prof. Dronzina:

„There is no doubt that the children from the Muslim communities traditional for Bulgaria have not allowed the infiltration of radicalism in the country. They are aware of the worth of coexistence and how risky it could be to let anybody harm this coexistence. However there are risks in the Roma (Gypsy) groups recently converted into Islam. These communities lack the historical instincts for self-preservation. This phenomenon is real but it is veiled in silence. There are visible signs of radicalization among children and teenagers in those communities. During classes in school, from the mobile phones of students, one can hear applications with religious messages that they cannot eliminate or switch off.  I have lived for years in Central Asia, where 90% of the population is Muslim. I have never seen there anything similar breaking school discipline and interfering with the work of teachers and students. And one more thing that has made itself obvious in Bulgaria of late. The fathers of these students categorically refuse to visit and talk to the school principal, if the post is occupied by a woman. I have never seen or heard of such a thing in Muslim Central Asia.”

What should be done before it has become too late? Researchers have enough evidence of radicalization underway in small towns and villages in Bulgaria.

„For the first time last year, during a Christmas celebration at school, children of families who had adopted radical Islam smashed Christmas trees saying that this holiday had nothing to do with Islam and therefore it should be destroyed. During the Christmas holidays the students were sent on a trip to Turkey to study Islam. It turns out that nobody knows exactly where this took place and what this instruction was like. The teachers in these regions are concerned not so much over the mistreatment they receive at school, but over the disrespect for the Bulgarian institutions by these communities. They say they have seen disregard for the laws and the rights of others. Pupils refuse to learn and speak Bulgarian. Because of language barriers, teachers face a huge wall frustrating their work”, concludes Prof. Tatiana Dronzina.

English Daniela Konstantinova