Bulgaria will be an example for me

Dr. Luise Druke, Representative of the UNHCR, and a good friend of our magazine is leaving Bulgaria. On occasion of her departure we asked her to share her impressions, good and bad, from her mandate in our country.

Dr. Druke, with what feelings are you leaving Bulgaria?
It has indeed been historically very important time because one could see so many changes and hopefully for many people also good ones. I remember last time when we spoke I said that these changes should make life easier for Bulgarians, young and old alike. And I hope that the June 2005 elections will go well and that the outcome will reflect what people would like to do in their democratic endeavors in building this beautiful country with democratic institutions. I do trust that people will express their views not by convenience but by convictions.

I guess what I would like to say is thank you to you, Mrs. Tomova. I very much appreciated it especially when you personally and your colleagues joined our work and events with refugees. The last event was at the Agency for the Refugees for the end of the year ceremony when the International Women's Club also came along with Maria Novak and Minister Filiz Husmenova. These things do mean a great deal for the refugees. Of course nothing is ideal and it could always be better but it is the spirit of wanting to move ahead together, which I think has been very encouraging.

Bulgaria has become increasingly a host country for people fleeing, for people who fear, for people persecuted. Traditions exist here, which I call social capital, meaning that people have a communication between themselves and a strong cohesion within their families. And I see children in the families play a much more important role and that parents are very dedicated to the children and the children are also rather dedicated to their parents.

I see that families meet on several occasions – on last Sunday, your Special Forgiveness Day, at Christmas and Easter. Bulgaria will be an example for me after having been to many other countries for welcoming atmosphere where one sees suffering based on poverty perhaps or based on difficult times had but there is no tension as I have seen in many other countries. My feeling is that many people here are in some way in harmony with the cosmos. And this is what I take with me and this is why I will also come back.

I look forward to stay in touch with several academic institutions and colleagues here such as at the New Bulgarian University, and as you may recall, when I received the Doctor Honoris Causa at the Shumen University, it was mentioned “Now you are also professor in Bulgaria”. This I believe is such a distinguished privilege, that I must honor it and not 'walk away'. That is a commitment I made to myself at least and I hope that teaching and research obligations at Harvard University, the MIT where I am continuing my appointment as Visiting Scholar, as well at the University of Hannover in Germany, will allow enough time to come back often.

I wish also to come back seeing good friends, go to the mountains and to enjoy the cosmic tranquility and harmony there, which I really do like. And I very much hope that the stability of the governance will continue. Of course, as a multi-lateral diplomat I am not supposed to make any comments on institutions or internal political events but, nevertheless, I must say I have seen great endeavors on the path toward good governance and hope that there will be constructive continuation of that after these 2005 General Elections.

Tell us about the things that you found most impressive in our country?
Most impressive in the beginning was the poverty. I am always very sensitive to people's suffering and I could see in front of the shops many people looking and not being able to buy with that kind of salaries then and still prevailing for many people here. And in fact one thing, which impressed me, was when I was looking for my apartment and I visited quite a number of beautiful apartments where the parents or grandparents or aunts wanted to rent them out and get money so their children or grandchildren can go abroad and study. And I felt so uncomfortable about that! Of course, in places where refugees are usually you have a lot of poverty. Not that I am not used to poverty. But the way how people have lived with it I really found amazing: in a proactive way to just seek every bit of possibility to look ahead to the future. The older generation can perhaps not yet get everything what they wish, however, education is an important thing for kids. With good education is the sine qua no, especially true for female colleagues, and I speak of experience, just of conviction, towards achieving some emancipation and women's self-sufficiency in the social and economic fabric of any society, including in Germany, my home country.

And I am very pleased in my capacity as former President of the Harvard Club of Bulgaria and now as the Harvard Alumni Association Regional Director for Europe, we managed admission of a number of Bulgarian students to the Harvard College. The education of one four-year Bachelor of Arts costs about 130-140 thousand dollars. So, we reckon with these efforts we could contribute a few million dollars 'direct foreign investments' for Bulgaria also.

We need to continue to promote access for young dedicated Bulgarians to good education and employment, the same efforts we do in UNHCR with our partners of governmental and non-governmental institutions for our refugees world wide and in also Bulgaria.

UNHCR has been fortunate in Sofia as we had wonderful interns, promising and able young people who spent some time in our Office, also as research fellows and some of them have move on to work in the international system or getting post graduate education elsewhere.

What would your message to your successor be?
Perhaps to take a little more time to 'live' and to visit more places than I did. As for my free time, refugee work occupied many hours and weekends also. I have visited much in Bulgaria but mainly for work. Once I went to Velingrad on a weekend by myself and once I went to the Black Sea for a long weekend, as I am doing a great deal of reading, research, writing.

Is there something related to your work here that you haven't been able to finish or are not content with?
I consider that I have been very fortunate here. The last thing on my agenda and I have some legitimate hope that the Council of Ministers approves the National Refugee Integration Program, on which we assisted the national refugee authorities since October 2000, when I arrived. The Programme is aimed to systematize refugee integration activities and streamline this work which UNHCR has been supporting since the late 1990s also in Bulgaria through hard work with, and of governmental and non-governmental partner, mainly the State Agency for Refugees, the Bulgarian Red Cross, the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee and CARITAS. I would like to place a word of appreciation to all partners, especially also to the Council of Refugee Women, and the Association for Integration of Refugees and Migrants, as well colleagues and institutions from all sectors who directly and indirectly have afforded valuable contributions during the almost five years since my arrival on 1 October 2000.

On 23 June 2005, we hope to launch the Book on Refugee Protection and Integration in Bulgaria 2004-2005, to sign a Plan of Action with those who might be willing to support employment of refugees, such as with the Bulgarian Business Leaders Forum and to award the prize winners of the Essay writing competition “How can I make a refugee feel at home in Bulgaria” at the Sheraton Hotel from 6.30pm where we meet for a glass of 'compressed Bulgarian sunshine', wine. The idea is that we have refugees who know how to cook, refugees who do photography, and refugees who speak several languages. And we would like them to work here, make themselves useful, learn more, get a certificate and little by little build up their own business.

What are you going to take home with you from Bulgaria?
The map of Bulgaria in terms of personal souvenirs and the social capital as a model to live, with cosmic tranquility and harmony.