Lisa is from Dnipro. He has been living in Varna for two years with his three children and helps his fellow Ukrainians.
Elena came a year and a half ago from the Kherson region, works as a hairdresser in a resort near the seaside capital.
Next to these two Ukrainian women on the northern Black Sea coast in Bulgaria, you can meet thousands of their fellow countrymen: in the hotels sheltering refugees, on the streets, beaches and restaurants, you also come across Ukrainians who look like quite wealthy people, but and to young men whom you rather expect to see at the front.
According to Radio Varna, 12 thousand Ukrainians live in the city, and in the entire Varna region the number probably reaches 30,000, observers assume. Precise information has not yet been provided by the city's migration office in response to Deutsche Welle's inquiry.
Lisa Yakimenko, who is the manager of the Bulgarian-Ukrainian association and works for the "Open Heart" foundation, also assures that there are no statistics. According to her, about half of the Ukrainian refugees live on a social program in hotels and government bases along the Black Sea.
"At the moment, there are about eight such bases left - in Saint Constantine and Helena, on Golden Sands. Only people who have officially received protection in Bulgaria receive benefits under this social program. These are people who are not socially insured, they have nowhere to go, they have no money," Lisa explains.
Activist Iglika Georgieva also works for the same cause. "Ukrainians arrive here mainly from Odessa. They like the city, it has a sea, it reminds them of their city. They say they feel calm, people help them, and here they can best integrate," says Iglika.
Whether rich or poor - all flee from war
Both Lisa and Iglika do not hide that the thousands of Ukrainians around do not belong one hundred percent to the group of classic refugees. Lisa points out: "There are two categories of Ukrainian refugees. In the first category are the people who escaped from horrors, death and impasse. The second, however, includes people who are fleeing not from poverty or impasse. They are simply looking for a safe place, escaping the endless stress of war and seeking more security. These are well-off people, they have means, they really own expensive cars, and women – expensive jewelry and bags. They can rent an apartment, they can also buy a property in Bulgaria. They came here not to receive social benefits, but simply to rest, to protect their lives, to be in a safe place."
According to Elena, the hairdresser from Varna, all the Ukrainians she knows in the area have fled the war. She describes the motive of these people with one strong, personal sentence: "Our territory is occupied: I went to bed at night in Ukraine and woke up in the morning in Russia."
Iglika Georgieva adds: "Refugees are mostly mothers with children. The rest are simply families with higher incomes who fled the war. Just as every nation has wealthier citizens, so in Ukraine there are families with expensive cars. The concentration of such people in Varna is high, as they prefer to settle by the sea. And the illusion is created that all Ukrainians are rich."
Journalist Tatiana Christy, founder of the "Open Heart" foundation, which helps Ukrainian refugees, also claims that most of those in need are mothers with children. "What does someone having a nice car and money have to do with being a war refugee? Absolutely nothing! But this support is imposed by the conductors of Russian influence in Bulgaria, who want to turn the Bulgarians against the refugees. As in any country – in Ukraine there are rich people, poor people and middle class people. Everyone flees from war, including those with expensive cars. And instead of some Bulgarians pouring their hatred against these people, let them focus it on the fact that the state of Russia is the aggressor who expelled millions from their native places."
Lisa explains that at the very beginning of the war there were indeed men of legal age among the refugees, who, however, used the valid permit at the time: fathers of three or more children had the right to travel abroad. Today it is no longer the case.
Near the beach in one of the resorts, I exchange a few words with two young Ukrainians who talk to me in Bulgarian. They were from Odessa, they really liked it here. I cautiously ask them if they are tourists. They smile and silently shrug.
Lisa Yakimenko, Tatyana Christi and Iglika Georgieva also tell about the elderly Ukrainians, some of them chronically ill or disabled, housed in a state base on Golden Sands.
"Such people simply have nowhere to go. They are from Kramatorsk, from Bakhmut, from Nikolaev – how are they going to get back there, there is continuous shelling there. Our foundation "Open Heart" it helps precisely such people", says Lisa.
"Bulgaria is a wonderful country"
Ukrainian refugees in Varna and the region, on the one hand, maybe really feel good, believes Iglika Georgieva. Lisa Yakimenko claims the same, and Lena swears by the same: "Bulgaria is a wonderful country! We can learn a lot from the Bulgarians. First of all - their ability to live, work and enjoy life at the same time. This is just a wonderful, remarkable country! And I am very happy to be here."
On the other hand, however, Ukrainian men and women encounter all kinds of problems. They find it difficult to find work in line with their qualifications – because of the language barrier and difficulties in equalizing education. Many work 6 days a week for BGN 1,000, and they also have to pay rent, Lisa and Tatiana Christi explain. Children also do not have it easy in schools. Although there are also excellent examples. Nevyana Fileva from "Energy" association tells Radio Varna that there is a large influx of students enrolling in schools - in Varna for the past year they were 1,200. According to Fileva, many of the Ukrainian families initially relied on online education from Ukraine, but as the war continued, the Bulgarian education system appeared as a logical solution for integration. Fileva also tells about a Ukrainian seventh-grader who scored a six on the Bulgarian language exam.
Iglika Georgieva speaks enthusiastically about the Ukrainian children she works with at the foundation. "I am doing everything to help Ukrainians, because I think that in the 21st century it should not be, it is simply unacceptable, for people to be killed, shot at, tortured, driven from their homes. Since it's not up to me to stop all this horror, at least help these people. I think any normal person should do the same. These are so smiling, cheerful, talented, smart and open to other people. They love nature, beauty, cleanliness and order. And their children are gentle, beautiful and kind. For the strength of the spirit and for the desire to help others, even if they themselves are in trouble, I have infinite respect for this people."
Hairdresser Elena also shares that her clients from Ukraine are very grateful to the Bulgarians for their care, that especially their children get everything they need. She and her daughter have not encountered prejudice or aggression, but not everyone does. Tatiana Christie says: "Alas, we cannot ignore the influence of Russian disinformation spread through Putin's political proxies in Bulgaria – especially the "Revival" party. These people spread hatred, xenophobia, threats, insults and lies. Whoever cannot put themselves in the place of the Ukrainian refugees and understand the tragedy of these people, lacks basic human values and has a broken moral compass."
Author: Alexander Andreev