Bulgaria Village Mayor Helpless against Roma Squatters in English Family's Home

Society | February 19, 2008, Tuesday // 00:00
Bulgaria: Bulgaria Village Mayor Helpless against Roma Squatters in English Family's Home Roma squatters have occupied an Enlglish family's house in Bulgarian village of Gostilitza but the local authorities have been unable to do anything as they do not have contact information of the owners. Photo by Yuliana Nikolova (Sofia Photo Agency)

Several months after a Roma family moved illegally into an English-owned house in the village of Gostilitza in central Bulgaria, local authorities are still unable to cope with the situation.

The village mayor Maria Yonova told novinite.com she was totally helpless despite her everyday efforts to make the squatters leave the home of the unsuspecting English family who are currently abroad.

She was approached by novinite.com after a number of our British readers requested follow-up details on our article from February 14, and expressed readiness to help resolve the matter.

The address of the English-owned house where the Roma moved illegally is: 9 Vasil Kolarov Street, Gostilitza, Dryanovo Municipality.

The house is located in the west-central part of the mountain village, and the name of the previous owner from whom the English have purchased it is Nenko Radev Dinkov.

"I am really ashamed of what is going on. I meet with the police and municipality prosecutor every other day but it turns out I am helpless to make the Roma leave the English family's home", Mayor Yonova said adding: "The Roma don't work, don't pay any bills, and shop on credit in the grocery store. We here in the village really don't know how to deal with them."

Unfortunately, the Gostilitza mayor does not have any contact information of the English family. All she knows is that the English have hired a firm from the city of Veliko Tarnovo to take care of their property while they are away.

Yonova has been told by the police that the only way to chase out the squatters and restore the property was to have the owners or their legal representatives in Bulgaria file a petition to the local prosecutor's office.

"I really hope that with your help we will manage to contact the owners of the house and ask them to file a petition in order to end this disgrace", Mayor Yonova concluded.

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