The Bulgarian-Macedonian, Spaska Mitrova, has not been successful in her job as English language teacher for adults, which was offered to her in the Bulgarian city of Blagoevgrad. Photo by BGNES
The Macedonian mother with Bulgarian passport, Spaska Mitrova, had been able to keep her job as English language teacher in Bulgaria for just a couple of weeks.
The news was reported Thursday by the Bulgarian daily "24 Chassa" (24 Hours).
Mitrova became publicly known for her 3-month imprisonment by the Macedonian authorities and her year-long trials over custody rights. Her case fired a huge debate between Bulgaria and Macedonia. Many Bulgarians have participated in protests against the sentence because they believed the case was politically motivated.
After the trial, Mitrova moved to Bulgaria and for a while lived in the mountain resort of Bansko, in the house of an activist of the nationalist VMRO party, which supported her during the entire ordeal. She then moved to the southern city of Blagoevgrad, where the City Hall found her a job and a municipal apartment.
Mitrova was hired as an English language teacher at the "Alexander" Language School by its director, who is also the local leader of the ruling GERB party. The classes are part of a project of the Labor Agency titled "I Can."
The employer told "24 Chassa" Mitrova asked to have Mondays and Fridays off and was absent several times, prompting the school to find a substitute. The students were the ones who said they liked the substitute better and asked for Mitrova's replacement.
"I suppose she has been used to teaching kids and had a hard time adjusting to adult learners. She was on a trial contract and we did not renew it," the director us quoted saying.
Mitrova recently joined the European Parliament as an assistant to the MEP from the far-right nationalist party "Ataka" Dimitar Stoyanov. She has graduated with a major in "English Philology" from the Southwestern University in the Bulgarian city of Blagoevgrad "Neofit Rilski". Her job in the European Parliament is to consult Stoyanov on Macedonian issues.
"24 Chassa" further reports Mitrova has been seen lately driving around Blagoevgrad in a car belonging to "Ataka," whose leader, Volen Siderov, is Stoyanov's step father.