The letter of Toni Peycheff came in response to our enquiry about the reaction of the Bulgarian community in Seattle after State Patrol issued a USD 490 negligent-driving citation to American Sarah Potts, who back in August slammed her SUV into the back of a stalled car and killed a family of four Bulgarian immigrants. She has been accused of speeding, talking on her cellphone and possibly tailgating. According to an article by Leslie Fulbright, published in Seattle Times, the outcome has enraged some community members, who say Potts deserved harsher punishment.

"I read your wonderful messages and I think that one of us have to write a statement expressing the thoughts and the feelings of the Bulgarian community in Seattle.

We can make a Saturday a day of protest in front of the courthouse. We can write what we are protesting against and we can invite local media to take pictures and write. There are so many things that make us feel second hand citizens. If a celebrity was killed, the story will be all over. If a Bulgarian boy has scissors in his luggage, it is such an awful crime. The whole world had to hear about it. If a policeman's wife chats on the phone and accidentally, by the way, kills 4 people, the court lets it go and leaves her punishment in the hands of God.

I would protest against the segregation used by the court. It took many years for the black people to have the same rights as the white. We as Bulgarians might be white in color but in most cases we are not treated as the people who were born and grew up here. I can give lots of examples - from the grocery store where the cashier pretends to misunderstand you because you have an accent, to this horrifying tragedy. Nobody knew this Moslem family because they usually stick to their circle of people, but this is a chance to show that we are one people. We not only sympathize the parents of the deceased, (a bank account was opened - the number should be published once again) but we are outraged by the injustice served by the court.

Finally, frankly speaking, I don't think we'll be able to proceed with a civil suit because we'll not be able to pay to a good attorney here, in Seattle. I don't believe that some money will be a great consolation for those parents in Bulgaria who had lost their children and grandchildren. What is expected from us as Bulgarians is to show our attitude. Let's show that a Bulgarian community exists in Seattle and is not indifferent to the injustice in this tragic accident."

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