The Associated Press

The shut-off of electricity was only the triggering spark that unleashed riots in the Gypsy slums of this town, people here say.
The three nights of riots that began when an electricity company shut off the neigborhood's supply because of unpaid bills were really a sign of growing discontent with increasing poverty among Gypsies, said Vasko Angelov, an unemployed 36-year-old father of three.

Like many other Gypsies living in the slum, Angelov collects scrap metal to sell in an attempt to supplement his family's monthly social assistance payment of 117 leva (dlrs 52). By digging in garbage cans for most of the day, he earns enough to buy his family two loaves of bread.

Unemployment among Bulgaria's 300,000 Gypsies, or Roma, is more than 50 percent, far higher than the national rate of 18 percent.

Gypsies' discontent has grown as their ethnic group has fallen further behind the Bulgarian majority in this country of 7.9 million.
"Our people were the first to lose their jobs when the economy started collapsing some 10 years ago," said Anton Karagyozov, a leader of the Roma community in Plovdiv.

Angelov insists Gypsies don't hate the Bulgarian ethnic majority.

"However, people here hate to see their windows shining, while lights go off in our part," he said. "This is why people rioted."

But outside of this drab neighborhood, people have little understanding for the Gypsies' outrage over the cutoff of a service they failed to pay for.

"Minority rights don't mean having utility service for free," said Nikolai Stefanov, 38. "Bulgarian jobless are not tolerated when they fail to pay for their electricity."
In Stolipinovo, a Plovdiv neighborhood that is Bulgaria's largest Gypsy slum, children play on garbage-strewn streets separating communist-era apartments and brick shacks. Taxi drivers advise outsiders to stay away after dark and to walk only in the two main streets, which are patrolled by police.

Stolipinovo residents used to receive 10 hours of electricity per day, despite the 6 million leva (dlrs 2.7 million) debt they owe the utility. When the supply was cut completely Monday, rioters began stoning housing and vehicles. No serious injuries were reported.

Calm returned Thursday after the company restored power ahead of a three-day Muslim holiday that began Friday. Karagyozov said his community would submit a proposal for gradual debt repayment in talks scheduled for Monday.

Several campaigns to enforce debt collection in the past four years have failed as politicians forced the company compromise to avoid riots.
"Every party has tried to buy Roma voters by pledging or letting them have electricity free," said Ivan Chomakov, Plovdiv's mayor. "This has cultivated a sense of impunity."

Electricity technicians and debt collectors need police protection to go to Stolipinovo, said Rumen Dimtirov, a utility spokesman.

"An angry crowd gathers minutes after they show up there," he said.

Because residents often illegally reconnect lines that have been cut, the company moved its equipment to the top 10-meter tall poles. But the thefts continue.

"They climbed even there," Dimitrov said.