Stolipinowo
Stolipinowo ( Bulgarian Столипиново ) is a district of the Bulgarian city of Plovdiv and with around 45,000 inhabitants the largest Roma settlement on the Balkan Peninsula . The neighborhood is located on the northeastern outskirts of Plovdiv on the south bank of the Maritsa .
Stolipinowo differs from other Roma quarters in Bulgaria mainly in that the majority of the inhabitants belong to the Turkish-speaking , Muslim Horahane Roma , also called Xoraxane-Roma, while only about 5,000 inhabitants describe themselves as Romance- speaking , Christian Dassikane-Roma .
Since the end of the socialist era in 1989 there has been little investment in Stolipinowo's infrastructure. In connection with rapid, mostly illegal construction activity, this led to massive problems in the areas of electricity and water supply, sewage and garbage disposal.
Stolipinowo became known beyond Bulgaria when riots broke out in Plovdiv in the spring of 2002 after the local electricity company completely switched off the electricity for the entire district. The reason given was unpaid bills from a large part of the population amounting to several million lev (1 lev is approx. 0.50 euros). This “ kin liability ” has been condemned as illegal by many human rights organizations. After the situation in Viertel had calmed down, a “compromise” was negotiated. Since then, Stolipinowo has been supplied with electricity at least at night. On October 31, 2006, this practice by the electricity supplier was condemned as "discriminatory" by the Plovdiv District Court.
The supply of drinking water is also problematic as most of the water pipes are rotten and residents are forced to draw water from hydrants on the street. Most illegal structures have no water at all.
Most of the sewer system in Stolipinowo is rotten, illegal buildings are not connected to the sewer network at all. The wastewater runs above ground from the houses to the sewer shafts in the main streets.
Web links
swell
- ↑ European Forum for Democracy and Solidarity ( Memento from February 19, 2008 in the Internet Archive )
- ^ "The Relations of Ethnic and Confessional Conciousness of Gypsies in Bulgaria", Elena Marushiakova, Vesselin Popov ( Memento from July 13, 2007 in the Internet Archive ) (PDF; 176 kB)
- ↑ osservatorio balcani, June 4, 2002
- ^ "Protest against high prices and poverty", taz from February 23, 2002
- ^ "Bulgarian Helsinki Committee" ( Memento from February 2, 2007 in the Internet Archive )
- ↑ Режимът на тока в “Столипиново” - източник на дискриминация и корупция, mediapool.bg, November 8, 2006
Coordinates: 42 ° 9 ′ 15 ″ N , 24 ° 47 ′ 6 ″ E