Dear friends,

This is an appeal for funds. Please read carefully and spread the word.

During the big snow storms in Bulgaria a dam broke and flooded a large number of villages in the region of Haskovo (neighboring the villages, where the NoBo camp was held). More than 10 people lost their lives and as of today people in the area are trying to step on their feet. We were in contact with the people from Siva Reka and fortunately, the disaster didn’t reach them. The state, obviously, is not of any help and in fact does not come out with official information on the damages made by the flood, which, if we don’t act, may have fatal consequences in the future.

Information:

Almost a month after the incident the villages of Biser, Harmanli, Stoykovo, and many others, are still under water. There are many houses that may fall any minute and may cause the death of more people. The population in the villages is predominantly elderly people that cannot deal with the removal of garbage, destroyed houses, etc. The environmental damages are tremendous and will cause harsh effect on the population in the years to come.

What needs to be done:

1.       The most immediate measure that needs to be undertaken is cleaning. The river has brought mud, garbage, and dead animals. If these animals are not removed as soon as possible, as the weather is getting warmer, diseases will spread quickly. The situation is the same in a few villages.

2.       In the village of Stoykvo the water still needs to be pumped out. As of currently nobody is doing this because the volunteers have no money for the technology that is needed. The people in Stoykovo still live under water.

3.       The people in the villages have told the volunteers that the state has prohibited them to plant anything in the next three years. The state has not come out with official information of how infected the soil is and as such independent tests need to be carried out. As small gardens is pretty much the only means of living in the region you can imagine what this means for the locals.

4.       Tests on the water need to be carried out as well. The people cannot drink it and filters are needed.

5.       The people in the region have to dry all the property they have (including their houses!) and they do it by hand, which of course causes the usage of much electricity – something that the elderly people cannot afford. Alternative methods are still under consideration. Any ideas would help.

The state is not doing anything and the people in this region rely on the help of volunteers. As you know the socio-economic situation in Bulgaria is terrible and the volunteers can hardly collect any money for all of the things that need to be done. The environmental association “Za Zemiata” – dear comrades of ours — is collecting money that will be used to carry out the actions listed above. Please, send them some money! Anything would help – from 20 to 500 Euros.

For immediate and detailed information you can contact Sando (alexander.mirchev@gmail.com) and Svetlio (svetul@gmail.com) who are on the spot as much as they can and help the people. (you all remember them from the nobo).

Here is the bank account info:

Name of holder: Environmental Association “Za Zemiata”

Bank Account: BG35UNCR96601407425430

SWIFT code: UNCRBGSF

Here (http://zaxarmanli.wordpress.com/) you can see some photos (in Bulgarian).