Samokov, March 28, 2022
A team from the Bulgarian Family Planning and Sexual Health Association (BFPA) delivered in Samokov an information session on March 28, 2022 in the “HUB-a” coworking space. Among the participants there representatives of the local Roma community, young people form 11 and 12 grade and their teachers, representatives of the Social services and the Municipality. Pavlina Filipova and Dr. Radosveta Stamenkova talked with the gathered about the opportunities and potential dangers when starting a job in the UK. Dobryana Petkova, a professional with long year practice in prevention of trafficking people, shared with the group on some specific marks to recognize the danger of trafficking people for labor and sexual exploitation. The training team was complemented by Villy Angelova form the British Embassy in Sofia and Ralitza Zgalevska from the BFPA team.
It became clear during the following discussion what the difference is between trafficking and smuggling, some of the participants presented their vision of having ‘good money’, “trusted person”= The concepts of ‘irregular working week’ and ‘poor working conditions’ were clarified.
The meeting was part of the campaign on prevention and increasing the knowledge on risks and opportunities that are potential in labor migration in the UK. The campaign is implemented by BFPA and supported by the British Embassy in Sofia. Materials with trustful sources on useful information, including on services for potential victims of trafficking were distributed to participants. They find the leaflet very informative and easy-to-use – you can find the material here (in BG). Part of the project deliverables is a “Desk research and Analysis of the labor migration and risks of exploitation in UK of vulnerable groups from Bulgaria with focus on Roma”. Similar meetings will be held in other locations with Roma groups willing to migrate in the United Kingdom.
