BULGARIA: VARNA: PEOPLE STRUGGLING TO SURVIVE IN ECONOMIC DECLINE

(16 Jan 1997) Bulgarian/Nat

Tensions in Bulgaria are on the rise as protesters all over the country continue to demand early elections.

Alarming poverty and the threat of hunger caused many Bulgarians to take to the streets out of sheer frustration, accusing the ruling Socialist party of being responsible for the country's economic decline.

APTV looks at the desperate economic situation in the Black Sea port city of Varna.

The coastal city of Varna has long been one of Bulgaria's most important industrial cities.

Its bustling port was once the pride of the former Communist country.

But since the 1989 collapse of communism, Bulgarian governments have done little to enable the economy to deal with free markets.

About 90 percent of the nation's businesses remain state-owned, and two-thirds of those operate in the red.

Varna's once busy shipyards are now almost empty.

These days, just like everywhere else in the country, the people here are struggling to survive.

With an annual inflation level currently at 310 percent, the price of bread alone had risen 11-fold last year.

As a result, Bulgarians are consuming half as much bread as they did 12 months ago.

Varna's shipyard workers barely have enough to eat to sustain them in their tough jobs.

SOUNDBITE: (Bulgarian)
'The quality of life of dockers is very low and is related to the general and overall economic situation in the country. Their work is bloody hard, just like all over the world and their salaries can hardly insure their normal existence, the recovery of their (physical) strength and support their families."
SUPER CAPTION: Captain Zhivko Bobotzov, Chairman, National Committee of Dockers' Trade Unions

Signs of poverty are everywhere in Varna.

The few shoppers at the city's market carefully count their money.

And many people just can't afford the few goods - mostly fruit and vegetables - that are still on offer.

Bulgaria's currency, the lev, lost about 90 percent of its value against the U-S dollar over the past year.

The average annual income in Bulgaria has now plummeted to 20 U-S dollars, which makes it the lowest in Europe.

Pensions are even lower.

And what little Bulgarians managed to save, they cannot get to now because the Socialist government has blocked all private funds.

Increasingly desperate, many queue for days outside city banks in the hope of withdrawing their money.

SOUNDBITE: (Bulgarian)
"The situation of the workers in this region is the same as the situation of the workers all over the country. The majority of the Bulgarian people voted for this (Socialist) party because it lied to the people and did not specify anywhere in its manifesto that after two years of governing people's salaries would be between 15 and 20 (US) dollars and the bread would be 150 leva (25 US cents) and the petrol would be 700 leva (1 U-S dollar and 20 cents )"
SUPER CAPTION: Violetta Peneva, Chairperson, Promiana Worker's Union

Varna's poorest and the elderly often have to rely on soup kitchens.

And the economic crisis looks set to get even worse.

The country's wheat reserves are only expected to last, at best, until the end of March.

The Bulgarian Parliament on Thursday approved a government request to import wheat from the United States worth some 35 (m) million U-S dollars in order to supply people with bread.

But now Bulgarians have had enough- they're hungry and they're fed up with the former communists running the country.

And as the protests continue, their call for immediate elections is getting louder and louder.

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