22 Jul 2013 20:15
Thousands of mainly younger, well-educated Bulgarians have been rallying in Sofia and other cities since June 14 to demand the resignation of the Socialist-led cabinet.
What sparked the unrest originally was the appointment of the representative of DPS (Movement of rights and freedom) Delyan Peevski as the head of the State Agency of National Security. Demonstrators then rallied against Plamen Oresharski’s cabinet, protesting openly against his media, which have been accused by the majority of the public of presenting the procession in his benefit. Because of the scandal involving the appointment of Peevski, President Rosen Plevneliev announced that he no longer trusts the Oresharski cabinet. Even after the removal of Delyan Peevski, the protests continued, still demanding the government’s resignation. Unprecedented in duration, people have now been in protesting for three consecutive months. The protests have been relatively peaceful, the activists by in large have been avoiding provocation and clashes with the police.
The journalist photographed people protesting, then in their every day life, to give a more in-depth look at the people behind the Bulgarian unrest. Borislav Popov, who decided to stay in Bulgaria rather than live abroad, believes that "we have to learn that we are the ones that are responsible for our lives and we can’t keep complaining that communism, our parents, or our employers are at fault; we have to take responsibility for our actions."