Bulgaria's abandoned children

"Аз не искам да бъда тук по-дълго", the girl writes. "Моля да ме далеч от тук. Искам да се върна в Пазарджик скоро." Didi puts down the pen and sighs, carefully folding the paper and putting it into her little purple handbag. She had been writing to her mother in Pazardjik, whom she had been separated from ever since she'd been moved to the home for disabled children in Mogilino in November 2005. She was sent here because her mom didn't have the patience to cope with the girl's autism. Didi never got to send her letters, which always stayed safely tucked into her purple handbag, and she clung to it in case the girls in her dorm should try to touch or open it. The only noises surrounding her were some staff members talking to the nice English lady with the camera, the other kids rocking in their chairs and slapping themselves and banging their heads against walls and wheelchairs, the droning hums, moans, unintelligible shouts, and shrieks they let out as they did so, the soap operas on the TV, and the occasional kiddie song on the radio. Other than some staff members, the English lady, and a boy named Todor, Didi had no one to talk to. No other girl in her dorm talked, because the staff never took the time to teach them how. Come to think of it, none of the blind children could speak either except for little Vasky. Neither could Milen nor his friend Misho. They helped out with tasks around the home, but they were always frightened or even silently crying and holding their faces whenever they were around a staff member named Osman. Didi couldn't stand it here. She wanted to go home and be with her mom. "Тука са само увредени деца, не могат да говорят", Didi had told the English lady.

To retain at least a little bit of normalcy, Didi kept reading magazines and spent occasional times brushing her dark hair and even talking to Todor. Even though he couldn't quite hear what the girl was saying to him, they understood each other, and they even had crushes on each other. Sometimes Didi wondered why she was sent here. But it was fine because on September 27, her mom would be coming to pick her up, at long last. For a long time, Didi had gone around telling everyone that her mom would be coming to get her, and she was very excited and anticipating her homecoming.

Finally the awaited day came. Calmly, Didi packed her bags and smiled and sat in a chair and started to rock like everyone else around her. The other kids just moaned and shouted, slapping themselves and banging their heads, oblivious to Didi's excitement. Then she remembered: Without words and with a simple waving of his hand, Milen had told her that he'd heard the staff talking and the mom would NOT be coming, ever, but Didi wouldn't believe him. In the back of her mind, though, she feared that he might be right, but she shook it off. The time for Didi to get picked up come and went. Though the worries and the sad truth were starting to get to her, she assumed maybe there's something to make mom late, and so she waited some more. But then it hit her. 'Мама не идва тук.' Didi hung her head in despair. Milen was right.

What happened to Didi and the children mentioned here? Did they ever get out of Mogilino, and what were the details of their lives there? Click the links in the description to find out.

A LITTLE NOTE TO PEOPLE WHO LIVE IN BULGARIA WHO MIGHT READ THIS: If you happen to know any of these children/teenagers/young adults or are/know their friends or carers, please let me know because I'd like to know if they are happy and getting the good care they need. For those who don't speak English or prefer not to here's a translation (warning, its with Google Translate so its gonna be bad): Ако знаете някой от тези деца / тийнейджъри / млади възрастни или са / знаят своите приятели или болногледачите, моля да ме уведомите, защото бих искал да знам дали те са щастливи и получаване на грижите добре те се нуждаят.