Hristijan Pendikov was really lucky, in an accident. With a little beating in his native Ohrid, he got an apartment in Sofia, per diems, personal security, and soon citizenship. Who is like him.

He probably knows what Christian will do in the apartment and what kind of work he will do. But if he continues with the same "business" as in Ohrid, he will soon find out the security he was assigned to "guard", and Hristijan will see what a real "Bulgarian beating" is. So it won't be a miracle if Christian returns to us quickly, quickly, to defend Macedonia on the streets of Ohrid.

But for now, let the Bulgarian Government think about it. What if every bar fight will give birth to a hopeful Bulgarian who will need air transport to Sofia for treatment and, of course, an apartment and employment? These are the standards imposed by Pendikov and it is impossible to go below that.

I believe that this will soon cause a big housing problem in Bulgaria: How to take care of all the beaten Macedonians who will come to their senses after being beaten, like Bulgarians.

Imagine now that 150 Bulgarian passport holders, as many as the Bulgarian authorities claim that our fellow citizens own, ask for an apartment and citizenship in Bulgaria, under the pretext that they were beaten because of national hatred?!?

These are at least the same number of apartments that these Macedonian Bulgarians will rightfully ask for. Otherwise, they can complain that they are discriminated against by the same Bulgarian state, which does not act equally, but according to the principle - first beaten, first acquired with the right to housing and salary.

This was confirmed in a way by Bulgarian President Rumen Radev, who said that the Bulgarian state "will not tolerate violence against the Bulgarians in the Republic of Macedonia and against its citizens and will use all national and international instruments to protect their rights".

It's easy for Radev, who waited for a "village without dogs", i.e. a period of "powerlessness" in Bulgaria and sympathized with the role of "father of the nation", which is given to him by that space between constant elections. The technical Government is also "dozing" and handing out apartments, without having political responsibility for the economic consequences of the decisions it makes.

To give a 22-year-old boy an apartment overnight for no particular reason is really nonsense, especially in Bulgaria, which has no housing strategy, and in which there are a huge number of homeless people, as well as poor people who cannot reach apartment.

What is surprising is that for now there are no reactions from there. Neither by the political parties, nor by the media, nor by the general public.

"We looked at the statistics that show how the number of municipalities' homes has changed over the years - the homes in which the municipalities can accommodate the poor at a more affordable rent. In 1993, their number in the territory of Sofia was 120.000, now they are reduced to 9.000, according to the official data of the municipality of Sofia. On the other hand, there are currently more than 10.000 poor people in the city who meet the conditions for such housing", says Stefan Krastev, co-author of the specialized report entitled "Home for All, Mission (Im)possible", in an interview with BNR.

"A total of 400 homes have been built in the past 10 years under these operational programs, which covers about 1% of the country's real needs," Krastev said, adding that according to analyses, there should be at least 85.000 affordable homes nationwide.

Since there is a shortage of vacancies, some of the poor have to be accommodated in temporary homeless shelters. However, there are only three such centers in Sofia, with a capacity of 510 people. Families with low or no income, meanwhile, are forced to seek rent-free accommodation or social housing – which, however, is limited and hard to come by.

Even for those with an average salary in the capital, the monthly rent for a one-room apartment almost exceeds 50% of their income.

Hristijan Pendikov is not among them. He has the status of an "honorary" citizen of Sofia.

I keep thinking what if the Bulgarians in Bulgaria start to declare themselves as Macedonian Bulgarians just to get the same privileges as Pendikov and others like him?

(The author is a journalist)

Taken from Racin.mk