Photo inspiration

This is a collection of stories, created by the students of the                Bulgarian team of an eTwinning project

“smART democracy!: Creativity to promote Democratic                                        Participation”,

2019 / 2020

I CALL ON WOMEN TO COME TOGETHER

My name is Anitta. I am a married woman and we have 5 children.

When the compensation program came in, I thought we were going to relocate together, get money and be happy. But it is not as I thought. When men get the compensation they run away and leave women and children. As women we suffered, we did not gain. Children are not going to school, girls marry when they are young. We feel helpless and not happy. We were dormant.                                                                     After we – the women, united together we can now stand and refuse. When rich people come to buy my land I can stand and say: ‘’No, you will not take my land!’’. We know now that it is the family’s land, not men’s land. We have come together – I can call a meeting and the women will come.                                                                                 Men have changed because they do not bring others to come and buy the land, as they know that there are strong women here. Before we helped each other, we used to be alone, dormant and couldn’t talk, especially if our husbands were there. But now – we talk! When you are united, your voice can be heard.                                                                    If we are together then the future is bright. I hear more rumours that speculators want more land. But I feel happy that people believe in me and they believe what I say. We have begun to say that if you are compensating a man, a woman must also be present.

Adelina Atanasova, Bulgaria

Let’s fight racism together!

One day I was on the bus travelling back home when a student from Nigeria got on the bus and sat in front of me. I knew him from before because I once helped him buy some food in the supermarket translating to the cashier the products he wanted to buy. We were talking together when three teenagers got on the bus and sat against him and started joking about him. Right after that they started making monkey sounds and he got irritated and got off the bus without even saying anything. The guys who teased my friend were so happy and continued laughing and making jokes about his skin color. I was mad so I went to their seats and told them that this type of behavior was not acceptable because he didn’t do anything to them. Unfortunately they pushed me so I fell on the bus floor and that caused a burst of laughing from the bullies. I stood up and got off the bus because I had nothing to do with unintelligent people that prefer to show their simplicity instead of being nice to other people.

It doesn’t  matter whether your skin is black, white, yellow or whatever other color it could be , we are all humans and nothing can change that we have equal rights and responsibilities.

Alexander Simeonov, Bulgaria

Walk to the beach

My family and I really love to go on a vacation near the sea. My mother’s birthday was coming and that’s why we decided to go on a little vacation to one of the towns near the sea. That was her present for the birthday. When we told her she was very happy.

Three days later our vacation began. My whole family was so excited. After a few hours we arrived. Everything was so beautiful. Almost immediately we went to our favorite place-the beach. But we were very upset when we got there. There was trash all over the beach. The bins were overflowing with trash. We were very disappointed with how this place became so dirty. This is why after a week of preparation we organized an event for cleaning the beach. A lot of people came and together we cleaned the whole beach. It was tiring but the thought of the final result was my ambition not to give up.

In conclusion I can say that if we don’t keep our beautiful planet clean it will turn into a very dirty and unpleasant place. The Earth is not just the place we live in it’s our home!

Antoniya Milusheva, Bulgaria

A story of a turtle

Riko was a normal sea turtle who was swimming around the beautiful Pacific ocean.

It was  another boring day of his life ,but suddenly his life was changed forever.

It was a sunny Saturday and every fisherman was in the sea with friends ,  everyone was enjoying the weather and trying to catch some fish. A lot of boats and yachts were out there in the sea near the coast of Australia. Some of the people even had a barbecue on their boats and the smell of the food was amazing. That is why a lot of sea animals like Riko gathered around the boats because of the smell.

Sadly most of the people threw out the rubbish in the ocean because for them it was the easiest way.But they did not think about the consequences that would happen to nature and animals.

And the saddest thing was that Riko was part of that bad consequence.He thought that this rubbish was the food that smelled amazing. But when he reached that plastic bag he saw that it was not a food but it was too late because that plastic bag had been already stuck on him.

Riko was not the first and he will not be the the last sea creature to get stuck in this kind of plastic things.So it is our responsibility to save the oceans because if we do not care about that ,after only a few years all of the sea species will disappear and it will be because of our carelessness!

Atanas  , Bulgaria

The Girl Who Fought Hard

There was a girl who was unlike all the other girls. She looked just like them and she acted like them but she had a different type of dream. From a very young age she’s wanted to be a soldier. She had seen millions of war movies and she was a great shooter. Her dad had taught her to use weapons and to shoot. This seemed very weird to all of her girl friends because all they wanted was to fall in love and raise a family and she wanted to go to war. But she was so passionate about it that she didn’t let all the judgement change her plans.

One day she applied to become a soldier. The man who worked there didn’t want to accept her application and he told her that this was not a job for a woman and that all she was  fit for was marrying well and cleaning the house and doing this sort of thing.

The girl was so sick of this type of comment but this didn’t stop her from chasing her dream. She wanted this so badly that she wasn’t going to give it up because of one man’s opinion. The girl became a soldier after all and fought for her country. She was surrounded by men but she was one of the best soldiers. She loved it, it may sound weird but it was her passion. Later she even met a guy and married him and raised a family. She taught her kids that women and men are equal and it is okay for men to be sensitive and women to be strong. She wanted to live in a world where women and men have equal rights and are treated the same way.

Danina Spasova, Bulgaria

Despot Slav’s castle

Once upon a time there was a castle so strong that no one could destroy it. It had withstanded many battles and was impregnable.

During the last siege of the castle something terrible was about to happen. For the first time the  walls were destroyed and the people inside it felt scared. There was a menace for the castle to be conquered by another tribe. That final battle that would end the castles’ legacy lasted seven days. The castles’ soldiers were holding for long as possible but on the seventh day the inevitable happened.

One of the soldiers defending the castle gave access to the enemies from the right flank. He was promised a lot of land and money in exchange of betraying his people and he accepted the offer. On the seventh day everything ended. The castle was destroyed and everyone killed. The soldier who betrayed his people got nothing, he was misled. None of the land or the money he was promised, were given to him. He was killed just like his fellow soldiers

Eray Hafuzov , Bulgaria

The black fumes of pollution

The fumes were spreading at a rapid pace. The light blue sky above a small neighborhood quickly disappeared, and the only thing left was a matte black lid. The locals ran amok, as corrosive acidic rain started to pour from the sable clouds. A little girl named Julia was left behind. She was atop a tree, just hiding from her friends whilst playing hide-and-seek. This dreadful imagery unveiled right before her very eyes, the pure eyes of a child. It was now forever embedded in her mind for it even was reflected in her pupil. Then, lightning struck the tree…

And Julia woke up from maybe her worst nightmare yet. She had, somehow, fallen asleep under a tree in her yard. A tree Julia always sought comfort and quiet under. This time she was reading an article about air pollution from the Internet on her smartphone. She was devastated to find out that the damage humans did to the air she breathed in and out every other second was close to irreversible if mankind didn’t do something radical about it. She was still half-asleep though, and her eyes were to close again, but the piping, yet shrill voice of her mother rived the air, calling young Julia for lunch. Having heard that, the little girl headed to her house… only to see the black fumes of the factory nearby, and a coughing man on the street opposite of Julia’s house. The poor girl shed a tear for her worst nightmare was coming to life.

Georgi Totev, Bulgaria

Climate changes

Is the problem of climate changes so serious? I have heard some world famous businessmen say that there is no need of panic.

Should we stay calm, as we see what is happening on our planet? Everyone had noticed water and air pollution and the climate changes. Only the most influential people in the world, who control petrol industry and the other sectors of the business that most pollute the natural environment, think there is no problem. For me all these people are guilty and they are nothing, but criminals. We have to stop these crazy people. They just kill the planet.

This winter there was no snow in my town, however the air was so dirty that it was almost poisonous for breathing. I think we have to decide what to do to help our planet. There are so many new technologies that do not pollute the environment. Why don’t we use them and put up with the old dirty methods?

If you want your children to live in one better world – do not stay calm.

Hristo, Bulgaria

Racism all around the world

Racism is a huge problem that still affects the whole world. The 21st century is the time of democracy, which means that all people must be equal, regardless of skin color, race, whether they live in wealth or poverty, etc. But unfortunately the world is full of racists who mock and humiliate people for these things. For example, in the past, people from the negroid race were used as slaves. This type of dividing people by their genetic traits is very inappropriate today. Moreover, the world is so advanced that racism is one of people’s greatest shame and sins.

In my view, racism must be left in the past where it belongs. The photo symbolizes equality between people and shows no matter what, we are people in the first place.

Kristian Zhelyazkov, Bulgaria

OUR “BRIGHT” FUTURE

Once there was a little girl named Gabriella. She lived in a cosy little house on the outskirts of the big city. She was raised by her loving parents in peace and happiness, surrounded by the beautiful nature of the area – the stunning views of the forest and the mountains, the huge meadow next to her house, where she would pick flowers for her mother, and of course, the lake, where she and her father would go fishing.

When she turned 18, it was time she had gone to university. Gabriella had chosen one of the most prestigious universities, but the only problem was the distance – it was on the other side of the world! She knew it was a big step for her, but her goals were worth the risk. She packed her bags, said her goodbyes to everyone and set off.

Gabriella studied hard and showed excellent results in all her classes for two entire years. She had not seen her family in person since her departure, because the plane tickets were way too expensive, having in mind her student’s loan too. Having finished her education, she was beyond excited to return back home and reunite with her family and the beautiful nature.

The girl was already in her hometown when she realised something was a bit off. The sky was full of clouds, barely allowing any sunlight to go through, a thick mist had covered the streets and a bizarre smell was spread in the air. Two policemen noticed her and approached her quickly. Before she could understand what was happening, they had already put a breathing mask on her face. The men told Gabriella that the air pollution had taken over almost the whole country, and particularly this area, because of the factories built there over the last year. The majority of the population had been transferred to the nearest hospitals due to health problems, including the girl’s parents.

The place Gabriella called home was now gone. The childhood memories rushed through her head as she stared at the unclear sky. A single teardrop went down her face. She had lost everything.

Martina Tinkova, Bulgaria

WE, THE WOMEN

Domestic violence is becoming a big global problem. I know one woman that was attacked when she was 21 and three months pregnant, because her friend called her on the phone. Her husband started with insults, then dragged her into the living room and pushed her in the furniture. After it was over he went to smoke a cigarette and told her that she is more beautiful when she is crying and wearing blurry makeup. He isolated her from her family and all her friends. She was constantly scared of calling the phone and locking the door. He banned her from working and she stayed without electricity with her newborn. He hit her, kidnapped her but every time he was saying that these were normal things for one family.

But after all, there is a happy ending. She overcame her fear of going away from their house, because he threatened her with death. She connected to some institutions and called the police. She made up a plan – two guardians were at her home and when her husband came they arrested him. After that she packed her luggage and left the city. Now she is really happy with her son, but the past is hard to forget.

Neda Maneva, Bulgaria

Love has no limits

As a white girl, Anna was always told that she should date and marry a white guy.

The thing is that she  has always wanted just to fall in love so Anna was sad because no one was bringing her joy.

She has tried to date several white boys since she was 18 but she felt completely nothing.

One day Anna was in a hurry so she accidently  tripped over, fell down and spilled her things out of the bag. This was the moment Anna met her new African friend Jack. They slowly became inseparable and Anna knew that this was the best spent time in her life. In a while, they fell in love and it felt as right as never.

She knew that she had to tell her family so when the moment came Anna couldn’t wait more.

At first they were really upset as they did not expect anything like that. Then when they saw how happy Anna was for the first time in a while, they realized that love has no limits.

Nicole Georgieva, Bulgaria

Let’s Fight Racism Together

Have you ever been humiliated or made fun of because of your belonging to a different nation, or simply because of your skin color? If the answer is yes, the act of such offence is considered racism. In my view, all people regardless of their nationality and skin complexion should be treated in the same way, qually.                                                                    Nowadays, in our society, racism problems only increase. It is presented almost all over the world. The reason why mankind is so influenced by racism issue is ignorance and lack of knowledge. Racism at schools is also a problem of significant importance now. It is experienced there in all forms, like verbal abuse, call-naming and even physical abuse.

The only thing we can do is to limit its extent and expansion. The best way is to be not indifferent and start being well-educated. We have to think twice before saying something offensive concerning race, nationality etc. Only tolerance and mankind intelligence can help to tackle racism issues.

Nikola Kostadinov Bulgaria

The fade of reality

1960 : An ordinary Friday morning in Central Europe. Everybody is reading the daily newspaper while sipping their coffee. The men are getting ready to go to work and the women are taking care of the little members of the family whilst doing the chores. Life is beautiful and people are happy because other people make them feel like that.

2005: An ordinary Friday morning in the central parts of the European Union. Everybody is watching the news on TV and after that is checking their emails on their PCs using the Internet. The men and women are getting ready to go to work while the babysitter is looking after the little ones. Life is beautiful and people are happy because other people make them feel like that.

2020: An ordinary Friday morning in the modern world. Everybody is checking their social media’s news feed using the 5G technology whilst drinking every kind of unusual drink from everywhere around the world. Non-gender specific parents sometimes choose not to vaccinate their little children. The world is a strange place and life is slowly being trapped inside a plastic case we love to hold in our hands every day.

Nikola Stanchev , Bulgaria

We are all people

It was cold and rainy night in London. There was one old deserted building which was situated on the corner of 29 Green London street. There were refugees who lived there. They came from Syria. They had chosen to leave their country because of the war. That was the reason why Jafar, Riyad and Farid were in London. They had been living in this old house for several months. The conditions were awful and on top of that no one wanted to hire them or to give them a chance to work.

Every day many people passed by the building, but hardly anyone paid attention to the refugees. However, one day a man, who was dressed in a black suit, visited the refugees. His name was John. John spoke with the Syrians and after he learnt their story, he gave them some money and promised to help. The refugees could not believe it. After a few days John returned. He told them that they would stay in the state asylum until they could buy their own houses and also he had found them a working place. They would work in a big company which produced fizzy drinks. The refugees were very grateful. When they asked John why he decided to help them, he explained that they were all people and everyone deserved a chance to change his life.

The refugees started a new life. All thanked to the stranger who once helped the refugees.

Samuil Ivanov, Bulgaria

Our favourite place

My friends and I go to cafe every second Sunday.Every time we have a cup of coffee and discuss some interesting things but half of the time we spend scrolling on the phone.This is a really bad habit but we do that unwittingly.We are so attached to the social media that we can’t imagine our life without it.If a person doesn’t have a profile in Facebook or Instagram,everyone will see him as a stranger.

Four weeks ago we tried not to touch our phones but we failed.

Two weeks ago my friends heard about a new cafe in our neighborhood,which everybody in our school recommended.We decided to try this new place.

When we entered the cafe there were five boxes,which were made to collect our phones.We were surprised but we placed our phones in the boxes and got a table. Firstly,it was strange for us because everybody’s hands were searching for their phones in the pockets.But when we started talking,we did not feel how the time passed.We had a great time. This cafe became our favourite place to spend our Sunday afternoons.

Teodora Dobreva,Bulgaria

Sandy’s story

I’d known Sandy since we were kids.Now we are 27 years old and she is in such unpleasant situation…I’ve been trying to help her get free and live the life she deserves.

Sandy got married 3 years ago and since then she had been a victim of violence.

Every single day her husband yelled for no reason and beat her instead of treating her right.He even made her stay in their house without going outside because he was too jealous.

She knew that her husband wasn’t good for her but she was afraid to leave him.Sandy was afraid to talk to him even about the simplest things because he could hurt her.

He was always persuading her that she was the love of his life but he was literally destroying her- mentally and physically.

He was also very fastidious so Sandy had to be the perfect wife and she was trying to satisfy him everyday…and yet he wasn’t satisfied.

Finally Sandy realized that not only men have rights but women too and she decided to leave him.She got freedom and little by little she understood what it means to be treated right.

She is really happy now and lives her life to the fullest!

Vanessa Shopova , Bulgaria

Let’s fight racism together

One sunny day a new boy from Egypt started studying in the class of Maraya. She was a student from 11^th grade, Bulgaria. They got very close friends as soon as he became a part of the class. The Egyptian boy Arti and Maraya studied together after school every day, took a walk in the nearby forest and after that they went shopping every Friday. They were used to going to the gym every other day.

The more time they had together, the closer they got. Little by little they fell in love. As you can guess Arti was from the negroid race so his skin was darker than the skin of his classmates. He was constantly humiliated and discriminated . His “friends” offended him because he was different.

Maraya had fallen in love with exactly this difference. Because Arti was unique in her eyes. She accepted him with all his “differences”. Day after day Arti was showing his potential and his schoolmates began to accept him. Soon everyone at school respected him. Maraya and Arti were very happy with this fact . Their love became even stronger because Maraya did not let Arti down when he was in need.

Vanya Radeva,  Bulgaria

The girl who changed forever

After such a tiring and long day, all Melissa wanted was just to lie down on her bed and to relax scrolling on the phone. It was already almost midnight and she had been doing that for more than 3 hours but once you start, it’s hard to stop. At some point the phone started sparkling and she got worried. Melissa thought she’d broken it. Her parents would be very angry… However, it didn’t end with just a sparkling – the phone even started moving in the air, together with the charger. At first, the girl thought it was some joke but then she couldn’t find a normal explanation how this was happening. She got so scared that she was even crying. Meanwhile the phone started growing in size and eventually was as big as her. She didn’t know what to do and was feeling like in a cage. The phone was coming closer and closer to her, she couldn’t hold the fear in herself anymore. She screamed. And then…she suddenly woke up – sweaty and hot. The girl realized she had passed out while scrolling. And then she got it -Melissa was spending so much time on this phone that her brain couldn’t even rest – that’s why she was always tired and stressed. Hence she decided to change something: the girl would reduce the time on her phone. One month later Melissa was still keeping the promise. In fact, a lot of people had noticed she’d changed – the girl wasn’t so easily distracted anymore, she was more productive, diligent and even happier. And that’s how Melissa turned from a slave of her phone into a free-mind girl who could see the important things in her life and appreciate them.

Yoana Peneva , Bulgaria

The turtle in the plastic ocean

I was swimming in the ocean. I couldn’t get enough of this breathtaking view. I was watching the best landscape you could ever imagine – a sunset, full of beautiful colors. Then I stared at the bluish glow and sparkling of the water lapping against the shore. It seemed as if there were stars in the ocean. I continued swimming because I had to meet my son. It was a really important day – it was his birthday. And I had the best present for him – a comet goldfish since he had always been wanting one for a pet. I couldn’t wait anymore to surprise him. But then the nightmare began:

“Why can’t I swim? What’s that thing stuck in my flipper? I don’t know but it seems like a men’s deed – it’s seen through and it feels really uncomfortable. How will I escape now? Will I ever see my son ever again?”

I started screaming. There were many fishes around me that tried to help me but they couldn’t either. This thing started swallowing my whole body.

“What’s that?  I can’t breathe!   I can’t ……. breathe! I can’t…Is this the end? Is my life over?  And my son?   Won’t I see him again?  He is so young…But what’s this? It is a MAN! A MAN! I’m afraid of men! They do horrible things to us!

Don’t touch me, please, don’t!  Oh, what is he doing? He is taking this terrible plastic thing away from my flippers!    Oh, I can move freely again!  Thank you, man!”

The man said something that sounded like “Sorry, little buddy. That’s not your fault.”

“What does this mean? Are you talking to me, man? I don’t understand what you’re saying! And it doesn’t matter! What matters now is I can swim! I can see my son again! I can see my family! Goodbye, man! Thanks for your help!

Zornitsa Petrova , Bulgaria