Bulgarian gangsters

Just returned from a holiday in Bulgaria. Like on my previous visit, I saw the rulers of this poor country are still the gangsters.

Surprising, because each time I asked a local about the gangsters, they deny their existence, claiming they are respectable suit and tie businessmen now, or that they have all moved to France.

Bulgarians have apparently been trained by the media and government. Not surprising since so much money is involved - hundreds of millions of Euro in EU grants can be withheld if the EU considers corruption to be still rife.

But it doesn't take great powers of observation to see who is still in charge.

We happened upon a big meeting in Sunny Beach one night, with about 12 flash black cars, parked wherever they felt like, blocking the road, with big thuggish-looking 'drivers' hanging around, guarding the area. There was a Bentley, a Lamborghini, several Mercedes and Porsche Cayennes.

After hanging around for some time, ostensibly eating kebabs, the bosses came out, also brutes with a killer glance to freeze your blood and somehow induce you to automatically look away.

It seems that the previously frequent killings have stopped. Probably due to advice from the government that the EU millions would be lost if better methods of gang warfare are not adopted. Nowadays enemies quietly disappear, instead of being publicly machine-gunned with their bodyguards in cafes and bars, as was the custom a mere few years back.

The country is composed of very poor people who work for a pittance, 10 euro a week or so, while the super-rich gangsters drive black luxury cars and live the good life. Why black? Maybe because pink would be too conspicuous. A middle class seems to be lacking. It's like the old feudal lords reaping the profits while the vassals and serfs do the work.

What a dire mistake it would be to let Bulgaria join the EU. Like inviting Somalia! The cities are squalid, the people are desperately poor except for the gangsters ruling the country. Opening the EU gates would invite a flood of poor and hungry people, while the gangsters would relish the newly opened market for guns, drugs, prostitutes and whatever else is illegal.

Are you are looking for a Maastricht house for rent?