Mogilino
Encyclopedia
Mogilino is a village in Ruse Province
, northern Bulgaria
. It became well known internationally after several reports about the institution for children with physical and mental disabilities. In 2007, the BBC
showed the film "Bulgaria's Abandoned Children". The British public were deeply disturbed http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2007/09/14/nosplit/bvtv14last.xml and started a petition to the Prime Minister to intervene and put pressure on EU institutions and the Bulgarian government to solve the problem. Many British, Bulgarian and international charities intensified their work effort to solve the problem with abandoned children in the country. The case of Mogilino resembles the campaign publicising the conditions in the Romania
n orphanages in the early 1990s. Bulgaria has been criticised for having one of the highest numbers of children in state institutional care in the EU.
On January 30, 2008, Bulgarian National Television
presented its answer to the BBC documentary in the form of a documentary called Dom (House or Home). "It is not right that the whole of Europe be antagonised against Bulgaria because of a well-manipulated and skilfully edited documentary on a home being prepared to close down, such as Mogilino,” the makers said.
On the same day, Bulgarian Members of the European Parliament signed a declaration in which they called for "a common European policy on the upbringing and education of underprivileged children."
On February 22, 2008, Labour and Social Policy Minister Emilia Maslarova repeated a promise that the Mogilino home, along with six similar homes, would be closed http://sofiaecho.com/article/mogilino-social-care-home-to-be-closed/id_27745/catid_66.
At the initiative of Irish member of the European Parliament Kathy Sinnott, Kate Blewett's documentary was screened in the European Parliament on March 4, 2008.
On June 27, 2008, The Sofia Echo
reported that some of the children from the Mogilino home had been relocated to other homes around Bulgaria, and that the Agency for Social Assistance and UNICEF were working, ultimately, to close the home. http://sofiaecho.com/article/of-mogilino-and-men/id_30189/catid_5
The Molilino children's institution finally closed on the 11th of October 2009 following further pressure from the BBC and EU.
Ruse Province
Ruse Province is a province in northern Bulgaria, named after its main city - Ruse, neighbouring Romania via the Danube. It is divided into 8 municipalities with a total population, as of December 2009, of 249,144 inhabitants....
, northern Bulgaria
Bulgaria
Bulgaria , officially the Republic of Bulgaria , is a parliamentary democracy within a unitary constitutional republic in Southeast Europe. The country borders Romania to the north, Serbia and Macedonia to the west, Greece and Turkey to the south, as well as the Black Sea to the east...
. It became well known internationally after several reports about the institution for children with physical and mental disabilities. In 2007, the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
showed the film "Bulgaria's Abandoned Children". The British public were deeply disturbed http://www.telegraph.co.uk/arts/main.jhtml?xml=/arts/2007/09/14/nosplit/bvtv14last.xml and started a petition to the Prime Minister to intervene and put pressure on EU institutions and the Bulgarian government to solve the problem. Many British, Bulgarian and international charities intensified their work effort to solve the problem with abandoned children in the country. The case of Mogilino resembles the campaign publicising the conditions in the Romania
Romania
Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeastern Europe, on the Lower Danube, within and outside the Carpathian arch, bordering on the Black Sea...
n orphanages in the early 1990s. Bulgaria has been criticised for having one of the highest numbers of children in state institutional care in the EU.
On January 30, 2008, Bulgarian National Television
Bulgarian National Television
The Bulgarian National Television or BNT is the public broadcaster of Bulgaria. The company was founded in 1959 and began broadcasting on December 26 of the same year. It began broadcasting in color in 1970...
presented its answer to the BBC documentary in the form of a documentary called Dom (House or Home). "It is not right that the whole of Europe be antagonised against Bulgaria because of a well-manipulated and skilfully edited documentary on a home being prepared to close down, such as Mogilino,” the makers said.
On the same day, Bulgarian Members of the European Parliament signed a declaration in which they called for "a common European policy on the upbringing and education of underprivileged children."
On February 22, 2008, Labour and Social Policy Minister Emilia Maslarova repeated a promise that the Mogilino home, along with six similar homes, would be closed http://sofiaecho.com/article/mogilino-social-care-home-to-be-closed/id_27745/catid_66.
At the initiative of Irish member of the European Parliament Kathy Sinnott, Kate Blewett's documentary was screened in the European Parliament on March 4, 2008.
On June 27, 2008, The Sofia Echo
The Sofia Echo
The Sofia Echo is Bulgaria's national English-language newspaper published out of Sofia, the capital of Bulgaria.The newspaper is published by Sofia Echo Media Ltd...
reported that some of the children from the Mogilino home had been relocated to other homes around Bulgaria, and that the Agency for Social Assistance and UNICEF were working, ultimately, to close the home. http://sofiaecho.com/article/of-mogilino-and-men/id_30189/catid_5
The Molilino children's institution finally closed on the 11th of October 2009 following further pressure from the BBC and EU.
External links
- Campaign for Bulgaria's Abandoned Children
- Report on institutions for children in Bulgaria by the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee
- Moglino case blog (in Bulgarian)
- Report on Sky TV, 2006
- Friends of Bulgaria UK charity, information on Mogilino and other children institutions in Bulgaria
- The Sofia Echo article, 6 November 2007: "Mogilino Social Care Home to be closed after BBC documentary aired"
- Sofia Echo article, 7 November 2007: "Debate on Bulgaria's Abandoned Children"
- The Sofia Echo article, January 30, 2008: BNT strikes back at BBCs Mogilino Documentary
- The Sofia Echo article, January 30, 2008: Bulgarian MEPs call for European policy on underprivileged children
- The Sofia Echo article, February 29, 2008: Bulgarian Social Minister angry with Brussels over Mogilino screening
- Mogilino, Lost in translation, 14 March 2008. The article analyses translation errors in the BBC film Bulgaria's Abandoned Children