Belene

I was recently thinking about what to write in my next blog. Thinking a lot. So much so that it took me over a month to think of a good idea. I was reading through some of the others blogs as well as my previous posts and thought that Belene was being critized far too much. I decided to do a little fact or fiction with a historical background on Belene. You may find the stories below sad, boring or just plan stupid. I will be doing this in two parts, so enjoy. Either way, you get to waste 15 minutes out of your work day reading this. Again, the opinions of Peace Corps or the US government are not reflected in this blog.

Statement: “Didn’t the town of Belene house one of the most gruesome communist concetration camps in the country’s history”

History - Let me first point out a quote from a book called, Tortured for his Faith by Haralan Popov . This may help you understand what exactly went on here on the island.

"We finally got to sleep, only to be wakened again at 3 a.m. to begin another day’s work...masses of mosquitos...descended on us in dark clouds and stung like wasps. The prison leaders were displeased because we were not completing the production schedule and ordered our rations to be reduced...It was a desperate struggle to work on less food...We shared our food with the dying, but many died anyway.

"Guards moved among us in the field beating any who were not working fast enough...Just on impulse, a guard would single out a prisoner working in our midst, walk over to him, put his rifle to his head and pull the trigger...Since the whole work schedule of the island was behind...Instead of marching to the field we were ordered to run three to four miles with guards on horseback chasing us and cracking long leather whips on our backs...In the evening we were chased back...they took great joy in beating the half-dead, staggering line of prisoners."

Haralan Popov was a successful minister in Bulgaria before being arrested and sent to Belene communist prison and labor camp. The communist prison and labor camp were heavily active for 1949 to 1959 and housed mostly political prisoners. During the 80’s, the prison was comprised of mostly Turkish Bulgarians.

The prison was first formed after WWII by the occupying Russians as a way to instill communist thinking into the heads of Bulgarians. You can search the web for more information on the Belene system or I recommend you read the book, Voices from the Gulag: Life and Death in Communist Bulgaria by Tzvetan Todorov.

Fact

Yes these things happened here in Belene, but today the town is much different. Though the prison is still active today, it acts as a standard prison that houses all types of inmates. The prison is not located in the city, but rather on an island called Persin, which is one of the largest islands that can be found on the Danube River. Access to the island is strictly forbidden to almost anyone and only persons with special permission are able to go (sorry guys and gals, no trips to the island unless we swim there). Today, for the most part, the prison acts nothing more then a source of jobs for the citizens here. There are no memorials (from what I can tell) or museums that remember the dead. The island is currently a protected in Natura 2000 and has a multitude of bird species that call it their home.

Statement: “Doesn’t Belene have a military base that turns average Bulgarian men and women into ultimate bad ass killing machines?”

Fact / Fiction

Yes, Belene has a large military base within the city limits. I have visited the base. It was a very extreme experience that I have shared with others before. It was kind of an “Open House” for all the people of Belene and was more specifically geared towards the youth. They had different stations with different weapons, gear, navigating equipment, divers gear and explosive materials. The most eye opening thing for me was the machine guns, hand guns and bazookas that were laid on the table and handled by the little ones. The instructor even taught them how to hold/load the weapons. Strange, but also really bad ass seeing how I was even able to hold a bazooka with all the kids in the background chanting, “Rambo, Rambo, Rambo!!”. Man, I was all that was man that day.

Killing machines? Well, maybe, but the base here specializes in Engineering, kind of like the Army Corps of Engineers. Good thing there are no levees in Belene. I would have to give say fiction to the “ultimate bad ass killing machines” based on the fact that these are pretty smart people, and the only really smart, really bad ass people I know are MacGyver and Dutch from Predator. I mean who else can flex a bicep like that while also have the ability to outsmart an out of space Predator? MacGyver needs no explanation.

Yes, there are a great number of citizens that are in the armed forces here but it actually helps the town. There are a many jobs that have been created by the military base. The income of the soldiers is also spent within the city to shops and restaurants which in turn stimulates the local economy. I am always one for supporting the local scene so the military base gets two thumbs up in my book.