Danube-Networkers
Interview with Veselina Ivanova
Tetx: Ekaterina Tsanova / Veselina Ivanova
Veselina is an activе member of the women's club in Chitaliste "Izgrev-29 ", Village Opanetz, district Pleven, but was born in 1942 in the most eastern town on the Danube banks. We will talk about her own "bridges" on the river today.
Interview
E.Tz.: Hi, Veselina! What do you feel now when we mention the Danube and town Silistra?
V.I.: There are my roots, my childhood and youth. Danube is the second largest river in Europe after Volga and the only one navigable in Europe, which flows from west to east. It is very important for the economic because it connects our country with the other Danube countries. After passing the town Silistra Danube comes in Romanian territory and devided in two arms runns in the Black Sea.
I remember the exciting moments during friendship excursions with boats and small ships. Such excursions were organized by the Romanian town on the other river side.
Unforgetable are for me the days spent on the boats during this excursions, the friendly conversations between people from both countries. They were songs and music till middle of the night.
E.Tz.: Do you have relatives or friends in Romania?
V.I.: Part of my mothers side relatives are living in Romania, the village Kalniiy. After the First World War part of Southern Dobrudja has been detached from Bulgaria and became Romanian, my home town Silistra too.
My mother told me about the struggle of the Bulgarians for development of Bulgarian cultural society and the right of their children to learn Bulgarian language. It was a Bulgarian school only In Silistra, but not in the villages. The children had to learn only Romenian. My father is from the village Srebarna.
My parents got their education in in Romanian schools. My father did his military service in Bukureshti.
After signing the agreement in Kraiova 1940, most of the Bulgarians moved to Bulgaria. One of the brothers of my mother stayed in Romania, because his daughter Lucia is married to a Romanian.
VE.Tz.: Do you meet these relatives?
V. I.: My grandfather grieves for his son and his family left there. We visited each other. My grandfather bought a house in Bulgaria and left his house and land in Romania to Romanian family, moved from Bulgaria. When we visited my uncle, we always went near this house and we could see tears in the eyes of my grandfather. The people living in this house were kind and knew the name of our family - Hadzhiev. This family name came from the visit of my grandfather of the holy Christian places in Israel. The people from the Bulgarian and the Romanian village knew about this special visit. My grandfather took an icon from Israel and it was very precious for him. Later we gave it as a gift to the Museum of history in Silistra.
The granddaughter of my got her university education in Romania too.
E.Tz.: Tell us more about Silistra and its surroundings. How it looks in your eyes like?
V.I.: Today, Silistra is a very beautiful town. It is called the "green town" and the "white pearl" of Danube. The park is near the river, along the town. The riverside is high, the river runs slowly and somewhere in the low-land it forms swamps. One of these is near the home village of my father, Srebarna. There is the preserve "Srebarna ". There are many rare birds and vegetation: pelicans, gulls, swallows, white gull, and others. There is Museum of Natural Sciences,of the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences.
Since Bulgaria became a member of EU there is no more a border between Bulgaria and Romania. The people living in Danubian Dobroudja - Bulgarian and Romanian riverside - are very happy to meet easy their friends and relatives. Our family is planning to organize soon a Talk in our family to make a family meeting with our relatives from the Romanian village Kalniy. So, you see, how many "bridges" over Danube I have.
Resume
Title: One personal story
Autor: Веселина Иванова
My name is Veselina Ivanova. I am living in a village Opanez, district Pleven but I was born in 1942 in the most eastern town on the Danube banks - Silistra. The story of my family is connected to the river and my relationships to my relatives and friends in Romania are my bridges over Danube. The family of my mother is coming from the village Kalniy which belongs to south Dobrudsha, Bulgaria till First World War and after that to Romania.
