Galery

1

Marina Nikolova

Valeria, you are the host of a show in the Athens municipal radio, however your journalistic experience is mainly in the press. For nine years already you publish your own newspaper – “Kontakti”, isn’t it strange to start such a business here in Greece?

I came here in April 1997 and for two years I was working as a domestic assistant in a house. In the year 2000 the only Bulgarian newspaper was “Svetlina” by Rositsa Pontida. The previous year I had started to work with her as printer’s reader. At a certain point of time Rositsa had to return back to Bulgaria and the newspaper was closed. On one side this was the main reason – I liked the idea to start my own newspaper and on the other side – I am a philologist by education. In Bulgaria I have experience as a teacher for 23 years and my last years were in a youth detention center. The writing of a newspaper of course is very close to my major.

The interesting thing is that when I started the newspaper I was still working as a domestic assistant. My family became friends and after the old lady I was taking care of they offered to help me start issuing the paper.

According to you what are the chances for a woman foreigner to become successful in Greece?

I can tell you particularly for a newspaper. I had absolutely no problem here. On the part of the Ministry of Press – I simply went, filed the necessary documents and they told me – “very well madam, you can start from tomorrow”. The problem after this was the tax office, which had to check the place and of course to be kind enough to issue a permit to start my activity. I face a lot of resistance and reluctance until this permit was issued. 

Do you think that if you had stayed in Bulgaria you would have succeeded easier?

Of course not. In Bulgaria I would have never had the opportunity to publish a newspaper. There I would have remained a teacher. I do not deny that I like working as a teacher. I said I was working in a youth detention center in the last few years and this is a rather specific work, a lot more different that it is in a normal school. There the relationships are different and I felt fulfilled when I was working there. These girls were showing love, when you give them love and understanding. They were showing also great attachment.

And now here abroad, what makes you feel fulfilled and continue issuing your newspaper? As far as I know there is a financial motivation…

Only the work. This is a self proof. You started it and now you cannot quit. I will be completely honest with you – there is no profit from the newspaper. I haven’t received any subsidy from the Greek government or the Ministry of press. We are only women here and that is a struggle to go on creating this product. And I like giving the finishing touches to my newspaper.

Do you think of yourself as successful and that you have managed well until now? What are your plans for the future?

For the newspaper – yes. Even though if I had some financial assistance I would have done it a weekly paper again. Now it is published every two weeks as I am dealing now also with a translation agency.

When a person goes abroad it seems that person has the opportunity to start fresh. Is this an advantage or a disadvantage according to you?

To start fresh in the sense that you start something completely new…

Yes, because nobody knows you…

You enter in a new environment. Yes it is an advantage because it gives you the opportunity to prove yourself as a new person. Even before yourself. I had never expected that I can do this and become the person I am right now. Because it is one thing to be a teacher – you are a subordinate there. We were never given the opportunity to work as we like, as we felt we should, as we thought is right. While here – particularly in the newspaper - you are absolutely free. If you work as a domestic assistant it is completely different. You cannot prove yourself…

However you managed to start as a domestic assistant and got to the level where you publish a newspaper and host a radio – show…

This was an opportunity I took advantage of. May be if this opportunity never came, I would have still been working as a domestic assistant.

Do you think that the opportunities for the Bulgarians who had come here in the beginning – in the first years after the changes were greater?

Of course. There was a greater chance, a much bigger choice, there weren’t so many immigrants. Now I don’t know how many are the Bulgarians in Greece, however also the intellectual level is much lower and the age limit is much higher.

Does living abroad make people more opened towards the new things, does it make them more tolerant and does it provoke their interest for interaction with the foreign culture?