In 2007 the BBC documentary film "Bulgaria's Abandoned Children" caused an international outcry because the images of neglect were so shocking to witness in a country that had just become a member of the European Union. Bulgaria has more institutionalized mentally and physically disabled children than anywhere else in Europe.
The documentary is set in a small Bulgarian village in an institute called Mogilino, a place where 75 unwanted disabled children are growing up. Many of them cannot walk or talk, not necessarily because they are unable to, but because they have been neglected and have never had the opportunity to learn.
Warning: Spoiler contains upsetting images
Spoiler!
What makes it so shocking for me is that they are put in a home with people paid to look after them, but the carers just don't give a shit. Vaska (the girl in the spoiler) had a broken leg and she was screaming in agony as the carers were dressing her, but they just ignored it. I don't understand why they can't just spend a little more on food and it would improve their health drastically. It makes you think what kind of people there are in this world. One of the carers was beating two of the mute kids when they didn't do a task properly. After the Director (the manager of the home) was confronted with video evidence of this, the carer was dismissed. No court case, no prison sentence, just dismissed.
On a lighter note, after the documentary was broadcast, the BBC was inundated with donations to help these kids. MP's from around the world, and the Bulgarian government got involved, and since then, the majority of the kids have been moved to smaller, well looked after homes. Just 15 days ago, Mogilino was shut down.
If you want to watch the whole program, click here.
. Theres some pretty messed up places in this world, its just reality. Sad as it seems, not too many people care.
