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Roma
comprise around 5-8 % of all pupils. The majority study
in the ghettos - Fakulteta (75th SS), Filipovtzi,
Tatarli, RD Hristo Botev. The richer and more educated
ones are fully integrated into the Bulgarian community.
The neighborhood schools are 100% Roma; Roma comprise
the majority even in some schools outside the ghettoes
- 70th PS in RD Vurbitza. Although the living conditions
in Sofia are superior to any other city in the country,
the Sofia Roma are not very different from Roma in
the other parts of the country. The city attracts
many Roma with its educational, economic, and working
opportunities. Lately the number of criminal Roma
organizations who deal in the "Roma" sector
of the market has increased. Their main activities
include trade in stolen goods, forgery of documents,
trade with fruits and vegetables etc. Even highly
educated Roma are tempted by the prospect of making
easy money.
Roma
and Bulgarians co-exist peacefully. These Roma are
Christians, and they all speak Bulgarian. However:
"If more than 5 Roma are present in a class,
the Bulgarian students prefer to leave the school.
Thus many Bulgarian schools in the distant quarters
become Roma, while the schools in the central parts
of the city concentrate the majority of the Bulgarian
pupils."
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