Visit to a memorial on „Persin“ Island

The Ambassador of the Republic of Iraq, Mrs. Lina Omar, and the Ambassadors of Albania, Finland, Ireland, Morocco, the United States, as well as the UNICEF Representative in Bulgaria, visited the Persin Island Memorial (Belin Island) built in memory of the victims of Belene labor concentration camp, which was located in that place during  the period of the communism . The visit was organized by the America for Bulgaria Foundation, in memory of the victims of the communist regime.

 The visiting delegation was accompanied by the Mayor of Belene Mr. Milen Dolev, a group of history specialists, as well as a number of prominent personalities and representatives of non-governmental organizations, who told the guests about the history of this camp, established on April 27, 1949, and considered as  the largest concentration camp for political opponents of the Bulgarian Communist Party in Bulgaria during the communist era, located on “Persin” Island, the largest of the Bulgarian islands on the Danube.

     The camp used as a prison for opponents of the communist dictatorship from 1949 until the fall of the communist regime in Bulgaria in 1989. Since then, Persin has become a place to remember the victims of the camps from the time of the Communist Party rolling . The site is visited annually by many people.

During the visit, the delegation met with the last surviving prison of the camp, Mrs. (Tsvetana Germanov), 93, who spoke about her suffering in the camp, as well as those of thousands of other innocent people like her and called for “looking to the new future of the next generations with a view of hope, prosperity and a desire for peace forever.”