2003 Annual Report of Activities

Assistance Centre for Torture Survivors

Bulgaria, 2004 ©

ACET Annual Report 2003 Contents

03 Foreword 04 Introduction 06 Rehabilitation programme 12 Torture prevention 14 Publications 15 Financial statement 17 2003 events 19 ACET team and acknowledgements

ACET activities are undertaken thanks to the financial support of the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights

and of the United Nations Voluntary Fund for the Victims of Torture.

Coverpage: Eyes of Bulgarian victims of torture. Photo mosaic by Deborah Glejser, 2004.

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Foreword

In Memoriam Vesselka Makarinova (1961-2004)

There are people with beliefs, and people who turn their beliefs into action. There are people with values, and people who work to promote these values. There are people with ideals, and people who live to see these ideals come true. In each case, Vesselka Makarinova was of the latter category. Vesselka became interested in the international work against torture in the early 1990s, when she was responsible for the Bulgarian section of Amnesty International. The vision of the movement against torture appealed to her personal and professional values, and inspired her to establish an organisation with the main goal to provide medical and psychological assistance to victims of torture. In 1997 she founded ACET, the first national NGO against torture in Bulgaria. Vesselka Makarinova was the chairperson, director and project manager of the Centre until a tragic accident caused her death in February of this year. Through her dedication and hard work, Vesselka managed to overcome all the obstacles. She was fully committed to the cause of ACET and was instrumental in extending the services of ACET to include Bulgarian victims of the communist regime. Her pioneer work in the field of torture prevention helped increase the respect for human rights within the police forces and influenced the way in which the authorities address this sensitive issue. Vesselka Makarinova was a very open-minded, sensitive and understanding person. Her devotion and readiness to help others was unique and benefited victims, partners, and team members. The people who knew her will remember her with fondness and admiration. The driving force of her commitment gave ACET a significant dimension and the Centre’s achievements are now recognized far beyond the borders of Bulgaria. Vesselka is gone but her action will go on. Her personality, her ideas and her great accomplishments will continue to inspire ACET’s team and she shall be remembered as a key actor in the global movement against torture.

The ACET team

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“Torture causes terrible pain - physical, psychological, or both - but more painful is the lack of understanding and the indifference from others. Let us work for torture to be forbidden and behave as torture preventors!”

Teodora Stefanova, interpreter for refugee victims of torture, ACET, Sofia

Introduction 2003 was a period of significant growth for our organisation. An important step to increase rehabilitation services for repressed people in the county was the creation of a new centre to implement our programme in the second largest city in Bulgaria, Plovdiv. This was a successful launch. The careful selection of a medical doctor to run the centre and our experience from other national centres greatly facilitated the start of the programme in Plovdiv. We succeeded to approach the community of repressed people in Plovdiv, to inform them about the program and invite them to visit us, request our services and spread the information among concerned and presumably interested people. As a result, the number of victims who regularly receive assistance in the framework of the project grew to 46, the second highest figure after Sofia for the last year. 2003 also brought us the evidence that group work provides a real therapeutic opportunity to deal with long-term effects of trauma after violent repression and political persecution. It is important to stress the fact that this group approach for the psychosocial support of elderly people is quite new and not available to them in the Bulgarian health and care system. The population of elderly people in Bulgaria is increasing and most of them live on the border of social exclusion. It is a severe moral challenge for victims of the communist repression to face this social situation, as most of them view this as a continuation of their repression. Group work gives them the opportunity to address the repetition of the traumatic experience they faced. In terms of participation, ACET receives an ever-increasing number of requests to attend group sessions in Kazanlak and Sofia. An additional important achievement is the involvement of the representatives of second generation torture survivors in the group in Kazanlak. A second group had to be created to satisfy the great demand from participants. In the city of Varna some of the beneficiaries of the program also presented ACET with a request to start group sessions, resulting in ACET’s active preparation for the opening of a new group for repressed people in 2004. The year 2003 also saw the enlargement of our activities towards the asylum seekers and refugee families. ACET started to implement a children program for refugee children from the families of torture survivors or other dysfunctional families. A specially designed group activity named “Atelier fairy tales” was set up for them. A discussion forum was established for professionals in the field of protection and care for refugee children and adolescents. Six times a year ACET holds a meeting for them on previously defined topics pertaining to this issue. The experience drawn from 2003 activities shows that professionals are often acting as mere representatives of the institutions they belong to and do not enough share common professional standards and approaches in their everyday work with children and adolescents from the refugee population. ACET decided to elaborate on this conclusion and wil work to reframe its own approach to take this into account. Another source of concern in our rehabilitation work this year is the access to our program for asylum seekers who are torture survivors and suffer from the consequences of persecution and violence. The new amendment of the Bulgarian refugee law came into force and since then a shortened preliminary procedure for assessment of the reliability of the refugee demand is applied. This new procedure puts the torture survivors among asylum seekers in a very difficult situation. Indeed, it has been observed that the rejection of their application by the authorities and the non-recognition of their suffering can have heavy re-traumatising effects on them. It is now one of ACET’s priorities to sensitise the public authorities to this issue.

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The reported year was successful for the implementation of ACET prevention programme. Our strategy for work with law-enforcement personnel in the field of human rights training and prevention of misuse of power and torture enters in an important phase. We were able to create a pool of police officers from each regional police directorate in Bulgaria. These officers all benefit from the experience of participatory training seminars in this field and are in charge of transfering their knowledge to their colleagues and new recruits. The programme relies on them to multiply the effects of this training into the police system, while further needs for skillsbuilding are under assessment, to be addressed by ACET and partner institutions. In the meantime, our preventive work with law-enforcement personnel proves to arouse interest and ACET receives increasing demands for its training sessions. The long-term perspective is now to seek to apply ACET’s experience in prevention trainings to other risk groups such as military and prison administration personnel. Finally, we would like to express our sincerest gratitude to our donors, in particular the European Initiative for Democracy and Human Rights of the European Commission and the United Nations Voluntary Fund for the Victims of Torture. Without their support, the work of ACET would not have been possible.

Mimoza Dimitrova

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“It is very difficult to change something inside the souls of the victims, but if we succeed to change their contact with the environment we have achieved a lot.”

Dr Radoslav Apostolov, medical doctor, ACET, Plovdiv

Rehabilitation programme During this second year of the implementation of the project, ACET provided rehabilitation services to 327 clients (the number of survivors planned for rehabilitation during the three-year project is 750). The rehabilitation services were organised in Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Stara Zagora and Kazanlak (See map below).

For the reporting period, the 327 clients included in the rehabilitation programme were from the following target groups: 58 refugees’ victims of torture (among which 10 children) and 269 victims of the communist regime. 133 of all cases were new and at the same time some of the old cases were closed because of different reasons. The torture survivors were identified in accordance with the international standards (the UN Convention Against Torture) and the definitions from the Guidelines for the application under this project. Only the rehabilitation programme in Sofia worked with refugees. The main reason for such allocation of the services is the fact that the refugee population in Bulgaria is concentrated in the capital. Another important reason is the complexity of the work with refugees that usually requires the knowledge and management of the team of specialists, including interpreters.

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The rehabilitation programme provided services in five major cities in the country: Sofia, Varna, Plovdiv, Stara Zagora and Kazanlak. During the reporting period, the geographical distribution of the clients served was as follows:

Clients distribution per city

0

50

100

150

200

SofiaPlovdivVarnaStara ZagoraKazanlak

Referral and profile of the target groups The clients came for services either being self-referred or after a referral of other organisations. The refugees, for example, have been referred to the Centre by the State Agency for Refugees, the UNHCR Sofia Branch Office, the Red Cross, the Caritas-Bulgaria, and the Refugees Legal Protection Programme. ACET has an agreement for co-operation with the State Agency for Refugees, which regulates the referral for consultations and treatment of torture survivors, among other activities. The refugees included in the programme came mainly Iran, Turkey, and Afghanistan.

Dist ibut ion of refugee clients by country of origin

05

1015202530

Iran

Turk

ey

Afgh

anis

tan

Arm

enia

Iraq

Leba

non

Nig

eria

Tanz

ania

Kos

ovo

Abha

sia

Qat

ar

Bela

rus

The survivors from the communist regime have been referred to ACET by the organisations of the repressed (Union of the Repressed People, Belene Foundation, and Istina Union). The situation of the survivors of the communist regime who are mainly elderly people (average age 72,86 years old) outlined the specific approach to this target group.

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Main categories of clients

Bulgarians

Refugees andasylum seekers

The gender distribution of the primary and secondary victims was as follows:

Distribution according to gender

106

211

10

Women

Men

Children

The principle of equality and tolerance is basic for the rehabilitation of ACET. The clients of ACET are receiving rehabilitation services towards their requests and needs without distinction of any kind, such as sex, colour, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin. The issues of gender and equal opportunities continued to be an important component in the rehabilitation and prevention work of ACET. With regard to its clients, it applied a gender sensitive approach for each individual case. For example, the importance of the clients’ wishes to work psychotherapeutically with a male or a female professional was taken into account during the treatment. The open atmosphere and the gender sensitivity in the centre were part of the rehabilitation process of ACET. Special attention was given to the difficulties that occurred with the continuous reforms of the social and healthcare systems in Bulgaria. Some of our clients remain outside of the mainstream priorities of the state reform and needed special social consultation, accompanying or advice. Rehabilitation services for them included such specific components as sanatorium treatment, hospitalisation, laboratory tests, provision of sanitary materials, vaccination, among others. Content of the rehabilitation programme The services of the rehabilitation programme included medical care (consultations and examinations), psychiatric consultations and treatment, psychological assistance and psychotherapy, social services (interviewing, counselling on employment and housing possibilities, accompanying and advocacy before institutions, counselling on the social and medical health system procedures, among others) and legal consultations.

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Individual consultations and services provided in Sofia

30%

44%

26%Social assistance

Medical assistance

Psychological andpsychotherapeuticsupport

In order to analyse the services provided, ACET identified the following groups of main rehabilitation activities: - medical care - medical examinations and consultations, psychiatric consultations and treatment; - psychological counselling – psychological assessment and consultations, psychotherapy, group

work; - social services – interviewing, information and consultations on the social and health system in

Bulgaria, accompanying, advocacy, social assistance, among others; - legal counselling; - Other medical services – dental and ophthalmologic consultation, laboratory tests and

physiotherapy, provided by external specialists; flue vaccination.

The number of consultations and sessions carried out with the clients allowed to outline the profile of the ACET rehabilitation programme services. The medical care services, the counselling and psychotherapy, the social services and the legal counselling were provided by the specialists and consultants from the network of ACET in Sofia, Varna, Plovdiv, Kazanlak and Stara Zagora. Part of the services described as other were assisted by ACET but provided by external medical specialists, laboratories or units.

Consultations

0

200

400

600

800

1000

1200

Sofia

Plovdiv

Varna

Stara Zagora

Kazanlak

The rehabilitation programme of ACET offered individual consultation and treatment as well as group work for the clients in Sofia and Kazanlak. a) self-supporting group for survivors from the communist regime During the project, three self-supporting groups for survivors of the communist regime were led by ACET specialists: - A group in Sofia for 12 primary survivors: Dr. Evgeni Genchev, a psychiatrist and

psychotherapist of ACET led the group. This group gathered each Thursday (from 13-14.30) and had 44 sessions.

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- A group in Kazanlak for 18 primary and secondary victims: Dr. Dora Hristova, a medical doctor of ACET in Kazanlak, gathered the group each Wednesday from 16.00-17.30. For the reporting period, the group had 43 sessions.

- A second group in Kazanlak was started at the beginning of 2004. It has 12 participants, both primary and secondary victims. The facilitator of the group is Slavena Petkova, art therapist and consultant in ACET- Kazanlak. For the reporting period, the group had 16 sessions.

Achievements of the group work: 1) The creation of mechanisms within the group to support vulnerable individuals using the resources of the group. 2) The group work allowed for the inclusion of the second generation victims. Here ACET best results were achieved with the groups in Kazanlak that included family members. 3) The work in groups stimulated the collection of case stories among the repressed as testimonies of torture suffered. b) Groups for work with children The programme of ACET for children started at the autumn of 2002. It was designed for children of refugees and emigrants who have confronted the trauma of forceful leaving of their home country and the search of asylum in a different country and culture. In November 2002, ACET launched a Tales Atelier – a group for children between 6-14 years. During the period overall of 56 children took part in the work of the atelier. Their countries of origin were Iraq, Afghanistan, Iran and Armenia. The work of the atelier could be divided provisionally to three periods: - Starting period, devoted to “Put order into the chaos” - Second period – till August 2003. It could be named “Working period” and was carried out with

the assistance of the Integration centre of the State Agency for Refugees - Contemporary period, marked with some difficulties, mainly because of reluctant attitude of the

personnel of the State Agency for Refugees. During the reported period 30 sessions of the Tales Atelier were carried out.

The medical rehabilitation programme was carried out on a team principle. Each Thursday the team members discussed the individual development and the treatment plans of the clients. During the period, 42 staff meetings were carried. The services prescribed in the client’s treatment plans were referred to the ACET professionals or the network of external specialists developed by. Procedures of the rehabilitation programme The procedure of ACET started with a structured initial interview with each client. The social assistant of the Centre conducted all interviews with the aim to describe the torture story and to outline and assess the medical and social needs of the clients. The interviews with the refugees were made through interpreters, who were trained and monitored by ACET professionals in their communication with the victims. All clients’ stories were structured and put down in a client’s social form. The second step of the assessment of the client’s story and needs in interview made by psychologist. The main goal of it is to reveal the psychological consequences of the repression and torture experienced as well as to determine precisely the client’s request. At the weekly team meetings, the social assistant presented all new cases and their stories. An individual treatment plan was discussed and developed for each client. According to the needs, the clients were referred to the ACET staff or to external specialists from the network of ACET. 2003 2002 % Total number of patients 327 276 + 18,4 Bulgarian repressed 269 215 + 25,1 Refugees 58 61 - 4,9 Number of new patients 133 102 + 30,4 Bulgarian repressed 102 60 + 70 Refugees 31 42 - 26,2

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Medical consultations - Almost all clients were in need of these services (1205 consultations for the whole reporting period, 78% of total services and consultations provided). These examinations or consultations were made by GPs, internists or cardiologists with the main task to determine the health situation of the client. The health situation of the clients was reported to the head doctor and additional medical consultations with other specialists were arranged for those of the cases in need. In accordance with the medical prescriptions and the treatment plan of the clients, the social assistant delivered medicines to the torture victims for complaints considered to have occurred as a result of a torture suffered. Before the decision for provision of medicines the clients’ social status was taken into consideration. It should be noted that ACET used all the opportunities for reimbursement of medicines throughout the Bulgarian national health system. Part of the clients received consultation and treatment (238 consultations) by the psychological unit of ACET specialists (psychologist and psychotherapist). Some clients received psychotherapy and psychological sessions for shorter (3 clients) and longer periods (10 clients) of time. An important element of the rehabilitation programme was the social counselling. It started with interviewing the clients and continued with advice for identifying employment or housing opportunities, accompanying of clients to the state institutions, communication and advocacy before the institutions, advice to find a job, etc. (169 consultations). The social assistant regularly explained to the clients the new procedures of the national medical and social system. The programme of ACET was orientated to encourage the clients to use the opportunities provided by the state medical and social system. This was also related to the difficulties in the social functioning of the victims in their communication with the institutions as a result of the torture experience. Therefore, the rehabilitation programme of ACET focused on such consultations aiming to reintegrate the clients. On the other hand, this approach allowed for better use of the funds available in the rehabilitation programme. Legal services - The legal counsellor of ACET reviewed the legal aspects of six cases. He proposed lawyer services and representation before the court for survivors of the communist repression. Legal counsellor provided also consultations to the ACET team in the framework of lobbing and advocacy activities. Certification Part of the ACET engagements for provision of rehabilitation services included issuing of certificates, describing and testifying the sequels of torture. The procedure of ACET included a collectively signed certificate by the head doctor, the psychotherapist and the psychologist of ACET. The issuing of each certificate was carefully discussed during the weekly meetings of the team. For the reporting period, ACET issued 11 certificates on request of clients: 10 for refugees and 1for survivors of repression during the communist regime in Bulgaria. The certificates were an important tool for the asylum procedure and the refugee status of this group. For the survivors from the communist regime, the certificates played mostly the role of a moral act acknowledging their suffering. Strengthening of the rehabilitation programme ACET provided rehabilitation services for torture victims of all origins. The rehabilitation services included the following geographical areas: Sofia, Varna, Plovdiv, Stara Zagora and Kazanlak. The reception team from Sofia provided services but also acted as a co-ordination body for other four programmes in the country. Nine visits to monitor the programmes in Plovdiv, Varna, Stara Zagora and Kazanlak were organised and carried out. The specialists from these regions actively participated in the important events of ACET and in the 3 training seminars on rehabilitation procedures for torture victims. This was very important approach for the standardisation of the services available in the country.

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“Helping people overcome injustice is promoting social development.” Dr Evgeni Genchev, psychiatrist and psychotherapist, ACET, Sofia

Torture prevention Strengthening sensitivity on minorities and human rights when policing This project is the third module of the training of police trainers’ programme of ACET and marks a transition phase in ACET prevention program targeting law-enforcement personnel. Until 2000, the prevention programme of ACET for law-enforcement personnel included more than 30 seminars for over 1000 officers from different police forces. In 2001, ACET launched a new programme for the training of police trainers in the area of human rights and torture prevention in Bulgaria. The aim was to create a pool of trained officers across the country and to further invest in these personnel by way of regular adequate training. The first two modules for 65 police trainers were carried out in July 2001 and March 2002 under the title “The Police Profession and the Application of Human Rights”. Two modules for 15 lecturers from the Sergeant Schools and the Police Academy under the title “The Human Rights Education - Challenges and Tendencies” were held in June and November 2001. An inter-institutional working meeting “Policing and Human Rights: Concern and Responsibility” held in May 2002 summarised the results achieved and the prospective for their continuation. The third module of the training of police trainers’ programme of ACET was carried out in March 2003. It gathered 58 police officers altogether - 27 from the regional directorates in north Bulgaria and 31 from south Bulgaria. It is worth noting that around 80% of the participants have been trained in one or two of the previous modules of the ACET programme. This was a significant benchmark indicating the growing maturity of the police organisation and the inception of a process of better understanding human rights issues. The main topics of the module were the minority rights and the sensitivation of police on minority groups. Being a natural continuation of the topic policing and human rights from the previous projects, they were highly appreciated by the participants. The module itself contained two main sections: theoretical and practical. The first one, the theoretical, focused on minorities, minority rights and integration; refugees; and efforts to implement standards when policing, among others. The speakers and lecturers presented the above topics from the point of view of their experience and opened space for discussions and comments. The second section, the practical one, applied mainly an interactive approach and was lead by the ACET psychotherapist and psychologist. It aimed at strengthening the capacity of the trainers in their role as lecturers and mediators in transfer of the human rights philosophy among police officers. As a methodology, this section used a case-study of violation of minority rights (proposed and chosen in the seminar in north Bulgaria), work in small groups and role games. The discussion that followed focused on the difficulties and resistance that the trainers could face when presenting minority rights issues before the audience of their colleagues. By the end of the training the participants were asked to fulfil a questionnaire about their experience in human rights training in the police. A detailed analysis of 45 questionnaires was presented during the working meeting, organized by ACET in the end of May. It is also mentioned in the article “ About the training of police officers” by M. Dimitrova in our book issued in the framework of the project (see Publications chapter in this report). The impact of the project could be estimated on three levels: 7 On the individual level ACET managed to create a pool of trained officers who are motivated to

work in the field of minorities and human rights. During our cooperation they develop skill in

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presenting such topics for there colleges. Much important is the attitude change identified in the course of our work.

7 On the level of there small professional groups our trainees maintain good standard which cause improvement of group norms and effectiveness in group functioning As a result the tolerance to violence is diminished.

7 On the institutional level we can observe and assist a permanent tendency toward developing better and transparent procedures provided with necessary resources. This guarantee appropriate treatment when policing. Good standards and procedures prevent also burn-out among the personnel which influence in a positive way the performance of police officers.

In the framework of the ACET prevention program, another initiative was the lobbying activities in favor of the incrimination of torture in Bulgaria. According to the Bulgarian legislation, torture is prohibited but there are no texts for punishment of the perpetrators. As a result, acts of torture are referred and punished as crimes performed by individuals but not by law-enforcement personnel. Therefore, the legal advisor of ACET discussed, consulted and prepared a draft proposal for changes in the Bulgarian penal code. In April 2003, a material under the title “Motives to a draft proposal for changes in the Bulgarian penal code” was handed over to the Commission of Human Rights of the National Assembly during a meeting of ACET representatives with the Chairman of the Commission. Although partially altered by the parliament, the law was subsequently voted and will come into force in April 2004. In conclusion, The improvement of the human rights situation requires acting and looking together with all parties concerned for solutions in the serve of society. Such is the strategy successfully used by ACET.

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“When you look into the eyes of torture survivors for the first time, you can read their story at once.” Emilia Yankova, technical assistant, ACET, Sofia

Publications Tales from the Dark: Testimonies about the Communist Terror, 2003, pp. 151, in

English and Bulgarian (ISBN 954-9320-01-4; ISBN 954-90411-9-0), available by request to ACET, Sofia. Electronic version in English on http://www.acet-bg.org/pdfs/ENbook.pdf and in Bulgarian on http://www.acet-bg.org/pdfs/BGbook.pdf

This book presents several typical stories of sufferings, experienced by thousands of people during the communist regime in Bulgaria. These are authentic experiences of the people who survived the communist concentration camps, political wards of prison, false accusations and trials, death sentences, forced displacement, exile and deprivation of the rights to study, work, or freely choose the place of residence, and all kinds of physical and psychological terror. The book also includes the testimony of a second generation victim. In addition, ACET specialists involved in the rehabilitation of torture victims look into their professional challenges.

Minorities and Policing - The Inevitable Shift, 2003, pp. 86, in Bulgarian, Summary in

English, (ISBN 954-9320-02-2), available by request to ACET, Sofia. Electronic version on http://www.acet-bg.org/pdfs/Book_Police.pdf This book was issued in the framework of ACET’s Torture Prevention Programme. It was designed to support the curriculum of the National Police Directorate, with an emphasis on the issues of minorities and policing. The content is presented in two parts: theoretical and practical aspects. The authors review theoretical matters about minorities' role in society and the international and domestic standards for their protection. They discuss various practical aspects of good standards of practice and the respect for human rights in policing activities. This book provides specialists’ professional background and experience in the areas of policing, political sciences, law and psychology.

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“I can’t help but wonder why the ones we support every day are victims who need our help. They are so dignified.”

Ivailo Traikov, social worker, ACET, Sofia

Financial statement INCOME AND EXPENDITURE 1 January – 31 December 2003

INCOME І. Income for planned activities:

Including: 101 842 eur

1. Funding for project: “ЕC-2051/2001 – Medical rehabilitation” 57 645 eur 2. Funding – UN VFVT – co-funding for the project “ЕC-2051” 12 838 eur 3. Funding – USAID – “CVT Minnesota-2” 12 961 eur 6. Funding – FCO 9 932 eur 7. Funding for project: ”Balkan Network - activities” 1 828 eur 8. Funding - “CARITAS” 4 308 eur 9. CVT- Minnesota-for international exchanges visits and activities 2 330 eur 10. Other funding -ІІ. Incomes from donations -ІІІ. Income for long-lasting assets:

Including for: 905 eur

1. Funding – Project EC- 2051/2001 905 eurІV. Financial income

(Interests and incomes from currency operations) 796 eur

Total : 103 543 eur

EXPENSES І. Expenses for planned activities

including for projects: 100 861 eur

1. Project: “ЕC-2051/2001– Medical rehabilitation” 57 431 eur 2. Project UN Geneva – co-funding for the project “ЕC-2051” 12 827 eur 3. Project: “CVT Minnesota-2” 12 281 eur 6. Project – Foreign Commonwealth Office /FCO/ 9 915 eur 7. “Balkan Network”- News letter and Web Site 1 804 eur 8. CARITAS – Medical rehabilitation 4 308 eur 9. International exchanges visits and activities 2 295 eur 10. Other activities -ІІ. Expenses for buying of long-lasting assets:

Including for: 905 eur

1. Technical equipment 905 eur 2. Office supplies - 3. Software -ІII. Financial expenses:

(Bank fees, bank commissions and expenses for currency operations)

1 876 eur

Total : 103 642 eur

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PROJECTS AND GRANTS IN 2003

Activity Source Amount in EUR Medical and psychosocial rehabilitation of torture victims

European Commission UNVFVT

57 645 12 838

Torture Prevention FCO 9 932 Medical support for asylum seekers and refugees – torture survivors

Caritas – Bulgaria 4 308

Staff capacity building USAID 2 330 Total: 87 053

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“The worst thing for human beings is to remain in the position of victims. Our work is to help them move out of it.”

Mimoza Dimitrova, Director

2003 events 12 December 2003 Public presentation of the book "Minorities and Policing - The Inevitable Shift", published by ACET Organised in co-operation with the Press Centre to the Ministry of Interior Venue: EU Information Centre, Sofia

8 December 2003 Third (closing) working meeting for interpreters dealing with refugees

Venue: Shipka Hotel, Sofia Topic: The role and the space of the interpreter when servicing refugees

Aims: to summarise the experience of such fieldworkers as interpreters and translators in the process of interpretation for refugees

6-7 December 2003 Sixth supervision for ACET’s team members - Supervisor: Juan Boggino Venue: ACET premises, Sofia Aim: strengthening teamwork and social services; children programme; difficult cases.

26 November 2003 Public presentation of the book "Tales from the Dark: Testimonies about the Communist Terror", published by

ACET Venue: Exhibition Hall, Kazanlak

24 November 2003 Second working meeting for interpreters dealing with refugees Venue: Shipka Hotel, Sofia Topic: The role and the space of the interpreter when servicing refugees Aims: to introduce such fieldworkers as interpreters and translators into the role and challenges of interpretation when dealing with refugees.

14-18 November 2003 Professional exchange visit of ACET representatives to AMCHA - National Israeli Centre for Psychosocial

Support of Survivors Aim: Exchange of professional experience and skills on rehabilitation opportunities for the second generation in

order to develop new components in ACET’s rehabilitation programme 4 November 2003 Public presentation of the book "Tales from the Dark: Testimonies about the Communist Terror", published by ACET. Discussion and support about the Draft law for incrimination of torture (included in the agenda of the National Assembly, September 2003) Venue: Euro-Bulgarian Cultural Centre, Sofia

September-October 2003Three panel discussions under the title "Co-operation between police authorities and NGOs on human rights

issues" (with presentation of ACET prevention programme) in the framework of seminars for senior police officers "Community policing, human rights and ethics in police"

- 17-19 September 2003, Sozopol, seminar for police officers from East Bulgaria - 24-26 September 2003, Starozagorski Bani, seminar for police officers from Central Bulgaria

- 1-3 October 2003, Bankya, seminar for police officers from West Bulgaria Aim: to familiarise senior police officers about the opportunities of the ACET Training of Trainers programme in

order to multiply the human rights training in the police and to further develop new preventive components. 13-14 September 2003 Fifth supervision for ACET’s team members - Supervisor: Juan Boggino Venue: Momchilovtzi (Rodopi mountains) Aim: strengthening of the teamwork principle of rehabilitation and social services; standardising the rehabilitation services in Bulgaria; difficult cases.

12 September 2003 Training for the specialists of ACET from Sofia, Plovdiv, Varna, Stara Zagora and Kazanlak

Aim: to enhance the efforts and skills of specialists to launch group work sessions for victims of repression Venue: Momchilovtzi (Rodopi mountains)

10 September 2003 First working meeting for interpreters dealing with refugees Venue: Shipka Hotel, Sofia

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11-12 June 2003 The trauma of persecution – seminar for 25 representatives from institutions dealing with refugees Venue: Sofia

22-23 May 2003 Institutional efforts to reaffirm the human rights standards when policing -

discussion for 25 senior officers from the police institution in the framework of the Torture prevention programme; organised in co-operation with the Directorate of the National Police

Venue: Rila monastery, Tsarev Vruh Hotel Aim: to support the police institution for activities introducing the respect of human rights and minorities in the

daily practice 18 April 2003 • “Teambuilding – links and levels”, internal training for ACET's team members

Aim: strengthening the communication between staff members when dealing with difficult cases • “The political persection : the experience of the Primo Levi Center Assosciation, France” - Public discussion

Visiting guest: Juan Boggino, Primo Levi, France • Briefing for representatives of the media Venue: Kazanlak

19 April 2003 Session on the topic of the personal experience as a testimony

Venue: National Conference of the organisations of the repressed in Bulgaria, Sofia Aim: presentation and discussion on the programme of ACET to use the personal experience as a tool for

public testimony 19-20 April 2003 Fourth supervision for ACET’s team members - Supervisor: Juan Boggino Venue: Kazanlak Aim: strengthening the teamwork principle of rehabilitation; standardising the rehabilitation services in Bulgaria; difficult cases

26-28 March and 5-6 March 2003 Training of police trainers from North and South Bulgaria

Module 3, Minority rights and policing – in the framework of ACET’s Prevention programme Venue: Rousse and Bansko

Aim: Raising awareness on minority rights when policing 24 March 2003 Meeting for specialists dealing with children and adolescents – in the framework of ACET’s Children programme Venue: ACET premises, Sofia Topic: Traumatic stress in children and adolescents: the role of the institution Aim: To enhance skills and encourage specilaists from institutions dealing with children and adolescents. Individual consultation

7 March 2003 Presentation of ACET’s work with refugees - Sixth UNHCR Round Table on Reception conditions for asylum

seekers in Bulgaria Venue: Sofia

5-6 March 2003 Working visit - The work of the memory Venue: Stara Zagora and Kazanlak Aim: Support of the rehabilitation in Stara Zagora and Kazanlak; Overview of the social services provided

5 and 19 February 2003 Social aspects of the Rehabilitation programme in Plovdiv

Venue: Plovdiv Aim: Harmonisation of ACET’s procedures and services provided

18-19 January 2003 Third supervision for ACET’s team members - Supervisor: Juan Boggino Venue: Sofia Six sessions on clinical cases from Sofia, Varna, Stara Zagora and Kazanlak Aim: Support of the skills of ACET staff; team building and enlargement

17 January 2003 Training for ACET’s team members

Aim: Enhancement of staff skills in collection of testimonies and description of individual cases as presented by clients

1 January 2003 Opening of a new ACET rehabilitation centre in Plovdiv

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“It’s striking how the horror suffered by the people we work for adds to our knowledge and sensitivity. This enables us to help other victims of torture and it makes us stronger and more compassionate.”

Slavena Gergova, interpreter for refugee victims of torture, ACET, Sofia

ACET team and acknowledgements The following individuals constituted the team of ACET in 2003 (listed by alphabetical order): Dr. Vesselin Angelov - Internist and cardiology specialist, Varna

Dr. Radoslav Apostolov – General Practitioner, Plovdiv Tzveta Delcheva - Social worker, Stara Zagora

Mimoza Dimitrova – Psychologist, Sofia Dr. Evgeni Genchev - Psychiatrist and psychotherapist; member of the Board of ACET; trainer on psychodrama; co-chairman of the Institute for psychodrama training "Psychotherapy 2000", Sofia

Slavena Gergova – Interpreter for refugees, Sofia Dr. Dora Hristova - Internist and pulmologist, Kazanlak

Dr. Krassimir Ivanov - Head doctor and member of the Board of ACET; psychiatrist, Sofia Svetla Ivanova - Social worker, Varna

Vesselka Makarinova – Chairperson and Director; economist, Sofia Dr. Krassimira Milanova - Internist and cardiology specialist, Sofia

Yulka Mincheva – Accountant, Sofia Slavena Petkova - Social consultant, Kazanlak

Dr. Todor Raev - Internist and endocrinology specialist, Stara Zagora Ivailo Traikov - Social worker, Sofia

Emilia Yankova - Technical assistant, Sofia ACET wishes to express its sincerest gratitude to the following individuals for their ongoing volunteer collaboration and support to our activities: Sonja Beleva - Pharmacist, Kazanlak

Diana Dilkova - Student in social work Valentina Donkova - Student in social work

Zarka Markova - Pharmacist, Sofia Vladimir Natchev - Attorney-at-law, Sofia

Ljudmila Paunova - Lawyer, Sofia Maria Philipova - Pharmacist, Plovdiv

Valentina Stoilkova - Student in social work This report was prepared and written by Mimoza Dimitrova. Editing support and graphic design by Deborah Glejser.

Assistance Centre for Torture Survivors (ACET) Headquarters:

7-9 Zvanika Str., apt. 3, 1680 Sofia, Bulgaria Tel/fax: (+359-2) 958.46.36

http://www.acet-bg.org; acet@omega.bg

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