THE GHETTO - THE BULGARIAN WOMAN AND THE IRON REGIME

The Ghetto is about my impressions of a factory whose workers are main ly women. It was my first participant observation study. I worked in t his factory for 6 months. Changes in Bulgaria and Eastern Europe were yet to come. I look back on my own life: What did communism intend to do with Bulgarian women, and how far has it succeeded? Three years ago , Europe enthusiastically welcomed the changes in the former socialist countries. Today we all feel as if a wet blanket has been put on us. The transition from total communism to democracy has turned out to be difficult, painful, and full of danger. Ready-made recipes do not exis t. The war in Yugoslavia has been raging for a year now. Europe and th e world are helpless. The former Soviet Union is an unknown quantity. I believe that my fears, hopes, and despair are shared by thousands of Bulgarians. Are we all puppets in a theatre of absurdity? Who is pull ing the strings? Communism is dying away, but nationalism is gaining m omentum worldwide. The Ghetto is a personal view of events in Bulgaria .