An open-air art exposition was organized in Sofia recently by the Stoyan Zaimov secondary school No. 112, jointly with the National Association of Municipal and City Administrations in Bulgaria. Here is more about the event from the school’s headmaster Ivan Kostov:

“Our initiative “Destroy the silence” is a function of the tensions amassed in recent years in all social spheres. There is aggression in schools, but also in the family, it is there to be seen and heard in the street. We decided that for the least tainted members of society, children, it is important that the family, parents, neighbourgood communities and the public at large show their intolerance of violence in any form. It was the children themselves that chose this form of protest – by wearing T-shirts with the messages they wanted to convey. This is our, albeit small contribution to the fight against aggression.”

Here now is Tanya Ivancheva, project coordinator:

“The children were really enthusiastic when they painted or embroidered their T-shirts themselves. Violence is escalating in all spheres of society, that is why it was so important that the parents also join in this campaign. More than 300 T-shirts were made, very beautiful, highly provocative, a showcase of creativity, a spirit of innovation and unorthodox ideas… The whole school joined in, all children from the 1^st to the 7^th grade. We shall also organize a charity bazaar. We want to show the children how they can help other children by launching a very positive campaign, by doing good, because this is the best possible way to counter aggression.”

How can we safeguard children and teach them how to react when faced with acts of violence? Traditionally, people set great store by the school as an institution, because it has that function – to cater for their upbringing.

“With the busy lives we lead children spend most of their time with us and turn to us when they need help. We are teachers with long years of experience and we are able to recognize any sign of domestic violence – domestic violence is usually replicated later on as a model of behaviour at school and still later – in the community,” says Tanya Ivancheva.

What motivated the children from the third grade to join in this initiative:

“We are making the T-shirts to show the world and the victims of violence that they must not feel ashamed to speak up and the aggressors – that they should be ashamed of what they are doing,”

“I think that if one day this happens, the world would be a better place to live in.”

“We are making these T-shirts so the victims will not feel shame and will seek help after what they have been through. We are against any form of violence.”

The art exposition was followed by a round table in support of the “Destroy the silence” national campaign – for raising awareness, prevention and protection against domestic violence and gender violence. Valentin Lazarov, project leader and chair of the board of the National Association of Municipal and City Administrations says that the aim is to talk about the problems, to improve interaction among the institutions and map out ways to prevent violence in future:

“The idea is to continue work in this direction and find new forms. The “Destroy the silence” campaign spans nine months with a string of different events. The project is being implemented by nine other municipalities outside Sofia – Stara Zagora, Sliven, Nedelino, Gotse Delchev, Panagyurishte, Kozloduy, Mezdra, Pleven and Turgovishte. We shall organize round tables in all of these nine towns by the end of April.”

Violence is more than just a word. It is the ugly side of life in Bulgaria which we have, in some measure, grown accustomed to. Aggression is close by. There are many reasons for this but it is important that neither we, nor our children feel afraid to talk about it. Ivan Kostov:

“We must not be afraid. Nothing is as frightening as it may seem. We must not keep our silence. Things have to be talked about, we must recognize evil and fight it. And we must remember that, as an old Arab saying goes, a gram of peace is better than a ton of war.”

English version: Milena Daynova