emt

THE STORY

BULGARIAN

of a

MINER

By ALF DEWHURST

EORGI Josifov Gulabov,

holder of the Order of Dimi-

trov, is a miner employed
at the coalfields of Pernik situ-
ated some 25 miles out of the
Bulgarian capital, Sofia.

He is an extremely modest
man. An enthusiastic builder of
socialism. Short on talk but long
on action. A man to be depend-
ed on. ;

Typical of his nature was the
way he went about initiating a
Communist labor brigade at his
mine.

When he took the question up
with his superintendent he was
advised that the idea was an
‘excellent one but it needed a
thorough discussion before be-
ing acted on. “But,” said Georgi,
“I have a team all lined: up. Let
us start: We can be the exam-
ple. You can do the discussing.”

That was a few years. ago.
And the method of production
organiaztion, initiated by Georgi
and nine of his comrades, is
credited with raising the mini-

(PRAGUE)

mum production of coal per
man from the former 3-4 tons to
8 tons per day per man, with
the high going up to as much as
14 tons. And, adds Georgi, the
work is far easier today than in
the old days.

For these good results, and
his long record of excellent work
coupled with a humanist atti-
tude io his _ fellow-workers,
Georgi Josifov received Bul-
garia’s highest award; not only
for himself but for his mine as
well.

I met this remarkable man
at the 9th Congress of the Bul-
garian Communist Party which
took place Nov. 14-19 in: Sofia.
He was a delegate to the con-
gress from his mine. It was his
extreme nervousness as he com-
menced his address to the con-
gress which first drew my atten-

good reason to be nervous. For
congresses are important events
in the life of a socialist country.
And this congress was graced by

around the world

TEN THOUSAND Parisians marched last week in a demon-
stration before the West German embassy against the rebirth of

nazism .

. . Leaders of peace movements in Arab and Africo~

Sisters oe
states have completed a peace conference inf 7he-cohierehce

strongly condemned U.S. escals

te-

won of the war in Vietnam and

wad.

favored peaceful sett ent along the lines proposed by North

wee

Vietnev and the National Liberation Front.

*

*

ALTHOUGH comedian Dick Gregory still hopes to entertain
American prisoners in North Vietnam at Christmas he has accepted
the request of the North Vietnamese government to postpone his

visit because of current U.S. bombing. The Hanoi government has .

said that they fear the U.S. bombing of the outskirts and airport
o' Hanoi would make Gregory’s trip unsafe .. . The Yugoslave
gove-™ment has decided not to proceed with criminal charges
against 1rmer vice president and security chief Aleksander Ran-

kovic. In a closed session the federal parliament adopted a report .

exposing abuses " Some organs of the state security system over

which Rankovic presed.
“ * *

NEWLY INDEPENDENT Bai.2240s has become the 122nd mem-
ber of the United Nations . . . Geno.’s estimated 20,000 pigeons

are slated for a change in scenery. They a:® to be snared and sold
to pigeonless cities in Southern italy to attract tourists... All

Philippine soldiers must be able to sing the nation’! anthem in
Tagalog, the national language of the country, before they can
draw their pay, army chiefs have ruled.

the attendance of delegations
from 83 fraternal parties.

As he warmed up to his talk
most of his nervousness left
him. He told ‘the delegates in
simple language what the gains
in production and living and so-
cial standards, recorded in Gen-
eral-Secretary Todor Zhivkov’s
report to the congress, meant to
him, a working miner. His story
paralleled the history of the
Bulgarian people through the
period of the anti-fascist war,
the liberaticn by the Soviet ar-
mies, the coming to power of
the working class and the build-
ing of socialism in Bulgaria.

As I listened to his story as
told from the congress rostrum
I was determined to meet and
talk with him. This, then, is a
brief resume of his life and

tion to him. Of course he had ' workas he told dp-tp ane;

Georgi Josifov Gulabov, one

_ of eight children, was born in

the village of Milkovsti. His
father died in 1943, The family
eked out a precarious living on
a small farm of which the poor-
ness of the soil equalled the
poverty of the family. The chil-
dren had little schooling, with-
out benefit of text-books, for
they were dear and money was
scarce. At an early age Georgi
was sent out to herd the family
sheep and cattle on the common
pasture land. It was while en-
gaged in this task that he first
came in contact with anti-fascist
partisans who enlisted hie -

ices ~ —f aus S@rv-
“Ss 2 information gatherer.

In due time Georgi reached
the age of military service. He
opted for work in the coal mines
instead of army service which
was an alternative open to him.
Starting as a miner’s roustabout
he soon became a digger’s help-
er, then a miner and later a
foreman.

It was in the mines that he
really became conscious of the
workers’ movement. He was
taught by the miners the rea-
sons for trade union organiza-
tion and the meaning of work-
ing-class_ solidarity, socialism,
and the Communist Party which
he: joined in 1956. It was the

- miners who told him of the great

heritage of proletarian interna-
tionalism bequeathed to the Bul-
garian working class by Bul-
garia’s great son, Georgi Dimi-
trov.

Bulgarian Comiunists, said
Georgi, will never falter in their

Georgi Josifov Gulabov and his family.

loyalty to the international
working class and Communist
movement. Bulgaria, he _ said,
needs a united socialist camp
and a united world Communist
and workers’ movement if its
gains ‘are to be consolidated and
new heights are to be reached.
That is why the whole party
fully supports the call of the
central committee for a new in-
ternational meeting of Commu-
nist parties to begin the task of
restoring the unity of the world
movement undermined by the
splitting activities of the Chinese
leaders.

Georgi described for me what
socialism mean for him and his
fellow workers. His pay aver-

ages 250 lev a month (one lev-

exchanges for 50 cents Ameri-
can). He has never been unem-
ployed since he commenced
work at the Pernik mines in
1948. Every year he has a paid
vacation of 48 working days, 35
of which are paid for by the
mine and 13 by the award of
the Order of Dimitrov. In addi-
tion he has eight paid statutory
holidays a year. Miners are eleg-
ible for pension after 15 years
work in the mines. However,
the retirement age is 50 years.
But for every year worked after
the 15 years, the minimum the
pension paid rises accordingly.
The minimum pension paid to a
miner is 145 lev 2 month.
Bote tela m2 that he and most
wt his workmates have built
their own homes. They club to-
gether in small groups and build
up a common fund which they
can each draw on as building
progresses. The same club mem-
bers exchange work with one
another. In the district of. Per-
nik where he lives there are
10,000 people living in private
homes, either single ‘family
dwellings or duplexes.

I asked him about his home,
its furnishings, etc. I asked also
just what he could buy with his

wages. In reply to my questions.

he invited me to come and see
for myself. Needless to say I
jumped at the invitation.

Our visit was a memorable
occasion. His house was over-
flowing with his workmates,
their wives and children. With
traditional Bulgarian hospitality
we were pressed to try dish
atter dish and to “please, just
one more glass of wine.” We
were entertained with songs vy
the children and by stories from

the adults; and plied will
tions about Canada and th
of her people. “
His house has four spac
rooms, tastily decorated #
well furnished with modern *
niture including a TV, a ¥
ing machine and other
hold appliances. A modern b#
room, A large basement ©
taining a two-roomed apartm®
He has a big garden con’
ing a goodly number of
trees for the manufacture
plum brandy, Bulgaria’s n@'
al drink. The clothes clo®
were filled with smart-lo0
clothes; the cellar with 1M"
wines and vegetables. ;
Georgi’s wife does not W®,
She must stay at home, she
to keep her man fit and Te
for the mines. They have t
daughters, the eldest of w'
is going to high school — al}
expense to the parents; a 8"
advance over the old days 1")
village when Georgi and
wife were young. They ™
have to worry about hosP®
doctor and medicine bills ;
premium payments — for ™
care is free. They pay n0o
or mortgage payments,
house or land taxes.
My questions to Georgi 4
his living standards w27¢

wel
aren h-- ns
swered b our visit. I could

help but reach the concl
that in terms of family need '
lev goes a lot farther than
dollar. Any Canadian w0
class family would be as P
as Georgi and his wife to ©
such living standards.

And, says Georgi, once
new system of economic
agement is really wool
(which is the aim of thé |
Five Year Plan adopted bY
congress) incomes will ris@
higher, prices will come
there will be ‘more funds
social expenditures and for ”
tifying our country and our
not to speak of extending 8
er assistance to those coun
breaking free of imperialist
ploitation.”

The confidence that the P@
miners I met radiate augers
for Bulgaria. Their count
going places. Given peace,
between the socialist cou?
and friendship and trad@
tween the socialist coum
and friendship and tradé
tween the nations, it will fl
eon more.

i0

=,

December 23, 1966—PACiFC TRIBUNE—P