Interview in Dudeștii Vechi
The life of the most famous poet of the Banat Bulgarian community nowadays
Important Citation
„I was born here and I have lived here all my life and I would like to stay here in the future. Only when I was in the barracks was I absent from the village.“
The poet is strongly attached to his hometown, his whole life is in this place and he wants to spend the rest of his life in Dudeștii Vechi.
2. „Before the village was a city. In 1738 Maria Theresa's son announced Dudeștii Vechi to be city. There were 7,500 people, and now there may not be 2,000. “
The population of the village is constantly decreasing. Many young people leave Dudeștii Vechi and go to bigger cities like Timișoara and Bucharest.
3. „I have been to Bulgaria many times. I asked for help from a Bulgarian and he refused. Then I told him - you are not a real Bulgarian.“
Gjoka Ghergulov's idea of a real Bulgarian is different from this. In his thoughts the real Bulgarian is empathetic and helping.
4. „Karol Telbizov, the greatest cultural figure and writer of the Banat Bulgarians, and Anton Lebanov were expelled because chauvinism was terrible in Romania. They left for Bulgaria. They were asked why they left when they loved the Banat community and culture so much, but nationalism was very scary and they would not survive.“
Two of the most famous figures of the Banat Bulgarian community – Karol Telbizov (lawyer, journalist and editor-in-chief of the newspaper „Banat Bulgarian Voice”) and Anton Lebanov (public figure, lawyer, journalist and poet) were forced to leave their homeland in the 20th century.
5. „I live alone. My wife died 18 years ago and my sons are in Sofia and Bucharest. I live in a big house with two dogs and a cat.“
His two sons' occuppation
Thank you for your attention!
In front of the church in Dudeștii Vechi on Lazarus Saturday (09.04.2022)
