Over a thousand letters and emails have arrived in the mail of Radio Bulgaria in January. Nearly 300 listeners called over the phone to send their greetings and best wishes for the New Year and to share their impressions of RB’s webcasts.

In January, the Facebook page of Radio Bulgaria for Bulgarians abroad has been regularly monitored by 975 visitors from Bulgaria, USA, England, Italy, Macedonia, Turkey, Spain, Denmark, Romania, Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Hungary, Lithuania and France. And this month our compatriots abroad continue to inform us of their initiatives. 

From Valencia, Spain, a letter has arrived from Rennie Mladenova, president of the association "Progress." In it she says: "On January 14 our association and the folklore group “Vesselie” participated in the festival Benefiko. This is a good opportunity both to present to the audience the Bulgarian folklore and to join the noble cause of charity. Benefiko was created four years ago by the Caritas Valencia. The idea was thus to raise funds with which to build a children's hospital in Santo Domingo, on the border between the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The funds raised from this year's festival will provide funding to complete the construction."

Elena Genova, PhD student at the University of Nottingham, whose thesis is entitled "Bulgarian highly skilled emigrants in the UK through the prism of European Citizens”, was a guest in Studio Politics hosted by Iliana Raicheva. In it she commented on the reasons for migration, the ability of Bulgarian students and highly skilled workers to adapt to the new environment and the labor market. 

Traditionally, very active are Bulgarian listeners here who tune to RB’s broadcasts in Turkish. In a letter sent to the radio show “The roads pass through our village" Sabri Masaldzha from the town of Tsar Kaloyan, near Razgrad, said: "We welcome you heartily because your feeds inform us in our native language of different problems with the traditions, culture and the life of the Bulgarian Turks. We hope that programs you present in such good Turkish will leave deep traces in the consciousness of the Bulgarian Turks. The reason is not only the Turkish daily emissions languages, which are extremely popular in the area, but the visit of the radio team in September in the municipality. There were live broadcasts which represented the socio - economic and cultural map of the municipality. The visit of the team was a real feast for listeners and participants. Through the visit of your radio team in regions with predominantly Turkish population, as a public operator you manage to preserve their cultural identity, to make them feel wanted and sought interlocutors, and not least to be well informed in their mother tongue for the current developments at home and abroad."

“It’s a pleasure for me to listen to your daily webcasts! My friends call you "The Voice of Bulgaria in the world. Through your site we learn many interesting things about Bulgaria, not only politics and economics, but also about tourist attractions. Our desire is to visit your beautiful country as soon as possible. To the team of the Arabic language section of RB we wish much success in the future! Accept my sincere friendly greeting!” These warm words have arrived in the letter of Ahmed Mukaddim from Algeria.

Regular listeners from Greece are Maria Dzamariya, Vrizas, Slivkas, Apostolos Sikeridis and Marco Tsyurtsyuris express the hope that once the crisis is over they will be able to listen again via their radios. 

Alexander Fritsch from Germany also still regrets that broadcasting on shortwave was ceased: "The Internet does provide new opportunities, but I doubt it can replace the classic radio". The opposite opinion is expressed by his compatriot Klaus Blender: “Personally, I like your programs on the internet much more. The reception is interference-free and one is not dependent on the time of broadcast. In addition, you can select individual topics that interest you Your website has done well and clearly, and you offer a superb daily webcast.”

Klaus Nindel from Germany writes: "About 40 years ago my wife and I visited the Rila Mountains. Since then I follow with interest the information about your country. Recently, media here don’t include much information about Bulgaria. That's why your programs are so important to us, although we miss the previous magic of the shortwave!"

Gala Hans assesses highly the journalistic work of the German editorial staff at RB: "Over the past years, since I am interested in your homeland, you have been the intermediaries of all outstanding reports from Bulgaria. You are able to motivate your staff to do for us, your listeners a really fun and informative program. I want to explicitly commend the author Milka Dimitrova and interpreter for the material Christine Kristof "Is Bulgaria a threat to the European labor market?" It was very comprehensive and had an excellent translation.”

Jörg-Clemens Hoffmann, who is also from Germany, is a fan of RB’s website: “One can easily find the desired information and audio broadcasts. I especially like the sections about music and folk customs. I follow with great interest also the news from Bulgaria and the Balkan region. So I am always well informed about what is happening in your country. I love to look at your recipes and although I have not yet tried to prepare any of these specialties, maybe I will do it in 2013.”

Many friends of Radio Bulgaria sent during the first month of the New Year wishes for health and success. Special greetings in the form of animated and simple cards with verses and greetings to the Russian section arrived from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus. Dmitry Konchakov from Moscow is interested to learn more about the "Golden Orpheus" Festival which was one of the most popular and prestigious song contests during Socialism. 

One of the most longtime listeners of RB’s shortwave broadcasts in Russian Nikolay Loginov from Novocherkassk, Russia, says the team is one of his best friends and has put the section’s picture on his Facebook profile.

From France, Parisian Alain Carlier wrote: "I wish all of you a successful and happy New Year. May all your wishes be fulfilled. What I wish Radio Bulgaria for 2013 is to start broadcasting on the "streaming". I own the necessary equipment and listen to radio on the Internet regularly. I tried to find you but failed."

His compatriot Olivier Robin also greets the section on the New Year, adding: “Despite the suspension of short wave, I listen to your webcasts regularly on the Internet”.

Maxime de Courcy from France is looking for information on the production of organic wines in Bulgaria: "I made several unsuccessful attempts on the internet and thankfully I came across an article from you of October 2012. Please give me more information about production, wineries, brands, distribution channels, geographic areas, consumption, and imports and exports of organic wines in your country”. 

Fadil Ribari who is a member of the Facebook page of the Albanian section, says: "I offer a special greeting to the editorial team, which through its diverse program feeds our souls and brings emotions in our hearts. Good job to the whole team. We are grateful for the abundance of materials you prepare."

Claudio Martijena from Argentina wrote on the occasion of the show on January 4: "Once again I want to emphasize the content of the section "Balkan Developments”. I think it is very important for anyone who wants to have a look at current events in the Balkans. My humble opinion is that this exclusive show deserves more airtime a week so more numerous and more diverse news from the region could be included in it."

Anselmo de Paula Camargo from Brazil said: “I am very pleased to write and say that I have been listening to you for a long time. I want to learn more about Bulgaria and its culture."

“Warmest Greetings from Florida! Your programs are still very enjoyable, thank you.  Yes it has been a year since shortwave service ended, most regrettably, and you are missed on air.  The format of your website is clear, clean, and modern.  Thank you for the Folklore CD!  Best wishes from a longtime listener”, writes Victor J Latavish from the USA.

English version: Rossitsa Petcova