Today we will share with all of you the story in Bulgaria of our new friend Saif, who came to Bulgaria from Pakistan searching for peace, he is already fully integrated even Saif became the captain and coach of the Bulgarian national team.
Name and nationality:
Saif Ur Rehman, Pakistan
Tell us a bit about you and what you do
I have been living in Bulgaria for 25 years. I am from Punjab state in Pakistan. I am a cricket player and coach, former coach of the Bulgarian national cricket team. Now I am playing for a British team New Victoria Cricket Club.
Why and when did you come to Bulgaria?
My childhood dream was to become a military pilot. I grew up among military pilots and planes. After graduating from college I applied to the military academy. Although I had high exam results they found that I have a vision problem (color blind) 8and could never become a pilot. I felt frustrated, my dream collapsed and I decided to leave Pakistan. I applied for visas in several embassies and the first country that gave me a visa was Bulgaria. So in 1994, I arrived in Bulgaria by accident.
What do you like about your country of origin?
Pakistan is a very beautiful and diverse country. We have a beautiful nature – the highest mountains, ocean beach with white sands, deserts, picturesque valleys, and lakes. We have many ethnic groups and languages, tasty food especially mango. I am from Punjab and Punjabi people are quite smiling and cheerful. And Pakistani are very hospitable and generous.
What are some differences between your country and Bulgaria?
There are two different worlds. As an Asian country, Pakistan has quite different cultures and habits than Europe. We have a strong family system.
What do you like about Bulgaria?
I feel at home in Bulgaria. Bulgarians and Pakistanis have a similar mindset and I didn’t face so many cultural difficulties. Bulgaria has beautiful nature and nice modest people.
What was the most difficult bureaucratic procedure you have undergone so far in Bulgaria?
As a citizen of Pakistan, I face many bureaucratic obstacles in obtaining personal documents. There are too many checks, slow procedures and many additional documents are required.
Mention one important experience you’ve had in Bulgaria :
I have had many different experiences in 25 years but what has changed me the most is my work with children and people with disabilities. My perception of the world and people has transformed dramatically.
If you have the chance to change something in Bulgaria, what it will be?
I would like to change the attitude to disabled people. Actually I started the cricket in Bulgaria, registered the first cricket club and have been working for the development of this sport for more than 15 years. As a cricket coach and player, I started to introduce adapted versions of cricket in order to integrate disabled people in Bulgaria.
I started to teach blind people to play cricket then introduced table cricket – a version of the game created for people with severe physical, mental and multiple problems. I was thinking that many people would come to help me to develop these special sports. First of all, I asked for support the Bulgarian Cricket Federation and cricket community in Bulgaria. I was a member of the federation at that time. But they did nothing to help Bulgarian children with disabilities to play sports.
Although I have been working without payment for the federation and cricket for so many years, when I asked for help, not for me, for their children, they refused. It is very sad. The federation even removed my club from membership for an unknown reason and without warning.
In Bulgaria, these people are still considered unnecessary but I want to show their abilities rather than disabilities. We need to build an accessible environment for them, to integrate them.
None of us is insured to become disable. Many people from Bulgarian institutions tell me “well done Saif, you are doing a great job, keep going”. But none of them really help me.
What languages do you speak other than your mother tongue?
I speak English, Bulgarian, Arabic
What countries have you been to?
Turkey, Greece, Romania, Serbia, Macedonia, Slovenia, Switzerland, Estonia, United Kingdom
How is your business going?
A few years ago my wife and I I opened the first-ever in Bulgaria Pakistani restaurant.
Now we closed it because we temporarily live abroad but our plans are to open soon a new restaurant in Sofia with Pakistani food.
What advice would you give to other people who would like to come to live in Bulgaria?
I would advise them to learn some Bulgarian. Nowadays many people speak English and other languages, but in government institutions only Bulgarian is applicable. Also to be more patient – sometimes Bulgarian behave a little bit hostile and rude but this is only the first impression.
We thank Saif for taking the time to share his experience in Bulgaria with all of us.
