Flexibility and the ability to make quick decisions in complex situations have preserved us as a community.
Do political parties make an effort to attract Roma votes in an organic way, to engage with the community and the people?
Mihail Mishev is a journalist, political scientist, and human rights activist. A TSA* scholarship recipient, he graduated from the American University in Bulgaria. He won the "Journalist-Hope" category of the Valya Krushkina Fund in the "Valya Krushkina – Journalism for the People" competition for Bulgarian journalists and received the grand prize in the "Economy" category at the Web Report awards. He is an analyst and commentator on various topics and the founder of the Foundation for Community Development and Cooperation (FORCE).
Who is Mihail Mishev?
To my friends and family, I am the person who loves and supports them. And to the people I interact with professionally, I would say I am an engaged and serious person. Recently, I asked a friend, "How would you introduce me?" He said that I am the person who always knows whom to connect him with to solve a problem and that he can always rely on my informed opinion.
What did you dream of as a child? What were your aspirations?
As a child, I quickly changed my ideas about what I wanted to become. I remember first wanting to be a garbage collector. Then I wanted to be a farmer, then a chef, then a teacher. In the end, I found myself in Political Science (laughs). I also work in journalism—basically, a bit of everything. My childhood was not easy. I grew up with many hardships, especially in high school. I studied at the Natural Sciences and Mathematics High School in Sliven, which is the most elite high school in the city.
When applying to high schools after 7th grade, my first four choices were programs at the High School of Electrical Engineering and Electronics. My grandfather, who was with me at the time, jokingly said, "Write down the Natural Sciences and Mathematics High School too!" So I put it as my fifth choice. I wasn’t accepted into the electrical engineering programs, but I got into the Natural Sciences and Mathematics High School (laughs). I have no idea how that miracle happened.
Until 7th grade, I studied at the 11th Primary School in Sliven, which was not segregated. In fact, I have never studied in a segregated school. I first attended the 8th Primary School, which was considered one of the elite primary schools in the city. Since the 6th Primary School (editor’s note - a segregated school) became overcrowded with children, they started enrolling students at the 8th Primary School. According to stories from acquaintances, the principal at the time called in Bulgarian parents and told them, "The Gypsies are starting to enroll here, move your children elsewhere." Many Bulgarian children transferred within just one or two terms. My father also transferred me because we moved to another neighborhood.
You talk about your community and your neighborhood. Tell us where and how you grew up.
The Nadezhda neighborhood in Sliven is well-known. It is one of the relatively large Roma neighborhoods in Bulgaria. No one can say the exact number of residents. The 2021 census was a complete failure (editor’s note: many experts share this opinion). The official data is unreliable.
What makes the neighborhood unique is that it is surrounded by a massive concrete wall, which prevents it from expanding outward. As a result, it can only grow vertically. It’s like New York—but the AliExpress version. I’m joking, of course, but this is a serious issue because people have significant housing needs.
Who was your role model and source of inspiration?
I didn’t have a particular role model. Instead, I admired different qualities in different people and tried to take the best from each of them. My father and mother played a crucial role in my development. My father pushed me hard to study. My mother has been my main pillar of support. She gave me the freedom and opportunity to make my own decisions, which taught me to think things through carefully.
Even though my parents don’t have university degrees, they recognized education as a priority.
Who encouraged you to study English and later to apply to the American University in Bulgaria?
My brother and I learned English through video games, YouTube, and movies—just like most kids do today.
After graduating from the Natural Sciences and Mathematics High School, I was preparing to apply to Sofia University. I wanted to study Sociology. Then, Krasi (the father of Dimitar Kirilov, a TSA scholarship recipient and AUBG graduate) asked me, “Have you heard of the American University?” I had never heard of it.
"Mitko is graduating soon—do you want to go see him?" Krasi invited me. He drove us to Blagoevgrad in his own car, paying for everything himself. I remember we traveled through fog at 40 km/h. That’s how we arrived at AUBG. The campus felt like a parallel reality—an American campus in a post-socialist city. I liked the atmosphere and the people.
At the last moment, I changed my decision and redirected my application. I received a lot of help from the lady at the Admissions office (Alexandra, I still remember her). That’s also when I met Elvira and Tsveti (TSA scholarship recipients and AUBG graduates).
How would you describe your admission process, education at AUBG, and campus life?
No matter how you look at it, it’s life-changing because it fundamentally transforms your way of thinking and your way of life. You arrive there as a small-town boy, extremely anxious. It’s a bit like the story of the little fish in the big aquarium. You ask yourself, "Do I deserve to be here?"
In the end, you realize that despite all the inequalities ahead of you, you made it, and you do deserve your place there. What you want to get out of university is something you need to figure out for yourself. If you want to be a top student and achieve high grades—go for it! The quality of education in all majors is excellent. Political Science, for example, has been ranked first in the country for several years.
The real question is whether you just want to memorize things or whether you want to combine your knowledge with something practical and get the best out of university—which is relationships, connections, and networking. I chose the latter. I tried to take the best from my lectures and apply it in the real world.
Professors support you, as long as you know what you want and ask for help. Student clubs are the heart of AUBG—they drive both the university and the students. I founded the Post Society club to fill the gap between Political Science and Journalism and offer an alternative. AUBG equipped me with both confidence and a broad intellectual foundation. Education there encourages you to examine different viewpoints through diverse subjects and integrate them with your knowledge, studies, and experiences.
What was the biggest challenge for you during your studies?
Financing. Even though the Trust for Social Achievement covered all my tuition fees, daily expenses were still quite high. Most AUBG students come from wealthy backgrounds and have solid financial support. Social life there is extremely important.
If you don’t have family support, you have no choice but to work. You end up sacrificing a few lectures to finish your work shifts. Your grades might suffer a little because you need to earn money to support yourself. The biggest challenge for me and other students in a similar situation was financing—not the tuition fees, but the cost of living.
How does the Roma community and your family perceive your success? After all, being admitted to and graduating from AUBG is not an everyday event for Roma youth. How do people around you see it?
There are different layers to it. Many people I don’t even know are genuinely happy when they find out I graduated from AUBG with a degree in Political Science. There are very few people from our community who graduate from a prestigious university, especially in Political Science, which requires more time and effort compared to other humanities.
At the same time, there is a certain sense of detachment. No matter how much the community celebrates and takes pride in your achievements, there is also some distance. Because you have left your community, your neighborhood… at least for four years to study. And while you’re away, many things change back home. People’s perceptions change too.
You find yourself in an in-between space—caught between two communities: the larger Bulgarian society and your own Roma community. You are both accepted and not accepted at the same time. People know and recognize you because you grew up there, because of your family and roots. They’re happy for your success. But at the same time, you have become somewhat distant—you yourself have changed as a person and in your views. You belong nowhere. Neither fully to your community nor fully to the Bulgarians (laughs).
Political Science deals with the future of human institutional relationships and the forecast of political processes. The Roma seem to have internalized the perception that others have of us: "You don't understand the big things." Maybe this is another layer?
Yes, it has been instilled in us. We have always been told that we cannot—that we should know our place. But there is another fact to consider: a person cannot focus on self-improvement or changing the world around them without first covering their basic needs. Having a roof over your head, food for your children—these are the everyday struggles that our community faces, especially in marginalized neighborhoods.
When you have to worry about whether your children will have something to eat today or clothes to wear, it is much harder to set those concerns aside and think about, say, the conflict between China and Japan. It’s complicated. But I don’t entirely agree with this notion. If you look at social media, you’ll see how active our people are with their discussions, passions, and analyses of global political events. The thinking is there—but what is missing is action.
Perhaps some Roma are more focused on day-to-day operations rather than strategy? Doesn't that require very specific skills as well?
When the situation demands it, people develop these skills over time. These are things you hone as you gain experience, becoming a better practitioner. The reality for many in our community is that they work low-paying jobs. There is always this nagging worry in their minds—"What will happen to my home?"—especially when it comes to house demolitions. No matter how certain you are about your property rights and the documents you hold, that fear is ever-present in the neighborhoods.
Our people haven’t developed these survival and problem-solving skills simply because they wanted to or could—they had no choice. This flexibility and ability to make quick decisions in complex situations have helped us survive as a community.
How do you navigate living between "two worlds"? How do you deal with the belief and pressure from people outside the community that educated Roma must go back to their community and fix its problems? How do you balance remaining a part of your community while continuing to climb the social ladder?
It’s complicated. Mainly because of the emotional burden that comes with living between these two worlds. A professional must find their own path and help their community from there by creating opportunities.
I have been part of various initiatives. I am proud of my active and significant role in Strazha.bg. Everything we did was for the general public. But my work there also reached Roma who are interested in politics. Through my work, I try to provide people with information to help them think critically, especially when they encounter opposing views on topics such as their faith.
It is crucial, when presenting a different perspective, to back it up with facts and data. You don’t need to use complex political science theories to challenge someone’s opinion. Rather, you need to give them room for reflection.
With data from your publications, you debunked the myth that Roma voters have a decisive impact on the victory of a particular political candidate or party. You illustrated that voter turnout in Roma neighborhoods is several times lower than the national average. Do you realize that through this specific work, you are demonstrating how one can contribute to their community without publicly showcasing it or being physically present within it?
Yes, that research was focused only on Sliven and my neighborhood ("Nadezhda"). Of course, it cannot be considered a nationally representative sample, although the "United Fair Elections" initiative, of which I was also a part, conducted a similar analysis. Their findings showed that voter turnout in the so-called "Roma sections" was significantly lower. In one of the elections in Sliven Province, overall voter turnout was around 40%, while in my neighborhood, it was only 5%. The distribution of votes, with minor exceptions, largely reflected the national results in the broader society. The political processes happening in our country are mirrored within our community as well.
The expected panic over the local elections never materialized: "Look, the Roma residents actually voted and determined our mayor!" Out of approximately 9,000 eligible voters from the Roma neighborhood, only about 700 participated. It’s hard to sway an
election with 700 votes in an 80,000-person city—especially when those 700 votes are spread across different political candidates.
The low voter turnout in Roma neighborhoods is also an indicator of another, often overlooked, issue—where are the political parties, and what kind of policies do they have toward our community? Do political parties make an effort to attract votes organically, to engage with the community and its people? Or is the neglect so severe that they don't even find it worthwhile to buy and sell votes? The community itself does not come forward with money, saying, “Vote for this or that candidate.” Instead, it’s the parties and candidates who approach the people with money.
You successfully graduated. What’s next for you?
First, I’m looking forward to some rest (laughs). Maybe going abroad for a while, or moving to Sofia. Unfortunately, other places don’t offer many good opportunities. I want to work in political science—but not in Bulgaria. In Bulgaria, very little aligns with the pure philosophy of politics, and making a living solely from this field is quite difficult. So, I’m more inclined toward the corporate world to cover my expenses, while pursuing personal professional projects in my spare time.
What are the biggest challenges in Political Science today?
There is a lack of morality. You can be an excellent political scientist, make brilliant analyses... Even the Nazis had exceptional experts, but they lacked morality. We see this today in UN votes and in the foreign policies of major powers.
The whole world can acknowledge that what is happening in Gaza is genocide, yet do nothing about it. Meanwhile, we continue to discuss how much progress we’ve made and the wonderful future that awaits us with technological advancements. Science is evolving, but you can’t allow it to advance without linking it to human values. If we view things robotically, without empathy and understanding, we will destroy ourselves.
What drives the world is not the values that philosophers have been discussing for centuries. Rather, it is the forces that have taken hold of the human soul—money and power. Power has long possessed the human soul, but money is increasingly gaining dominance.
What is your message as a young person to the youth in Bulgaria?
It’s important to pay attention to one’s own development. But nothing will change if you don’t reach out beyond your own circle. To change another life for the better. We often get very upset and say that nothing is improving in this country, that everything is going wrong. In the end, however, the country and the people are not someone else—they are the people. Young people should focus on their personal growth, but also give back to their community.
The interview was conducted by Ognyan Isaev, Program Director at the "Trust for Social Achievement" foundation.
Since the beginning of the 2015/2016 academic year to the current 2024/2025 academic year, the "Trust for Social Alternative" foundation has supported 16 Roma youth who were accepted at AUBG. Of them, 9 have graduated successfully. Some of them continue their studies in master's programs, while others are already successfully employed in Bulgarian or international companies.
If you wish to support more Roma youth in fulfilling their dream of studying at the American University in Bulgaria, you can make a donation in your preferred way - https://buy.stripe.com or at https://www.globalgiving.org.
For more donation methods or if you have any questions, please write to us at donations@tsa-bulgaria.org.