PLEVEN, Bulgaria -- His work ethic, not to mention his ability to speak the local language, has won Aysar, not his real name, many fans at the hospital in Bulgaria where he often volunteers.
But not everyone is apparently in awe. Aysar said some staff at the hospital, where he works to take a break from his medical studies, have made clear they don't welcome him there.
"It's racism. I have seen how [this colleague] treats Bulgarian students and white foreign students, and I see how she treats me," Aysar, who was born in Germany to Pakistani parents but lived most of his life in Britain, told RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service.
Aysar is one of thousands of foreigners now studying at universities in Bulgaria. The fees they pay boost funding for the country's educational system. However, recent attacks on foreign students point to what activists say is rising xenophobia in Bulgaria, some of it fueled by disinformation spread on social media, including recent unfounded claims that Bulgaria was on the verge of a wave of illegal migration.
"It's not about the students at all; it's about xenophobia displayed by society [and] street violence, be it verbal or physical," Iliana Savova, director of the refugee program of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee, an NGO advocating for the protection of human rights, told RFE/RL.
"It is extremely worrying that in a European society in the 21st century we are witnessing such hate crimes, and it is even more worrying that they are politically provoked," says Bistra Ivanova, chairperson of the Multi Kulti Collective, a leading Bulgarian NGO working on migrant and refugee integration.
Racism has long plagued Bulgaria, as its sizeable Romany community can attest, often stoked by nationalist and xenophobic political parties and aligned media.
But Sofia has also taken steps to counter it. In July 2023, the Bulgarian National Assembly, the country's unicameral parliament, adopted a law on amendments and additions to the Criminal Code, which envisaged heavier punishment for crimes deemed to have been based on racist or xenophobic motives.
Sexual Harassment Claim
Aysar, who is in his last year as a medical student at Pleven Medical University, says he plans to return to Britain once he earns his medical degree.
Aysar says his experience in Pleven, a city of around 90,000 people in northern Bulgaria, has largely been positive, and he's enjoyed living there, although he says he has often faced verbal abuse, a complaint common to other foreigners as well, who often say they are singled out for their inability to speak Bulgarian fluently or at all.
But the hostility he's faced from colleagues at the hospital in Pleven has left him dumbfounded.
One staff member, he recounted, threatened to have him kicked out. "Once I was threatened [by one of them] that she would talk to the head of the student council and the rector to ban me from coming," Aysar told RFE/RL's Bulgarian Service.
Another member of staff, who wished to remain anonymous, had casually implied that Aysar, who is married, had harassed female staff at the hospital, a charge he denies. "He should know his place, he should leave Bulgarian girls alone, because [they] are only for us, Bulgarian men," he told RFE/RL.
"Colleagues were shocked," says Aysar, and "many of the nurses defended me."
Aysar is one of thousands of foreign students attending university in Bulgaria, and his experience matches more than a few of them, experts say. Just in recent weeks, Bulgaria has witnessed two high-profile incidents involving foreigners, most if not all university students, who appear to have been targeted for nothing more than the color of their skin.
On March 7, British medical students from Plovdiv University were harassed at a tourist stop in the nearby village of Hrabrino, with the group being detained briefly by locals who were apparently convinced they were illegal migrants.
A day later in Sofia, more British medical students, also of Pakistani origin, were attacked in the center of the Bulgarian capital, an incident police chalked up not as a racial attack but attempted robbery.
According to Ivanova from the Multi Kulti Collective, racism is still widespread across Bulgaria, a traditionally conservative society. "While men are often insulted, physically threatened, and sometimes even beaten, women 'enjoy' aggressive sexual attention and are also pursued for a sexual purpose, because they are 'exotic' and 'attractive.' Instead of being flattered, most girls and women experience constant stress and a fear of violence," Ivanova said.
While always present, the problem of racism seemed to worsen in 2013. At that time, Bulgaria experienced its first significant wave of migrants -- many fleeing the conflict in Syria -- seeking protection, according to Iliana Savova of the Bulgarian Helsinki Committee.
"Since then, hatred toward foreigners has been purposefully, proactively, and systematically instilled in society, which is a classic method of diverting attention from the inability to manage the country and from your own misdeeds [such as] corruption, etc.," Savova added. "You point to a foreign, external enemy and place all the blame for the ills of our society on him."
Tensions Rising
Now, fears are being stirred in Bulgaria amid rumors that the country could face a fresh wave of migrants.
Those unfounded fears are linked to Bulgaria (Romania is also included) soon joining -- at least partially -- the Schengen zone, which allows free movement of people between 27 European countries -- 23 EU member states plus Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway, and Switzerland.
From March 31, there will be free movement for those arriving on flights or by boat to Bulgaria and Romania as well. It is still unclear when land borders will be opened up.
The recent incidents in Sofia involving foreign students and refugees have prompted calls by some politicians to beef up the police presence on the streets. With tensions rising, several hundred people demonstrated in Sofia on March 12 outside a refugee center in the capital's Ovcha Kupel district to demand it be shut down.
Those anti-migrant sentiments have in part been fed by comments by leading politicians, including Boyko Borisov, a former prime minister and current leader of the center-right GERB party, and Delyan Peevski, a shady politician blacklisted in the United States and a leading member of the liberal Movement For Rights And Freedoms (DPS).
Borisov, whose GERB party is part of the ruling coalition, and Peevksi, whose party supports the government, have recently called for an increase in the force strength of the Bulgarian Border Police -- even though there has been no rise in incidents involving migrants at the border over the past year, according to recent comments from Interior Minister Kalin Stoyanov.
Politicians on the political fringe and outside the mainstream have made even more unsubstantiated claims. A few months ago, the far-right Revival party and the antiestablishment There Is Such A People spread disinformation that Austria was demanding Bulgaria accept 6,000 Afghan and Syrian refugees in exchange for Vienna dropping its objections to allowing Sofia (and Bucharest) to fully join Schengen, which would also open up the country's land borders.
To counter misinformation and disinformation, the government, along with media organizations and NGOs, needs to do more to illustrate the benefits foreigners can bring to Bulgaria, Ivanova said, stressing that it would be a win-win situation. "The Bulgarian economy needs foreigners, and we will all win if we manage to keep them and successfully integrate them, because they are an asset, not a threat."
