Beneath the rubble: “My brothers died stealing iron”

Who's at fault when a building collapses and kills two Romani men?

Old, abandoned buildings marked as “cultural heritage” by the municipality and picked apart by Pepi and his Roma tribe | Picture by Martina Petkova

On November 19, 2009, Pepi and two of his brothers - Jerry and Sadik, walked into one of the many old, abandoned buildings once part of a modern factory complex developed by a Belgian company just outside the Bulgarian capital, Sofia. These buildings gave the name to the neighborhood that gradually grew around them as Sofia expanded over the next century: Zaharna Fabrika, translating to “Sugar Factory.” The factory has long stopped working but the cultural significance and the unique and captivating architecture have earned these buildings protection as “cultural heritage.”

Within walking distance of this cultural monument is one of the largest Roma ghettos in Sofia - also in existence for over a century. The ghetto, originally a smaller community, that eventually expanded to over 3,000 people, was born as most Roma ghettos are born - on the…