I am happy that a documentary like Natasha is shown on Finnish telly. Ulrike Gladik talks to a young woman who has left a small former industrial town in Bulgaria for a few weeks of hardships in Graz, Austria. She sits in a wheel-chair, repeating the words "bitte, Herr" and "bitte, Madam". Gladik's documentary is instructive in many ways. She talks to Natasha and her family and her friends. The film doesn't patronize and it is not sentimental either. It deals with hardships and povery in the context of everyday life. By means of interviews, Natasha's situation is explained. The film sheds light on racism and socio-economic changes in post-communist Bulgaria - poverty and unemployment (esp. for Roma people). Natasha talks about what it is like to beg, getting used to it, looking people in the eyes to get any money. Sometimes she gets a few euros and sometimes she doesn't. She talks about humiliation and what it is like to be made fun of, to be looked down on.
Stupid, racist Finnish politicians should watch this documentary and stupid, racist Finnish people should do the same.
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