After the latest uprising in the Harmanli asylum center, Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borisov is now considering deporting the entire population of the camp. Below is a panel discussion from Bulgarian television about the logistics of deportation, and the migrant role in drug trafficking.

Many thanks to Tanya T for the translation, and to Vlad Tepes for the subtitling:

Transcript (based on the times in the original clip):

14:53 In your opinion, why hasn’t this happened?

14:56 This question was raised — the agreement for readmission,

14:59 but not till December… Well, it won’t be too late,

15:02 if it happens then. Could all these people be deported? —But 400-500 enter in a day…

15:06 Mohamed Halaf, journalist: Yes… —And they would have to be deported right away… —Look, look…

15:09 It takes organization; it’s not an easy thing: planes

15:13 have to be arranged, procedures, documents, etc…

15:17 But the real issue is different — why did it come to what happened in Harmanli —

15:23 the closing of the camp, at the nationalists’ demand means

15:27 cutting off the contacts between these migrants and the traffickers.

15:33 they don’t want to remain in Bulgaria, they want, as Majd knows…

15:37 they want to leave Bulgaria. They know very well that the way of life they expect is not here;

15:42 they want to go to Western Europe. But, anyway, the question I raised in the beginning:

15:46 how do they succeed in entering the country…

15:49 Majd knows that there are organized traffickers, connected to (unintelligible)

15:53 —Not just me, everyone knows it.

15:56 Exactly, that’s exactly what I mean, that everyone on the market knows

15:59 who the traffickers are, how much they take. —Both their names as well as faces?

16:02 Where they gather… —Several governments (in Bulgaria) failed to solve this problem,

16:05 not just the last one. This is an issue for institutions… —Wait, we can’t … —This is a problem

16:08 that has existed for so many years and nobody… —We can’t legally… Wait, wait…

16:11 What you are suggesting … we can’t, through breaking the law, solve our problem independently.

16:20 We will continue in a moment… —How could we solve the problem through the traffickers alone…

16:24 Back at the studio, Dimo Gyaurov joins us, however Majd Algafari has a lot to tell us…

16:27 We will hear him first, what should be done at the moment. —Mr. Gyaurov will tell us presently.

16:32 I’ve asked Mr. Slavov and Mr. Enchev to remain in the studio as well.

16:38 Mr. Algafari, are these Afghans, are they Pakistanis, and could they quickly

16:42 be sent back to where they came from, if they are not refugees?

16:46 I’ve said this many times, in all the media, not just in yours.

16:52 Majd Algafari, interpreter: Everyone who enters Bulgarian territory without any kind of document

16:57 must be taken to a center of the closed type until it is determined

17:02 whether he really is from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, Iraq, whichever country he may come from.

17:06 Otherwise he must show documentation, because in most cases their documents are hidden in Turkey.

17:11 After we have determined who he is, and in the case where he makes a refugee application,

17:15 at the moment he is granted his refugee status, let’s unlock,

17:18 metaphorically speaking, the door of the camp he is in,

17:21 and tell him, welcome, this is the Republic of Bulgaria. Otherwise he must remain in that camp,

17:26 and as soon as his application is rejected — on the plane and back to where he came from.

17:33 These people, what nationality are they? Those we see on the flashes (in the videos)?

17:38 99% of them are Afghans, possibly 100%. They are Afghans and Pakistanis.

17:42 How come all of them are alone? —What do you mean?

17:45 —I see no families, I don’t see their women and children. —There are no families;

17:48 what families could there be? Besides, does anyone ask themselves the question…

17:51 From Afghanistan to Germany, trafficking costs nearly €10,000.

17:57 An Afghan, between 15 and 20 years old, where does he get €10,000 from?

18:02 From where? Besides… From where? If he really has that much money,

18:05 and he stays in Afghanistan he would live like a king…

18:08 What is your explanation, then? Drug trafficking, weapons trafficking,

18:12 everything that has to do with money, and could be trafficked, they do it.

18:17 These are not people who just came to look for some kind of… really, better life. On the contrary —

18:22 they are looking for some kind of fiddle. Something that would bring them pots of money.

18:26 They have loans to pay off in Afghanistan, a lot of things…

18:31 These are not simply… these are not people who are fleeing because

18:34 their life is in danger or because they are unemployed in Afghanistan.

18:37 With €10,000 he cannot work in Afghanistan?! I’d never believe that.

20:41 Yet another question, a picture immediately appeared — a volunteer

20:45 sent them — about violence against the refugees.

20:49 Borisov (Prime Minister) was right that one of the questions

20:52 will be whether the police used excessive force.

20:55 I will show you the pictures in question. Their claim is that they were peacefully and quietly

21:00 staying in their rooms and the police came in and beat them black and blue. —I very much doubt it.

21:03 This is unverifiable. —I very much doubt it. These… mention it because it IS being mentioned.

21:06 These… pictures from NGOs, how somebody supposedly took pictures of something,

21:10 and sent it to them… we’ve long known these tricks.

21:14 That’s not all. In addition — it is quite natural, and the law foresees an option

21:19 for the police to use force when … we witness things like those we saw yesterday.

21:26 —On the one hand, aggression against the policemen, on the other — brutal destruction of property,

21:32 obscene gestures at the TV cameras, —And words, but there’s no one to translate them,

21:37 and the burning of the national flag. Was this confirmed, about the flag?

22:08 Is it confirmed that the flag was burned? This will irritate a lot of people…

22:13 This is a crime according to Bulgarian law, as you know… How many crimes have they committed?

22:17 From their illegally entering Bulgaria… And so far there has not been a single convicted Afghan.

22:21 That’s why I said a moment ago; it’s crucial that all authorities

22:24 take a stand —You’re absolutely right. —By all authorities

22:27 I mean not just the executive — police, prosecutor’s office, the judiciary.