Tension around Garibaldi Square: Residents and workers in central Sofia complain of improvised camp

Garibaldi Square in the heart of Sofia is no longer just a passing point, but a place that causes tension for everyone who passes through it. Residents and people working in the area describe the situation as critical – about 20 people have created a kind of improvised camp there.

The problems are not just aesthetic. People working nearby report daily scenes of aggression, shouting, and intoxication. The situation is even more serious when it comes to the use of prohibited substances in the open, often in the vicinity of minors. Scenes of fights and glue sniffing in broad daylight have become part of everyday life in this neighborhood.

The Sofia Municipality has teams working around the clock to direct these people to temporary accommodation centers. However, the procedure faces a serious obstacle: when people refuse to be accommodated, the municipality lacks the legal tools to move them by force. As Deputy Mayor Nadezhda Bacheva noted, interest in social assistance and accommodation usually only increases during the winter months.

For now, however, the urban environment around Garibaldi remains in a state of insecurity, leaving locals to deal with the consequences of this social problem on their own.