More than half of Sofia residents say they would take in refugees and think the economy would gain from their arrival. That's according to a study by the University of National and World Economy (UNWE).
The project, called "Study of Social Attitudes Towards Refugees and Asylum Seekers: The Bulgarian Model", is led by Professor Elka Todorova from UNWE's economic sociology department.
It tracks how attitudes shift at three stages: before refugees arrive, after they arrive, and once some ask to stay for good.
People with university degrees, city dwellers and higher earners are the most open to refugees, says assistant professor Maria Brestnichka, also from the economic sociology department and part of the research team. She says views are mixed, and it's hard to pin down just how many people are actually afraid.
Brestnichka says Bulgaria is going through a period of change. Fear of refugees and asylum seekers is real, much of it stoked by waves of disinformation that paint a "scary refugee" picture. But alongside that fear, plenty of people are willing to help. She says people need to look at the full picture: who these people are, what skills and education they bring, and what the institutions are doing.
Most people have never actually met a refugee and base their views on what they read and watch, the study found. Once people meet real refugees and hear their stories, their views change, Brestnichka said.
Professor Todorova said the National Science Fund saw the topic as important for the country and backed it with funding, which let her team reach people directly on the ground.
The conference "Refugees and Asylum Seekers in Bulgaria" was organised by the National Network for Children, the State Agency for Refugees under the Council of Ministers, and UNWE. It drew officials, academics and international organisations, plus more than 20 civic groups that work directly with refugees and asylum seekers.
If refugees fully joined Bulgaria's labour market, the economy could grow by an extra 600 million euros, according to the study "The Untapped Potential of Refugees' Economic Integration in Bulgaria" by the UN Refugee Agency and Eurostat.