The material was prepared by the journalist Zarina Vasileva from www.offnews.bg and was published without changes from here.

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‘’I imagine the internet - that big beast known today, started it’s existence as an octopus. Small. Purple. Cute. Innocent. Clapping with its tentacles in the sea and we enjoy it. As the years passed we took so much care of this octopus that it became a real kraken. Enormous. King of the seas, king of our fates’’

This is what Yordan Vrubchev writes in his piece called ‘’In Kraken’s tentacles’’, that won him first place category ‘’Text’’ in 2021’s Alarm Clock contest.

 

Who is Yordan Vrubchev?

I was born in Pomorie - a miraculous and calm seaside city. I studied in ‘’Ivan Vazov’’ middle school and graduated highschool in nature mathematics high school in Burgas. I love all sorts of art - books, movies, series, music, theater. I’m a perfectionist and very emotional. The things that inspire me to write texts are the injustice and suffering, the damnation that I encounter in my everyday life, and which I try to fight against.

 

Do young people understand their civil rights properly?

I think we fully understand the right to freedom, especially personal freedom. This is where the distortion, even the hypocrisy, of this understanding begins, because many people do not respect the fact that other people's freedom is inviolable; that as much as me anyone else has the right to be themself, to stand up, to be heard, to be respected and accepted. The right way to protect human rights is one that does not violate them. Like in the past, today we can still see constant manifestations of discrimination disguised as "personal views" - racism, homophobia, sexism, etc. - they are evidence of the imposition of personal freedom over others.

Too often we hide our own ignorance, which is often dangerous, even deadly, while also claiming that we are defending our rights. Yes, one has the right to personal views and beliefs, but above one's own point of view must always stand science and proven truths before which we are insignificant. I believe that most people are aware of the basic methods of protecting their rights - we see protests, strikes and peaceful rallies on television every day, we read declarations on social networks, we sign petitions. I think we are slowly but surely becoming a more responsible and sensible civil society.

 

How do you see the digital world?

The digital world gives us endless opportunities to express our freedom. Any opinion can become a publication in minutes. From this point of view, the Internet is the absolute guarantor of our freedom. I think the problem comes from people who destroy their own freedom. We are the people who do not respect other people's opinions in the online space. People do not respect the other, we insult them, we make fun of them. Posts, especially those that talk about something controversial or express an unpopular opinion, inevitably provide digital fire to their authors: some disputes are even transmitted in the real world, and can be life-threatening. But this is only on one side: on the Internet, everyone can, except dissidents, meet their colleagues. I think that this is where we can fully see the freedom that we only need to learn and not to restrict ourselves.

 

Do we have a chance against the Kraken?

My work is a combination of essay and impression and in it I talk about the big kraken, aka the internet that has appropriated our days and grabbed us in the underwater depths. There the oxygen, aka our freedom, is scarce, but as the years go by, we become more and more able to tame the beast, use its tentacles to fight injustice, and become creators of our own rights and freedoms.

We need to be careful with the internet because it is powerful: it can be a weapon against injustice, but also against ourselves. In the digital space, we must all strive to defend our freedom, to be united against the essential problems of the world. It is pointless to deny the Internet or to fight against it, because it is already bigger and stronger than us. Instead, we must accept it and strive to make it a place of continuity and understanding, not hatred; today we live on the internet and it is our responsibility whether it will be a life full of fear and malice or hope and beauty.

 

What should art be today?

Art must not tolerate restrictions. It can present reality in such a tone as to expose vices or glorify its virtues. But the artist can speak about the world as impartially as possible, in order to provoke our feelings to come to light. Art is an expression of absolute freedom; it can play the role of correcting reality, which is noble and necessary, but not mandatory. There is nothing obligatory in art, just as there is nothing obligatory in feelings, because art, for me, is precisely the material manifestation of feelings.

 

How did your participation in the Civic Alarm contest change you?

The competition with the way of setting and popularizing the topic, with the diverse jury, with its overall approach on the problems of our time, speaks of modernity and freshness, that the work - illustration, text, photo - goes to people who are open to new ideas, to a different way of self-expression, to all kinds of points of view without a drop of prejudice. This is exactly what prompted me to participate both for the first time before 2019 and in this year's edition.

In the first place, my participation brought me the opportunity and the freedom to organize and express my opinion on issues that have long found a place in my thoughts in one form or another. Winning it is a great honor for me, because it managed to give me some confidence as a young creative person, that it makes sense to keep writing and that what I create manages to reach people and in some way affect them.

For me, the essential part of the award is the satisfaction it has brought me and the greater courage with which I will approach my future texts. I do not want to belittle the material part that I will invest in my higher education.

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The material was prepared with the financial support of the America for Bulgaria Foundation and the Sofia Municipality under the SP "Culture" for 2021.