Terrorism threatens a society by instilling fear and helplessness in its citizens. It seeks to hold a society or government hostage by fear of destruction and harm.

When terrorist acts occur, people generally look for ways to cope with the acute stress and trauma. Terrorism evokes a fundamental fear of helplessness. The violent actions are random, unprovoked and intentional, and often are targeted at defenseless citizens. Trying to cope with the irrational information that is beyond normal comprehension can set off a chain of psychological events culminating in feelings of fear, helplessness, vulnerability and grief.

Xenophobia — fear or hatred of strangers or foreigners — can be heightened under a terrorist threat and can become a social and psychological danger. The fear generated by terrorism can be exacerbated by a population’s diversity if there is distrust between groups, categories and classification of citizens. It is important to recognize that diversity in a population can be an opportunity for unity and strength. There are members of our diverse society who have experienced past terrorist incidents. The knowledge and experience they have gained from surviving and coping with these incidents can make them a valuable resource on how to cope and how to offer assistance to others.

Who is affected?

After a terrorist attack, many people are impacted. People who have experienced the trauma often fall into the following categories:

• Survivors of past traumatic events (e.g., refugees of wars, terrorism or torture, and survivors of domestic violence, child abuse or street crime). These individuals may have a heightened sense of vulnerability.
• People who personally witnessed or were victims of the terrorist attack.
• People who experience traumatization from learning of relatives, friends and acquaintances who were subject to the violence, or from exposure to repeated media accounts of the trauma.

What you may experience following a terrorist attack

People who have experienced or witnessed a terrorist attack may go into a state of acute stress reaction. You may feel one or all of these symptoms:

• Recurring thoughts of the incident.
• Becoming afraid of everything, not leaving the house or isolating yourself.
• Stopping usual functioning, no longer maintaining daily routines.
• Survivor guilt — “Why did I survive? I should have done something more.”
• Tremendous sense of loss.
• Reluctance to express your feelings, losing a sense of control over your life.

Coping with the trauma

1. Identify the feelings that you may be experiencing. Understand that your feelings are a normal reaction to an abnormal situation.
2. Remember that you have overcome adversity and trauma in the past. Try to remember what you did that helped you overcome the fear and helplessness in that situation.
3. Talk to others about your fears. It’s OK to ask for help. Workplaces may convene small groups with an EAP counselor or other mental health counselor so people can share feelings.
4. Make efforts to maintain your usual routine.
5. Think positively. Realize that things will get better. Be realistic about the time it takes to feel better.
6. Recognize that the nature of terrorist attacks creates fear and uncertainty about the future. Continue to do the things in your life that you enjoy. Don’t get preoccupied with the things you cannot control to the extent that they prevent you from living your normal life.
7. Know the actions our government is taking to combat terrorism and restore safety and security. Recognize that trained officials throughout the country are mobilized to prevent, prepare for and respond to terrorist attacks.
8. Limit exposure to media coverage.
9. Tips for helping children cope:

• Encourage children to say how they are feeling about the event.
• Ask children what they have seen, heard or experienced.
• Assure children that their parents are taking care of them and will continue to help them deal with anything that makes them feel afraid.
• Help children recognize when they have shown courage in meeting a new scary situation and accomplished a goal despite hardship or barriers. Instill a sense of empowerment.
• Let children know that institutions of democracy are still in place and our government is intact. (It can also be helpful for adults to realize this.)
• Know that it is possible for children to experience vicariously the traumatization from the terrorist attack (e.g. watching TV coverage, overhearing adult conversations).

If you are having trouble coping with the terrorist attacks, consider seeking help from a psychologist or other mental health professional. There are many ways to feel traumatized by terrorist incidents. Psychologists and other licensed mental health professionals are trained to help people cope and take positive steps toward managing their feelings and behaviors.

Source: American Psychological Association

MoI officers and representatives of civil society participated in the process of identification of approaches came to a basic conclusion: before a vision and develop a strategy for long-term reform to be created it is necessarily a broad public discussion with representatives of NGOs, professional and trade union organizations to be conducted.

MoI 2030 – one point of view and one possible approach:

The one approach to reform of the Ministry of Interior if we are not thinking about structural change is to consider the reform as a desired effect on the staff, to identify necessary organizational change to ensure a high quality of service “security” and to ensure better and more efficient service to citizens. In this case, it is necessary to apply a tactical approach, which is based on a pre-identified problems, which need to be solved. If this approach to reform is selected, it is necessary the measures in 2030 to ensure the achievement of the following results:

To the citizens of Republic of Bulgaria:

• Achieved satisfaction with the “security” and defined parameters and indicators measuring the quality at all levels of the Ministry.
• Developed a clear plan and certain approaches to enhancing the quality of the “security” that before adoption are discussed with the citizens of the Republic of Bulgaria.
• Increased public confidence in the Ministry.
• Created a mechanism that allows the participation of citizens in decision-making.
• Facilitated communication between citizens and officials in the Ministry of Interior.
• Simplified administrative procedures and reduced the time for the issuance of documents.
• Respect for human rights and dignity.

Improved interaction between MI and institutions from other key sectors such as health facilities, social services, prosecution and court to establish a new approach and allow the application of the principle of “case management”. This approach will reduce the time limits for citizens and increase the effectiveness of the “security”.

To the employees:

• Updated and properly changed working categories according to the type of action being performed.
• Provided additional compensation for employees who work in hazardous environments and distinct social packages according to type of work that is due.
• Prepared and complied with clear criteria the recruiting and training of employees’ process, provided equipment, supplies and a clear mechanism for further trainings and preparation.
• Clearly defined powers of employees in different departments created redress mechanisms and eradicated the presumption of guilt of the employees.
• Created and implemented a mechanism to provide psychological support, prevention and reduction of occupational stress, supervision and mentoring program that allows employees who cannot work in the field and / or are retired, to share their experience.
• Changed the principle of functioning of trade unions in MoI – secured funding / target and project / activity of trade unions provided functional immunity for union leaders and established a mechanism for elections to validate unions that represent employees in the Council on Social partnership.
• Improved image of the employees in the Ministry of Interior and increased public confidence.
• Increased motivation and job satisfaction of employees in the Ministry of Interior.

To the system:

• Completed reform and centralized / decentralized system
• Created mechanism for the selection of senior management positions at local, regional and national level, based on the concepts of development and not on political affiliation.
• Provided logistical security of employees for smooth implementation of their professional duties.
• Created and institutionalized mechanism for civil monitoring of the activity of the Ministry of Interior and change policy and programming documents in consultation with the relevant authority / Public Board /.
• Ensured the practical application of the principles of openness, transparency and accountability of the system.
• Clearly defined and detailed functions of MoI and each employee.
• Provided finances covering the overall activities of the Ministry.
• Created a system of electronic services and reduced the volume of paper used.
• The press office of the Interior Ministry started to work on the employees’ image, not the political leadership.

Ministry of Interior in 2030 – Another point of view and the second possible approach:

The second possible approach that was identified is strategic and it is connected with the union about the role and functions that MoI have to implement and is based on the assumption that the main function of the Ministry of Interior and the main objective of the Police department is to protect public order and internal Security. If starting from this understanding, it is necessary when talking about reform and the vision of the Ministry of Interior in 2030, to achieve the following results:

1. Finalized administrative reform, increased quality and efficiency of the system in relation to the service which is Necessary is when the reforming the Ministry of Interior is discussing in this regard, outsourcing of part of the activities of the Ministry of Interior to other ministries to be planned, government agencies such as differentiation / Main Directorate “Fire Safety and Protection of Population” / or decentralization and moving part activities to municipalities / Control of road transport and Bulgarian identity documents /. In parallel, administrative reform should provide re-categorization and specific policies to compensate employees with different powers. In parallel, administrative reform should provide re-categorization and specific policiesin order  to compensate employees with different responsibilities.
2. Centralized / decentralized structure and clearly defined powers and mechanisms for quality control of the execution of their commitments.
3. Secured system to the material provision of employees increased the selection criteria, qualification and training of employees ensured.
4. Established mechanisms for combating and preventing crime and especially – everyday crime.
5. The practical application of the principles of equality and ensured protection of both employees and citizens.
6. Created a tool for independent and democratic control / institutional / monitoring / Civil / of the Ministry of Interior’s activities and the effectiveness of decisions.

The main issue which united representatives of trade unions, professional organizations and NGOs in terms of public order and security, is that the “security” service provided to citizens, is not effective and does not meet their needs. The discussion about the parameters and expectations of what should the service be has not taken place – as citizens, and with trade unions and professional organizations. Reasons for the lack of discussion about MoI are many but the main ones are:

• The concept of about MoI’s functions has been changed with every new government;
• The system is closed and does not create real opportunities for citizen participation in decision-making, and the citizens are not motivated to participate, because their knowledge and ideas of MoI are often based on myths and prejudices that are inherited in each generation;
• Representatives of political and professional leadership in the Ministry of Interior, who take MoI as an institution of power, whose part is to ensure public order and security, often are overweening to citizens even arrogant sometimes. In many of the decisions taken, we can see and demonstrated elitism to the citizens, as the Government officials they do not understand the real problems of the institution, do not know the system and therefore they are not allowed to tell to MoI what security is and how it can be guaranteed.

That is why the police system becomes more rigid, more encapsulated and sacrifice more cruel its employees. This is happening on a background of permanent reduction of the quality of  “security” service and increased number of unsatisfied from the MoI’s work  citizens to whom is said they are complaining are reasonless and exist only because they do not understand “the complex matter of security.”

Rigidity of the system is due to many reasons, some of which are:

1. MoI is an institution which implements functions for prevention and combat all types of crimes, guarantees public order, protects national security, ensures border control, regulates migration processes, protects financial interests of the European Union, works on fire safety and protection of the population etc. Most of the activities require the classification of information, which in itself is associated with limited access of nongovernmental organizations in the preparation and implementation of programming documents. The need access to the information to be limited is understandable, but it is used as a reason the institution to be closed for citizens’ monitoring of the overall policy of the Ministry. Under the pretext that certain policies, decisions and actions are classified, most of the structures of civil society are isolated, the motivation for participation is decreased and form attitudes in people that to be MoI monitored evaluated requires specific expertise that only certain people possess. Thus the majority of the representatives of civil society are deliberately isolated and a range of non-governmental organizations and experts who have proven experience and expertise are allowed to participate in policies’ development, but these experts and NGOs are not actively working with the civil society and thus their proposals the vision for reform and expertise to be changed reach a very small group of people.
2. The lack of accessible information, creates conditions for speculation as to the number of employees in the Ministry of Interior, the method for spending of MoI’s budget and it makes possible changes in MoI to be realized which are satisfying certain political parties. Reporting documents published on the website of the Ministry of Interior and promoted in the media are prepared and present information in an incomprehensible way. These documents are published, but not “translated” in plain language to encourage the expression of citizenship and shared expectations of what service the citizens of the Republic of Bulgaria want to receive. This is why the citizens of the Republic of Bulgaria have no real need to participate in the preparation of proposals for changes in the Ministry. On one hand, due to the above reasons, but also arise from the deliberate release of a certain narrow range of experts in the process of information and consultation.
3. The politicization of the system is one of the main reasons for the lack of action the Ministry of Interior to be opened to the citizens. Because of its nature and function as structure of power and authority the resources are used and maintenance of political and party interests and protection of certain persons / data from a study of the factors causing stress, conducted in 2013. /. The politicization of the system changes the vision of the function and role of the Ministry of Interior – by structure that should provide the “security”, it becomes a structure that supports / sometimes at the cost of repression / achievement of certain political priorities. The politicization of the system contributes to the lack of vision for the development and reform of the Ministry of Interior, as the planning horizon is within mandate of the governing political party/coalition. MoI reform requires both talking about the effects of reform on employees and preparation of tools to assess the quality and effectiveness of the service and the citizens’ satisfaction, which in turn requires the participation of civil society organizations in monitoring and evaluation process. The lack of vision for the development and reform in MoI becomes both employees and citizens hostages and victims of political programs.
4. Failure of the successful model of institutionalized participation of citizens in reforming the Ministry of Interior. The presence of such a model will allow external evaluation of the satisfaction of the citizens from the “security” service, it will allow a debate on the necessary reforms and means for their realization to be conducted, it will give publicity to proposed policies and will seek an agreement and unification of legislative, executive government, civic, professional and trade union organizations.
5. Understanding the MoI reform by restructuring and renaming cuts, not as increased efficiency, transparency and ensured decent working conditions for employees. There are currently no understanding at the political level that before starting the process of change is necessary to make an assessment about how much it will cost in terms of the service that MoI delivers. When politicians’ are talking about reform, they usually mean and make a drastic reduction in the number of employees in the Ministry of Interior, without considering the fact that the cuts will burden the welfare system, will increase unemployment and risks certain units and structures MoI to become unable to operate. The mathematical approach and the mechanical contraction of the people is one of the most sinful and destructive reform models as the effect of these cuts is measured only by savings in MoI and reduction of the state, but does not account for the additional load of the other employees in the department, inability to perform her/his obligations due to over-load, ie quality and efficiency of work. This mathematical approach to reduce the numerical strength of the basic structures of the ministry, but it reduces an efficiency in performing the functions of the Ministry. Such an understanding of the reform is a reason for the crisis in MoI, creates conditions for reduction of the effectiveness of the Ministry and increasing citizens’ dissatisfaction with the service that is provided.