A fresh start

3 October 2007

Iliyana Daskalova's life story sounds like a movie plot. It contains all the essential elements: a beautiful heroine, a love story, danger, and a happy, yet bittersweet, ending.

However, Iliyana's story is not a movie, and coming to terms with all that has happened to her and her family has been stressful and painful.

An idyllic life
In her homeland, Bulgaria, Iliyana was a well-known actor, dancer, and musician. She won many prizes, produced a music CD, and appeared on television and in films. She lived in a beautiful apartment with sea views, and when she met Dobrin, her future husband, her fairy-tale life seemed complete. Her husband was a politician and regional governor. Media interest in the couple was intense, and for a while, positive.

In fear of their lives
The couple's fortunes began to change after Dobrin ran for city mayor as the Democratic Party candidate and lost. Soon, many of the media stories about the couple changed their tone. There were insinuations about corruption and greed. Some stories hinted that Iliyana was a gold-digger. Returning from the theatre at night, she would hear people shouting insults behind her back. Her son began receiving cruel taunts at school.

The couple became increasingly upset about the lies and anxious about the future. Then one terrible day Dobrin went out to buy coffee and was shot in the leg by an unknown man. At the hospital, Iliyana was told that there was a possibility that the bullet contained poison and that there was nothing they could do but wait and see. Fortunately, the bullet turned out not to be poisoned, and Dobrin recovered. However, the couple now knew that they needed to leave Bulgaria. Some friends had told them about New Zealand. They had heard that it was a warm country with friendly people who smiled often. Dobrin came to New Zealand first, and then some months later, Iliyana and their three children followed.

A new life and new language 
When her plane landed in Auckland, Iliyana felt able to relax for the first time in years. Iliyana, her husband, and their three children came to New Zealand to escape a life-threatening situation in their home country. Today, they live on the North Shore. Although she is still only in her forties, Iliyana knows that her acting career is probably over. The language barrier is too great. Instead, she has set up her own business as a Reiki instructor and massage therapist. Iliyana came to ESOL Home Tutors (North Shore) in 2005 and has been supported by a neighbour who also became her ESOL home tutor. When her tutor wasn't able to continue her lessons with Iliyana, she was matched with another tutor. Iliyana and her first tutor are now good friends and still see each other on a regular basis. Iliyana enjoys her English lessons and is very enthusiastic about improving her English, meeting new people through ESOL Home Tutors and getting involved in the community.

On World Refugee Day 2006, she was one of the performers at a function put on by ESOL Home Tutors (North Shore). George Wood, the mayor of North Shore City, Rohan Jaduram from the Human Rights Commission and about 100 other guests attended the event. Iliyana performed songs in many different languages, including Bulgarian, Russian, Macedonian, Italian, German, Greek and French. For some songs, she accompanied herself on the guitar. Her enthusiasm and outgoing personality enabled even non-music buffs to enjoy the performance, and many of the audience were visibly moved when she sang songs in their own languages. Although there is no media acclaim, her life is much less stressful, and she feels she is able to help her clients deal with the stresses in their own lives. Eventually, Iliyana would love to be able to teach drama in New Zealand.