“168 hours”: The incredible story of the first circulation in Bulgaria
All in black, with a veil and dark glasses, she travels around the Arab countries
She knew personally the billionaire Willy Betz, for whom she worked for many years
Border customs officers called the police, they can’t believe that the fragile Bulgarian woman drives the 40-ton machine alone
Nikolina Maneva is the first woman circulator in Bulgaria. Behind her back she has hundreds of trips to different parts of the planet. She has traveled throughout Europe and most of the Arab world. The Bulgarian woman embarks on this adventure without fear that she will have to follow routes to places where fierce military action is raging. In Iran, Lebanon and Syria, locals can’t believe they see the woman behind the wheel of the 40-tonne car.
Only a few days ago, Nikolina turned 65 years old. Surrounded by those closest to her, she wished her health and understanding. Her exciting story was told to “168 Hours” by her daughter Jonah.
– Jonah, your mother is the first woman circulation in the history of Bulgaria. When and how did she decide that this was her calling?
– Yes, in my time my mother was only the first and only woman in this male profession. Never before did you enter it, she never thought that you could do it professionally. The beginning was added after my father moved to Sofia, where he started his first job as a bus driver, and then earned and courses for a professional driver. Without planning anything special, it just occurred to him to offer her a training. My mother immediately agrees and embarks on this new one for my experience. He enrolled in the Center for the Training of International Drivers and, with his inherent audacity, accepted the opportunity to study at this “male” school. After 6 months of training he finished with excellent success and entered the driving profession with a real flying start. He immediately impresses everyone with his discipline and responsibility. Shortly afterwards, he applied for a job in the then elite state-owned company SO MAT, which was the pride of the socialist economy – one of the largest freight forwarding and transport companies in Europe. At that time, my father was already working in the same company. It was approved by the boss immediately. This is how I can describe the beginning of her path in this field.
– Did she have personal meetings with the owner of the German transport leader Willy Betz and what was her impression of him?
– Yes, she had many meetings with the founder of the largest transport company in Europe. In 1945, only 17 years old, he started the business, and in the 60s of the last century he established contacts with the then company SO MAT Sofia, which works my mother. Before me, she personally described the late Willy Betz as a very good and down-to-earth person. He was in free contact with all the people in his company. There was no time to behave like a superior. He was social and talkative. He did not divide people according to their rank in his business. The attitude towards everyone was the same. There was no division. Even I, when I visited the German city of Rotlingen, which he saw in the company, I went to him many times to walk freely and talk to all people, despite the fact that he is one of the biggest millionaires in the country. .
– Did she tell you that she had moments of concern about the fact that in her work the male class was the absolute majority?
– No, at least in front of me she did not share any worries about it. Of course he is with all his colleagues. Nor did they look at her differently just because she was a woman. She is very direct and if she had anything, she said it to herself without worries, and my father was next to her. Everyone knew they were family. Nobody pressed her. On the contrary – they are friendly and collegial. She didn’t feel any attitude to worry her.
– What destinations did Nikolina travel to?
– After its leaders are convinced that you have professional qualities despite their young age, the directors of SO MAT offer to take foreign courses. My mother has traveled to all European countries, as well as to countries in the Arab world. She has traveled far and wide and two continents – Europe and Asia. From the Arab world she has been to Iran, Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, Pakistan, Tajikistan. Her very first course was France – Tehran. At the time, the situation in the Middle East was quite tense due to the Iraq war. However, she agreed to travel 2,000 kilometers through Turkey and another 1,000 through Iran. She was driving in a caravan of trucks, dressed from head to toe in black, with a veil over her head and dark glasses – according to Islamic law. It has become a real sensation on the Turkish-Iranian border. The head of the customs exclaimed that for the first time in 37 years of work at the checkpoint he saw a woman behind the wheel of a 40-ton machine. The police also came, because no one can understand what this lady who is among the drivers is. After making sure he was an employee of Willy Betz, he missed her at the head of the column.
– After all, she worked in some extremely troubled times and to turbulent points in the Arab countries. Are there clear memories of moments when her life was in danger?
– In this profession there is always a risk to life, even if you are not in the Arab world. I heard a lot of stories, but then I was quite young and I didn’t make sense of things, I don’t understand what sacrifice the rules are for me and my brother Dimitar my parents. It was all about not providing the things we needed. I finished high school and then signed up to study Law, as did my brother. Regarding the question you ask me, I remember a case of their colleague who was put to sleep in the truck and then had an organ removed from his body. There are many unpleasant and fatal stories, but fortunately our loved ones are alive and well.