Stories and Reflections from the Macedonians in Greece

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  • Bill77
    Senior Member
    • Oct 2009
    • 4545

    #16
    I would like to dedicate this to a relative of mine, Jani Kiprov. Jani was a Macedonian Hero who Battled against Greek facism and for freedom of Macedonia During the mid 1940. He was only at a young age of 19 when he lost his life at the hands of Greek brutal, inhumane facist regime. There are many cases just like Jani Kiprov. You will not find Jani Kiprov in any history Book or internet site, None the less, he is a Macedonian hero as all the fighters are, Just like Goce Delcev or Jane Sandanski. With this dedication, i wish to put a face on this hero for all to see and a story to tell for all to read, so Jani's eventual demise was not in vain and that he is part of history.

    THANK YOU JANI KIPROV AND TO ALL YOU MACEDONIAN HEROS

    Breif story about Jani Kiprov:
    At the age of 17 he and a freind were arested and jailed by the Greek facist police only because they spoke macedonian in public. two days after Jani was bailed out for a heafty price, the same law enforces came knocking on there family home door. Jani was not home at the time but a warrant was handed to his parents, to hand him in with in 24 hours otherwise the family will pay for it. What a terible altimatum the parents had. That same day, the Macedonian partizans got the family and smuggled them over the border to Bitola for there own safety. Jani as a gesture of apreiciation decided to join the freedom fighters and not long after his family were transfered to Bitola. (this photo of Jani holding his baby brother was taken the day Jani left his family to fight for the macedonian cause and that was the last they seen of him)

    THE DAY HE WAS KILLED:

    He was sent down from the hills, to go down to his village, to pick up suplys such as food and water for his unit. Little did he know that there was a informer in the village
    who notified the Greek army. This army whaited and captured him as he aproached his village. They held him down and decided to decaputate him and they draged his torso seperate to his head behind a horse thrugh the village. A kind of barbarian act you see lately hapening to British and US soldiers in iraq and Mogadishu. There intention was to scare the villagers so not to side with the macedonians. Whats also sad is, his Neighbour who was related thrugh family (tetin) came out with the axe and handed it to the Greek slaughterers in a gesture to show he is on the Greek side. He later had the nerve to go to bitola and droped to his knees, asked Jani's parents for forgiveness.

    While they were parading Jani thrugh the village, his auntie ran out of the house with a blanket and dived on top of Jani's head and torso and began to wail over him. The Greek General at the time pushed this poor lady aside and proceeded with a terror inflicting speach to the villagers. He was Then taken away and never again seen or known the were abouts of his remains. After recent enquiry, i had to find some sort of closure for his family and asked the locals of that village, what they know if anything about Jani in particulor and the fallen soldiers. The only information i got was that Jani Kiprov was buried in a mas Grave which nobody knows where. A kind of mass Grave you have seen and heard that hapened in Bosnia and other parts of Former Yugoslavia. Till this day, his family still are not alowed to visit there old village and the place they lost there brother, uncle, Great grandfather.
    Hmmmmmmm Democracy.
    Attached Files
    http://www.macedoniantruth.org/forum/showthread.php?p=120873#post120873

    Comment

    • George S.
      Senior Member
      • Aug 2009
      • 10116

      #17
      well strangely enough my dedo had a similar fate.But if other people know stories setc can they just post them they are very interesting.Just keep it coming.
      "Ido not want an uprising of people that would leave me at the first failure, I want revolution with citizens able to bear all the temptations to a prolonged struggle, what, because of the fierce political conditions, will be our guide or cattle to the slaughterhouse"
      GOTSE DELCEV

      Comment

      • Macedonian Sun
        Junior Member
        • Oct 2009
        • 47

        #18
        This is not my first post here, those went in response to that maggot drin666.

        I would like to say a big hello to all members on the forum here, I have been following the forum for the past 12 months. The resource and knowledge provided by members here is an astounding effort and service to the Macedonian cause.

        I want to give a brief history of the family so as to be aqainted with the other members here. On my fathers side is the serb connection, his mother, who was from kosovo, my grandfater born in Novo Selo near Skopje, I've been told there are many in Macedonia! On my mothers side they are from Stip, her grandfather however was from Kukus and fled to stip after his brothers & father were killed by armed turk bands. My grandfather on my mothers side was born in Stip & married in Radovis.

        If anyone on the forum has any knowledge or information regarding the family Stoilkov ( mums maiden name ) from Kukus I would love to hear from you. Details are sketchy from mum as you all know these things happened a while ago and the stories of what happened are usually passed orally.

        I made my first trip to Macedonia in 2007 whilst living and working in London. I met members of my extended family for the first time and it was a real eye opener. I was saddened by the standards people endure there knowing how much better off the country could be were it not for the ajduci in power at the time.

        Anyway, thanks again to all pro-Macedonian members for their knowledge & insghts and a big shout out to the admin that kicked drin, I believe my first post was to request someone kick him, cheers!

        Makedonac

        Comment

        • Bij
          Member
          • Oct 2009
          • 905

          #19
          welcome makedonac!

          have you been to kukus yourself? are you sure your grandfathers surname was stoilkov while he was there? quite a few egejci changed names when crossing borders.

          i am quite new here myself, but i hope you are fruitful in finding information about your dedo online.

          Comment

          • Soldier of Macedon
            Senior Member
            • Sep 2008
            • 13670

            #20
            Originally posted by Makedonac
            I want to give a brief history of the family so as to be aqainted with the other members here. On my fathers side is the serb connection, his mother, who was from kosovo, my grandfater born in Novo Selo near Skopje, I've been told there are many in Macedonia!
            Hope you don't mind my questions, just like to know a few things, I take it you use Makedonac as opposed to Makedonec because your father is a Serb? Do you have family in Serbia? And does your family speak Serb or Macedonian more commonly? When you say that you've been told that there are many in Macedonia, do you mean family members from your father's side or Serbs in general? If it is the latter, I can tell you that there aren't many Serbs in Macedonia, about 36,000 in a population of over 2 million.
            In the name of the blood and the sun, the dagger and the gun, Christ protect this soldier, a lion and a Macedonian.

            Comment

            • Macedonian Sun
              Junior Member
              • Oct 2009
              • 47

              #21
              Originally posted by Soldier of Macedon View Post
              You're welcome, racist filth like that does not last here. And welcome to the forum Makedonac, interesting family history.

              Hope you don't mind my questions, just like to know a few things, I take it you use Makedonac as opposed to Makedonec because your father is a Serb? Do you have family in Serbia? And does your family speak Serb or Macedonian more commonly? When you say that you've been told that there are many in Macedonia, do you mean family members from your father's side or Serbs in general? If it is the latter, I can tell you that there aren't many Serbs in Macedonia, about 36,000 in a population of over 2 million.
              Hello Soldier,

              Thats how my mum told me was the correct pronounciation, I take it she made a mistake. My spoken Macedonian is pretty average having grown up in Australia wit hno immediate family, I can read cyrilic also but not very well, especially not rakopisno.

              My father is half serb half maco and about the family mate, there is none in serbia, its only that my fathers mother came from kosovo, the rest are all Macedonian. I was referring to many ' Novo Selo's ', thats what my fiance told me anyway.

              I think Bill asked me about the surname Stoilkov, apparently it wasn't changed as he suggested may have happened. I'm not sure of the significance of this if any but if any one can shed any light that would be much appreciated.

              Cheers

              M

              Comment

              • Macedonian Sun
                Junior Member
                • Oct 2009
                • 47

                #22
                Originally posted by Bij View Post
                welcome makedonac!

                have you been to kukus yourself? are you sure your grandfathers surname was stoilkov while he was there? quite a few egejci changed names when crossing borders.

                i am quite new here myself, but i hope you are fruitful in finding information about your dedo online.
                Hi Bij,

                No I haven't been there, I believe the hellenized albos call it kilkis right? Yeah mum confirmed to the best of her knowledge the name wasn't changed, it was Stoilkov all along.

                Thanks for the well wishes bro.

                M

                Comment

                • Macedonian Sun
                  Junior Member
                  • Oct 2009
                  • 47

                  #23
                  Guys,

                  As SOM pointed out I've made a mistake with the spelling of my Forum nick, its quite embarrassing really can someone point out how I can cahnge it? I've had a look under USerCp but didn't see any relevant option, maybe I'm just blind.

                  Comment

                  • Daskalot
                    Senior Member
                    • Sep 2008
                    • 4345

                    #24
                    Originally posted by Makedonac View Post
                    Guys,

                    As SOM pointed out I've made a mistake with the spelling of my Forum nick, its quite embarrassing really can someone point out how I can cahnge it? I've had a look under USerCp but didn't see any relevant option, maybe I'm just blind.
                    The username "Makedonec" is already taken, please tell me which username you would like instead. I will update it and then you must login with that username because your old one will be invalid.

                    Macedonian Truth Organisation

                    Comment

                    • Bij
                      Member
                      • Oct 2009
                      • 905

                      #25
                      Makedonac - social networking is a good thing. try looking up Stoilkov on facebook and myspace and see what you come across. it might seem tedious but it could lead you to some vital information.

                      Also, try find the appropriate hellenised version of the name Stoilkov and hit that up on the internet. You should be able to find some results.

                      Do you know our maternal grandmothers surname? can be useful in helping you cover some more ground.

                      Comment

                      • makedonin
                        Senior Member
                        • Sep 2008
                        • 1668

                        #26
                        I am aware of Stoilkovi family in Stip. Makedonac mentioned Stip, so they might be related, who knows.
                        To enquire after the impression behind an idea is the way to remove disputes concerning nature and reality.

                        Comment

                        • julie
                          Senior Member
                          • May 2009
                          • 3869

                          #27
                          this is amazing, so humbling, and I read so much of this with tears streaming down my face. Thank you Lion Will Roar, it affirms my beliefs to never give up, it saddens me on the suffering of my beautiful people, that in the 21st Century, with the genocide and the degradation, we are still denied our basic human rights, our rights to call ourselves Macedonian. We are a people that have endured suffering like no other nation, and continue to do so.

                          Once again, thank you, pozdrav od srce


                          woops, have posted on the wrong thread, I am a banana brain when it comes to IT, this is in repsonse to a fantastic thread from the Lion will Roar, a great read, very illuminating
                          Last edited by julie; 11-19-2009, 09:08 PM. Reason: posted on wrong thread
                          "The moral revolution - the revolution of the mind, heart and soul of an enslaved people, is our greatest task."__________________Gotse Delchev

                          Comment

                          • DirtyCodingHabitz
                            Member
                            • Sep 2010
                            • 835

                            #28
                            Pollitecon Publications : Books on the Macedonians of Greece

                            Pollitecon Publications is a publisher of quality books on the Macedonians of northern Greece, focusing on their culture, history and struggle for basic human rights.

                            Following the Balkan Wars of 1912-13, Greece annexed half the territory of Ottoman Macedonia and undertook a program of colonization together with the denationalization and assimilation of the local Macedonians and other ethnic groups which continues to this day.

                            The books have three purposes:

                            1. To provide quality information in English on the ethnic Macedonians

                            2. To assist the Macedonians in their desire to attain recognition and basic human rights

                            3. To assist Greece to end its policy of institutionalized racism and become a tolerant, multicultural society.


                            Pollitecon Publications Has Published The Following Books

                            For Sacred National Freedom: Portraits Of Fallen Freedom Fighters

                            PUBLISHER'S INTRODUCTION
                            370 Macedonians Who Died For Freedom

                            The Greek Civil War of 1946-49 was really two wars: a Civil War between Greece's right wing monarcho-fascists and left wing communists, and a second, less well known Liberation War, a Macedonian Freedom War by a significant portion of the native Macedonian population. These Macedonians lived in a part of geographic Macedonia that only 30 years earlier in the Balkan Wars of 1912-13 was conquered by Greece and become first the "occupied territories" then the "new territories", then "northern Greece" and "Greek Macedonia".

                            Whether we call this Liberation War the Macedonian Freedom War, the Macedonian Freedom Uprising, the Macedonian Freedom Struggle or similar, its history is still being written. This is happening slowly, as the Macedonians in Greece remain under Greek control. But it is happening surely, as new sources of information come to light, new accounts are written by participants and others caught up in the events, and new generations of Macedonians are educated and, because they were born or live outside of Greece, are free to pursue and publish research on this subject.

                            For Sacred National Freedom - Portraits of Fallen Freedom Fighters will be a new source of information for many people, as this translation makes the book available for the first time in English. Readers will quickly see that the book is a cornucopia of information and first hand accounts about both the Macedonian Freedom War and the Greek Civil War.

                            But first, the book is a literary memorial - an act of love and respect - for 370 Macedonians who lost their lives fighting for the freedom of the Macedonian people, some against the German, Italian and Bulgarian occupiers during World War Two, most against the monarcho-fascist Greek Government during the Civil War.

                            In their Preface, the authors say: "The publication of this book is the fruit of the collective effort of a number of comrades who have written recollections on the life and activities of the fallen national fighters… The publication of this book forms a small expression of respect, not only for the 370 fighters named in this book, but also for all of the other known and unknown heroes and martyrs who died in the battle."

                            Fortunately, most of the authors who wrote the pen portraits give their names or initials, as does the artist who drew the 32 excellent pencil portraits. Unfortunately, little else is known about the book except that it was written in the Macedonian language as spoken by the native Macedonians in what since 1912 has been northern Greece, it was published in August 1962, 13 years after the end of the Civil War and Freedom Struggle, and that the print run was 3,000 copies. The book appears to have been distributed to other Macedonian partisans and to families of the fallen.

                            Despite the authors' modest description of it as "a small expression of respect", I believe the book, and this translation, will make an enormous contribution to many people.

                            For Macedonians, the giving of the names of 370 men and women who died for Macedonian freedom is an act of honour that is of immeasurable value to the families of the fallen and to their fellow freedom fighters then and now.

                            For Macedonians everywhere, receiving their names and their stories means they can start to honour these people and their families for their struggle, their sacrifice, and their ideal of freedom for Macedonians.

                            For later generations it can offer a window, perhaps in some cases the only window, on their close relatives or more distant forebears in their extended families.

                            Because the Macedonian and Greek communists lost the war, the contribution of the Macedonians has been written out of or never written in to many histories of the Greek Civil War. The Macedonians are simply ignored, or cast euphemistically as "locals" or "communists" fighting for communism. Such representations are mainly by Greek writers and their sympathetic western academic cohorts. This book is an antidote to such misleading or partial histories.

                            This book clearly shows that where Macedonians were communists or fought alongside the communists, their overarching motive was freedom for the Macedonian people, whether through independence from Greece, autonomy within Greece, or official recognition of the Macedonians as a separate people.

                            Communism was not the only ideology among Macedonians of this period. There were also Macedonian partisans who wanted freedom but did not ally themselves with the communists or the Greeks, and there were many Macedonians who did not play an active role or sought to stay outside the war. In giving us new insights into those Macedonians who fought with the communists, this book also begs many questions about these non-communist and non-combative Macedonians; it highlights how much still remains to be researched and written about the Freedom War.

                            For historians and general readers, this book contains a wealth of information about military and political events, skirmishes and battles, torture, executions, and possible war crimes. It names many of the Greek government's prisons and islands where communists and Macedonians were tortured and died. It also gives accounts of several Macedonian villages where it says Nazi forces committed mass killings.

                            But there are also many wonderful moments. We see the fighters as children, as idealistic youths, as poor Macedonian villagers struggling to improve their lives and the lives of their families, friends and countrymen.

                            The book also offers something positive for the usually strained political relations between Macedonians and Greeks evident in both the ancient and modern eras. In the decades leading up to the Macedonian Freedom War, Greek government forces killed many thousands of Macedonians in conquest. In this book we glimpse a rare and short period in history when a part of the Macedonian people and a part of the Greek people fought on the same side, together as comrades in arms. The Macedonian fighters were aware of this historical achievement, even if their idealism was later shown to be naive and their trust misplaced.

                            To conclude, I would like to express my sincere thanks to Mr Bill Vlashev, who made available the original copy of the book that has been translated here. Mr Vlashev received the book from his cousin, a Macedonian partisan of the period who died in the Czech Republic in 1995. Mr Vlashev was himself a Macedonian child refugee of the Civil War and is now president of the Child Refugees in Sydney.

                            I also express my sincere thanks to the translator, Ms Elizabeth Kolupacev Stewart. Ms Stewart has made an outstanding translation, despite numerous difficulties such as the text being based on the language spoken at the time, dialectical influences including the dialects of the various authors, and many political and military terms relating to the events, organizations, roles, weaponry and ideology of the period. Although the translation has taken much time and labor, she has done it pro bono as a contribution to the Macedonian cause.

                            Thanks to the thoughtfulness of Mr Vlashev and the skill and generosity of Ms Stewart, Pollitecon Publications is proud to make this book available in full on the internet. I am confident Macedonians and many others will agree with me that Sacred National Freedom - Portraits of Fallen Freedom Fighters deserves to be read as widely as possible.

                            Victor Bivell
                            Pirey

                            By Petre M. Andreevski

                            Translated By Will Firth and Mirjana Simjanovska

                            Pirey, by Macedonian poet, novelist and playwright Petre M. Andreevski, is one of the most celebrated novels of modern Macedonian literature. Set during the Balkan Wars, the First World War and the years soon after, the story follows the major political shifts in the Balkans at the end of the Ottoman Empire and their catastrophic impact on a Macedonian village and a married couple, Ion and Velika.

                            The book is famous for its depiction of life around the time of the division of Macedonia, its characterizations, and its use of language and historical setting.

                            While Ion is in the army, Velika struggles as she watches her children and her village ravaged by war. In one famous scene, Ion, conscripted into the Serbian army, and his brother, conscripted into the Bulgarian army, come face-to-face one night on the battlefield.

                            The author, Petre M. Andreevski, was a Macedonian poet, novelist and playwright who won numerous awards for his works, many of which have been translated into other languages. Pirey is his most famous novel and was a best seller in Macedonia.

                            This is the first translation of Pirey into English. The translators, Will Firth and Mirjana Simjanovska, are both Australian professional translators. Mr Firth has over 20 books to his credit, and Ms Simjanovska is a teacher and academic.
                            Picture On The Mantelpiece

                            By Pandora Petrovska

                            Picture on the Mantelpiece gives a Macedonian perspective on the Second World War and the Greek Civil War, and the consequences for ethnic Macedonians from Aegean Macedonia (northern Greece).

                            The book is a powerful autobiography of Stefo and Lena Duketovski from the Macedonian village of Trna. Married during the early days of the Second World War, Stefo is conscripted into the Greek army and later becomes a partisan. But caught up in the Macedonian Freedom Struggle during the Greek Civil War, they become separated from each other and their young family. Stefo and Lena each find themself on Mount Gramos during the heaviest bombing of the Civil War but without knowing the other is there.

                            After the War, with Stefo in the Republic of Macedonia and later Australia, Lena behind the Iron Curtain, and their two young boys scattered across Europe, they must begin the difficult task of finding each other and re-uniting their family.

                            Picture on the Mantelpiece is an oral history about war, migration, Macedonian village life in the early and mid 20th century, and the importance of family. It is well told and easy to read.

                            It is the second book by Macedonian Australian author, Pandora Petrovska, whose first book, Children of the Bird Goddess, was published by Pollitecon in 1998 and remains popular.
                            The Contest For Macedonian Identity 1870-1912

                            By Nick Anastasovski

                            The Contest For Macedonian Identity 1870-1912 is a scholarly book detailing the ongoing campaigns to divide and conquer the Macedonian people - first by the Ottoman Empire under which Macedonia was colonized by Muslims and many Macedonians converted to Islam; and then by Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria as they fought to turn Macedonians into Greeks, Serbs and Bulgarians using State-sponsored teachers, priests, bandits and terrorists

                            The Contest For Macedonian Identity examines in detail this fierce competition, and how it was fought at the political, religious, educational, and day-to-day village level. It analyzes Ottoman, Greek, Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian and other sources and introduces new and original research by the author from the Bitola region, western Macedonia, and many other parts of ethnic and Ottoman Macedonia. This is a definitive work on the occupation of Macedonia in the modern era and the development and defence of the Macedonian identity.

                            With 520 pages and a large format, The Contest for Macedonian Identity 1870-1912 is a big, generous book, well researched and easy to read.
                            A Girl From Neret

                            By Lefa Ognenova-Michova & Kathleen Mitsou-Lazaridis

                            A Girl From Neret is the first book about the picturesque mountain
                            village of Neret in Aegean Macedonia, which since 1912 has been part of northern Greece.

                            Written in English, the book is an autobiography by Lefa Ognenova-Michova and her daughter Kathleen Mitsou-Lazaridis, telling of Lefa's childhood in her village and capturing many of the details and characters of family and village life in the 1940s.

                            It also tells of life during the Macedonian War of Independence that was part of the Greek Civil War, and how Lefa, at the age of nine, becomes a child refugee. Along with thousands of other Macedonian children she leaves her village and homeland and begins a long journey that takes her through Macedonia and eastern Europe to Hungary. Living with other Macedonian children, she is educated and grows into a young woman before finally being reunited with her family in Australia over seven years later.

                            The family builds a new life in Manjimup in the south west of Western Australia where Lefa marries and she and her young family later move to Melbourne and Perth.

                            A Girl From Neret is a first hand account of a childhood in an old Macedonian village, and a child's view of a War that has affected many thousands of Macedonian families. It is also a strong story of how Australia has allowed its troubled immigrants to rebuild their lives and flourish in a land free from poverty, war and political oppression.
                            The Big Water

                            by Zhivko Chingo, translated by Elizabeth Kolupacev Stewart

                            The Big Water is the first English language translation of the prize winning Macedonian novel, Golemata Voda, by author Zhivko Chingo.

                            Set in Macedonia immediately after World War 2, it tells the story of a group of children orphaned by the war and their life in an orphanage. Full of characters and incidents, the book presents a child's view of life that is both humorous and bleak and, by its end, very moving.

                            At a metaphoric level, the novel presents a strong critique of the authoritarianism of both institutional life and the Communist system, and their inability to reconcile with the needs and nature of the individual.

                            At the human level, The Big Water is a very positive and moving story of the emotional development of children, and of the fundamental and irreplaceable role of the mother. Readers will remember this story and its climax long after they have finished the book.

                            The translator, Sydney lawyer Elizabeth Kolupacev Stewart, has previously translated another prize winning Macedonian novel, Black Seed (Crno Seme) by Tashko Georgievski. Both translations are notable for being true to the authors' direct, poetic and very readable narratives.
                            From War To Whittlesea: Oral Histories of Macedonian Child Refugees

                            By Macedonian Welfare Workers’ Network of Victoria

                            From War to Whittlesea is a book of recollections and reflections - dramatic, insightful, passionate and compassionate - from some of the 28,000 Macedonian child refugees who were evacuated from their homes in northern Greece between 1948 and 1949 during the Macedonian struggle for independence in the Greek Civil War.

                            The story of the child refugees or “detsa begaltsi” remains one of the most powerful events of modern Macedonian history and its effects are still felt in Macedonian communities around the world.

                            Five of the oral histories are from child refugees, the sixth is from the mother of one of the children. The six individuals are from the villages of Bapchor, Lagen, Neret and Krushoradi. All are now Australian residents.

                            Each story is made all the more moving by the fact that the refugees were only children. The stories tell of village life before the war, the destruction wrought by Greek soldiers and their American and British allies, separation from parents and family, the journey to Eastern Europe, growing up in foreign lands, and their eventual arrival in Australia and how they rebuilt their lives here.

                            Their experiences are similar to those witnessed recently in Bosnia and Kosovo; yet the Macedonian refugee experience from northern Greece predates these events by 50 years and is still unfolding as the refugees, now in their 50s and 60s, use their growing maturity and insight to understand the events and experiences that changed the lives of all Macedonians from northern Greece.
                            Children Of The Bird Goddess: A Macedonian Autobiography

                            by Kita Sapurma and Pandora Petrovska

                            Children of the Bird Goddess: A Macedonian Autobiography of Kita Sapurma is an oral history that spans over 100 years and explores the lives of four generations of Macedonian women from Aegean Macedonia (northern Greece).

                            Commencing in the 19th Century when Macedonia was under the Ottoman Empire, the family’s story is interwoven with the upheavals of the Balkan Wars, the Greek takeover and colonization of half of Macedonia, the two World Wars, and the Macedonian struggle for independence during the Greek Civil War.

                            Amid this historical turbulence, the book is a detailed portrayal of Macedonian village life and culture as practised over the centuries. It offers a personal account of Macedonian women’s culture, giving a women’s perspective on the Macedonian lifestyle, its spirituality of the land, and many of the most important Macedonian customs and rituals which have been passed from mother to daughter down the generations.

                            The story is also a moving account of political and cultural oppression and the tragic effects on the family’s lives and fortunes. This legacy becomes an integral part of Australia’s history as the family, along with thousands of other Macedonians, eventually flees Greece and must manage the joys and difficulties of setting up anew in Australia.

                            One of the first autobiographies in English of a woman from Aegean Macedonia, Children Of The Bird Goddess will intrigue and enlighten. Its telling is about healing, and breaking the silence and invisibility of Macedonian women.
                            Black Seed

                            by Tashko Georgievski, translated by Elizabeth Kolupacev Stewart

                            Black Seed is one of the great political and humanistic novels of contemporary literature. It is one of the few books that examines life in the Greek prison camps during the Greek Civil War, providing a rare insight into a period when the State-sponsored persecution of political dissidents and ethnic minorities, particularly Macedonians, was at its most intense.

                            The main character, Doni, is an ethnic Macedonian from Aegean Macedonia (northern Greece). Conscripted into the Greek army, he is accused of being a communist and along with other political prisoners is taken to one of the concentration camps and forced to "confess" and pledge allegiance to Greece. But Doni has nothing to confess; his crime is simply to be a Macedonian.

                            Written in a direct and succinct style, Black Seed is a story of courage, compassion and truth which is universal in meaning. It will move everyone who reads it.

                            First published in 1966, Black Seed won the "13 November Award" from the City of Skopje. It has been made into a successful film and has been translated into a number of European languages. This is the first translation into English.

                            The author, Tashko Georgievski, was born in Voden in Aegean Macedonia in 1935 and left Greece as a refugee in 1946. He has published over 12 books and is one of Macedonia's most acclaimed contemporary authors.

                            The book also contains an article on Georgievski by Mateja Matevski, one of Macedonia's leading international poets. The article discusses the theme of "returning" which is common in Georgievki's books and which echoes the feelings of many thousands of Macedonians who, because of Greek government policy, are denied the right to return to their homes in Aegean Macedonia.
                            Macedonian Agenda

                            Editor, Victor Bivell

                            Macedonian Agenda is the leading information and reference book about one of Australia's oldest and largest ethnic groups, containing 16 essays and articles by 14 authors.

                            The book explores a number of major themes including:

                            * Political issues between Macedonia and its Balkan neighbours, particularly Greece, and their repercussions in Australia

                            * Macedonian history and settlement in Australia, and the development of Macedonian values, language, religion and theatre in Australia

                            * The Macedonian identity and the 'Greek' Macedonian identity, explored through the lives of two brothers who settled in Melbourne

                            * The changing role of Macedonian women

                            * The welfare needs of older migrants

                            * The lack of human rights in Aegean Macedonia (northern Greece) including the plight of the child refugees from the Greek Civil War.

                            The essay titles and authors are:

                            * Macedonian Values in Multicultural Australia, Zoran Coseski

                            * Some Observations on the Speech of Bilingual Macedonian-Australians, Betty K Stewart

                            * The Australian-Macedonian Drama Group, Stefo Stojanovski

                            * The Macedonian Orthodox Church: Its Role in the Moulding and Maintenance of Ethnic Identity in Australia, Dr Christopher Popov and Michael Radin

                            * Barriers to Social Change for Macedonian Women, Malina Stankovska

                            * A Study of Women Activists in the Macedonian Community, Malina Stankovska

                            * The Macedonian Elderly: A Needs Study of the Macedonian Elderly in the Western Region of Melbourne, Macedonian Community Welfare Association of the Western Region Inc

                            * Features of Settlement in Australia by Macedonians from the Aegean Region, Michael Radin

                            * Proud of the Macedonian Heritage, Faye Kolev

                            * Assimilation and the Public and Private Identity of Macedonians: A Dialectical Expose, Pandora Petrovska

                            * Declaration of the "Child Refugees", The Association of Refugee Children from the Aegean Part of Macedonia

                            * Submission on the 28,000 Ethnic Macedonian "Child Refugees", Aegean Macedonian Association of Australia

                            * A Political Strategy for the Macedonian Diaspora, Victor Bivell

                            * The Political Future of the Macedonians in Australia, Zoran Coseski

                            * Australian Law, International Treaties and the Government's "Slav" Prefix, Risto Balalovski

                            * Why Australia?, Bob Spasenovski

                            "Useful contribution to dialogue on a sensitive issue" The Australian newspaper. "A tribute to multiculturalism" The Geelong Advertiser.
                            The Rising Sun In The Balkans: The Republic Of Macedonia

                            by International Affairs Agency

                            When the Republic of Macedonia voted for independence in 1991 its international recognition was temporarily delayed by objections from Greece regarding the use of the name Macedonia, the use of the Macedonian Sun symbol, and Macedonia's Constitutional concerns for the Macedonian minority in northern Greece. This book presents the arguments of both countries and an objective, third party analysis.

                            Among other points, the book examines the Greek claim to exclusive copyright, the historical arguments, the division of Macedonia in 1913 which laid the foundation for the recent problems, and the denial of basic human rights to the Macedonian minority in Greece.

                            The positions of the neighbouring countries, Bulgaria, Serbia and Albania, are also outlined.

                            In examining the Greek-Serbian alliance on the issue, the book places in context the events leading up to the deployment of United Nations and United States peacekeeping troops in Macedonia to prevent the spread of hostilities from former Yugoslavia and possible territorial aggression.

                            The book also contains essential facts about Macedonia regarding population, religion, language and the political and economic situation.

                            The book is written by the International Affairs Agency, a Turkish based research centre specializing in Balkan Affairs.
                            What Europe Has Forgotten: The Struggle Of the Aegean Macedonians

                            A Report by the Association of Macedonians in Poland

                            What Europe Has Forgotten: The Struggle Of The Aegean Macedonians is a book which investigates official discrimination in Aegean Macedonia (northern Greece) and the ongoing struggle of the 28,000 Macedonian child refugees who were evacuated in 1948 during the Greek Civil War.

                            The author of the report, Mito Aleksovski, is president of the Association of Macedonians in Poland and one of the child refugees himself. In the introduction, Mr Aleksovski says "The Association of Macedonians in Poland has prepared this report to acquaint international organizations dealing with human rights and national minorities, and also governments of states and international public opinion, with the tragic situation of the Macedonian nation."

                            The book outlines the obligations assumed by Greece in the 1920 international agreement "On the Protection of Non-Greek Nations" in which Greece pledged to fully protect its Macedonian national minority. This was to include full civic and political rights irrespective of nationality; freedom to use any language in personal, trade and religious contacts and in print and publications; the establishment of schools for Macedonians to learn their own language; and the treatment of Macedonians on a par with Greeks.

                            However, instead of fulfilling these promises, the Greek authorities instigated policies aimed at assimilation and displacement and the report identifies and summarizes a number of anti-Macedonian laws introduced by successive Greek governments since the takeover of Aegean Macedonia.

                            These laws particularly affected refugees from the Greek Civil War including the 28,000 Macedonian child refugees. Many thousands of these child refugees have not been allowed to return to Greece and have not been reunited with their families, an act of discrimination which defies international human rights agreements signed by Greece.

                            Although the report paints a tragic picture that will move all Macedonians, it also has many positive elements. It discusses the forms of self defence adopted by Macedonians and the rebirth of Macedonian national consciousness around the world.

                            Nor is the report critical of the Greek people. Mr Aleksovski believes that Greek society's consciousness about the Macedonian issue needs to be raised and he gives examples of where this is happening.

                            The report ends with an articulate appeal to world public opinion for the provision of full human rights, including political, linguistic, religious and cultural rights, to the Macedonian minority.

                            The 68 page report contains over 20 pages of letters, certificates and other historical documents and 28 photographs to support its claims.

                            What Europe has Forgotten: The Struggle of the Aegean Macedonians is a lively and challenging report. It was one of the very first texts on Aegean Macedonia to be available in English and written from the Macedonian point of view.

                            Comment

                            • Soldier of Macedon
                              Senior Member
                              • Sep 2008
                              • 13670

                              #29
                              Bapchor Then, Bapchor Now, By Lita Grakini.


                              I recently went to Europe including all four parts of Macedonia as well as Turkey, Denmark and Greece. On my passport my place of birth says Bapchor, therefore I entered Greece from an EU country. Later as I was in the Kostur/ Lerin area and had intentions of going to the Republic of Macedonia, I saw no point in going the long way around through another EU country. As a result we arranged for a cab driver to take us through the border and then to Bitola. This should have been easy enough, but not so.

                              At the border, the cab driver took my and my partner's passports to the Greek border control officers. During this process we waited in the cab for a long time and saw the cab driver conversing with the border control personnel, in a very animated way. Tired and apprehensive while sitting in the cab, we were aware of my situation - meaning that as I was born in the Greek occupied part of Macedonia, no doubt it was my passport which was taking such a long time. Eventually the cab driver, himself a Macedonian, returned to us. He said that he could not talk the border control into letting me go through, even after he told them that my village has no inhabitants now. Instead the cab driver was told to have me go to the window, as they wanted to see me.

                              To cut a long story short, they were interested as to how I got into the country. I was informed that in future I will not be allowed back in unless I changed the name of my place of birth on my passport, to something unintelligible to me, the Greek name. Therefore they wanted me to falsify my Australian passport, to suit their egos and paranoia. I know the “new” imposed Greek name of the village, but it is offensive to me and I choose not to use it.

                              The village has not had anyone living in it since the period of the Civil War. We lost our orchards, barns, animals, homes, way of life and village. As did the other Bapchorians. Most importantly we lost a generation of young beautiful people in this war. We who survived became destitute. Some went to other villages to survive as best as they could. Many children from the village were sent to neighbouring countries to grow up in children’s homes, away from their parents and families.

                              My father was killed in the war when I was under two years old. I visited my birthplace, which was not easily accessible and personally saw the village ruins. There was evidence of bears there and perhaps there may be wolves and other animals which roam about, but that is all. Even the village ruins have crumbled to such an extent that they are almost completely overgrown by shrubs. Yet the Greeks have the indecency to be wielding their power over the name of the village. This is indecent, almost sacrilegious; it is like robbing a mass grave of the inhabitants of the village. A bit of our soul will always be there. Someone’s place of birth is a very powerful thing and the name of the birthplace very important. Bapchor is a place in which so much Macedonian blood has been spilled and so many dreams and futures destroyed. I was too young to remember the village well when I was an infant. However it was Bapchor when I had to leave it and as far as I am concerned, it is Bapchor now.

                              What a stupid thing the Greek border control people did. I am not a criminal to be targeted like this, nor wanted by Interpol, but a respected professional woman of mature age. Perhaps it was just as well the cab driver dealt with most of this confrontation with the border control officers, as I would have gotten very angry. I was already very tired from my trip from Kostur to Lerin and had to deal with a lot of emotional experiences, the border control difficulty was the last straw.

                              When the two border controllers saw me I do not know what they made of my fair complexion and blue eyes. I could see them studying my face. I was relieved that they did not call me Greek, that would have been the ultimate insult. Surely these people know the history and know that we are Macedonians - they could not be that ignorant. No doubt they choose to believe what they want to, even if it is not the truth. What a burden we Macedonians have to carry. I urge especially second and third generation young people of Macedonian origin to visit their parents’ birthplace. It is an eye opening experience and well worthwhile.
                              In the name of the blood and the sun, the dagger and the gun, Christ protect this soldier, a lion and a Macedonian.

                              Comment

                              • Voltron
                                Banned
                                • Jan 2011
                                • 1362

                                #30
                                If I had on my US passport Constantinople, Turkey do you think I would be let in ?
                                She " chooses " not to use the current name of the place of birth, therefore she " chooses " to make her trip hard on herself. Some ppl still live in the past and have a chip on their shoulder expecting historical events to somehow go back in time to make them feel better. Well, we never say Asia Minor Occupied, it is now Turkey. I would advise her to get used to it. Also the fair hair and blue eye comment is indictive of what type of attitude she had almost as if she was asking to get denied at the border.
                                Last edited by Voltron; 07-23-2011, 01:23 PM.

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