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The Macedonian Digest “From the readers for the readers” Edition 61 – January 2011 ======oOo====== Editor’s Notes Letter from the Macedonian Officers On behalf of the Macedonian officers who successfully completed the language course at CFB Borden and who at the moment have returned to Macedonia , it is our privilege and pleasure to present you with this letter of congratulations and appreciation. We the Macedonian officers would first like to honour St. Clement of Ohrid Day and wish you and the Macedonian people many years of celebrations and many years for St. Clement to be the place where all Macedonians gather and remember that Macedonia, the Macedonian nation and the Macedonian language and culture, exists. We spent a wonderful time with you, the Macedonians from Toronto , and would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for all your efforts to make our stay in Canada more interesting, better and understandably easier. Being away from our homeland you know what it means and how it feels to be separated from family, to find yourself far away from your homeland; our country Macedonia. After what we have seen, experienced and felt in Toronto , in Canada , with you the Macedonian Diaspora, we need to convey our personal feelings that we are proud to be Macedonian officers and have the privilege to protect our fatherland. We are also proud to have Macedonians all over the world who desire their fatherland, who have never forgotten where they come from, who

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Page 1: The Macedonian Digest 2011

The Macedonian Digest“From the readers for the readers”

Edition 61 – January 2011 

======oOo======

Editor’s Notes Letter from the Macedonian Officers On behalf of the Macedonian officers who successfully completed the language course at CFB Borden and who at the moment have returned to Macedonia , it is our privilege and pleasure to present you with this letter of congratulations and appreciation. We the Macedonian officers would first like to honour St. Clement of Ohrid Day and wish you and the Macedonian people many years of celebrations and many years for St. Clement to be the place where all Macedonians gather and remember that Macedonia, the Macedonian nation and the Macedonian language and culture, exists. We spent a wonderful time with you, the Macedonians from Toronto , and would like to take this opportunity to thank all of you for all your efforts to make our stay in Canada more interesting, better and understandably easier. Being away from our homeland you know what it means and how it feels to be separated from family, to find yourself far away from your homeland; our country Macedonia. After what we have seen, experienced and felt in Toronto , in Canada , with you the Macedonian Diaspora, we need to convey our personal feelings that we are proud to be Macedonian officers and have the privilege to protect our fatherland. We are also proud to have Macedonians all over the world who desire their fatherland, who have never forgotten where they come from, who they are, or the language they speak. Simply put we are proud that we are Macedonians. This pride gives us, the Macedonian officers, even greater strength in our lasting efforts to preserve our fatherland that it may endure forever. Be assured that Macedonia is in good hands and if there is a need to protect it, we the Macedonian officers will protect it with our lives from all possible threats to ensure that its sovereignty and integrity are intact. Before we conclude our address, we wish you good health and much success in your vocation and life. It is also our desire to ask of you that you extend the same courtesy, which you extended to us, to the next group of Macedonian officers who will continue to visit CFP Borden for their training. We would like to complete our address by leaving you with this one message, loud and clear; LONG LIVE THE REPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA , GOD PROTECT MACEDONIA .

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 From the Macedonian officers, Colonel Metodija Velickovski, Lieutenant Colonel Zoran Iliev, Lieutenant Colonel Orce Jordev and Major Dimche Velkov.

Iliev Zoran  Pismo od Makedonskite oficeri Vo imeto na Makedonskite oficeri koi uspesno ja zavsija jazicnata obuka vo Bazata Borden i vo momentov se naogaat vo Makedonija, imame golema cest i zadovolstvo da go procitame ova pismo na cestitka i blagodarnost. Nie Makedonskite oficeri, najprvo sakame da Vi go cestitame denot na crkvata Sv. Kliment Ohridski, so zelba uste mnogu godini da go slavite i uste mnogu godini istata da bide mesto kade sto ke se sobiraat site Makedonci od Kanada, so cel nikogas da ne se zaboravi deka postoi Makedonija, Makedonskata nacija,  Makedonskiot jazik i kultura. Pominavme prekrasno vreme so Vas, Makedoncite od Toronto, i vo ovaa prilika sakame da Vi se zablagodarime na site Vasi napori da ni go napravite nasiot prestoj vo Kanada, pointeresen, poubav i se razbira polesen, zatoa sto site Vie znaete sto znaci da si oddelen od semejstvoto, sto znaci i koe e cuvstvoto da se naogas tolku daleku od svojata rodna zemja, nasata zemja Makedonija. Posle se sto vidovme, doziveavme i pocustvuvavme tuka vo Toronto, vo Kanada, so Vas, Makedonskata dijaspora, mozeme samo da Vi go preneseme naseto licno cuvstvo, gordi sme sto sme Makedonski oficeri i sto ja imame taa privilegija da ja branime nasata tatkovina, gordi sme sto imame takvi Makedonci nasekade vo svetot, sto si ja sakaat svojata tatkovina, sto nikogas ne zaboravile od kade se, sto se i koj jazik go zboruvaat, ednostavno receno gordi sme sto sme Makedonci.  Seto toa ni dava uste pogolema sila na Nas, Makedonskite oficeri, da istraeme vo svoite napori da ja socuvame nasata tatkovina i istata vecno da opstojuva. Bidete ubedeni deka Makedonija e vo pravi race, deka ako zatreba Makedonskite oficeri so svojot zivot ke ja odbranat od site mozni zakani po nejziniot suverenitet i integritet. I na krajot od naseto obrakanje, Vi posakuvame mnogu zdravje i uspeh kako vo rabotata taka i vo zivotot i se razbira barame od Vas da prodolzite so sorabotkata i poddrskata na narednite generacii na Makedonski oficeri koi zasigurno ke prodolzaat da doagaat na jazicnata obuka vo bazata Borden. I kako sto prilega na site Makedonski oficeri naseto obrakanje do Vas sakame da go zavrsime so edno jasno i glasno DA ZIVEE REPUBLIKA MAKEDONIJA, GOSPOD DA JA CUVA MAKEDONIJA. 

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Od Makedonskite oficeri, polkovnik Metodija Velickovski, potpolkovnik Zoran Iliev, potpolkovnik Orce Jordev i major Dimce Velkov

Iliev Zoran Our Name is Macedoniawww.mhrmi.org/our_name_is_macedonia  

Feature Story 

CIA Double deals in MacedoniaThe United Nations Funds the Terrorists

 Monday December 6, 2010

 http://macedonianspark.com/en/news/article/469-2010-12-05-23-54-19 

By Michael ChossudovskѕyProfessor at the University of Ottawa , Canada

 Recruiting Foreign Mercenaries Since the Soviet-Afghan war, recruiting Mujahedin (”holy warriors”) to fight covert wars on Washington ’s behest has become an integral part of US foreign policy. A report of the US Congress has revealed how the US administration –under advice from the National Security Council headed by Anthony Lake– had “helped turn Bosnia into a militant Islamic base” leading to the recruitment through the so-called “Militant Islamic Network,” of thousands of Mujahedin from the Muslim world. (1)The “Bosnian pattern” has since been replicated in Kosovo, Southern Serbia and Macedonia . Among the foreign mercenaries now fighting with the KLA-NLA are Mujahedin from the Middle East and the Central Asian republics of the former Soviet Union as well as “soldiers of fortune” from several NATO countries including Britain , Holland and Germany . Some of these Western mercenaries had previously fought with the KLA and the Bosnian Muslim Army. (2)Also among NLA recruits are Albanian-American “volunteers” enlisted in New York with the tacit approval of the US government. (3) In March 2001, the New York-based Albanian-language newspaper Bota Sot printed an advertisement of the National Liberation Army (NLA) “calling Albanians [in the US ] to register as volunteers and to donate money.”  (4) Several hundred Albanian-Americans had formed an “Atlantic Brigade” which fought alongside the KLA in 1998 and 1999. In recent months, members of the “Atlantic Brigade” have reportedly joined the NLA. (5) The United Nations Funds the Terrorists 

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Amply documented, the United Nations so-called “civilian” Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC) is the KLA in disguise, and the NLA is a proxy of the KLA. According to the Sunday Times: “Hundreds of KPC reservists were called up by their Albanian commander, Agim Ceku, in March [2001]. They subsequently disappeared to former KLA training camps in Albania and are now re-emerging in Macedonia .”  (6) NLA rebel Commander Ostremi was until recently Chief of Staff of the Kosovo Protection Corps (KPC). To maintain appearances, Washington has “blacklisted” the KPC commanders who joined the NLA. Washington ’s so-called “blacklist” –which bars the former KPC commanders from entering the US– includes the names of “Commander Ostremi, his replacement as chief-of-staff at the KPC Commander Daut Haradinaj, the commander and deputy commander of the KPC’s elite force, the Rapid Reaction Corps, plus the leaders of two of its six regional divisions, Commander Sami Lushtaku and Commander Mustafa Rrustem…”  (7) From the horse’s mouth: Washington ’s “blacklist” visibly refutes the claims of both the “international community” and the Western media mantra that “the NLA has no links to KLA”. In fact, the “blacklist” confirms that they are one and the same thing, with the same commanding officers in both the KPC and the NLA. Moreover, it also confirms that the terrorist assaults are led by military personnel paid by the United Nations. When Commander Ostremi took leave from his UN job to lead the NLA, the UN “assumed he had gone on holiday”.  (8) According to the Irish Times, UN Secretary General Kofi Annan failed to remove the NLA commanders from the United Nations payroll. The “international community” was still (early July) footing the bill under the disguise of UN “peacekeeping”:“…the United Nations says it will take no action against these five men [NLA commanders], all still serving officers [in the UN sponsored KPC] because Washington has yet to pass on details of what the men are supposed to have done.” (9) This pattern of “financing terrorism” from the UN purse is nothing new. The former head of the UN Interim Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) Bernard Kouchner had established close personal ties with KLA Commander in Chief Agim Ceku, who in a bitter irony was on the list of “alleged war criminals” of the Hague Tribunal. But because he was wanted in relation to “crimes committed in Croatia ” rather than Kosovo, this was not an issue in his appointment by the UN to the position of Commander in Chief of the KPC. (10). An independent report submitted to UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in 2000 confirmed that the KPC had been involved in “criminal activities - killings, ill-treatment/torture, illegal policing, abuse of authority, intimidation, breaches of political neutrality and hate speech.” (11) In a cruel irony, “the United Nations is paying the salaries of many of the gangsters.” (12) But what the report fails to mention, however, is that barely two months after the official inauguration of the KPC under UN auspices (September 1999), KPC-KLA commanders –using UN resources and equipment — were already preparing the assaults into Macedonia, as a logical follow-up to their terrorist activities in Kosovo. According to the Skopje daily Dnevnik, the KPC had established a “sixth operation zone” which:

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“included Presevo, Bujanovac, Medvedja [in Southern Serbia ] and Macedonian villages in the area of Skopska Crna Gora, Lojane, Vaksince, Straza and Lipkovo… Sources, who insist on anonymity, claim that headquarters of Kosovo protection brigades [directly linked to the UN sponsored KPC] have [March 2000] already been formed in Tetovo, Gostivar and Skopje . They are being prepared in Debar and Struga [on the border with Albania ] as well, and their members have defined codes.”  (13) According to the BBC, “Western special forces were still training the guerrillas” meaning that they were assisting the KLA in opening up “a new front” in Southern Serbia and Macedonia . (14) References: 1. Washington Times, 14 December 1997 and US Congress, Press Release, "Militant Islamic Base", Congressional Press Releases, 16 January 1997 .2. Scotland on Sunday, Glasgow , 15 June 2001 , http://www.scotlandonsunday.com/text_only.cfm?id=SS01025960, see also UPI, 9 July 2001 .3. New York Times, 19 March 2001 . In March 2001, the New York-based Albanian-language newspaper Bota Sot printed an advertisement by the National Liberation Army (NLA) "calling Albanians [in the US ] to register as volunteers and to donate money." See The Guardian, London , 20 March 2001 .4. The Guardian, 20 March 2001 , available at http://gu.com/Kosovo/Story/0,2763,459596,00.html. See also ITAR Tass, Moscow , 20 March 2001 .5. According to the editor of Bota Sot, Dervish Jahjaga interviewed by The Guardian, London , 20 March 2001 .6. For further details see Sunday Times, London , 10 June 2001 at http://www.sunday-times.co.uk/news/pages/sti/2001/06/10/stifgneeu01001.html. See also Jared Israel, Sorry Virginia, but they are NATO troops, not Rebels, Emperors Clothes, June 2001 at http://emperors-clothes.com/mac/times2.htm.7. Irish Times, Dublin , 5 July 2001 .8. Ibid.9. Ibid.10. See Michel Chossudovsky, The United Nations Appoints an Alleged War Criminal in Kosovo, March 2000, at http://www.emperors-clothes.com/articles/chuss/unandthe.htm.11. Quoted in John Sweeney and Jen Holsoe, "Kosovo Disaster Response Service Stands Accused of Murder and Torture," The Observer, London , 12 March 2000 .12. Ibid13. Macedonian Information Centre Newsletter, Skopje , 21 March 2000 , published by BBC Summary of World Broadcast, 24 March 2000 .14. BBC, 29 January 2001 , at http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/world/europe/newsid_1142000/1142478.stm.

  

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Not another BIG Greek Lie? Despite what some may think, there will never be a solution to the problems with Modern Greece because the mere existence of Macedonians and an independent Macedonian state negate and contradict the very foundations on which the Modern Greek state and Modern 'Greek' ethnicity were built. Modern Greece was created from an ethnically diverse population assimilated either willingly or by force under 'Neo-Hellenism', or the false belief that they are all 'directly' descended from the ancient Hellenes.

Any recognition of a Macedonian ethnicity by Modern Greece would be de facto recognition of the Macedonians within the borders of the modern Greece state. This poses a threat to the Modern 'Greek' identity as established under 'Neo-Hellenism', as the Moderns 'Greeks' are ALL supposed to be 'directly descended' from the ancient Hellenes. If the Macedonians in Modern Greece aren't 'Greek' or 'directly' descended from the ancient Hellenes...then what other groups within Modern Greek society happen to be Non-Greek as well. These kinds of uncomfortable questions threaten to expose the policy of 'Neo-Hellenism' to be nothing more then a lie, to which Modern 'Greeks' fear would ultimately lead to the unraveling of the Modern Greek state. The Modern 'Greeks' therefore have two choices;

1 - Abandon the policy of 'Neo-Hellenism' and rediscover their true ethnic origins, or...

2 - Do everything in their power to erase the existence of a Macedonian ethnicity.

It is therefore clear what choice the Modern 'Greeks' have made. Modern 'Greeks' will NEVER recognize the existence of a Macedonian ethnicity and will do everything in their power to negate and erase the existence of Macedonia and Macedonians.

For this reason all diplomatic discussions with Modern Greece are pointless and must end NOW!!! By Napoleon  

From the International Scene 

A Shout Out To All Macedonian Surfers 

By Robert Smilevski

                Yes, surfers. I understand that when one thinks of Macedonia , surfing isn't the one sport or pursuit that is identified with our country. Surfing conjures up images of palm tree lined

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beaches with tropical blue waters and sun drenched bleach blond guys and girls with too much time on their hands. Some offshoots of the sport such as windsurfing, skateboarding, and even snowboarding are present and popular in Macedonia . Modern geography doesn't allow us easy access to a surf-able wave, and although we may not have always been landlocked that is now the case.                I guess my own personal history wouldn't exactly point to surfing as being one of my major pursuits. My parents immigrated to the United States in 1974 from Tetovo to the very un-surf-able South Chicago Illinois . I had seen surfing here and there on TV and it evoked that image I'd described earlier of beach parties, girls, and fun. My own situation at the time was less than scenic, with my parents like many immigrants taking factory jobs and settling in a working class neighborhood. A need for adventure and escape from home had me in Marine Corp boot camp a month after my 18th birthday and it was in June of 1990, while going through one of my specialized schools at  Camp Pendleton California , when I caught my first wave on a borrowed body board. The feeling was indescribable, effortless forward momentum on a cloud is the way my memory recounts it. I caught a bunch of waves that day and also "wiped out" a couple times teaching me there can be a price to pay for wanting this natural "high". About a month later I was assigned to my permanent duty station, Kaneohe Bay , Hawaii .               I would love to say I became a competent surfer, riding big waves on the north shore with the pros, but the truth is lack of free time and multiple deployments kept me from surfing much, and though I had rented long-boards on Wai-ki-ki a number of times, standing up on the board and riding the wave with any confidence was much harder than body boarding.               After serving for four years, I was back in the mid-west for college, then eventually made my way to the northeast coast of the United States where I eventually settled. I was so naive back then I didn't realize you can surf the northeast, but sure enough people were out in the water catching waves when the surf was up. I found a broken board in the trash in 2001, fixed it, and that became the first board I owned. I became what is known as a "kook" in the surfing world, an inexperienced and often painful to watch surfer, trying my best but not quite competent. I finally turned the corner in 2004 when I quit my lifelong bad habit of smoking. It was so hard for me I would just get in the water, waves or no waves, every day after work to stay away from the temptation of smoking and little by little I got over the cravings and my ability in surfing improved drastically.               I really caught the surf bug back then and it's as strong as ever. I check weather patterns daily, am extremely excited when it's hurricane season, and try to surf at least once a week. It's caused numerous arguments with my wife, given me many bumps on the head, stitches, and a couple scary near drowning experiences but I couldn't stop if I wanted to. The northeast has bitterly cold winters but wetsuit technology allows me to surf even in midwinter, which has become my favorite time to surf believe it or not because the crowds diminish greatly (large numbers of surfers in the water is not a welcome sight, we are a greedy bunch who don't want to compete with others for a good wave).                          All in all it keeps me sane. I always hope I run into another Macedonian out in the water, I have Macedonian tattooed on my back so I'm pretty easy to spot, but alas it still hasn't happened. I know that we have immigrated all over the world including both coasts of the U.S. , Canada , Australia , coastal European countries, and even Central and South America . Odds are I'm not the only Macedonian to pick up and get hooked on surfing, but where are they?? I recently watched an amateur surf contest in Costa Rica where different countries competed, and hoped without hope I would see the Macedonian flag being waved, but it didn't happen.

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 If you are a Macedonian parent and live in a coastal area, I would absolutely recommend surfing to your kids. There is a bit of danger involved as in any sport but the benefits of mind, body, and spirit cannot be underestimated. It takes physical stamina just to make it out to the lineup (the spot where you wait for the wave) much patience to wait for a wave,  confidence to paddle into a wall of water that wants to toss you like a rag doll, and finally respect, for the ocean and other surfers around you. These things do carry on to dry land and as I recently heard from the late Andy Irons, "I'm always a better person when I come out of the water". Let's see if we can't raise the Macedonian flag one day at a surfing event! Robert Smilevski 

Opinions              

POSSIBLE FORMS OF ORGANIZATION OF COMPANIES 

By Stamenin This analysis is written taking as a base the model of the leading and will be as much valid as is valid the model of the leading. To get a correct answer about the question referred to the organization of the companies and their efficiency, we have to analyze the principal organizational forms which appeared until now in different countries and analyze the economical results that can be obtained with them, by applying the conclusions resulting from the model of the leading. According to that, we can say that the following forms of leading have been appearing in the past in different countries, or could appear in the future. Private owned companies.State owned companies.Share holder companies.Companies that are owned by share holders, which are working in the company.State owned companies but hired to the employees that work in the company.    Taking into consideration that private property creates a natural compulsion upon the owner of the company because it is his property, we can conclude that the first category of organization is the most efficient known until now. In this category the situation is clear, if the factory is unprofitable it is proclaimed bankrupt and the problem is solved. The main loser is the owner of the factory. But the workers are losers too.   The second group, the state owned companies, are a complicated category. First, we must say which companies can’t be organized as state owned companies. Such are all companies who are able to participate in the free competition at the market. It is so because the natural compulsion acts differently upon a general manager named by the state, compared with the private owners.

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Because of that, this solution creates favorable conditions for the apparition of corruption and inefficiency of the company.    On the other hand, I could say that exist companies, which can’t be private companies. Such are that companies that have a monopolistic position in the market, as there are the companies, producers of electric energy, the communal companies distributors of water and gas and the civil transport companies in the towns.    It is so because; these companies are of big importance for the state enabling a good function of the other companies in the town. If such companies will be privatized, because of the monopolistic position in the marked, there inevitably will appear many misuses in the determination of the prices, and because of this tendency to corruption and small efficiency, because in these companies is impossible to be achieved a natural compelling which results from the competition. In such companies the owner will give priority to the profit and not to the good service. Because of that in such companies must be used a combined leading, I’d say a democratic dictatorial leading. For such companies is a need to be classified accordingly to where they appertain. If they represent importance for entire country, the responsibility will fall upon the premier of the country, if they represent importance for a province the responsibility will fall upon the provincial govern, if they represent importance for a town the responsibility will fall upon the Mayer of the town.      The leaders of these communities are democratically elected and they are compelled to name the best person for general managers and to control properly their work. Is a mistake for example a company to be considered as appertaining in two levels of leading because two responsible leaders are a worse solution and in this case the responsibility is diminished or it simply doesn’t exist. And it is understandable that these companies have to be in as small as possible number for every level, otherwise, the elected persons will not be capable to care and to control all of these companies.    The third category the companies that are property of external shareholders, are in a similar situation with the private companies. The leading of the company is dictatorial, as it is in the private companies. But there the natural compelling is acting upon the share holders and indirect to the leader, because the share holders name the general manager. The principal deficiency of these companies, and the same of the private companies is, the fact that if the employs are too numerous, the leading becomes too difficult because there are needed many steps of leading.  As a second deficiency of the share holder companies is the fact that the general manager is not the owner of the company and is not naturally compelled as is the case of an owner of the company.   The forth group, companies that are owned as share holders by the employs. This kind of organization of the company seems to be the future of the society. In such factories is enabled the application of the law of the consensus at the election of the leader, the general manager. Because of that every body is natural compelled to work efficiently, and there is not a need, the employs to be supervised by the leaders how they perform their tasks. The employees who work inefficiently will be supervised by their fellows, because in these companies the profit is shared in a larger base between the employs and because of that they altogether are naturally compelled.

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    But in spite of the fact that all these positive proprieties seem to be true, there is not a guarantee that all that is said will happen so. In life exist, many causes which could create difficulties for the leading in these companies to not function in this way. Because of that the existence of the private companies as free participants in the market will be a threat and an exit when such factories will fail. That is why such new companies have to be used only, on the conditions of the existence of the private forms in the market.  In any case, the free competition will enable to survive the better organization. The competition is practically the indirect application of the law of the natural selection. This law discovered by Darwin as being valid for the living beings, we could say that here is applied in an indirect way where the intermediaries are people. People have the right to choose and they choose what is better.   The fifth category, are the state owned companies, but given to the employs as hired companies. This category didn’t exist in the past.   Until now the experience of some countries shows that companies that produce goods for large consume couldn’t be leaded by managers named by state because there appeared inevitably the phenomenon named corruption and inefficiency of the company. But to be hired to the employs and, they to elect their manager is a different thing. It means to introduce a democratic form of leading at the level of the leading of the companies. In the case of the state level leading as is a prim minister elected in free elections, the results are incomparably better then any other forms of leading of the state. Because of that, today exists in the world a general tendency to be accepted by all countries under the name democracy, for the leading of the state.  This is a serious cause to believe that the same thing will happen and with the leading of the company. In this case the manager being democratically elected will be compelled to lead the company correctly and efficiently on the interest of the entire collective and in fact and on his own interest. The state being the owner of the company will have the right to get a part of the profit and the same, the employs of the company to get their part of the profit. In such a way, the employs of the company will be natural compelled to work efficiently without the need to be compelled by the leader of the company. On the other hand such a form of organization gives the possibility to the state to control the way of working of these companies in very simple manner by seeing if there exists or not profit. If not, the company could be privatized. And this is another way through which the state could compel the entire collective to work properly. And another very important possibility is that if this kind of organization gives good results, the state could invest in other factories organized in this manner and by this to have an active role on diminishing the unemployment. And the last positive observation for the creation of such companies is the possibility to share the profit to people who work in the state administration, fact that represents an improving of the rightness in the society because the money invested in these companies is collected from all citizens. And in this way money go to a large population of the state and by increasing the demand in tread are diminished the possibilities of apparition crises. 

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  It is not correct to pretend that all these forms of organization are good forms and all of them should be confirmed in practical use. But these forms of organization of the companies seem to be possible, taking in consideration the conclusions that result from the model of the leading. Because of that all these forms should be admitted by experimenting in the practical life of the society and through the competition between them let survive the best of them. In this moment we can remark that through the competition there takes place the Darwin law of the natural selection in an indirect form performed by the men. This phenomenon happens because men are exposed to the law of the natural selection and because of that they are compelled to choose the better forms of organization. So we can say that everything that was said is based on the Darwin laws and the law of the consensus. I must say that everything that has to be treated between the people in the process of the work, must be done on the base of the law of the consensus because only in this way is possible to be avoided the law of the force and to be achieved a stable society. I have to say that every solution given in this article is done with the tendency to be avoided the law of the force and in this way to achieve a going on of the society toward the kingdom of the wisdom. And in all this research is considered that the natural compelling has a primary role in the development of the society, while the human conscience has a secondary role. The natural compelling shows what must be done in the process of surviving while the conscience shows how to be achieved that.     

Concerns 

History & Facts or Distortions & Opinions 

By Pete James [email protected]

 Prior to modern nations becoming international identities, with the exception of just three ethnic identities, all modern nations have limited claims towards what preceded them becoming nations.        While all contributing towards the creation of modern society, only three have a direct connection to their originating identities over three thousand years ago; Egyptians, Jews and Macedonians Regretfully, wholesale distribution of large quantities of misinformation has greatly diverted us (as a society) from creating effective objectives and working in unison.  Instead, we appear to have been misinformed, resulting in cross purposing our students on specific issues.   Egged on by foreign interests whose prime motivations appear to be contrary to our goals as a democratic society, minorities are being polarized into divisive groups! As an entirety, teachers are rigidly obligated by a strict code of ethics, yet a few are deviating from such simply by regurgitating much of what they learned within their colleges and universities and ultimately resulting in an apparent neglect to properly emphasize opposing

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historical concepts then resulting in their acceptance of opinions not facts, based on one sided opinions. As educators and teachers all are a very dedicated group of professionals. Yet, when teaching history, there is a need to re-evaluate much of what being taught!  As a former executive officer of the Ontario Educational Associations, I feel morally obligated to express my concerns and related conflicting data.   The onus as to where and when such changes may begin still falls upon college and university administrators but there is reluctance to act even though contrary to our laws! As a minority, the Macedonian people’s prime issue of contention is that as educators we are not the prime initiating factor and well known historical facts and documents are being ignored while existing distortions still prevail! Historically, these three initiating identities have always been a dominate force beginning with the Egyptians, then the Jews, then the Macedonians.   Although the relative roles of both Egyptians and Jews are better known, the Macedonians have been greatly neglected.  Beginning early in the third century BC, as a monarchy, Macedonia also became dominant with "Alexander" then it was conquered by the Romans in approximately 100 B.C to which time it maintained its dominance as the sixth and last Province to become Roman.  As the successors of “Alexander” Macedonians also became the centre of an emerging Christianity.  Then in approximately 300 AD a Roman, born in Macedonia , became Emperor Constantine who proclaimed Christianity as “The Official and Only Religion of All Rome!”   As Roman’s, Macedonians became the dominant political and religious force. Eventually such evolved into an internal conflict between the Orthodox (eastern) Christians and the Catholic (western) Christians with their capital in Constantinople .  In the eighth century AD two Christian brothers, Kiril and Metody, also created an alphabet which unified the Eastern Orthodox world thus standardizing its church services. Today many questionable inferences are being made relative to the Macedonian identity but usually initiated by sources which deny their existence based upon political motivations imitated elsewhere and not based on facts!  Greece was created early in the eighteenth century while Macedonia predated it by more than two thousand years! Following the creation of the Greek State in 1829 AD, additional territories were annexed in 1912 which included all of today’s northern  Greece .   For the first time in all history, that which was always  Macedonian (even under the absolute rule of the Ottoman Empire) then became Greek and the  Macedonian identity was abolished  then reintroduced early in the 1980's following the discovery of Philip II  of Macedonia's gravesite, but subordinated to a drastically enlarged new Greek identity! Regretfully, many distortions are presented as facts when not!  Where, when and/or how did the term Greek originate?  While there were many ancient Roman references to the “Gratsi”, a term liberally used as a derogatory reference referring to a lower and uneducated class of people from

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the City States. There appears to be no other logical explanation as to the origin of this name other than such relating to these inhabitants. The origin of the word "Hellenic" and/or "Eleni" historically, the earliest reference to such appears to have been initiated by the Roman author, Arrian who wrote in the first century AD, about the  “Major Battles of Alexander” then initiated the term ”Hellenic Period”, as a specific period in time not as a reference to a people! As a subject History is very much in question since far too often (as taught) the class content does not properly address many known facts yet, based upon many false previously created political presumptions and inadvertently promoting questionable distortions created (when Greece became a nation) to justify specific actions which were initiated by the expansionist monarchies then resulting in such discriminatory reactions! Previous to the creation of the Modern Greek state, many of its resultant inhabitants were perpetually at war, usually with each other and on rare occasion, united against a greater (outside) enemy such as the Persians and Macedonians. The Egyptians, Jews, and Macedonians are the only modern cultures to predate the birth of Christ, followed by Armenians and Chinese then all the others.   Each have a predominant desire to also improve their future, but only these three have a finite connection to their ancient ancestors.   As an overall society we are becoming a mixture of many identities.  Hopefully as three initiating cultures, we will be able to assist in bringing all of us much closer.  Working together in unison without references to racial or ethnic superiority, such will become a reality.  Both the Jews and the Egyptians are accepted by society while the Macedonians are not. Emerging from three thousand years as a dominant identity beginning as an independent nation, then as an integral part of the newly emerging Roman Empire and followed as a recognized part of the Ottoman Empire !   

Choices 

Teachers and Associates, The appended copy is a letter sent to an Executive Assistant to the President of the University of Toronto who has exhibited a desire to assist.  The issue is "Education and/or Indoctrination" relating to what is being presented as history and as factual events.  As you know, prior to 1829 AD the five nations which created the new state also controlled the entire Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean , slave trade in Africa , silk and spice trade, and

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India ( England ).  What is less known is that they also controlled most of what went into print and much of the resultant but most questionable documentation. Teachers of history will tell us such is/are predominately the results of those then in power.  Thought true, such does not justify factual distortions which may ultimately be very contrary to our modern democratic precepts and codes as educators. In this regard I am respectfully asking all educators to assist me in initiating and creating a summary of historic events and how such may have been politically distorting our perspectives as a society relative to our inter relationships with each others as many differing religions and cultures.  As educators our prime concerns must always be around facts, never politically motivated opinions! Please forward such to [email protected] Most respectfully Prof. ____________ Appended below is the copy I referred to.  What was never mentioned is the fact that I have also been honoured to be acquainted with many historians beginning in July 1970 with Prof. Giorgio Nurigiani from Italy who was our guest of honour at an international conference held at the Inn On The Park where I chaired and met outstanding dignitaries and professors of history from all over the world.  In 1980 I was asked to lead a delegation (representing the Macedonians in North America ) and by invitation of the president of Columbia University .   Subsequently the Canadian Macedonian Historical Society [email protected] was created. Educating Values not Political Misdirection      Over the years teachers tended to improperly instruct students that they were other than the ethnic identity they learned to accept after birth. As a former teaching specialist and grandfather of two, I was informed of such and a discrepancy contrary to our teaching codes and laws.   When viewed from the perspective that such may have originated in our universities, it may be understandable but not acceptable since such is contrary to our Bill of Rights and laws.       Yet, higher educational institutions appear to be most reluctant to initiate any form of changes while educators within our public school system simply regurgitate what they learned there!      Since such initiated at a university level, a societal belief has been created then accepted as factual when not, and often just a simplistic solution to what others had created.      Such distortions still persist and most regretfully become a formalized part of our educational system.       Upon surveying nine Ontario universities, eight are still offering formal classes in questionable subjects such as Ancient Greek; Literature, City States,  Cultures, Languages, Olympics, Folk Lore etc.  While all are worthy for discussion as specific topics, they are not as their titles imply by inferring a finite direct connection to a relatively modern state with no acceptable scientific verification and many controversial implication which may initiate

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politically explosive issues since such (as an identity) was non-existent prior to its creation as a modern nation.   Far too often the results of such misdirection have resulted in some educators simply accepting only what they were taught, but rarely justified politically and never scientific, yet presented as factual when not!   Prior to its becoming a nation and a cultural identity in 1829 AD, Greece was non existent!   On the other hand, the Roman's predated the relatively modern Greeks by over half a century and probably initiating the derogatory term which infers that natives of the former City States were “Gratsi” uneducated and ill informed.  This appears to be the only word relating to the Greek identity and similar in wording.   Since the word Greece was initiated by the monarchs who created the state, it appears to be a possible solution to its origin. Relevant facts related; Ancient Athens, Sparta , City States, Olympics, etc. all were separate identities prior to the creation of the Greek state and though a small number of local native peoples  did rebel, their contributions towards its initiation as a state, not a prime initiator.  What ultimately became a new state was never the produce of a unified singular cultural identity!  As city/states, all were always at war except for a few weeks once every four year during the Olympics when the killings would cease momentarily and they would compete on the fields of sport.  However they did on occasion unify against their common enemy, the Persians.  Note that even the most famous among them, Plato and Aristotle, always identify themselves as Athenians never as Greeks and strongly opposed each other on specific issues of concern! Following the three originating cultures, all others are equally as important.  Working together, all in unison, we then become a predominant force towards assuring that democratic goals are not being circumvented. By joining in a common cause as differing cultural identities we may become the sum total of all for which we wish to aspire.  While only the Egyptians, Jews and the Macedonians pre existed and emerged as a continuation in their originating heritage their descendants are a continuation of their evolution and the initiation of our modern world.  Following their inceptions as identities all three became an important part of the Roman Empire , the Byzantium Empire and centuries later as a part of the Ottoman Empire . Though forgotten by the Christian west, they were always a major factor in the creation of overall factual history! As educators, we are all obligated by a common set of rules and procedures.  Yet some are deviating from such due to inadvertently accepting, then regurgitating many misconceptions they learned, relating to the Macedonians and many others whose origin has been questioned by others and subjugated relative to their identity!  Such subjugation similar to our own native peoples must never be tolerated nor permitted to persist in any form. Pete James Kondoff, Author & retired Ed. Spec.  

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History 

THE MACEDONIANS IN USA AND CANADA(HISTORICAL VIEW)

 By Slave Nikolovski - Katin

[email protected] 

1. MACEDONIAN EMIGRATION GOLGOTHA Macedonia is traditionally an emigrational region from which emigrational movements of

the Macedonian people and movements to the transoceanic and other countries took place toward the mid 19th century. Such movements were especially emphasized during the second half of the 19th century and were known as “pechalba” (going abroad for economic reasons). With a ranging scale and intensity they have continued till the present day. Thus, according to some data, the first group of “pechalbari” (people who went to work abroad) reached the North American continent in1885 and Australia in the 1920’s. However, individuals who had joined groups of pechalbari from the neighboring and other countries had crossed the ocean even before that.

The wave of emigration from Macedonia , mainly from the traditionally emigrational regions: Lerin, Bitola , Prespa, Kostur, Voden, Tetovo, Ohrid, Solun, Struga, Prilep, and other parts of Macedonia , intensified following the Ilinden Uprising in 1903. Nevertheless, emigration of the Macedonians from their country gained greater dimensions during the period that followed the partitioning of Macedonia , throughout the Balkan and First World Wars. This was above all, the result of the unbearable political, economic, social, and security position of the Macedonian population. Therefore, according to some data during this period from all three parts of the partitioned Macedonia , about 60% of the emigrated Macedonians came from the Aegean part; 30% came from the Vardar part; and 10% from the Pirin part. According to the Special Commission of the UN for the Balkans, in its report of 13 May, 1949 , a total of 232,000 Macedonians emigrated from Aegean Macedonia. In their place the Greek authorities brought Greek refugees (prosvigi) from Asia Minor and colonized the Aegean part of Macedonia .

Emigration to the Transatlantic countries intensified perceptibly following the Second World War, especially after the defeat of the Democratic Army in the Civil War in Greece, on whose side the Macedonian population from Aegean Macedonia had participated massively finally hoping to get its national and social rights. At the same time, the liberalization of the former SFRY policy on going abroad to work in other countries lead to emigration of a large number of citizens of what was then the Socialist Republic of Macedonia. However, the scale, dynamics, and character of the migratory movements from the beginning till the present day, vary in form and content and correspond to the phases of the social, economic, and political development of Macedonia , as well as to the changes in the migration policies of the countries to which they migrated.

The number of Macedonian migrants increases from year to year as a result of the migration movements, the growing birthrate, and other factors. There is no complete and more precise information regarding the number of Macedonians in the Balkans and the Macedonian emigrants in the transatlantic countries, the European Union, and other countries. Official statistical data, on the other hand, regarding the number of Macedonian emigrants throughout the world, are

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unrealistic for many reasons. Thus, according to them, in the USA there are 20,365 Macedonians (US Census Bureau, 1990,) in Canada there are approximately 54,000 Macedonians; in Australia there are 42,199 Macedonians (according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Macedonia); in the Federal Republic of Germany there are 49,400 legal residents (according to the central Statistics Bureau of SRG, 1999); in Switzerland 53,907 are legal residents; in Belgium 2,059 are legal residents; in the Netherlands there are 577 (according to the Dutch Bureau of Statistics;) in the Great Dukedom of Luxembourg there are 358; in Italy there are 21,988 (according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Macedonia;) in Austria there are 21 (“Statistic Austria”;) in Poland there are 150 Macedonian families (according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Macedonia;) and in the Former Federal Republic of Yugoslavia there are 47,200 according to the official census. On the other hand, according to an Austrian source, approximately seven million people lived in ethnic Macedonia at the beginning of the last, the twentieth, century. However, some more realistic estimates show that, in addition to the Macedonian population in the Republic of Macedonia (1,378,687 – according to the 1994 census) more than 300,000 live in Bulgaria, approximately 250,000 live in Greece, more than 150,000 live in Albania, and approximately 70,000 live in Serbia and Monte Negro. It has also been estimated that since the 19th century about 600 – 700, 000 Macedonians from every part of Macedonia migrated to various countries around the world. Without complete statistical and other information it is quite difficult to determine the exact number realistically. Nevertheless, there are estimates that approximately 500,000 Macedonian immigrants live in the USA , Canada , and Australia . Of these, about 150,000 live in the USA , close to 150,000 are in Canada , and over 200,000 are in Australia and New Zealand . The majority of these come from Aegean Macedonia, and the Republic of Macedonia , while a small number come from the Macedonian part in Bulgaria and Albania . On the other hand, according to an Austrian source, approximately seven million people lived in ethnic Macedonia at the beginning of the last century.

It has been estimated that approximately 150,000 residents of Macedonian origin live in the European Union alone (Germany, Sweden, Denmark, Norway, France, Belgium, Switzerland, Austria, Italy, Great Britain, followed by Slovenia, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania, the Ukraine, and Russia,) and other countries. There are also a large number of ethnic Albanians from Macedonia in the European Union. There is also a certain number of settlers of Macedonian origin who live in South America , Egypt , Israel , South Africa , Uzbekistan , and Turkey where there is a large number of Macedonian Muslims and ethnic Turks from Macedonia . There are Macedonians who live in Pakistan that refer to themselves as descendents of the army of Alexander the Great. Namely, on the Himalayas in the easternmost part of Pakistan , there is a tribe that differs from every other tribe around it. They are tall and blond. They have their own autonomous country which they call Hanza, or Hanza-kut, and speak a burushaski language and consider themselves Macedonians, descendents of Alexander. The Constitution of this Himalayan country states that they are descendents of Alexander the Great and his generals. Their flag is red and has a golden eight-ray Sun. In recent times they adopted the Islamic religion, but have retained their old traditions.

Modern economic emigration gained great intensity in the nineties of the previous century (XX) when more than 100, 000 of the residents of Macedonia (including Macedonians, ethnic Albanians, and others) left the country. This can be seen from available data from the last census of the population of the Republic of Macedonia . According to it, in 1994 173,611 persons were abroad, of which approximately 50,000 left in the period 1989 – 1994. There are a number of

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indications that show that these migratory movements continue with the same intensity even today. This is evident from the high level of negative net migration of 7,438 persons annually in the period 1994 – 1996, and the available data from foreign sources. For instance, according to data of the European Council, only in Germany, Italy, and Switzerland in the period 1996-1999 the number of Macedonian residents increased by approximately 41,000 people.

As regards the social and qualification structure of the Macedonian emigrants in the transatlantic countries we need emphasize that in the past the majority of them came from the villages, were of a difficult economic state, had a low level of education, and little skilled qualifications, unlike today’s emigrants who mainly have completed tertiary education and are professionally skilled. Hence, in the past the main reason for emigrating was to provide for a living and save material reserves for the family. A small number of emigrants left their native country due to political reasons, as well as the tradition of going abroad. However, with the last several generations, as well as the more recent emigrants, especially those from the Republic of Macedonia , there is an emphasized emigration of people with completed tertiary education and a higher cultural and social level, which in turn results in a new structural level of Macedonian emigration. Thus, among them we find intellectuals from various fields, affirmed not only in Macedonia , but throughout the world.

Changes in the economic, political, social, educational, and qualification structure, and the accomplished material potential, also bring about a partial transformation of the living habits of the Macedonian emigrants in the Diaspora. Thus, many of them, especially the second and third generation, have made their way through to the higher classes in the societies in which they live. However, in the political life of their new environments and societies, the Macedonian emigrants are far behind the other ethnic groups, which is also the case with the other emigrants from the Balkan countries. Nevertheless, their achievements in an economic, spiritual, educational, cultural, and sports scale increasingly contribute to their not being treated as second class citizens, but instead, as an integral and important factor in their new environments in the Diaspora, especially in the multi-ethnic societies.

Despite the differences in social structure which the emigrants of Macedonian origin in the Diaspora possess, and which are the result of the different levels of education and material status, they still have joint mutual characteristics in their everyday life. Thus, many of the emigrants from Macedonia are in a way assimilated or “melted in the assimilation pot.” On the other hand, the majority of the Macedonian emigrants only seemingly accept integration in those societies while in fact they remained faithful to their traditional way of life. They continue to maintain close family ties, essentially based and nurtured in a traditional patriarchal spirit, keeping the folklore, language, customs, and traditions brought with them from Macedonia . Providing for and completing the family is one of the priority aims in the life of the Macedonian emigrants in their new environment. For this reason the most part of their social life takes place mainly within the Macedonian ethnic communities. At the same time, some of them resist the demands of the new environment and find it difficult to adapt to the new way of life, afraid of losing their personal and national identity. Therefore, the majority of Macedonian emigrants continue staying close and gathering into the Macedonian ethnic communities located mainly in the larger industrial centers, where they initially began their organized life.

The first forms of meeting among the Macedonian emigrants date back to the time of their massive arrival in the new environments, when they brought with them their culture, traditions, religion, customs… As a result of this at the very beginning they established groups from the same village for helping each other, and later cultural, church associations, and other forms of

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meetings in all of the major centers, such as Detroit, Gary, Chicago and Cleveland in the USA; Toronto, Hamilton, and Windsor in Canada; Perth, Adelaide, Melbourne, and Sydney in Australia; Göteborg and Malmö in Sweden; in Copenhagen in Denmark; in Paris, France; Munich, Berlin and Hanover in Germany; Zurich in Switzerland, and other industrial cities. The aim of these associations was to maintain the Macedonian culture, customs, and religious traditions, and to provide material aid to those Macedonians in need. At the same time they collected funds for construction of churches and other buildings in their new environments and in their native places in Macedonia . Thus, as early as 1919 they built the first church in Toronto , the Macedonian – Bulgarian church of St. Cyril and Methodius. Here also, in 1912 the first bank of the Macedonian emigrants from Aegean Macedonia was established. In those early years they also established a number of village societies of emigrants from the whole of Macedonia .

Macedonians in the Diaspora began more widespread organization as late as after the First World War. In the period between the two world Wars there was a noticeable movement and activity on a national scale. In the beginning many Macedonian emigrants, especially from Aegean Macedonia, had joined the Macedonian Patriot Organization (“Makedonska patrioticheska organizacija”) known as MPO. However, after the change in its political orientation, and its shift toward the Great Bulgaria assimilatory policy, a certain number of Macedonians began establishing independent progressive groups in a number of cities in the USA and Canada . They basically supported the affirmation of the realistic ways and paths which could be followed by the Macedonian revolutionary ideological struggle, which was an inseparable part of the struggles of the other progressive forces in the Balkans. After the first conference in 1930 these progressive groups united into one Soyuz, or association, i.e. the Macedonian People’s Association (Makedonskiot naroden sojuz, MNS.) The main objective of the MNS was to fight for the freedom of Macedonia with the desire of establishing a Balkan federation which would guarantee wide national, political, and social rights and freedom of the Balkan peoples, including the Macedonian people of the three parts of Macedonia . In realizing this political platform the MNS had counted on the support and mutual action of every progressive force and everyone in the world, especially those of the Balkans.

There is a lot of data which clearly shows that during the Second World War the MNS, together with the other progressive organizations in USA and Canada , directed its forces toward an active anti-fascist battle. The members of this organization struggled to liquidate fascism, and were also supporters of the establishment of a life that promises greater democratic freedom and permanent peace. Their assistance was also huge during the period of the establishment and renewal of what was then the People’s Republic of Macedonia until they were stopped in the 1950’s as a consequence of the Inform bureau. 

At the same time, the Macedonian emigrants in the Trans Atlantic and other countries manifested a positive attitude and great loyalty toward the National Liberation War in Macedonia and offered organized assistance in the renovation and construction of the country after the war. Nevertheless, the campaign for construction of part of the hospital in Skopje was by far the greatest and most valuable in its effect and significance. Activities began in 1946, and in 1948 the hospital was officially opened. This was at the same time both pride and encouragement for the connections with Macedonia . During those stormy times the liberal national and social development and penetration of the truth about the People’s Republic of Macedonia , strongly induced the organized life of the emigrants on a national basis. At the same time this was a most effective protection against every foreign propaganda and enemy activity in the communities of the Macedonian emigrants.

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On the other hand, when speaking of the organized activities in the Trans Atlantic countries, we need mention that it includes the majority of Macedonian emigrants. Furthermore, an important component in this kind of organization is the fact that they have joined into independent associations, churches and church communities above all, where the members are Macedonians regardless of the part of Macedonia they come from. At the same time the religious and national structures, emigrant organizations, and their memberships continued to grow constantly, while their activities spread and improved in quality. Hence, in this period evident results were achieved in the spiritual and cultural and educational life. Numerous Macedonian churches and societies were established, as well as sports clubs and other forms of activity in which Macedonian emigrants gathered massively. However, the establishment of Macedonian Orthodox churches and church communities are of special significance for the activities of the Macedonian emigrants.

The Macedonian Orthodox Churches (MOC), monasteries and church communities in Australia , Canada , and the USA , and recently in the countries of the European Union, and other countries are the most significant and most massive gathering places of the Macedonians from every part of Macedonia . In addition to the church services, the Macedonian language, the authentic mother tongue brought from the native land can be heard freely at these Macedonian shrines. At these cultural, educational, and spiritual centers there are Macedonian schools, and the Macedonian mother tongue, national history and geography are studied. Scripture is also taught at many churches. Thus, there is an open process of establishing cultural and arts societies, entertainment, literature, and sports associations, publishing of newspapers, bulletins, and magazines, and opening of Macedonian radio and TV shows. Therefore, the Macedonian Orthodox churches survive among the emigration as an invincible reality and important factor in the emigrant communities. The churches exist as a permanent trace, acknowledged by the domestic factor, and they act freely in the environment in which Macedonians live and work.

Macedonian Orthodox churches, monasteries and church communities in the Diaspora are quite appreciated by those societies above all because of the results that the Macedonians achieve in their work, and because of their attitude and high level of loyalty toward their new fatherland. Nevertheless, it is most significant that through their church communities the Macedonian emigrants affirm their native fatherland, thus contributing to international relations. In fact, they are the bridge of collaboration between the Republic of Macedonia and Australia , New Zealand , USA , Canada , countries of the European Union, and other countries throughout the world. Many times it has been stressed that the Macedonian emigrants and their associations, with special emphasis on the Macedonian Orthodox churches and church communities, have grown into a quite significant positive factor in the establishment of good mutual relations between the countries in which they live and the Republic of Macedonia.

Unlike the USA , Canada , and Australia , Macedonian emigration toward countries of the European Union intensified after the Second World War and have continued till the present day. Initially Macedonians began emigrating to find temporary work and as the years passed it gained a permanent character. This is especially true of the 1970’s when pressure increased regarding the organized demands for workers in various European agencies and companies. Such demands were also accepted by the employment bureaus, which even made lists of workers who were interested. There were also various agencies and agents who referred our people directly to the Western European countries, especially to Germany , Switzerland , France , Denmark , and Sweden .

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It is characteristic that in the beginning of the temporary work in these countries the people who left in an organized manner were mainly single young people. They practically all left with a signed agreement in their pocket. This meant that they would remain there for one to five years to earn some money and return to their fatherland. It later turned out that only a small number of the Macedonian citizens who had left at the end of the 1960’s and beginning of the 1970’s had actually returned to the country. The majority of them had adapted to their new working and living environments. They took their families with them, and thus began the new wave of emigrational movement from Macedonia toward Europe . Hence, Macedonians who had come to Europe, especially to Germany and Sweden in the seventies to what was then referred to as temporary work, began organizing themselves at the very beginning of their massive arrival. Macedonian clubs and associations established as a need to alleviate nostalgia, grief for their families from which many had been separated a long time, as well as the need for mutual socialization and communication, and easier realization of their specific mutual needs. Thus, gradually new forms of activity in sport, folklore, culture, and other fields began appearing. In time these grew into a rich mosaic of activities in many fields depending on the conditions, needs and opportunities of the Macedonians in their new environments.

Similarly, a certain number of Macedonians in the Diaspora attend churches such as the Catholic Church, the Anglican, Russian, Ukrainian, Serbian, Greek, and Bulgarian, especially the Bulgarian – Macedonian, and several Protestant churches. Such is the case with those churches that are under the jurisdiction of the Eastern Orthodox Church in North America (Toronto, Detroit, Fort Wayne, Indianapolis, and other cities); with the Greek Orthodox Church in Canada (Toronto, Hamilton, Windsor); and Australia (Melbourne, Adelaide, Perth, and Sydney); the Serbian church in USA (Detroit) and Canada (Toronto); of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church (Melbourne); the Evangelist – Methodist church, and the Seventh Day Adventists’ Church in Australia, as well as other churches. At the same time, in Melbourne there is a Macedonian Evangelist – Methodist Church whose members are mostly Macedonians from the Strumica area. On the other hand, in USA there are churches named Macedonian BaptistChurch whose members are the Afro-American population. This church adopted the Biblical name of Macedonia and has no connection with Macedonia or the Macedonian people. Among the clergy of these churches, especially the Catholic, the Anglican, and the Evangelist – Methodist Church , there are Macedonians who represent respectfully the name and the truth about the Macedonian people and Macedonia .

The issue regarding the Macedonians of Muslim religion is a significant chapter in the historical development of the Macedonians in the Diaspora. There are several hundred thousand of them in Istanbul , Ismir, Bursa , and other cities in Turkey , as well the countries of the European Union. These people mainly came from the areas of Debar, Reka, the village of Gorno Vranovci , Skopje , Tetovo, Gora (Former Federal Republic Yugoslavia), now in Kosovo, and other areas. Characteristically, this Macedonian population adopted the Islamic religion but retained the Macedonian language, culture, customs, and traditions brought with them from Macedonia .  As a result of the desires and efforts of the Macedonians of Muslim religion to maintain their origins in the new environment, there they established cultural and artistic, and other clubs and associations of Macedonian character. Their love of Macedonia and the links with their ancestors’ hearths are truly great. It is also a similar or perhaps identical case with the ethnic Turks from Macedonia who are nostalgically connected to the birth places of their ancestors. This contributes to the strengthening of relations between the Republic of Turkey and the Republic of Macedonia on a spiritual, cultural, and especially economic scale.

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Since the 1970’s the number of newly established churches and church communities, clubs and other associative forms of gathering, has continued to grow constantly in the Trans Atlantic countries and countries of the European Union. The majority of Macedonians are members of, or regular visitors to these numerous associations, where they organize religious, national, folk, sports, cultural, and other manifestations. This was in fact where initial gathering and socialization took place. Initiators emphasized the obvious needs and intentions that the Macedonians open their own places for mutual correlation in widespread agreement and to activate all of their potentials in collaboration with their fatherland. There they had the chance and opportunities to develop various activities and in a most respectful manner to affirm the Macedonian name, the Macedonian state, and the Macedonian church. Through the establishment of above all the Macedonian Orthodox churches and church communities, as well as other kinds of associations, conditions were also created for the nurturing of the native cultural heritage, religion, tradition, and customs, all with the aim of maintaining the Macedonian identity and Macedonian truth. 

Stories 

The Olympian false GodsBy Samson Stanislavsky, Phd

 Greeks of today and their paid “Hellenistic” supporters and French creators of “Hellenism” insist that Macedonians and Greeks are one and the same race and ethnos, because they worshiped the same Gods and spoke the same language. This view is nothing further from the truth.First of all, all the Olympic Gods were Egyptian deities imported to Athens by merchants. They only changed their names from Egyptian to Athenian language.Macedonians did not worship any of the Olympic gods; actually they did not worship any gods.We have to look at none other than Aristotle himself, the greatest philosopher ever to live on this planet.  Aristotle expressed doubts on the value to worship those immoral notions living on the mountain Olympus and ridiculed them. For his disrespect towards the Olympian Gods he was sentenced to death by the Athenian elders for insulting their false religion.Aristotle, the Macedonian philosopher and teacher of Alexander the Great, escaped execution by fleeing Athens and returning to his native Macedonian city Staggira.In this instance he made his famous statement about the Athenians and their criminal record.“I don’t want to give the opportunity to the Athenians to commit a third crime against philosophy” he uttered.1. They poisoned Socrates the Athenian philosopher for telling them the truth. Socrates was famous for saying: Man, know thyself.2. The second crime against philosophy of the Athenians was that they condemned Protagoras, the Macedonian philosopher from Abdera , Macedonia , for expressing doubts about the morality of the Olympian gods. He was condemned to death, fled in his boat and died in a sea storm.3. Aristotle fled and died of natural causes at age 62.Now here is what Protagoras had to say about the Olympian Gods, according to the book: “The Greek Philosophers, from Thales to Aristotle”, by W.K.C. GuthrieDoubts have been cast upon the Olympian deities of the Greek polis, however, long before the time of Alexander the Great. In the world of fifth-century Greece , philosophers and playwrights

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already questioned the virtues and implicitly, the existence of gods and goddesses who were portrayed, with anthropomorphic vividness, as lustful, jealous, malevolent immortals. The cities demanded to know how one could worship a god like Zeus. According to the Greek myths, Zeus dethroned his titanic father Kronos, pursued and ravished, often while in bestial disguise, many a beautiful woman, and resorted to countless stratagems in order to evade his suspicious wife Hera. Such behaviour on the part of the Olympians raised serious theological doubts in the minds of the more reflective people.Amongst the philosophers and professional thinkers of the fifth century, a number of free thinkers offered rationalistic interpretations of religion and the gods to explain the existence and nature of the tarnished Olympians. Some philosophers, like the Protagoras of Abdera in Macedonia , embraced agnosticism. In his work On Gods, Peri Theon, Protagoras declares that he is unable to say whether the gods actually exist, and if they do, of what sort they might be. For this statement the Athenians brought him to trial and condemned him to death. While Protagoras escaped the Athenians, he could not evade the power of mighty Poseidon, and died in a ship wreck.         Continued: Something for Tone  The following extracts come from Aleksandar Donski's book "THE DESCENDANTS OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT OF MACEDON - THE ARGUMENTS AND EVIDENCE THAT TODAY'S MACEDONIANS ARE DESCENDANTS OF THE ANCIENT MACEDONIANS (PART ONE - FOLKLORE ELEMENTS) -2004" 1. The Fatherland Of The Slavs Being Beyond The Carpathian Mountains ? ."The theory of the 'fatherland of the Slavs being beyond the Carpathian Mountains ' is also questionable. Anyone can look up the historical publications relating to the ancient period and verify that no Slavs are mentioned around the wider Carpathian region even in the first centuries AD. If in fact this is their 'fatherland', their region of origin, why then are there no Slavs on the territory around the Carpathians in the first, second and third centuries AD, and even later?" (Page 47) 2. Over The Carpathian Mountains Slavs Removed From Macedonia ! ."The supporters of the pan-Slavic theory of the origin of the Macedonian nation point out on every occasion the medieval documents which mention 'the settling of Slavs in Macedonia ' in the 6th century. But they do not seem to want to write about similarly credible medieval documents, which clearly describe the relocation of significant numbers of Slavs out of Macedonia as early as the 7th century AD. Such a massive removal of Slavs was undertaken by the Byzantine Emperor Justinian II (685-695 and 705-711). The Constantinople Patriarch Nicephoras (806-815) in his chronological notes (section 34) clearly described these events: 'Justinian II attacked the Sclauinians. He reached the city of Thessalonica and drew out many of

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the Sclauinian tribesmen there, some with force, some with appeal, and relocated them to the land called Opsicius.' (Opsicius is a Byzantine theme or district in Asia Minor ). ....,.Let us consider the number of Slavs relocated from Macedonia to Asia Minor . An estimate was given by the Byzantine historian Theophanos (end of the 8th and beginning of the 9th century). In the document concerning the Arab-Byzantine war of 662, Theophanos wrote that from the ranks of the relocated Slavs to Asia Minor , the Byzantine Emperor Jusinian II managed to mobilise as many as 30,000 soldiers for the purposes of this war. He wrote:  'In that year, Justinian II chose 30,000 recruits from the Slauinians that he had relocated (to Asia Minor ), and by arming them he made them a substantial army' (This document was taken from "Selected Readings on the History of the Macedonian People", Skopje, 1951, page 25). Considering the fact that prior to the relocation of Slavs carried out by Justinian II, there is no record of Slavs in Asia Minor (except perhaps for a few individuals), then we can say with some certainty that those 30,000 soldiers must indeed have been recruited from the Slavs that Justinian II relocated from Macedonia to Asia Minor.

This piece of information suggests that the number of Slavs relocated from Macedonia to Asia Minor was perhaps as high as several hundred thousand people, since 30,000 were able (even chosen) to fight. This means that the number of 'beyond the Carpathian' Slavs left in Macedonia was likely not great.Consider the fact that around 100,000 Slavs are believed to have taken part in the siege of Salonica at the end of the 6th century (according to 'The Miracles of Saint Dimetrius'). Many of them were killed, and a large number of those that remained, even with natality taken into account, apparently were relocated to Asia Minor . As a result, the Slav component in the present day Macedonian nation must have been significantly reduced. Hence, it seems that the French Academician Georges Cerbelaud Salagnac, in his book 'The Ethnic Origins of Europeans' ('Les origines ethniques des Europeens' Editions Perrin, 1992, Paris , France ), quite correctly asserts that present day Macedonians are predominantly descendants of the ancient Macedonians. He wrote that in the 6th century the Slavs indeed appeared in the Balkans, but as an unorganized tribe they were not able to become the dominant inhabitants of Macedonia and were quickly assimilated by the descendants of the ancient Macedonians, who were then a cultured and civilized people." (Pages 47-49) 3. Slavs And Veneti "It should also be noted that the Slavs were previously known as Veneti, which is to say that the Slavs are descendants of one of the oldest peoples in Europe . Before providing evidence of this, we would point out that the Veneti were mentioned in the 'Iliad' as allies of Troy and residents of Paphlagonia, a region in Asia Minor within the borders of present day Turkey .Later the Veneti were recorded by Herodotus (1, 196) in the 5th century BC, under the name of Eneti. Herodotus referred to them as people from the Balkans. It is interesting that Herodotus also mentioned the name of the Macedonian city Enea (Aenea), which was proposed by the contemporary Russian historian Pavel Toulaev as a proof of the Venetic (Slav) presence in the Balkans from ancient times (Pavel Toulaev: "Veneti - Ancestors of the Slavs", Moscow, Russia,

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2000, page 7. Published in Russian.).Describing events from the 4th century BC, Latin historian Quintus Curtius Rufus also mentioned the Veneti (Quintus Curtius Rufus: "De Rebus Gestis Alexandri Macedonis", translation in Macedonian by Dr. Ljubinka Basotova, "History of Alexander the Great of Macedon", Patrija, Skopje, 1998, page 115). He wrote that Veneti were part of the army of Alexander the Great.Later, in the Roman chronicles of Plinius the Elder (IV, 97) from the 1st century AD, the Veneti were called residents of a completely different part of Europe . The quotation reads: 'Some authors say that those regions, even to the Vistula River , are inhabited by Sarmatians, Veneti, Scyrians and Gyrians'. Plinius the Elder maintained that at that time even the Veneti lived to the west of the Visla River . The Roman historian Tacitus in the 2nd century AD also mentioned the Veneti and wrote that they fought in a similar way to the Germans. He also mentioned that they built dwellings. The Veneti were also mentioned by Strabo, Pomponius Mella, Cassius Dio, Ptolemy and others (more details in: "Veneti - First Builders of the European Community", Matej Bor, Josko Savli, Ivan Tomasic, co-publishing Anton Skerbinc, Boswell, British Columbia, Canada, 1996). All this evidence leads to the conclusion that the Veneti were indeed a very old people and that their descendants lived dispersed across various regions from Asia Minor , the Balkans, on across various regions of Europe ." (Pages 50-51) 4. Other Reasons Why The French Dislike Macedonians! .".....the noted French scientist Victor Berar (1864-1931) also wrote in an edition of 'La Revue de Paris' that: 'Until not so long ago France did not appreciate the Macedonians... We did not appreciate and belittled them because we learned about them from the hostile notes of the ancient and present day Greeks' (Citation was taken from: "The Truth about Macedonia Through Documents", Belgrade , 1992, page 62. Published in Serbian)." (Page 54) By Dusko L VLADO CHERNOZEMSKI The French also hate us because in 1934 (in Marseilles , France ) VMRO's Vlado Chernozemski assassinated both the Yugoslav King Aleksandar Karadjordjevich and the French Minister Louis Bartou.

Now, why did he ever want to do such a thing?! By Vlado V.  

 

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A RELIGIOUS PICTURE OF THEREPUBLIC OF MACEDONIA

 By Slave Nikolovski – Katin, publicist

[email protected]            From the glorious times of Alexander the Great (Alexander of Macedon), through Roman and Byzantine rules, through the great migrations of the Slav to the South, through Ottoman and other rules, as well as the partitions, Macedonia has been at a crossroads of civilizations, cultures, languages and peoples. Throughout this long and rich passage of time, only two peoples have chosen the name of this land to be inseparable of their identity – the Ancient Macedonians and the Macedonians of today.             Macedonia is a historical and geographical area whose name originates from the classical period. It is mentioned as a land at several points in the Bible. Therefore many travel writers have experienced Macedonia as a biblical country. Macedonia was a place where different civilizations and religions came into contact. Therefore, Christianity emerged here very early. This is stated by a number of archaeological discoveries of numerous Christian churches and Episcopal cathedrals. Christianity has been deeply rooted and well organized in Macedonia since the very beginning. Actually Christianity penetrated into Macedonia in the apostolic time, preached firstly by the Holy Apostle Paul in Philippi and Thessalonika (Solun), and from these centers it is spread to the northwest. The Roman municipal town Stobi, situated at the outset of Erigon (Crna Reka) into Axios (Vardar), near the main road from Aegeium to the north, connected also with the Adriatic Sea by Via Egnatia through Heraclea (near Bitola), was an important administrative and ecclesiastic center.           Before the comings of the Turks in the late 14th century, Macedonia was a land of renaissance, of fascinating art, of rich medieval literature, a symbol of civilization. The Ottoman Turks would push back the movements of time and a long struggle for survival would ensue. The Macedonian people would be under Turkish rule from the beginning of the 20th century, to 1912, when Macedonia would mark the liberation from Turkish rule, yet it would also mark its tragic partition by Greece , Bulgaria and Serbia , and later Albania .           However, during World War II, the Macedonians achieved freedom, and at that time in one part of their territory, Vardar Macedonia , which would constitute the People’s Republic of Macedonia , later Socialist Republic of Macedonia and since 1991 the Republic of Macedonia . After centuries of subjugation, a people were to tread firmly onto the scene of the 20th century. The Macedonian language would culminate the process of standardization and become one of the official languages of the Former Yugoslavia. Literature would flourish and would attract the attention of the European and the world literary scene. Yet in the parts of Macedonia still within the territories of Greece and Bulgaria , a continuous denial of Macedonian identity, language and culture would still be the dominant attitude. Massive migration, marking one of the greatest exoduses of the 20thcentury would follow, which would disperse the Macedonians throughout the world – from Anatolia to Austria , from the countries of Eastern Europe to Uzbekistan , from Germany and Sweden to Canada , the USA and Australia .           The date of 1994 Census of the population, households, dwellings and agricultural holdings in the Republic of Macedonia , were prepared and realized by the Republic Statistical Office, and the Census Commission, with international experts and foreign financial support of the European Commission through PHARE Program and the European Council. The Census was

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performed in the presence of the International census observing commission, and the results of the population and religious belonging are as follows:                          Total           Orthodox      Catholics     Protestants   Moslems   AtheistsTotal               1.935.034           66.3                  0.4               0.1             30.0             0.3Macedonians  1.295.965           94.8                 0.3               0.1               1.2             1.3Albanians       433.013                0.0                 0.2               0.0              98.2              -Turks                75.212                 -                      -                  -                97.9             0.1Roms                43.707                1.8                   -                  0.1              91.6             0.1Serbs                40.228               95.6                 0.1                -                   0.3             1.1Moslems          15.418                 -                       -                 -                  98.0             0.1           (The total population is slightly lower than the official total population of the country for about 10.000 inhabitants, because the non-enumerated population of the municipality of Debar (the town is near the Macedonian-Albanian border) is excluded. No estimation has been made for that population, according to the mother tongue, religious affiliation, and citizenship. It should be also mentioned that the data of the 1991 Census about the confessional membership of the population in Macedonia are approximate, because some of the Albanian population in Macedonia which is mostly Islamic, guided by their nationalistic parties, abstained from the official Census. However, according to the data of the 1944 Census of the nationality, 433.013, or 22.66% of the population in the Republic of Macedonia is Albanians.)           In the Republic of Macedonia legally exist and act 25 churches, religious communities and religious groups, out of which the Macedonian Orthodox Church is the oldest, the biggest and the most numerous. This is due to the number of believers (1.355.415), the religious objects (more that 2.000, churches, monasteries and other projects, as well as about a hundred churches and church communities, in Australia, the USA, Canada, the European Union and other countries. The Islamic community and the Catholic Church are also numerous, the Jewish community is one of the oldest, and the Protestant churches and some other small religious groups are present in Macedonia .           Lately, especially after the democratic elections in the Republic of Macedonia , greater presence and strengthening of the so-called small religious communities and small religious groups is presented. The greatest numbers of the religious communities are the Protestant churches, but there are also religious communities of Muslim and Indy religion.           The following churches, religious communities and religious groups exist and are registered in the Republic of Macedonia :

1.      Macedonian Orthodox Church2.      Catholic Church3.      Islamic Religious Community4.      Jewish community5.      Evangelical-Methodist Church6.      Christian-Adventist Church-The Seventh Day Adventists7.      The Head Office of the Main Board of the Christian-Adventists Church8.      Baptist Church9.      Christian Community of the Jehovah’s Witnesses10.  Evangelical Congreshian Church11.  Islamic Taricates Religious Community

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12.  New Apostolic Church13.  Satya Sai Baba Center14.  Evangelical Church15.  Vishna Religious Community16.  Pra-Christian Community-Universal Life17.  Christian Pentecostal Church18.  The Church of God19.  The Christian Religious Group- New Life20.  Bectash Community21.  The Christian Church-Sermon of Hope22.  The Religious Group Christian Church-Voice of God23.  The International Church of Christ24.  Independent Church of Christ25.  The Church of Christ –Mild News

            Macedonia is a religious pluralistic country, where side by side with the Macedonian Orthodox Church; there coexist other Christian confessions, Islam, and Judaism. In the period from 1945- 1991, the religion in Macedonia was formally allowed to some extend, but it was always under control, while after 1991, the religious communities gained their total freedom.           In that period the religious liberty in the Republic of Macedonia , as well as in other republics of Yugoslavia differed compared to the other Eastern European socialists. However, changes that have taken place in the Eastern and Western parts of the world, with the liberation from political oppression, liberty of conscience and religion, freedom, integration processes and other church contacts are now reality not only in Macedonia, but also in other countries.           After the democratic election on September 8, 1991 , and after bringing the new Constitution of the Republic of Macedonia , religious life and religious freedom got a constitutional basis of existing and acting. Thus, according to the Article 19 of the Constitution: “The freedom of the religious confession is guaranteed and the right to express one s faith freely and publicly, individually or with others is guaranteed.            It is also written in the Constitution that the Macedonian Orthodox Church and other religious communities and groups in the Republic of Macedonia are separate from the state and equal before the law. Also, the Macedonian Orthodox Church and other religious communities and groups are free to establish schools and other social and charitable institutions, by a way of a procedure regulated by law.           There is an inter-confessional coexisting and collaboration among the Christian churches in the state. Thus, the Holy Synod of the Macedonian Orthodox Church maintains good relations with all Christian churches and other religious communities. This is especially realized in the joint work of version of the Macedonian translation of the Bible. The translation of the New Testament into the standardized literary Macedonian language began immediately after World War II, and appeared in 1951, published by the British and Foreign Bible Society. In 1990 the whole Bible was printed also in the Macedonian language by the British and Foreign Bible Society. A new revised edition of the Bible is expected to come out this year.  

Book and other Reviews

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November 27, 2010

Dear Sir / Madam, 

I am writing to you on behalf of the SEMAC Organization. Basically SEMAC is an organization that I started in August, 2003 along with others from different occupations in Macedonia for socio-economic cohesion. Our objective is to raise awareness about the lack of basic necessities in the countryside and raise funds to produce documentary films for minorities and true life stories for Macedonians. We wish to produce the film, and then get assistance with the final film production. For this we invite relevant persons (film producers, journalists, representatives from the Ministry of Culture and Government) to be involved in making key decisions to produce a quality film. We hope to start a foundation which will finance documentary films. Our first project: On January 1, 2011 , the SEMAC Organization will prepare to start filming with actors. In order to stage it, we have a lot of expenses, from the cost of renting lights and sound equipment, to arranging costumes, sets and also advertising costs. Any monetary help towards these expenses would be appreciated, however small the amount. It will go a long way in forwarding our cause.(In return for your generosity, your name or the name of your company will appear on our posters, banners, advertisements, and brochures). This project’s (the first project) cost is 300.000 EUR. 

Thank you for considering our request. If you have any questions or need further information, please feel free to contact me. 

Contact Information SEMACStreet Boris Kidric 5/ 3/ 467Bitola , 7000 Macedonia Cell. 00 389 (0)71 313 298 IBAN:  MK07 210701000524193 SWIFT: TUTNMK22NLB Tutunska Banka AD Skopje Sincerely,Mrs. Klaudija Lutovska, President 

 

A DONATION FOR THE MACEDONIAN STUDENTS

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 By Slave Katin

[email protected]             The monograph “Petar Stamatoff” by Slave Nikolovski-Katin and Stamatoff’s nephew Prof. Metodija Trajkovski is just one aspect of the historical development, achievement and life-pulse of the University of St. St. Kiril and Metodij of the city of Skopje in the Republic of Macedonia . It is being printed in Macedonian and English in honor of the life and work of one of the humanitarians of Macedonian descent who lived in the United States of America , Mr. Petar Stamatoff and his Foundation “Atanas Bliznakoff”. The appearance of this book is the culmination of many significant activities that have taken place in the course of nearly a century in the life of Mr. and Mrs. Petar and Jaža Stamatoff, and twenty-two years of the existence of the Foundation “Petar Stamatoff”.            The monograph was promoted at the Rectorate of the University St.St. Kiril and Metodijm as a publisher, on November 26, 2010 . The opening ceremony was done by the Rector Prof. Dr. Velimir Stojkovski, while Prof. Dr. Maksim Karanfilovski, a reviewer and Slave Nikolovski-Katin, the author spoke about the life and work of Petar Stamatoff and his Foundation.                                                                                          Petar Stamatov, a noble donor, left his homeland – Macedonia for economic reasons, but his memories, contemplation, love, melancholy and patriotic spirit towards his fatherland and his people didn’t leave him. The penetration of these qualities into the life of Petar Stamatoff and others donors, as well as into all Macedonians throughout the diaspora, has revealed the picture of the biblical nature of the country of their origin located in the Balkan region.             The history of the life of Petar Stamatoff is, at the same time, a small part of the history of his native Smilevo, of the Macedonians in the diaspora and through them – also of their fatherland – Macedonia . Since whatever has happened from the ancient times of Fillip II and Alexander III – of Makedon or, as he is known, Alexander the Great, through unforgettable battles of Czar Samuil, to those of Goce Delcev, Dame Gruev and all freedom fighters after them, has reflected the historical golgotha that Macedonia experienced up to its proclamation as an independent, democratic and self-governing state. Therefore, it could be said that this monographic work about the noble expatriate Petar Stamtoff is also a projection, to a moderate degree, of the latest stage of the history of the Macedonian immigrants. His personality set a shining example that should be followed and respected also by other Macedonians living in their two fatherlands – Macedonia and the USA . The work done by Petar Stamatoff and his wife Jaža, an American of Polish descent, is a notable example and a road map of the honest, mixed and noble American married couple between a Macedonian and a Polish.                The life of a virtuous immigrant from Macedonia to the United American States, just as Petar Stamatoff was, described in a biographical publication, with limited data, is a time machine for his specific saga of his continued existence. This monograph about Petar Stamatoff, in all modesty, is a spitting image of his life and the work he left behind him that the young generations of Macedonians are to remember always.                 Although the greatest part of his life he spent in emigration, Stamatoff remained attached to his native soil – Macedonia to the end of his lifetime. He proved himself to be different from common migrant workers who simply used to go abroad only to earn money and return home, or after long and successful employment simply to remain and leave their bones abroad. On the contrary, in spite of the destiny of a migrant worker, Petar Stamatoff made great efforts, there in

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the United States , to get insight into the essence of life in the new environment and into the Macedonian truth, freedom, future. . . Therefore, he cherished his good and righteous idea for Macedonia , and in doing that he managed to rise above the time in which he lived. He considered the partition of Macedonia to be a tragedy and peril to the Macedonian accomplishments, his people and future Macedonian generations. Therefore, following the example of Atanas Bliznakoff, the most generous donor in emigration, Petar Stamatoff was convinced that he would give a valuable contribution and donation to the “St.St. Kiril and Methodij” University, as well as to the Macedonian youth and people, and his native country – Macedonia by establishing his Foundation “Petar Stamatoff”. He was assured that his work should be, at the same time, an incentive and inspiration for the future Macedonian generations in Macedonia and beyond, but especially for the Macedonian generations abroad.                 This monograph about Petar Stamatoff and his Foundation “Petar Stamatoff” by Slave Nikolovski-Katin, a publisher and Stamatoff,s nephew Metogija Trajkovski is based on the autography that stems from his opus and his great work. This book is a moderate picture of a man who spent greater part of his life in Chicago , the USA , and who made a great deed by the establishment of his Foundation in order to provide support to the Macedonian generations of students. However, a complete perception about him could be obtained if this projection is cast on his hearth, the legendary Smilevo, then on Bitola where he spent his childhood, and on his two fatherlands – Macedonia and the United States .           This monograph about Petar Stamatoff is divided into several parts. They provide a description of his two fatherlands – mother Macedonia and the United American States where he spent his life of this world. A special place is dedicated to the “Petar Stamatoff” Foundation which was established following the example of the “Atanas Bliznakoff” Foundation. These two foundations of the Macedonian expatriates in the diaspora are the largest ones at the St.St. Kiril and Methodij University of Skopje, and in Macedonia as a whole.              The “Petar Stamatoff” Foundation is a life pledge of Petar Stamatoff and his wife Jaža. They didn’t have their own children, but they have hundreds of their students that are extremely grateful for the assistance that they have gotten in the last twenty years. The name and deed of Petar Stamatoff shall be praised forever among the generations that have enjoyed the financial support from the “Petar Stamatoff” Foundation thus far and the generations that shall enjoy it in the future as well.   

  

Poetry 

QUESTIONS FROM ABOVE 

Have the people lost their spirit?Are they wearied by the struggle?

Have the enemies succeeded toerase your country’s name?

Destroy your identity?Are the people bitter and broken?

Are the wolves held at bay?

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 Has the world been duped?

Does it even care about your existence,the lies told?

Has your language perishednot spoken any more?

Do the people still know who they areproud people of Macedonian blood?

 Have you not told them Macedoniato Europe , gave the Cyrillic script?

Has research been undertaken on the originsof the Slavic languages they speak?

Do they know Mother Teresaon Macedonian soil, was born?

Know Macedonia ’s historygoes back thousands BC?

 That the people are generally peace lovingbut have experienced a torturous history?

That “ Macedonia ” is the oldest continuousEuropean country name, to still exist?

 Or, does the world no longer have people of integrity

with intelligent minds and eyes that see? 

The true Macedonians are discouragedbut never will give up.

Individuals, groups and organizationsare fighting with words and their hearts.

Macedonia they hold dearthey gather in groups around the world, wherever they are.

They know their origins and from where they’ve come. 

They speak the Macedonian languageMacedonia ’s true history many have lived.

The people are courageous, tenacious and tirelessEnergized by the truth, contemptuous of those who shamelessly lie

And angry at the injustices, loss of land and lifeFor them being forsaken by others, has been particularly difficult to comprehend

 They despair as to which countries, organizations or individuals to trust

As through history the people have sadly learnt, only in themselves to trust. 

Lita Grakini 

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From the Archives 

 THE MACEDONIANS IN USA AND CANADA

(HISTORICAL VIEW) 

By Slave Nikolovski - [email protected]

 2. MACEDONIAN ORTHODOX CHURCH

 As soon as the Macedonian state was liberated and declared the People’s Republic of

Macedonia , the Macedonian Orthodox people organized themselves on a church and national scale. Thus, on the basis of the historical and canonical rights they gained their own Macedonian Orthodox Church with their own people’s clergy. With this aim an Initiative Committee was formed to organize the church as a national institution, and church bodies were also formed for the Macedonian territory. Later, at the First Macedonian Church and National Assembly, held on 4 March, 1945 in Skopje , a Resolution was adopted which began the issue regarding autocephaly of the church. At the same time as the proclamation of the Macedonian state and the accomplishment of its national, political, social, and spiritual freedoms, the Macedonian Orthodox people also demanded and wished to accomplish full spiritual and church affirmation.

At the Second Church and National Assembly held during the period 4 – 6 October, 1958 a decision was reached to renew the ancient Ohrid Archbishopric. It was to be named the Macedonian Orthodox Church, and was to have supreme church bodies. The first Constitution of the independent Macedonian Orthodox Church and some other Acts were also adopted then.

This meant constitution of the church as a spiritual, national, and religious institution of the Macedonian state and the Macedonian people. The news of the restoration of the Ohrid Archbishopric was greeted with joy not only by the Macedonian people in the fatherland but also by every Macedonian dispersed throughout the world since after the constitution of the Macedonian state, the restoration of the Ohrid Archbishopric in the face of the Macedonian Orthodox Church meant, and still means a great moment in the fulfillment of the ideals for national and church freedom of the Macedonian people.

Following the restoration of the Ohrid Archbishopric in 1958, and declaration of autocephaly in 1967, the Macedonian Orthodox Church made a strong breakthrough among the Macedonian emigrants in the transatlantic countries. This was particularly felt among the Macedonians in Australia , Canada , and the USA , as well as those Macedonian citizens temporarily or permanently residing in the western European and other countries. The very act of restoring the Ohrid Archbishopric was reason, basis, and encouragement for establishment and construction of a large number of Macedonian Orthodox churches, monasteries and church communities, as well as numerous associations in the new environments throughout the Diaspora.

The Macedonian Orthodox churches and church communities in the Diaspora were constituted on legal grounds. They are organized on religious grounds and fulfill the function of

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Macedonian national, social, humanitarian, cultural, educational, literary, sports, and other kinds of institutions. In order to realize their activities the churches and church communities have, above all, been given the wide support of the authorities in their respective countries and of their mother St. Clements’s Church in the Republic of Macedonia . Their establishment outside of Macedonia greatly contributed to raising to a higher level of awareness, understanding, closeness, and love for joint living. At the same time the national identity, language, faith, customs, and traditions of the Macedonian emigrants were retained in their new environments. This was confirmed among the majority of Macedonians, regardless of which part of Macedonia , or what kind of travel documents they came from, whether temporarily or permanently, to the USA , Canada , Australia , European Union, or to other countries. Through these significant spiritual and cultural and educational centers and through their membership in these churches the Macedonian emigrants received documents as proof for their being Macedonians. Their christening, wedding, and death certificates, as well as other necessary documents are official and legal before the democratic authorities and administration in the new communities.

Until the Second World War, and as a result of the undefined status of the Macedonian Orthodox Church in Macedonia , the emigrants carried with them the spirit of the Ohrid Archbishopric, despite the effects of the situation in the Balkans. Hence, in their content the church communities in the transatlantic countries were typically Macedonian as the funds for construction of the buildings in most cases came from Macedonians, especially from those that came from the Aegean part of Macedonia . Unfortunately, these churches had been lead under the canonical and spiritual jurisdiction of the neighboring Orthodox churches, of which the majority was influenced by the organization known as MPO (Macedonian Patriotic Organization.) This was the case with the so-called Macedonian – Bulgarian Orthodox churches of St. Cyril and Methodius, St. George, and Holy Trinity in Toronto , the churches of St. Nicolas in Fort Wayne , St. Cyril and Methodius in Lorain , St. Cyril and Methodius in Melbourne, and others. Once the Macedonians had built them, they were taken over by several Bulgarians and placed under the jurisdiction of the Bulgarian Orthodox Church. At the same time, a certain number of churches built, or helped by the Macedonians are under the jurisdiction of the Greek and Serbian Orthodox Churches . This is the case with the St. Dimitrija Church and St. George Church in Toronto and St. Lazar in Detroit . On the other hand, in recent times some churches have called themselves Eastern Orthodox Churches or Orthodox Church of America. Such is the St. Clement of Ohrid Churchin Detroit , built in 1964.

However, the constitution of the People’s Republic of Macedonia and the declaration of autocephaly of the Macedonian Orthodox Church were events of fundamental significance for the Macedonian emigrants. This opened the process of establishment of authentic Macedonian organizations, Macedonian churches and church communities, literary, entertainment, sports clubs, and other kinds of associations. These represent the most significant and largest meeting places of the emigrants from every part of Macedonia .

We know that a large part of the emigrants are Macedonians from the Aegean part of Macedonia . Like all Macedonians, they too, enjoy every national and social freedom in their new environments. On the other hand, in their native country, in the Aegean and Pirin part of Macedonia , and in Albania they do not enjoy even the basic human rights proposed in the declarations and other Acts of the United Nations. In their own country they are negated as a people, they are the subject of assimilation, denationalization, and systematic emigration from their native hearths.

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Between the two World Wars the authorities in USA and Canada did not register the Macedonians’ religious structures as Macedonian institutions because even in their own country they did not have an autocephalous church at the time. Thus, according to their travel documents the Macedonian emigrants could not register as Macedonians. There, too, their national identity was negated, which is all part of the historical objective reality of the Macedonians in the Diaspora. For this reason in their new environments in the past a certain number of Macedonians satisfied their church, family, matrimonial, traditional, cultural, and similar needs at the other orthodox churches. These included Bulgarian, Greek, Serbian, Russian, Ukrainian, Syrian, and other orthodox churches, as well as buildings of the Catholic, or Anglican Church and some Protestant churches.

However, after the Second World War the Macedonian emigrants began getting together in their own Macedonian communities with great enthusiasm. Here they began satisfying their national, spiritual and cultural needs, customs and traditions brought with them from their “stari kraj” (native place, back home) as they often refer to their native hearths in Macedonia . And Macedonia is the country which, despite the distance between them, they constantly carry within their hearts and are proud of.

As a result of this love of Macedonia the idea was born to establish a church council in the Diaspora, in Melbourne more precisely. The first Macedonian Orthodox Church outside of the Macedonian borders, St. George’s , was dedicated here. This is how this event was described in the newsletter of the Church Board in Melbourne: “The Macedonian emigrants in Melbourne, led by the ideas of the glorious Ilinden fighters for national and church liberation, at the same time having this right in democratic Australia, to freely express their national feeling, a large meeting was held on the 14 May, 1956 and a decision was reached to build a church center…we are forced to build our own church due to the numerous difficulties we are experiencing with foreign churches: the inability to understand foreign languages, the inability to express our troubles and difficulties, while the priests of other nationalities are not familiar with our religious customs, and if any of them are familiar, they tendentiously wish to divert them to their own customs, all with specific aims and purposes…”

St. George’s Church in Melbourne was the first Macedonian church on the Australian Continent, and the Macedonian Diaspora in general, that was blessed by a Macedonian bishop in a joint service with Macedonian priests. For all the Macedonians in Melbourne and Australia this event was of particular importance and represents the foundation stone to the organized establishment and construction of a large number of Macedonian Orthodox churches in the Diaspora. As a result of this their number has been increasing constantly so that at present there are about seventy active churches and church communities and monasteries with the three eparchies of the Macedonian Orthodox Church: the American – Canadian, Australia – New Zealand , and the European eparchy. These eparchies provide conditions for an increasing affirmation of the entire national and cultural heritage and modern progress of the Church and the Macedonian nation in general. Through their activities the eparchies represent a live bridge of friendship between Macedonia and the countries in which the Macedonian emigrants reside. The role and positive attitude of the Macedonian believers and the clergy in those Macedonian church institutions in the Diaspora are also of huge significance.

As soon as the St. George’s Council was established in Melbourne , initiatives began for organization of Macedonian Orthodox churches and church councils on the North American Continent. Strong national feelings and awareness were aroused among the Macedonian emigrants in the USA and Canada . As a result of this in Columbus , Ohio , the first church

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council was established as early as 1958. Later, on 14 October, 1962 the foundation stone was placed, and one year later, in June, the St. Peter and Paul’s Church in Garry, Indiana was dedicated. On 5 April, 1964 in Toronto the foundation stone was placed for the St. Clement of Ohrid Church, dedicated on 15 April, 1965 . This church is above all a beautiful sample of Christianity and at the same time one of the largest and most impressive churches the Macedonians have in the Diaspora.

The Macedonian Orthodox churches and church communities are cultural, educational, folklore, literary, and sports centers at the same time. These are places that continue to nurture the Macedonian tongue, religion, traditions, and customs. They are the working places of ethnic folklore groups and clubs which are true ambassadors of the rich Macedonian folklore. At the same time these churches are places where the young generations of Macedonian descent can gather and socialize. The various clubs, such as the women’s club, the folklore, literary, sports, and other clubs have developed numerous activities. The role of these church communities is of immense value in the enrichment of the overall activities of the Macedonian emigrants representing an inseparable part of the rich cultural living of Macedonia , with which they maintain constant and permanent relations.

Thus, before the global public and in the communities where they live, the Macedonian emigrants show their Macedonian belonging with much pride. Even more so, thanks to the multicultural policy, the Macedonian emigrants nurture their national traditions with great enthusiasm and inspiration; they present their rich folklore; they sing their folk songs in public places, and dance their beautiful Macedonian folk dances. In fact, in their new environment they affirm the Macedonian name, cultural and historical past, and present. At the same time, the multicultural programs are themselves reason for expansion of the collaboration and emancipation of the emigrants in many areas of living. This especially applies to culture, literature, sport, the issues and problems of education, radio and television, social and humanitarian aid, and other areas.

Therefore, it is rightfully said that the Macedonian Orthodox churches and church communities in the Diaspora are an expression of Macedonian unity and directly contribute to the affirmation of the Macedonian people. In fact, through the cultural and educational, religious and national forms of gathering in the Macedonian Orthodox churches and church communities the Macedonians went beyond the narrow forms of acting and are affirming themselves as an important ethnic group in their new environments.

Generally in the USA there are about twenty Macedonian Orthodox churches, church communities, and monasteries, these being the following:St. Peter and Paul in Crown Point, Indiana; Assumption of Saint Mary in Columbus, Ohio; St. Prophet Ilija in Cincinnati; St. Clement of Ohridin Lorain; St. Nikola in Kenton; St. George in Syracuse, New York; St. Martyr Dimitrija in Rochester, St. Clement of Ohrid in New York, St. Cyril and Methodius in Buffalo; St. Mary and St. George of Kratovo in Detroit, Michigan; St. Cyril and Methodius in Cider Grove, St. George Monastery in Randolph, St. Nikola in Totowa, New Jersey; St. Cyril and Methodius and St. Petka in Chicago, Illinois; St. Mary in Los Angeles, California; while in the process of establishment are the following: St. Naum of Ohrid in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; St. Dimitrija in Miami, and St. John the Baptist in Tarpon Springs,  Florida.

In Canada there are ten Macedonian Orthodox churches, church communities, and monasteries, of which the following: St. Clement of Ohrid in Toronto; St. Prophet Ilija in Mississauga; St. Dimitrija Solunski in Markham; St. Nedela in Ajax; St. Naum Ohridski in Hamilton; St. Nikola in Windsor; St. Mary in Cambridge, all in Ohio; while the following are

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being established presently: St. Nikola in Unionville; St. Ilija (monastery) in Toronto, Ontario; and St. Atanasij in Faber Ville, Laval, Quebec.

In Australia there are more than thirty Macedonian Orthodox churches, church communities and monasteries, of which the following: St. Georgeand St. Mary in Epping; St. Clement of Ohrid (monastery) in King Lake; St. Prophet Ilija, in Foots Cray; St. Nikola in Preston; St. Dimitrija Solunski in Springville; Assumption of St. Mary in St. Albans; St. John the Baptist in Geelong; all in Victoria; St. Cyril and Methodius in Roseberry; St. Nikola in Cabrammatta; St. Petka in Rockdale; St. Prorok Ilija in Queenbean; St. Clement of Ohrid in Port Kembla; St. Mary in Hamilton (Newcastle) all in New South Wales; St. Mary in New Farm (Brisbane) Queensland; St. Naum of Ohrid in Adelaide (Findom), South Australia; the centre of the united Macedonian community of St. Nikola in Northern Perth, and the Macedonian community centre of St. Nikola in Perth, Western Australia.

At the same time, after designating Metropolitan Petar as authorized archpriest of the Australian Eparchy about ten new Macedonian Orthodox churches were established. These are the following: The Australia – New Zealand Metropolitan Preston; St. Mary’s Church in Sydenham; St. Christ’s Resurrection in Carlton; The Macedonian Orthodox Monastery of St. Clement of Ohrid in Rocklin; St. Zlata Meglenska in Veriby; St. Petka in Mill Park; St. John the Baptist in Geelong; The Macedonian Orthodox Center of St. Clement of Ohrid in Port Kembla; St. Petka in Kembla Grange; The Macedonian Orthodox Center of St. Holy Mother of God in Brisbane; St. Nedela in Gold Coast; and the Assembly of the Macedonian Saints’ Church in Auckland, New Zealand.

In the countries of the European Union and other countries the following Macedonian Orthodox churches and church communities have been established: St. Cyril and Methodius in Goteborg, Sweden; St. Naum of Ohrid in Malmo; St. Clement of Ohrid in Copenhagen, Denmark; St. Spas in Lacen, Hanover, Germany; St. Holy Trinity in Munich; St. Gjorgi Kratovski in Hamburg; St. Cyril and Methodius in Stuttgart; St. Nikolain Mainz; St. Cyril and Methodius in Dortmund; St. Clement of Ohrid in Berlin; St. Dimitrija in Allen, St. Archangel Mikhail in Billefeld; St. Atanas in Nierenberg; St. Mary in Biblingen, Sindenfilgen; St. Archangel Mikhail in Eshvailer, Achen; St. Nikola in Ingolschtadt; and St. Dimitrij in Hurt. In Switzerland : St. Naum of Ohrid in Spreitenbach; and St. Mary in Tichino. In France : St. Clement of Ohrid in Paris . In England : St.Archangel Mikhail in London . In the Netherlands : St. Stefan. In Italy : St. John the Baptist in Torino . In Austria : St. Naum of Ohrid in Vienna , and there are ongoing efforts to establish Macedonian Orthodox churches in Belgium and the other countries of the European Union.. In Croatia : St. Zlata Meglenska in Zagreb ; St. Naum of Ohrid in Split ; and St. Jovan Osogovski in Pula . In Slovenia : St. Clement of Ohrid in Kranj and Ljubljana . In the South African Republic : St. Naum of Ohrid in Cape Town , and in other places and countries.

Following the independence of the Republic of Macedonia and its becoming a sovereign and independent state, and the decline of the Enver regime, conditions became more favorable for greater closeness of the Macedonians mostly in Albania , and in the other neighboring countries. Thus, in Albania there was restoration and renovation of the Macedonian Orthodox churches in Mala Prespa, Golo Brdo, and other towns and villages where there is a Macedonian population. There was also massive christening of the Macedonian Christian population as well as establishment of associations of the Macedonian Christians and Macedonian Muslims, the majority of which live in Golo Brdo, Prespa, Korcha, Tirana, and other places in Albania. In a large number of places that have a Macedonian population, particularly in Mala Prespa, the

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MOC plays an important role in everyday life. Thus, a large number of churches and monasteries were restored and reconstructed with the help of donations from business owners, the Government of the Republic of Macedonia , and especially individuals and Macedonian Orthodox Churches and organizations abroad. These churches were blessed by metropolitan Petar and a rich church life takes place there. The following are among the more significant churches: St. Vasilij in the village of Leska, St. Gyorgi (St. George) in Dolna Gorica, St. Gyorgi in Globochani, St. Marena in Tuminec, St. Nestor and St. Gyorgi in Vrbnik, St. Arangel in Pustec, in Cerje, Zrnovsko, and Shulin.

Construction of a Macedonian Orthodox church, St. Zlata Meglenska, began in the village of S’potsko , near Voden, which is also where the founder, archpriest Nikodim Carknias comes from. Construction of the church is supported by a large number of Macedonian emigrants in the Trans Atlantic countries who come from Aegean Macedonia. In other places in Aegean Macedonia also efforts are being invested toward construction of churches which would be under jurisdiction of the Macedonian Orthodox Church.

In Bulgaria , too there are efforts to build new churches for the Macedonians in the Pirin part of Macedonia , which would be under the jurisdiction of the Macedonian Orthodox Church. Similar efforts are being made in Voyvodina, where a large number of Macedonians live.

It is expected that these intentions and age old desires of the Macedonians in the neighboring countries will be fulfilled with the emerging of the new democratic processes being transferred from the countries of the European Union. This will resolve the injustice inflicted upon the Macedonian people and Macedonian Orthodox Church by its sister Orthodox churches.  

Feedback In regards to the following: [Feedback: RE: The "Jesus Was The Great Grandson Of Cleopatra" Series Risto, I read on the internet not too long ago that there is one particular powerful European country that really loathes us. Whilst many European countries loathe us, I think the suspect country is France . This is because Sarah (the daughter of Jesus and Mary Magdalene) is said to have married into the Merovingian French royal family! 4/5ths of the UN Permanent Members have recognised the Republic of Macedonia under its constitutional name except France ! Hmmm.... I wonder why that is so?!] Tone replied as follows: “ France is the origin of anti-Slavic actions in Europe . It started the elimination of the Slavs there during the Caesar wars (De Bello Gallico) and continued it all the way to the French Revolution. The activity was not yet finished at the end of WW2, when in some remote places some Slavic speaking population was still in existence. They taught this activity to the Germans,

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English and other Romance countries including Greece but they are still the leaders in this matter. Do not be lead astray by their alliance with Russia - Russia is strong, is far, but they imposed French as the language of the upper class in Russia, which would lead matters the same way if they would remain in power.”

In regards to the following:

[Something For Tone Aleksandar Donski in his book "THE DESCENDANTS OF ALEXANDER THE GREAT OF MACEDON - THE ARGUMENTS AND EVIDENCE THAT TODAY'S MACEDONIANS ARE DESCENDANTS OF THE ANCIENT MACEDONIANS - (PART ONE - FOLKLORE ELEMENTS)" -2004, clearly states that the so-called invading 6th century AD "Over the Carpathian mountains" Slavs were not allowed to stay in Macedonia. Those few who remained were quickly assimilated by the descendants of the Ancient Macedonians! On page 173 Donski states: "Many contemporary folklorists believe that a significant number of elements from ancient mythology can be found in Macedonian folklore.,.......,.It is self-evident that elements from ancient mythology reached contemporary Macedonians as a heritage from the culture of the ancient Macedonians, who lived on this same territory and had this mythology as part of their religious practice at the time. There is no other convincing answer to this question." And on page 215 Donski states: "if the present-day Macedonians are pure "Slavs from beyond the Carpathian Mountains ", why then there is not even a single Macedonian folk tale about their supposed life on the other side of the Carpathian Mountains ?" By Dusko L ]

Tone replied as follows: “This is nothing new for me!” In regards to the following: [Dear Risto, The article, "Macedonian Name for Macedonians Only" by Gandeto (an obvious "nom de guerre" if not a pseudonym) very accurately portrays the feelings of all Macedonians on this issue including myself. The evidence is well researched (more evidence would even be better); however, the polemic style presentation does us no good as it relegates the evidence and conclusion into just another opinion. For us, this is self-defeating because it is only an opinion against the unsubstantiated exaggerated claims on the opposing side. There is a need to step out of this vicious circle of argument and counterargument. Curta's (2001) well-researched study of the evidence against a Slav settlement into the Balkans (Macedonia included) does represent the type of evidence to be used to substantiate our claims to being Macedonians and not Slavs and also our rights to the historical heritage of the ancient Macedonians. The nail on the coffin for all

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Greek claims, however, would be to conduct DNA genotyping of autosomal tissue of remains of ancient Macedonians together with those of the modern Macedonians.  I am very confident as to what the results would show; and, were it also the case for the ROM government to feel this way and finance the necessary study.

Ernest N. Damianopoulos] 

Tone replied as follows: “Why such afflicting avoidance of Macedonians being Slavs??? Take into account not only Curta but also M. Alinei: South Slavs (i.e. Macedonians!) are the aboriginal Slavs; the other Slavs emerged from them.”  

Quotable Quotes “The deeper we look into our past, the better we see our future. W. Churchill” (posted by Igor T.)   

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