Macedonians – Generation M

The first part of the ‘YOU DON’T EXIST’ series focused on the experiences of young Macedonians living in Greece. The second part of this series will focus on the activism of Macedonians living in Greece. Activists pursuing the recognition of Macedonian minority rights in Greece continue to be subjected to discrimination and xenophobic rhetoric by the media, state, Greek Orthodox Church and the broader society.

In the second part of ‘YOU DON’T EXIST’, a Macedonian activist from Greece will be interviewed by Generation M’s Melbourne Representative, Elena Sekulovska, on issues concerning the Macedonian minority in Greece. In order to protect the identity of this individual, and the possibility of them being targets of further xenophobic rhetoric, their identity has been disclosed as Anonymous C.

Anonymous C, Negush

1. Thank you for agreeing to do this interview. According to you, how many people have Macedonian origins in northern Greece?

Since the annexation of about half of the territory of Macedonia in 1912-13, there have been no censuses of ethnic groups in Greece. Thus, the data on the Macedonian population in Greece can only be approximate and based on old records of the Ottoman Empire administration and some non-official sources. For instance, according to the Hüseyin Hilmi Pasha census of the Ottoman lands of Europe in 1904, conducted in the Macedonian vilayets (districts) of Salonica and Bitola, it was found that, in the Vilayet of Salonica, 373,227 people belonged to the Greek Patriarchate and 207,317 people belonged to the Bulgarian Exarchate. In the Vilayet of Bitola, 261,283 people belonged to the Greek Patriarchate and 178,412 people belonged to the Bulgarian Exarchate. The above numbers give a total of 634,510 Greek Orthodox Patriarchate followers, of whom almost 250,000 declared themselves as ‘Bulgarian speakers’.* If we add these 250,000 Greek Patriarchate followers with the Slavic mother tongue to the 385,729 faithfuls of the Exarchate, we will see in this Ottoman census that approximately 635,729 Macedonians were living in a roughly larger area of what is now the Aegean part of Macedonia.

However, after 100 years of ethnic cleansing and cultural genocide conducted by the Greek authorities against the Macedonian population, we can only suppose that roughly 100,000 Macedonians are left in Greece. Most of these Macedonians keep some memory of their ethnic identity and speak in Macedonian dialects, although they do not have a separate consciousness than that of the Greek nation. But as we can notice, in the last 10 years, some thousands of Macedonians, even ones very young in age, are definitely becoming more aware of their Macedonian ethnic identity. It will take a lot of work and good organization to protect and promote this revival of the Macedonian national identity in Greece in many fields, like language teaching, local history recording, safeguarding of Macedonian cultural heritage, etc.

The National Liberation Front of Aegean Macedonia in the late 1940s.

2. How are Macedonian activists trying to push for the recognition of the Macedonian minority and their ability to express themselves politically, linguistically and culturally?

Macedonian activists should not push for the ‘recognition’ of the Macedonian minority specifically, they should push for the ratification and implementation of a framework of laws and treaties that gives the minorities — all minorities, being ethnic/national, linguistic and/or religious — the right to freely develop and promote their own identity, without any repression or discrimination by the state. We, the Macedonians in Greece, do not need to be recognized for what we are and declare we are. What we really need is the protection of our rights by laws that Greece needs to ratify and implement, like, for instance, the European Charter for the Protection of National Minorities which our country had signed in 1997 but never ratified to become a Greek law. All our efforts should be focused on this issue, nationally and internationally, and in collaboration with other minority groups in other countries.

3. What is the response of the Greek state and the Greek society more broadly, to Macedonian activists who try to push for the recognition of the Macedonian minority, and for them to be able to express themselves?

The new policy of the Greek state now is to simply ignore all of the formal requests of the Macedonian activists. While in the past, any of our formal requests were rejected immediately, by not even accepting any of our applications, with the excuse that “a Macedonian identity except the Greek one does not exist”. Now that the Prespa Agreement was ratified by Greece, this excuse cannot be used anymore. As a result, we can now formally apply to the Greek state institutions as Macedonians, yet still, we never get an answer to our requests. We will need to find a solution to this problem by filing a legal case to the Greek courts of Justice for each case, but this is an expensive way to claim our rights and the procedure takes a very long time. As for the Greek society, the larger part of it ignores our situation, because the Greek media is manipulating the public opinion by presenting any activity of minority groups in Greece as a danger to the public security. If the Greek people had the possibility to know our real situation, the majority would have a positive attitude toward us, for sure.

4. In your opinion, why doesn’t the Greek state, a democratic country and a member of the European Union, recognise the Macedonian minority and grant them the right to express themselves?

It is not just the Greek state in the EU that is not willing to grant any minority rights to its citizens. For example, France also has the same policy, although in France minorities are not repressed like they are in Greece. There are 50 million people belonging to ethnic minorities in all the 27 EU countries, who struggle for protection rights at EU level. However, the EU Commission that takes the final decisions on laws and directives is negative on such issues, the reason being that some states will use the right of veto to such decisions. The paradox here is that issues on minority rights usually get a large majority approval in the EU parliament voting procedure, but the EU Commission blocks them due to the veto power that each EU member state has on Prime Minister level. Thus, the veto of one person representing his/her country can block the will of hundreds of EU members of EU Parliament, democratically elected by the EU citizens. The Lisbon Treaty signed and ratified by all EU member states in 2009, foresees a change of the decision-making procedure in the EU, giving more powers to the EU Parliament and limiting the veto power to very few issues. This procedure on decision-making in the EU is expected to start after 2022. Hopefully, things will improve for all minorities in the near future, but this will not be automatic in every country. Minorities must be ready and organized to claim their rights from EU institutions, if a member state is reluctant to implement EU laws on minority rights.

5. How can the Macedonian diaspora help the Macedonian activists and the Macedonian minority more broadly?

The Macedonian diaspora must be in a continuous dialogue with the Macedonian activists, trying to understand the issues the Macedonian minority faces in each one of the countries that they live in. It should have a closer look at the real problems that Macedonians as a minority face in preserving and promoting their Macedonian national identity. They should help them in their projects on education such as Macedonian language classes, sponsoring meetings of representatives of Macedonian cultural associations of all the Macedonian minorities, in order for them to exchange information on good practices to promote Macedonian culture, and many other activities that will give the possibility to the younger Macedonian generation to come together. It would also be good for the diaspora to have a fundraiser for specific cases of legal procedures that some Macedonian minority organizations or activists undertake against state abuse. Unfortunately, this occurs often, but most Macedonians don’t have the financial means to undertake such expensive legal procedures themselves.

6. Is there anything else that you would like to add?

I would like to suggest to the Macedonians to get more realistic on many issues that concern the Macedonian nation today. Our past as a nation was a dramatic and a painful one but we need to have a vision of a bright future for our people and we need to work hard on this together, having always a positive attitude for any challenge we face. We need to take the best of any situation we find ourselves in, leaving all negativity behind.

*In the Ottoman Empire, ethnicity was not considered as defining identity, religious affiliation was. In official records, Macedonians were referred to as ‘Bulgarian’ and their language as ‘Bulgarian’ due to the fact that most Macedonians were subjects of the Bulgarian Exarchate Church. [1] Similarly, Macedonians who belonged to the Greek Patriarchate were referred to as ‘Greeks’. [1] The Macedonian Church was abolished in 1767, hence why they were subject to the Bulgarian and Greek Churches.[2]

Sources:
[1] Blazhe Ristovski, Macedonia and the Macedonian People, Vienna: SIMAG Holding, 1995, 127-155.

[2] Иван Снегаров, История на Охридската архиепископия-патриаршия. От падането ѝ под турците до нейното унищожение (1294 – 1767 г.), София: Печатница П. Глушковъ, 1932, VI.

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Any opinions or views expressed in articles or other pieces appearing in UMD Voice are those of the author alone and are not necessarily those of the United Macedonian Diaspora and its young leaders’ program Generation M; the appearance of any such opinions or views in UMD Voice is not and should not be considered to be an endorsement by or approval of the same by UMD and Generation M.

In the discourse of the Macedonian naming dispute, a range of issues are discussed by the two conflicting sides, ranging from Alexander the Great, to medieval history, and to early modern history. Internationally and domestically within the two countries, this issue is regarded as a bilateral dispute. However, what many fail to realise is that at the centre of this issue is the ethnic Macedonian identity in northern Greece, and that this is not a bilateral dispute – it is a domestic issue within Greece.

Historically, Greece occupied the territory of northern Greece (Aegean Macedonia) in 1913 for the first time, and this area was predominantly populated by Macedonians. Following forced Hellenisation, ethnic cleansing, and cultural genocide, the status of the Macedonians was changed from a majority to a persecuted minority. Today, Greece, a member of the EU and NATO, continues to pursue ultra-nationalistic policies rooted in 19th-century romanticism and denies basic human rights to its Macedonian minority.

In this article, Elena Sekulovska from the Australian Generation M team attempts to give a voice to the silenced Macedonian minority by conducting interviews with Macedonians that live in Aegean Macedonia. She has chosen to not disclose the identities of the interviewees, as there are serious repercussions for Macedonians living in Greece who speak out against the Greek state.

Thank you for agreeing to do the interview. What made you realise that your identity was Macedonian and not Greek, in a country where identifying as an ethnic Macedonian is stigmatised?

Anonymous A, Solun:

Growing up I didn’t really feel different. I spoke Greek as a mother tongue, alongside Macedonian, at home. At school we got taught propaganda on Macedonia. For example, they teach children that Macedonia is a ‘gypsy-skopian’ and ‘Albano-Bulgarian’ nation with a ‘gypsy’ language. I openly identify as a Macedonian, and in discussions, I stand up for the truth about Macedonia, in a non-provocative and respectful manner. Some of my Greek friends have thanked me for helping them understand the truth about the Macedonian issue as they got taught propaganda at school. As a young Macedonian in Greece I believe in mutual respect and friendship, and I want the Greek public to understand the truth on Macedonia without behaving uncivilised. Through positive discussion and respectful presentation of arguments there could be a positive difference.

Anonymous B, Lerin:

My Macedonian identity was built from an early age, I owe it to my family. My family told me the truth about Macedonia and how the Greeks had oppressed us and continue to silence us. I wish that every family spoke to their children about Macedonia, if they did, Macedonians would be organised and standing up for their rights. In my village, our school operated in the Greek language and we received a Greek education. Macedonian language schools are not allowed to exist here. After having grown up, I got involved in the Macedonian cause and many of my friendships have diminished. It is not easy to be a Macedonian in Aegean Macedonia.

Historically, the Macedonians in Aegean Macedonia were heavily persecuted by the Greek state. Today, Greece is a democratic state and a member of both the EU and NATO. Why is it still difficult for one to publicly express themselves as an ethnic Macedonian?

Anonymous A, Solun:

There is a heavy opposition from the deep Greek state, Church and media. During the anti-Macedonian demonstrations in Solun and Athens, discriminatory promotional material was handed out to students. In the demonstrations, they burned Macedonian flags and called for the Republic of Macedonia to be renamed to “Monkeydonia”. The three biggest football ultras groups from Solun, who usually beat each other up, united and demonstrated against Macedonia – this says a lot. This is clearly hate-speech, yet nobody pressed charges against them. The point itself that a nation demonstrates proudly not for itself, but because it wants to deny the rights of another nation on self-determination is the clearest indication that there is indeed a problem in the Greek society. We are fighting for our existence, and they are fighting for their “greatness”, as if it is a matter of survival.

The fascists who are openly anti-Macedonian are not the biggest threat to us, as one can easily identify them for what they are, fascists. The biggest threat is anti-Macedonianism sponsored by those on the left who claim to stand for multiculturalism, democracy, LGBT rights, liberalism and yet deny us the right to self-identification and continuously tell us we don’t exist. Anti-Macedonianism is the only legal and state sponsored type of racism in Greece.

Anonymous B, Lerin:

This is a result of the systemic assimilatory policies of the Greek state. They have used different methods to assimilate us and give us fear. In the not so distant past, this was through imprisonments, assassinations, ethnic genocide, terror. When the monarcho-fascist system fell in 1974, Greece became democratic and the method in which they silenced us changed from physical to psychological. This means that the only way in which we can preserve our heritage is through songs. Prior to 1992, we weren’t even allowed to sing our songs. In 1992, following heavy pressure from Macedonian activists and the European Union, the Greek police stopped going after those who sang Macedonian songs. Apart from this, politically, the Macedonian cause in Aegean Macedonia, and political activism in general, is in stagnation.

According to you, what is the number of those with Macedonian origins in Greece?

Anonymous A, Solun:

It is very difficult to estimate as under the Greek propaganda, even if we are aware of our ethnic origins, we can keep our language, culture and traditions but only if we are ‘slavophone’ Greeks. You cannot be both a ‘slavophone’ and a Greek, as language is part of ethnicity. The same people who once prohibited our language are now trying to assimilate us peacefully. The Macedonian consciousness has many layers as it is a taboo subject. There are some who are openly Macedonians and want minority rights for the Macedonians. On the other hand, some are extreme Greek loyalists and nationalists, and hate their own people and culture. Whilst others are aware of their heritage but want to leave it in the past, as to them, the ‘dopika’ (local) language is some weird language spoken by their grandparents. This is the most extreme form of assimilation.

Anonymous B, Lerin:

It is very hard to say. There are many types of Macedonians here. A large percent of them are ‘grkomani’ – Macedonians in origin with a Greek consciousness. From a young age, Macedonians are taught in schools that they do not exist, that their ancestors were Greeks who had their identity changed to ‘Bulgarian’ and now again to Greek. There is also a great number of Macedonians who don’t believe the propaganda, they know who they are but fear to publicly declare themselves as Macedonians because they will lose their jobs and have various bureaucratic problems with the Greek state. There are also Macedonians who are not scared of anyone and openly declare themselves as Macedonians. A really small percent of the Macedonians engages in Macedonian activism.

Is there anything else that you would like to add?

Anonymous A, Solun:

Things are slowly getting better. The Macedonian heritage is still present all-over Aegean Macedonia. People have started singing Macedonian songs in the village festivals. There are more associations promoting the Macedonian identity. The diaspora must help us. It needs to be an outspoken representative for the rights of our people and offer us moral, financial and especially legal support. Macedonians should not be afraid to tell the truth about Macedonia, no matter what. We need to expose the lies and propaganda. The fight for Egej is not lost, our people still live here.

Anonymous B, Lerin:

The Macedonians need to wake up. Every Macedonian who respects his heritage and origin has a sacred obligation to never denounce his language and Macedonian origin.

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