THE LIFE AND WORK OF THE DONOR ATANAS BLIZNAKOV IN THE
MONOGRAPHS BY SLAVE KATIN
After a long trip Atanas Bliznakov and his friends from D’mbeni arrived at the New York port on Long Island, in the early morning of December 14, 1920. After a short examination of their documents and a thorough medical examination by a medical commission, they were issued permits for free entry into the United States. Georgi Andriovski, Atanas Mangov and Atanas Bliznakov were to get tickets for Madison city in the state of Illinois, while Sotir Popov, Nikola Spanov, Andriko Lockov, Pavle Popjovcev, Vane and Risto left for Detroit. For some of these friends it was their last get-together.
After nearly a 36-hour journey the three fellows from D’mbeni arrived in the small town of East Saint Louis, on December 16, 1920. It was the nearest railway station to Madison. Then they set off by streetcar which stopped in front of a big new house which had a great café in the basement. It belonged to Hristo Vesturov, born in the village Kosinec, Kostur Region. When they entered the café, they felt as if they were in Macedonia. All the people spoke Macedonian. They were mainly from Koresta, Kostur Region but several were from D’mbeni as well.
When they entered the café most of the people cast their eyes to the newcomers. They sat at the table where D’mbeni men were already sitting, while the other guests came around them immediately. They all wanted to have a closer look at them, to shake their hands because no one from this part of Macedonia had arrived in that part of the U.S. for the last five years due to WW I.
They had many questions about their families, relatives, friends, their native village, the situation in Macedonia before the Greek occupation etc. Many questions were raised about their journey and how they managed to leave Greece.
The destination of their long journey was the small town of Madison. It is located on the left bank of the Mississippi River in southern Illinois. Many immigrants from Macedonia lived in St. Louis, Madison and the nearby town of Granite City. They came to America at different times, by different routes and crossed the Atlantic in the hope that there would be a happier future.
Immigration to the U.S. by peoples from various parts of Europe was undisturbed until 1924. Anyone who had proper documents and who was spiritually and physically healthy, according to the opinion of the medical commission of Long Island, could settle in this state. Over a long interval, starting from the first settlements until the second decade of the previous century, many immigrants from nearly all European states rushed to the U.S.
Those were immigrants from States which existed before the First World War or were created after it ended. It looked like some kind of invasion which gained tremendous impetus after regular steamship lines were introduced between the ports of Europe and the United States. At that time Europe was shaken by minor or larger military conflicts, starting from revolutions and counter-revolutions, to uprisings and riots that caused severe economic and political trauma.
But when the situation in Europe became difficult, due to frequent and major economic crises, hundreds and thousands of families saw their last way out by moving across the Atlantic, because at that time the United States was like the biblical “promised land” to them. A frantic boom commenced in the United States at that time. Construction mushroomed almost everywhere in this distant country.
Therefore there was a discrepancy in economic conditions between the U.S., where the economy was blooming accompanied a great shortage of labor, and Europe, where unemployment was increasing. The most appropriate way out for millions of hungry, naked, and barefoot people was to move to the U.S. However saturation of the labor market was inevitable. The unimpeded settlement in the U.S. could not last indefinitely. This problem became particularly acute after, in compliance with social laws, economic life in the United States was forced to follow roads that foreshadowed crisis.
In 1924 the U.S. government adopted a law which limited the influx of immigrants. Then many Macedonians who were already in the United States decided to permanently settle in the United States. Choosing this country as their new homeland, they were forced to bring their families which, according to the provisions of the new law, didn’t pose any difficulty.
Legislation, prompted by elemental humanity, was seriously concerned with avoiding severing the family ties of these people who had worked hard to contribute to the acceleration of economic prosperity in the country. Therefore everyone who had enough funds and wanted to, could bring their family to the U.S. without any difficulty or obstruction.
To be continued
By SLAVE KATIN
