PART OF THE BOOK “SELECTED PAPERS FOR MACEDONIA”
BY SLAVÉ KATIN
In the publication “The Macedonians in USA and Canada”, “Makedonska iskra”, Skopje, 2002, 1-380 (in Macedonian and English) by the author of this text, it is said that the Macedonian migration basically coincided with developments in the Balkans and it depended, even more, on the developments in Macedonia. As a result, the rate of moving away and going abroad to earn a living was conditioned, above all, by difficult economic hard ships, and in very few cases of national and political character. The miserable, difficult, and often impossible conditions of living and the constant struggle for survival forced many Macedonians to opt, among other things, for leaving their own country in order to settle somewhere else.
The process of going abroad to earn a living and moving away from Macedonia to the United States and Canada respectively was characteristic of the traditional migration areas: regions of Lerin, Bitola, Prespa, Kostur, Ohrid, Voden, Prilep, Struga, Solun, Tetovo and other parts of Macedonia.
The immigration waves from these parts increased after the 1903 Ilinden Uprising, but they became more intense after the Balkan Wars and the First World War, which, instead of bringing liberation from the five-century old slavery, led to the triple partition, oppression, assimilation, denationalization and physical destruction of the Macedonian identity and culture. All this was done by Macedonia’s just liberated neighbours: Bulgaria, Kingdom of Yugoslavia, Greece and Albania.
What happened in the previous period during several centuries and what happened after the First World War led, for a relatively short period, to great migration movements and ethnic changes in certain parts of Macedonia that had disastrous consequences for the Macedonian population.
Consequently, according to a report dated May 13, 1949 of the UN Special Committee for the Balkans, 232,000 Macedonians from Aegean Macedonia, including the families of Steve and Lilly Pliakes moved away, and the Greek authorities populated and colonized Aegean Macedonia with refugees from Asia Minor in their place.
The period after 1960 was also specific. As a result of the opening of SFR Yugoslavia to the world and its inclusion in the international division of labor, along with the creation of an urban population in cities and liberalization of the policy of going to work abroad, many workers and intellectuals from the former SR Macedonia moved away and settled in North America. Immigration waves from Macedonia to all corners of the world continue even today, but the intensity varies depending on the economic and political moments in Macedonia, the Balkans, and globally.
Some more realistic estimates indicate that, from the mid 19th century to the present, more than one million Macedonians from all parts of Macedonia have moved to different countries. In the absence of complete statistical and other data, it is very difficult to accurately determine the exact number, but it is estimated that about 500 thousand Macedonian immigrants live in the U.S., Canada and Australia, out of whom about 150,000 live in the U.S., approximately 150,000 in Canada, and more than 200,000 in Australia and New Zealand. It is estimated that more than 150,000 Macedonians live in Europe and other countries. It is also estimated that about 50,000 im- migrants of Macedonian origin live in South America, Egypt, Great Britain, South Africa and Eastern European countries, as well as in Turkey, where there are more than 300,000 Macedonian-Muslims and ethnic Turks from Macedonia.
The main purpose of immigration was to provide a basic livelihood and earn money for their family. The number of immigrant workers who left their homeland for political reasons and just for the sake of tradition to go abroad to earn a living was very small.
However, among recent generations, as well as among the newcomers from more recent times, especially from the Republic of Macedonia, there are more and more highly educated immigrants with a higher cultural and social status that has set a new structural level in the Macedonian Diaspora. Thus, there are intellectuals among them from different areas of activity that have established themselves not only in Macedonia but also worldwide.
The lifestyle of Macedonian emigrants in the Diaspora has gone through a partial transformation due to changes in their economic, social, education, qualifications and increased monetary potential. Moreover, many of them, especially from the Aegean part of Macedonia made their way into higher society where they live. But in regard to political life in their new environments and societies, the Macedonian settlers lag way behind other ethnic groups, as is the case with immigrants from other Balkan countries. However, their achievements on an economic, spiritual, educational, cultural and sports level contribute more and more so they are not treated as second-class citizens, but as an integral and important factor in the new communities in the Diaspora, especially in multiethnic societies as it is Canada.
The earliest forms of gathering of Macedonian expatriates date back to the time of their massive arrival in new environments when they brought with them their culture, traditions, religion and customs. As a result of that they formed their religious and cultural associations, as well as associations for mutual assistance. Their goal was to preserve Macedonian culture, customs and religious traditions, to provide money to socially disadvantaged Macedonians, and to raise funds to construct churches, schools and other facilities in their new environments and in their birth places in Macedonia as well.
The largest population of Macedonians came to the former Soviet Union during the Civil War in Greece, and settled in the Caucasus regions. The number of Macedonians from Belomorska Macedonia was about 7-8,000 in only Tashkent and surrounding areas from 1949 onwards. That number later dropped rapidly due to the large number of returnees to Greece, Macedonia and other countries.
Today several thousand Macedonians, mostly from Aegean Macedonia, live in the former Eastern European countries: Romania, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia, Poland, Ukraine, Russia and other countries. In addition, there are numerous im- migrants coming from mixed marriages of Macedonians from all parts of Macedonia.
In addition to the overseas countries, European Union and other countries, the Republics of Croatia and Slovenia, are countries where all rights are guaranteed to Macedonians as a national minority. They are countries where their governments, through material and financial assistance, help the development of minorities to promote their national, cultural and linguistic values. Thus, the Macedonians serve as a bridge for developing friendly relations among Croatia, Slovenia and Macedonia, promoting these two countries as democratic and civil society countries. The destiny of Macedonians in Serbia and Montenegro is similar if not identical to that of Macedonians living in Croatia and Slovenia. But here, due to the problem with the Serbian Orthodox Church, Macedonians don’t have their own religious temples; but they are organized in cultural and artistic societies and other associations.
There are Macedonians who live in Pakistan as well and who consider themselves descendants of the soldiers and generals of Alexander of Macedon (the Great)”. This we stated with Michle Kitli. “In the Himalayas, in the eastern part of Pakistan, there is a tribe which differs from the others. They are tall with a white complexion. They have their own autonomous territory which they call Hunza or Hunzacut, they speak Burushaski, and identify as Macedonians. The sun on their red flag has eight gold rays. Recently they accepted Islam, but retained the old Macedonian traditions.
In addition, there are Macedonians in Israel whose fate is similar to that of the Jews. Their hard life, overall conditions, strong love for their religion, nation, country, past and future have made Macedonians and Jews establish their sovereign and independent states. One of them is me who has learned from the Jews how painstakingly difficult is and how much sacrifice is needed to establish a state: how it is even more difficult to achieve freedom, and how the newly established state, Republic of Macedonia, is to be defended, built, protected and developed loftily, with strong faith, great love and best hope.
To be continued
BY DUSHAN RISTEVSKI-MAKEDON
