INTRODUCTION - Part 17

not permit it. It took Naso some time but he found a way to get out. In late 1951, Naso went for a visit to Austria and contacted his father to make the necessary arrangements to get him out. Being a refugee, however, made things a bit difficult. Canada wanted a character reference, which took about a year and a half to produce before he was allowed entry. With the assistance of the Red Cross, Naso left Austria and arrived in Toronto on December 23rd, 1953 just in time to celebrate Christmas with his father. Upon his arrival, the first order of business was to reunite his family. Again with the assistance of the Red Cross, a year and a half later Naso was able to bring his wife and daughter home. Sevda and Fana arrived in Toronto on June 24th, 1955. Fana was ten years old when she met her father for the first time. She was a shy child and would hardly talk to people she knew. In her mind her father was a man who lived far away in Canada. This man was a stranger and she wanted nothing to do with him. It took Fana a long time before she was able to accept Naso as her father. About nine years after their reunion in Toronto, on April 13th, 1962 Naso and Sevda’s son Vasil (William) was born. In spite of past hardships and sad memories, in 1985 Naso went back to Oshchima to re-visit his birthplace. His visit brought back old memories, both happy and sad. He was happy to see the land where as a youngster he played and toiled but was saddened to see the ruinous state of his beloved Oshchima. Naso remembered the happiness, laughter, singing and dancing, the glistening exterior whitewash of the houses, now all gone. Only silence and ruins remained. Naso recollected the day the barns were burned down and the great fires that almost destroyed Oshchima. It was late fall and the barns were full of winter feed, straw, hay, and crops. The Greek police burned them down claiming they were Partisans hideouts. Naso knew there were no Partisans there and the real reason for burning them was to bring hardship and starvation to the people. Naso is so grateful to be away from all of this and still cannot believe that the nightmare is over and he is reunited with his family. Naso and Sevda are grateful to those people who went out of their way to reunite their family and to Canada for opening their doors and offering opportunities to those less fortunate.

Stato and Jimmy (sons of Vasil and Iordana)

Stato and Jimmy (Mito), sons of Vasil and Iordana were born in the village Oshchima. Stato was born on September 20th, 1933 and Jimmy on August 5th, 1935. Stato and Jimmy are two of five siblings, sister Dafina, and brothers Naso from the same father but different mothers and Iane Stojchev Iankulovski from the same mother but different father. Iane was in his early twenties when he was captured while fighting for the Partisans and executed by the Greeks As young boys, Stato and Jimmy received practically no education while living in Oshchima. The school was closed due to the outbreak of the Greek-Italian war in the fall of 1940. During their youthful days the young boys worked on the farm shepherding, cow herding, and generally helping out with chores on the homestead. After the outbreak of the Greek Civil War, like many other villages, Oshchima became a target for Greek bombs and it was no longer safe for civilian life. As part of the “save the children” program Stato and Jimmy, along with many other Oshchimian children, were evacuated to Eastern Block countries. Their long ordeal started on March 25, 1948 when all the children from Oshchima were gathered together, for what was to be a temporary evacuation, and sent out of the country. Stato being the eldest was given the responsibility for looking after Jimmy as well as his niece Fana (brother Naso’s daughter). Fana was very young, almost three years old, and Stato was responsible for looking after her. Left in the care of surrogate mother Sevda Lazarou (Mitoitsa Lalova), the two young boys along with the other children left Oshchima and arrived in Shtrkovo, Prespa where they spent the night. The next day the group crossed over the Yugoslav border into Luboino. Before crossing the children were asked to leave their belongings behind, being reassured that a Partisan wagon would deliver them the next day. The boys’ mother had prepared a roast and packed a sack full of food as well as a change of clothing and blankets for the boys and Fana. The wagon never arrived and the group was left without food or clothing.

After spending the night in Luboino, fifteen children to a room, they were loaded into military trucks and taken to Bitola. Without food or blankets, the children found the nights very cold. They spent a day in Bitola before they were loaded onto train cars and sent to Brailovo for about two months. There the children and surrogate mothers were left on their own and slept in barns. Stato and Jimmy would have abandoned the group and fled home, but it was not possible with Fana in their care. They were so hungry they had to scour the countryside looking for food, even resorting to killing wildlife to satisfy their hunger. Once again the children were loaded onto train cars and sent to various destinations. Stato and Jimmy were sent to Romania to a camp called “Kalimaneshti” where they spent about four months. There they were housed in an old hospital and again left on their own. Many of the children were unhappy and frustrated, constantly fighting with each other. Finally the children were sent to permanent destinations and Stato and Jimmy ended up going to Poland. It was late fall, in 1948, when they arrived in a town called “Londenkzrui”. It was a beautiful place with natural springs and holiday resorts. The moment they arrived, the children were stripped naked, bathed, and placed in quarantine for a while to get rid of lice and other pests they had contracted. In comparison to where they had previously been, this place was like heaven. After spending some time in isolation, the children were assigned to homes and enrolled in schools. After spending a few years in primary school, Jimmy and Stato decided to pursue separate careers in education. In 1953, Jimmy enrolled in high school and among other things studied music. Stato decided to go to a technical college and study precision equipment and tool making. Jimmy took a liking to and learned to play the mandolin and some piano. Jimmy was doing well in his studies until his first contact with the Red Cross. Vasil, Jimmy and Stato’s father, was in Canada at the time and through the Red Cross was engaged in a search for his children. As soon as he found them, he filed papers to bring them home to Canada. Jimmy was so excited about the prospect of going to Canada that he immediately quit school. He arrived in Toronto on September 30th, 1955. Stato decided to stay a while and attended an international youth festival that was held in Poland that year. Stato arrived in Toronto on December 25th, 1955. Being a Canadian citizen since 1932, Vasil was able to register each of his sons as Canadian citizens right after their birth. Both Stato and Jimmy, before leaving Poland, were issued Canadian passports by the Canadian Embassy and came home as Canadian citizens. Upon arrival, the brothers joined the work force and for their first jobs, both worked as dish washers in the restaurant business. Jimmy worked for Spiro Bassil a fellow Oshchimian and Macedonian activist. The same year they arrived in Toronto, both brothers signed up and became members of “Benefit Society Oshchima”. On August 9th, 1963 Jimmy married Sofia Ramova an Oshchimian girl whom he knew and grew up with in Poland. Sofia, daughter of Foto and Grozda Ramos was born in Oshchima on April 23rd, 1940. Sofia left Oshchima as a refugee with her parents in the fall of 1949 before the conclusion of the Greek Civil War. Eight years after leaving, Jimmy went back to Poland, married Sofia in a civil wedding and brought her home to live with him in Canada. Jimmy and Sofia have two children, Donna born in Toronto on January 30th, 1966 and Danny also born in Toronto on May 1st, 1968. Jimmy opened his own restaurant in 1972 working for himself until his retirement in the year 2000. Stato too married a Macedonian girl and long time friend. Stato went to school with Christine in Poland and when he found out she had come to Canada he resumed his relationship with her. Christine daughter of Trifonas and Eleni Trifon, born on May 1st, 1936 in Krchishcha married Stato in Toronto on May 9, 1965.

Christine was sponsored and brought to Canada by her sister and grandfather in 1962. Christine had completed her education in Poland and graduated in the field of pharmacy. Unfortunately, she did not pursue her educational career in Canada. Stato and Christine have two children both born in Toronto. Helen was born on March 19th, 1966 and Jimmy was born on January 27th, 1969. Tragically, Christine passed on, on December 26th, 1992 at age 56. Stato in January 1993, after working 36 years took an early retirement at age 60. In time, the entire Petrou family migrated to Canada and they all currently live in Toronto.

Naso (son of Pavle and Rena)

Naso, son of Pavle and Rena was born in the village Oshchima on November 27th, 1945. Naso comes from a family of activists and fighters who for generations fought for the Macedonian cause. Pop Giorgi, Naso’s great grandfather was Oshchima’s first priest to die for what he believed in. Karavangelis had him assassinated for opposing Helenism. Trpo Popovski, Naso’s grandfather was a great teacher and fighter who also opposed Helenism. Pavle Popovski, Naso’s father was a Partisan who first fought against the Germans for the liberation of his country. He also fought for the liberation of Vardar Macedonia and later fought at home for the rights of the Macedonian people in Greece. Unfortunately, he lost his life in action in Gramos before he had a chance to see his son grow. Naso does not remember his father and only knows of him from his mother and people who knew him. Naso also had two uncles named Stojan and Krsto. Unfortunately, like Naso’s father, Stojan was killed in action. The three brothers Pavle, Stojan, and Krsto (youngest) fought side by side in the Macedonian brigades during the Greek Civil War. Krsto, the only survivor, moved to Skopje after the war where he completed teachers college and went on to study philosophy. He then devoted the rest of his life to teaching. Krsto Popovski, born in 1926 in Oshchima, lived a fruitful life with his wife Slavka and daughter Jordanka. He passed away April 24, 1992 in Skopje. Naso was too young to remember anything about Oshchima. He was only two and a half years old when he left and became a refugee child. From what he was told, Naso was evacuated on March 25, 1948 as part of the “save the children” program. Naso’s mother along with other Oshchimian mothers took their children to Albania and left them there to be evacuated. The children were then transported to one of Albania’s ports where they boarded a cargo ship and were sent to Poland. In Poland they were placed in a dormitory for orphaned children where Naso spent the next two years attending school. Naso’s mother left Oshchima in 1949 and became a refugee herself. Fortunately she too was sent to Poland and was able to reunite with her son. While in Poland, Naso spent ten years attending school. After finishing grade eight, he enrolled in a technical college and completed the course a year before leaving for Macedonia. In 1962 Naso and Rena left for Vardar Macedonia where Naso completed three years of technical school and graduated as a millwright. Upon graduation, Naso was drafted into the Yugoslav military where he spent the next two years serving in the navy. After completing his draft Naso went to Bitola and enrolled in a two-year technical program to study machine design. After graduating, Naso took on a job as a millwright department supervisor. Vase, daughter of Milan and Trajanka Stankoski from Prilep was only sixteen years of age when she first met Naso. Vase was born on November 6th, 1952 in the village Lenishche, near Prilep. After finishing high school she enrolled in a two-year college program and graduated in economics. Naso and Vase were married in Macedonia in 1970. Their son Pavle was born on April 7th, 1972. After spending thirteen years in Macedonia, the Popovski family immigrated to Canada, arriving in Toronto on June 1st, 1975. To support his family, Naso took a job with the Toronto Star and put his experience, gained in Macedonia, to work repairing machines in the Star’s machine shops. Vase, while looking after her son Pavle, also managed to enroll in language school and learned English. Naso has always been passionate about sports and a couple of years after coming to Canada became involved in coaching soccer. He has spent the last twenty years coaching at the Scarborough Blues Soccer Club producing world class athletes, five of whom are currently playing for European national teams. During his time as coach, the club has won the Ontario soccer cup three times and has six players under the age of nineteen playing for national teams.

With encouragement from Vase, Naso is now coaching an all girls soccer team.

Fania (daughter of Naum and Neda)

Fania, daughter of Naum and Neda was born in Oshchima on September 24th, 1926. Fania completed grade six in the Oshchima public school before she went to work full time helping her parents on the family homestead. Fania was barely over sixteen when she married Traiko Raikovski, a young Oshchimian man. Traiko, son of Kote and Neda Raikovski, was born on October 26th, 1922 and was twenty years of age when he married Fania on November 2nd, 1942. The wedding took place during the Italian occupation at a time when the entire region was experiencing a terrible economic slump. The Greek Government had collapsed and the currency was worthless. Fania remembers receiving a lot of money, as wedding gifts, but it was worthless. Fortunately, Traiko was a self-employed tailor and was able to provide for his young bride. Fania too kept busy by helping out in the tailor shop mending, washing, and pressing garments. Besides experiencing economic hardships, the people of Oshchima were also drawn into the Partisan conflict. Traiko was no exception and when duty called he joined Voivoda, Mito Tupurkovski’s band to fight the Germans. After Greece was liberated, Mito’s Partisans crossed over into Yugoslavia and fought the Balisti to liberate the Republic of Macedonia. Then, when the Greek Civil War broke out, many of Mito’s fighters, including Traiko, went back to fight for better living conditions at home for the Macedonian people in Greece. Fania also took part in the Partisan conflict, not as a fighter, but as an organizer. Her main duties were to distribute food from the central depot in Papli to the various surrounding villages and to the Partisans operating in the vicinity. Traiko and Fania’s first child Lena was born on January 14, 1944. By the time their son George (Giorgi) was born, on December 22nd, 1947, Traiko was fighting the Greek army in Gramos. Unfortunately, the Partisans lost the war, forcing Traiko to leave home and become a war refugee in the Soviet Union. Traiko never got the chance to see his son grow. Fania kept working for the Partisans until the end of the war and as a result was captured by the Greek military. Fania and her mother-in-law were preparing to leave at dusk the same day the Greek army descended on Oshchima and captured them. Fania not being a Partisan was not harmed. As soon as the Greek army invaded Oshchima, all Oshchimians and their livestock were evacuated to Zhelevo. Fania was assigned residence in the Balkovski household where she spent the next two years. Her fields and property, unfortunately, were in Oshchima where she had to make the daily trek to work. On top of that, the police constantly harassed her about permission to travel and the observance of curfew. Soon after Fania and her son George came back to Oshchima, she began the long search for her husband and daughter. Her daughter Lena had been evacuated on March 25th, 1948, as part of the “save the children” program and by 1951 was settled in the refugee camps of Bela Tsrkva in Yugoslavia. Fania’s request to repatriate her family was answered by the Greek administration. Unfortunately the answers she received were not favourable. She was told that Traiko could never return because the Greek Government had charged him with treason and his sentence was execution. Lena on the other hand could only return with royal approval by non-other than the Greek Queen Friderika herself. Fania at the time was financially well off. Her father looked after her by sending her money from Canada. Naum, Fania’s father, was a regular visitor to Canada. His first visit was as a pechalbar (migrant worker) from 1930 to1935. In 1935 he briefly came back home to build a house and returned to Canada the same year. After that, the conflicts kept him away until 1957 when once again he came back to see his home and daughter. Naum was saddened by the condition of his village, his home, and the plight of his daughter and was determined to re-unite his family. In spite of being told that it was foolish to attempt the impossible, Fania put the money her father had provided to good use and appealed to the Greek Queen to allow her daughter to come home.

It took some time, but her appeal was answered and Lena came home on May 25th, 1958. Without a husband, there was no future for Fania in Oshchima so she took George with her and left in 1959 to join her father in Canada. Even though life was good in Canada, both George and Fania longed for Traiko and made every effort to reunite with him. Unfortunately, the iron curtain was shut tight and it was virtually impossible to penetrate.

Instead of giving up, the family took a different approach. In 1965 Fania and George decided to move to Yugoslavia (Republic of Macedonia), a more neutral place, which allowed immigration from both the USSR and Canada. Traiko too made arrangements and was released by the Soviet Union. On the day of his father’s arrival, George traveled to Belgrad and met his father for the first time. Traiko had work experience in the steel industry in the Soviet Union, which helped him find a good job in Macedonia. After spending seven years in Macedonia, in 1972, the family immigrated to Canada and Traiko pursued his old career taking on a job at a metal works factory in Oakville. George resumed his education and became an accountant. Tragically, Traiko passed on at age 58 in January 1981. Fania still lives in the original home the family purchased in Mississauga in 1972 and today enjoys being with her three very young great grandchildren.

Vasil (son of Risto and Sofia)

Vasil, son of Risto and Sofia was born in the village Oshchima on August 15th, 1925 and currently lives in Toronto, Canada. Vasil attended school up to grade 6 and is proud to say he graduated with a mark of 90%. After completing grade school, Vasil went to work on the family homestead on a full time basis. After the death of his brother Lazo, Vasil being the eldest male living at home, assumed responsibility for most household activities. His father Risto worked outside Oshchima, sometimes abroad, and was unavailable for household duties for most of the year. Yields from the land were not sufficient to support a family of twelve so Risto had no choice but to seek employment elsewhere. Before Lazo’s death, on many occasions, Vasil assisted his father with his projects. This included many trips to Prespa and Albania, which sometimes lasted for months. Vasil’s father Risto (File and Stamena’s son) was born in 1883 in the village Oshchima and died in 1951 in Warsaw, Poland. During his youth, Risto made a living house painting, bricklaying, and doing masonry work. He was also a capable woodworker, lumberjack, and carpenter. During his adult life, Risto was a pechalbar and traveled from place to place looking for work. He traveled to Prespa, Albania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Central Greece, and Canada. Due to severe weather, stranded in Bulgaria, Risto attended school and learned the Macedonian alphabet enabling him to read Macedonian. On another occasion, while working in Turkey (Anatolia), Risto lost his uncle Kale in a construction accident. Kale fell off the roof of the building they were working on and died. While seeking work the expense of travel was a burden to them so to minimize their costs, Risto and his traveling companions begged for food and shelter while traveling from village to village. Risto did not speak Greek, and while traveling to central Greece he depended on his first cousin Tase and other co-workers, to seek directions and acquire contracts. Risto traveled to Canada three times. There he worked in tanneries, restaurants, and laid cobblestone in the streets of Toronto. On one occasion when Risto came back from Canada, an entourage of people from Oshchima came to greet him. In front stood his wife Sofia with two young girls in her arms. In a stern voice she asked him, “You’ve been away so long I bet you can’t recognize your own daughter?” Risto cleverly replied, “Put the girls down and the one that comes to me is my daughter.” Sure enough Dafina rushed to him, proving him right. With the money earned, in 1922 Risto built a house in Oshchima on top of the ruins of the Iofkova house. As payment to purchase the plot Risto granted Bosilka Iofkova and her daughter Sofia, free room and board for life. To expand his homestead, Risto purchased land from Tase who moved to Lerin and no longer needed his property. Risto gave some of the land to his older brother Vasil. There is a tale told about Risto’s money. After returning from Canada, Risto converted his earned wealth from gold into Greek currency in order to purchase building materials for his house. Unfortunately, at that same time war broke out and the Greek currency lost its value. Tragically, Risto lost his wealth. It has been rumoured that his wife Sofia cursed him for leaving her for so long to bear the burden of raising the children alone in such harsh conditions. It has also been rumoured that Risto did not convert his gold to

cash, but instead buried it somewhere in Oshchima, perhaps never to be found. These however, are only rumours? Year after year, Risto traveled to Prespa and Albania to work as a painter, bricklayer, plasterer, and occasionally as a carpenter. According to some of his clients, Risto was the best chimney builder in the region. From 1920 to 1922, Risto was drafted by the Greek army and served as a border guard at the Albanian-Greek border. In 1948, during the Greek civil war, he was drafted by the Partisans to build bunkers. In 1949 Risto, along with many other Greek Civil War refugees, left home for the last time never to return. Risto accompanied by his wife Sofia and son Alexander on August 10, 1949, left for Albania. From there he was sent to Poland, where he later was reunited with his daughter Sevda. While is Poland, Risto became very ill and disabled, dependent on his wife and daughter to look after his daily needs. He slowly fell into a depression and could no longer bear his condition and died in 1951. His body was buried in Poland where it remains to this day. According to those who knew him in person, Risto was a gentleman well respected by all. He was a hard worker and an honest man. With the outbreak of the Greek–Italian war in 1940, like many young men, Vasil found himself in the middle of a brewing controversy. At that time the Greek communist party was growing in strength and recruiting young Macedonian men and woman into their ranks with promises of freedom, human rights, and equality for all Macedonians. Organizers frequently came calling on the young to join. In 1943 Vasil, along with other idealists from Oshchima, signed up and became a party member. In June of 1944 Vasil was drafted by the Partisan police force and sent to Lagen near Vicho where he served as a police officer from July to September. When his service ended, Vasil joined the youth group and was allowed to go home provided he returned to service on short notice. His leave lasted until March 2nd, 1947 when Vasil was recalled to fight in the Greek civil war. He, along with about five thousand Partisans, was trained, armed, and sent to serve at various posts between Vicho and Gramos. After two years as a courier Vasil achieved the rank of second lieutenant. During his career as a Partisan, Vasil saw much action and experienced pain and suffering. One time after a bomb exploded Vasil was knocked unconscious. Thinking that he was dead, his comrades, hurrying to avoid capture, buried him by piling stones on his body. Hours later, Vasil awakened traumatized and confused, dug himself out of the rock pile and went wandering the countryside. The trauma had left him with short-term memory loss, which took hours before he was able to comprehend his predicament. He recalls his chest being bruised and having severe pain and difficulty breathing. His chest trauma subsequently re-occurred for six years, each year on the anniversary of the episode. After his recovery, Vasil was assigned to lighter duties delivering information between commands. This lasted until mid 1948 when once again fate dealt him a different hand. It was a rainy, fog filled morning when Vasil was ordered to deliver mail to a nearby battalion. On his way he ran into enemy fire and was almost hit by mortar. He was not directly hit but a spray of rock and sand lightly injured his leg and temporarily blinded his eyes. Under the cover of fog, however, Vasil was able to slip out and escape enemy detection. He arrived at his destination intact and successfully completed his mission. But as luck would have it, a battle was brewing and men were needed to fight. In spite of his injuries and inability to see properly, the local commander detained Vasil and ordered him to take part in the fight. This was an important fight defending a strategic position. The men were given strict orders to hold on to it no matter what happened. Soon the enemy engaged them and the battle lasted until dusk. When it was over, eight out of the fifty-six Partisans that took part were killed.

Vasil was wounded in the back, but the enemy advance was repelled. Vasil was taken to a nearby field hospital and had his wounds looked after. His recovery, however, was brief and prematurely interrupted by a courier who delivered orders to evacuate. Because the Bourandari (Royal Greek forces) were fast approaching and the hospital staff needed time to evacuate, all available able hands, including the wounded, were ordered to fight and stall the advance. Vasil remembers it was a fierce battle. The Partisans fought with mere guns against the onslaught of mortar and machinegun fire. Being unprepared the Partisans ran out of ammunition. Those able to move escaped while the rest fought to the end. Only five made it out alive. During his retreat, Vasil spotted a supply man in the distance, but

before he could get to him, a mortar fell killing him and his mule. Vasil picked up what he needed and continued his retreat. He was on the run when a Bourandar, hiding behind a rock, fired at him. It was a loud burst of machinegun fire. Vasil with his automatic rifle in one hand and gear in the other ran into the woods for cover. He realized that his diversion would take him away from his destination, but what choice did he have? His escape route was in the open and dangerous. As he contemplated his predicament, Vasil heard a woman’s voice in the distance crying out for help. The woman called out in Macedonian then in Greek. It appeared that she was wounded and could not move. He quickly went to her aid and as their conversation ensued, he found out she was from Nestram, a Macedonian village. He picked her up, put her over his shoulder and carried her through the woods. His effort, however, was in vain as a mortar fell in close proximity instantly killing the woman with a severe blow to the head. Vasil was devastated, dropped the woman’s body, and ran. Unable to properly see, he lost his bearings and did not know where he was. He realized he had left the woods when he heard the dreaded roar of a fighter plane overhead and watched the dust ripples of bullets running by. He ran as fast as he could, watching the ripples come and go again and again as fire from the sky rained down on him. It seemed like an eternity as the two planes circled around from above again and again, mocking him and playing with his life. Finally he was in the safety of the woods. He was still running when he encountered the cliff of a sinkhole and almost fell in it. It was one of those phenomena that naturally occur in nature due to years of limestone erosion. Vasil was lucky he stopped in time. He paused for a moment looking down when he heard a man’s voice softly muttering something to him. The words were Greek and beckoned him to come closer with promises of ending his misery forever. He slowly looked up in the direction of the voice, coming from the other side of the cliff. As Vasil’s sore eyes began to focus he saw a man and recognized his uniform, that of a Bourandar officer. During his ordeal Vasil must have somehow circled back and was now in the hands of the enemy. Too many things had happened that day and Vasil was in no mood for mockery as he opened fired. He doesn’t remember how his rifle got into his hands, but he was grateful it was there. He thinks it came off his shoulder during his abrupt encounter with the sinkhole. Figuring him for a deserter, the unexpected burst of automatic fire surprised the enemy. As Vasil continued to fire, fearing an ambush, the Bourandari quickly retreated. Vasil tired, wounded, and hungry made it back to Breznitsa where he came upon a stream of water. Being thirsty and watching the water trickle down the stream made him want a drink badly. Vasil knew that in his condition he couldn’t have any, he had seen the wounded die after drinking water. Vasil succumbed to his thirst and had a sip. After that, he reported to local command and asked them for transportation to the hospital. He was refused, as there were too many other priorities. Vasil left, disappointed, and spent two days in Rula (Ano Rulski) before walking to Preol where he, along with one hundred and fifty other wounded, boarded two trucks destined for the Yugoslav border. The first truck was allowed entry but the second was refused and turned back. Vasil made it in and was taken to a hospital in Koutlanovo to recuperate. After fifteen days of hospitalization and daily baths in the thermal springs, Vasil fully recovered from his wounds. It was now time to leave so Vasil, along with sixty others, was ordered to report to Pozdivishcha for re-assignment. Vasil was re-assigned to the fourteenth brigade at the village Kazani in Kostour. His new commander was an old acquaintance who recognized Vasil from a previous meeting they had in 1945 at the village Papratsko.

Vasil was campaigning there for the Partisans when he met the man for the first time. The new boss gave Vasil command of twenty men and put him in charge of guarding Kolomnati. Vasil remembers this day well, as he ordered his men to take up position inside a patch of tall ferns, behind some stones. It was the same day that Georgi Boglev from Oshchima was captured. With four machine guns on standby, the men hid in the ferns and kept silent for most of the day. This went on from dawn until about four in the afternoon when a guard noticed movement from the direction of Bapchor. It was a band of Bourandari coming. Vasil ordered his men to take their position and hold their fire. After a brief firefight, feeling the sting of the ambush, the Bourandari retreated. In other parts of the battle, however, Partisan units did not fare as well and many men and women lost their lives during the fight. When it was over, all able bodies, including the lightly wounded, were ordered to retreat and regroup. At the new camp, combatants were separated according to education and technical skills with military equipment. The more educated were made officers and given command positions

regardless of their combat experience. The rest were assigned to lower ranks. Having over two years of combat experience and being a trusted courier, Vasil was not happy with his demotion into the lower ranks. He complained to the commanding officer and asked for his rank to be reinstated. The officer was unmoved by his plea and ordered him to either pick a weapon and stay where he was or leave and join another command. Vasil chose to stay and took his case to the battalion commander. The top boss heard Vasil’s case and gave him command of a guard unit comprised of three men and a woman. After spending ten days at camp, Vasil’s unit was sent on assignment to guard a work crew of sixteen women and several mules, responsible for picking grapes and apples. When they arrived at their destination, the group encountered several rotting human skulls propped up on wooden stakes. The heads belonged to the guards of a previous work crew ambushed by the Bourandari. Hesitantly, the crew began picking grapes while the guards, certain of an impending ambush, took up defensive positions. True to expectation, before they were finished, several shots rang out sending everyone for cover. The Bourandari came back with high hopes, but the guards fought fiercely and repelled the attack. The crew, fearing for their lives fled the scene. Vasil, along with the other guards, assembled the mules along with the grapes and left for Posdivishcha to pick apples. There to their surprise, they found the missing crew hiding inside the village. In spite of their desertion, no charges were laid against members of the crew. When Vasil returned to camp he heard from the news wire that his skirmish left one Bourandar dead and one wounded. After that assignment Vasil was transferred to a battalion near the village Boukovik to prepare for battle. The frontline was ordered to penetrate a triple barrier of barbed wire, laced with activated grenades. When they reached their target, a man experienced in mine removal breached the first and second barriers but discovered a land mine and could not penetrate the last barrier. As a result, the advance was halted and the combatants refused to continue until the area was de-mined. The unit commander disagreed with the assessment and called the men cowards for not proceeding. In spite of the danger he went forward to show them how it was done. Unfortunately, he stepped on a mine and was blown up. The force of the explosion shook the fence and triggered activated grenades causing them to explode. As the startled men retreated in panic, Vasil remembers taking a glimpse of a dying woman lying on the ground with a large hole in her back. After the danger passed, Vasil felt severe pains in his head. A quick examination revealed wounds to his head, leg, and hand. Vasil walked back to command and was taken to a nearby field hospital. He lost a lot of blood and went into shock before he passed out. Next he remembers hearing a voice and opening his eyes to bright sunlight. It was almost noon the next day and he had slept through the night. The voice that woke him was that of an old man whom Vasil knew. The old man advised Vasil to leave at once because the Greek forces were advancing quickly and his life was in danger. The field hospital was evacuated in the dark, the night before and the camp was abandoned. Vasil was unable to walk on his own so he asked the man to fashion him a crutch from a tree branch. Before he could get too far, however, the Bourandari arrived and started shooting. Vasil made an effort to hide but was spotted. The next thing he remembers was a sharp pain in his leg and rolling down a steep hill. He was wounded in the same leg again. One of the Bourandars went looking but would not risk going down the hill so he abandoned the search. Vasil passed out and when he came to he remembers feeling very cold, fists clasped tight, and teeth clenched. He had fallen into a sandy pit and was now trapped. He was lucky, however, because soon after the Bourandari left a deliveryman came by and found him.

Vasil convinced the man to take him to the hospital. He went to another camp by mule and from there to Posdivishcha by horse. On their way the men heard the roar of a bomber which sent them scurrying. Vasil urged the man to run for cover while he slumped off the horse and rolled into an irrigation ditch. The horse took off down river and disappeared. The water was running fast and felt cold as Vasil submerged himself out of sight when a bomb fell nearby, temporarily rendering him deaf. When the danger was over, unable to walk, he pulled himself out of the ditch and waited. Another man came by and helped Vasil to his feet. Fearing more encounters from above, Vasil asked the man to help him hide in a nearby garden, close to the river. The garden was fenced in and its foliage provided good cover. Soon after, the first man came back with the horse but refused to go any further because he felt it was too dangerous. He helped Vasil mount the horse and left. Vasil’s latest wound was high up on his leg impairing his riding and causing him severe pain. Having no other choice, Vasil rode to Posdivishcha. The doctor there examined him and

recommended that he be taken to the hospital at Kolomnati. Vasil was very hungry and asked for some food. Given a choice he asked for fried red peppers. While riding through Posdivishcha, he had noticed a bunch of red peppers hanging on the windowsill of a house. As his hunger grew, the image of peppers remained in his mind. The good people of Posdivishcha obliged and fried some peppers with feta cheese for him. When he finished his meal, he was put on a stretcher and carried by a team of six field medics from Posdivishcha to the field hospital in Kolomnati. From their conversations, Vasil concluded that all the women were Macedonian. Two pairs of women carried the stretcher and the third pair was relief. Vasil was a big man, over six feet tall, a burden for four women to carry at the best of times. For most of the trip, he kept to himself as the women conversed and complained about his weight. Their tranquility, however, was broken when the roar of a bomber came from above. Suddenly, Vasil was dropped to the ground flat on his back in the middle of the road as the women scurried for cover. When the danger passed, the women came back and asked Vasil if he was all right. Vasil did not appreciate how he had been treated and kept to himself saying nothing. Thinking that he was Greek and didn’t understand Macedonian, the women continued their chat and complaint until they reached the bottom of a hill. They were already tired and now had to carry him uphill on narrow footpaths. Being upset, they started the climb with Vasil upside down, his head lower than his feet. The constant jolting and blood pressure from being carried that way caused Vasil severe pain and headaches. The women were struggling as they continued the climb. One of them suggested that they toss Vasil down a ravine and leave him there to die. Surely he was not worth the effort? Another objected and scolded the first for having such thoughts. “What if he was your husband or brother, would you still do that?” she asked. Vasil was in too much pain to listen to the moral dilemma or care about what happened to him. When they finally arrived, a familiar face greeted Vasil. It was Rina Bogleva from Oshchima. Rina told Vasil that his sister Sevda was also there. When Vasil asked for her, Rina ran through the camp looking for her to give her the news. Hearing that her brother was in the camp, Sevda, was thrilled and ran back as quickly as possible asking people on the way, “Where is my brother, where is my brother?” One of the women who carried Vasil heard her and answered, “Here is your brother you silly woman, you call everyone your brother.” But after a hug, tears, and a long conversation in Macedonian, the woman was convinced Vasil was Sevda’s real brother and the women apologized for their behavior. While in the hospital, Sevda cared for Vasil until his wounds healed. Vasil was summoned to Gramos once again and from there (after the defeat of the Partisans) he left for Albania (Burely camp) to escape capture. In his career as a Partisan, Vasil experienced much combat and was wounded four times, with twelve entry wounds. It was August 26th, 1949 when Vasil saw his homeland for the last time. With an uncertain future he boarded the ship, Vladivostok, at the port of Durresi in Albania and headed for Russia. From there he was sent via train to Tashkent in the Republic of Uzbekistan. On April 12th, 1950 Vasil married Sofia from the village Trnava. Vasil met Sofia for the first time in 1948 at Gramos and again in Albania. Sofia was also drafted by the Partisans and served from 1947 to 1949. Initially she was sent to Gramos for training and was taught to use a rifle. After that she was sent to school to train for communications (telephone). Then she was sent on combat missions first to Voden and later to Lerin where she fought the final battle of the civil war. Sofia also escaped to Albania to avoid capture and was sent to Tashkent. In Tashkent, Vasil and Sofia found jobs in a textile factory where Vasil worked as a cotton loader and Sofia as a painter of cotton combine equipment.

In 1951, Vasil was accepted into the military academy and after 38 months, graduated as an artillery officer equivalent to 1st Lieutenant. After graduation in 1953, Vasil went back to work in the textile factory for another year and a half. For the next eleven years before coming to Toronto, Vasil worked as an insulation worker, producing roofing shingles, and insulating hot water pipes and boilers. Sofia continued to work in the textile factory until the birth of her first son Vasia in 1952. She spent the next five years at home with Vasia. After that, she worked in construction for a while and later in a leather factory assembling wallets and purses. Her second son Alexander was born in 1962.

On November 17th, 1965 Vasil, Sofia, Vasia, and Alexander permanently left Tashkent, destined for Toronto, Canada, which remains their home today.

Nikola (son of Risto and Sofia)