FLORINA OCCUPIED - Part 02

VIENNA, May 11. – A dispatch from Constantinople announces the wholesale shooting of revolutionary Macedonians, including women. Twenty-four persons were executed at Monastir, fourteen at Beria, eighteen at Iating, eighteen at Seres and twenty-nine at Uskab.” [/quote] (New York Times, May 12, 1901)

Again with the sad and devastating news! Why can’t we have some good news for a change? Is it too much to ask? The team was back and off again, unfortunately in my state of thought, pondering the sad news I missed the first part of Tito’s orders and only heard that we were going to March 21, 1902. The next day I checked The New York Times for March 22, 1902 and discovered the following piece;

[quote] “SERIOUS REVOLT IN ALBANIA

Rebels said to be masters of town of Yanina – fighting between Turkish troops and Macedonians. LONDON, March 22. – According to the Rome correspondent of the Daily Mail, the Italian consul at Yanina, southern Albania, has sent news of a serious revolution in Albania. The governor’s palace at Yanina was attacked and several gendarmes were killed. The revolutionaries are masters of the town. The consul says further outbreaks have occurred at Berat, Paramythia and Avlona and that the revolution is spreading throughout Albania. The correspondent of The Morning Leader in Vienna reports a conflict between Turkish troops and Macedonian revolutionists at Sistova near Kastoria. The Turks surrounded the village and overcame the rebels. In the course of the fighting four Macedonians and two Turks were killed and twenty-six of the rebels were wounded. All the male inhabitants of the village were arrested. [/quote] (The New York Times, March 22, 1902) As I finished reading the third article I realized that the team had already been on three missions today and should be going home next but when I looked at my watch it was too early to go home. The team was back again and instead of going home Tito had another mission in mind. “We are going to Athens,” he said “to March 30th, 1902”. I see! That’s why Tito wanted the team there early, so it could go on an extra mission. But why go on an extra mission? I got my answer the next day when I read the following piece in the March 31st, 1902 New York Times newspaper;

[quote] “GREEKS BETRAY MACEDONIANS.

Threatened Outbreak This Spring Will Probably Be Prevented – Montenegrins To Invade Turkey?

London Times, New York Times Special Cablegram

LONDON, March 31. – A dispatch to The Times from Athens says the grave situation in Macedonia and Albania causes considerable uneasiness. It is thought that the propaganda from the Macedonian committee in Bulgaria is somewhat discredited among the wealthier classes, owing to the crimes and extortion connected with it. Still, the physical force party, which may be compared to the Fenian section of the Irish Nationalists, continues to follow the lead of President Sarafof who has planted a general rising of the Christians in the coming Spring. The dispatch says the overtures made in Athens and Belgrade have not been found tempting and that the Greeks have disclosed the scheme to Turkey. This, in conjunction with a strong military precaution being taken, will probably prevent the threatened outbreak. Improvement, however, is impossible without reform, and the Sultan’s personal fears and the disunion of the European powers make the prospect of reform remote.” [/quote] (The New York Times, March 31, 1902) This particular mission took a little longer than expected, I guess the team has learned to be extra cautious when traveling in Athens. None the less the team was back in time to get a good night’s sleep. It’s late already, there is no point in me waiting for TrueMacedonian to return I thought as I exited the trunk. “But! What? How?” were the only words I could muster in my startled state as I found TrueMacedonian standing beside the Delorean. “I am sorry to have startled you,” he said “but I never left the Delorean. I stayed here all the time as the others disappeared over the horizon, unaware that I wasn’t with them.” Before I could muster another word, TrueMacedonian said he had something for me to read. He rummaged through his deep pockets and pulled out a book with a book mark stuck in it. “Ah, here it is,” he said. “Read this page and tell me what you think?”

Here is what I read;

[quote] “The Greeks had not taken much interest in their past until Europeans became enthusiastic discoverers and diggers of their ruins. And why should they have cared? The Greeks were not Greek but the illiterate descendents of Slavs and Albanian fishermen, who spoke a debased Greek dialect and had little interest in the broken columns and temples except as places to graze their sheep. The true philhellenes were the English – of whom Byron was the epitome – and the French, who were passionate to link themselves with the Greek ideal. This

rampant and irrational phili-Hellenism, which amounted almost to a religion, was also a reaction to the confident dominance of the Ottoman Turks, who were widely regarded as savages and heathens. The Turks had brought their whole culture, their language, their Muslim religion and their distinctive cuisine not only here but throughout the Middle-East and into Europe as far as Budapest. The contradiction persists even today: Greek food is actually Turkish food, and many words we think as distinctively Greek, are in reality Turkish – kebab, doner, kofta, meze, teramasalata, dolma, yogurt, moussaka, and so forth; all Turkish.” [/quote] (“The Pillars of Hercules”, by Paul Theroux, page 316) After reading the text I was speechless. All I could think of was the nerve of those Modern Greeks calling the Macedonians artificial. “Artificial, who is artificial, don’t they know their own history?” I blurted out as TrueMacedonian nodded, understanding what I was talking about. “Think about it,” he said. “But don’t let it boggle your mind. I have to go now because I am sure Tito will be on my case tomorrow if I don’t get some sleep.” And with those words, TrueMacedonian left, leaving me to think about what I had just read!

Essay 13 – MASS MEETING OF MACEDONIANS

Fearing that Tito might show up early again, the next day I got to the hiding place bright and early and entered the Delorean’s trunk so I would be out of sight. It seemed like hours had passed before I heard voices. The entire team showed up together. Tito hates to wait so he must have had the team assemble early in the morning and left for the Delorean after everyone was there. I wondered if Tito had discovered that TrueMacedonian was missing after the team had left the previous night? Then I overheard TrueMacedonian explain that the only reason he had stayed behind was because he was anxious to read parts of his book as soon as possible. And of course he didn’t exactly lie about that except for the fact that it was me and not him who was reading the book. “Next time you feel like doing that it wouldn’t hurt if you let me know!” Tito declared as he slammed the Delorean’s door and began to adjust the time machine dials. “We are going to Vienna, April 7, 1902,” he said as he pushed the time activation button. The next day the following article appeared in The New York Times;

[quote] “MACEDONIANS WELL ORGANIZED

Have Even a Postal System of Their Own – They Have Received Donations from Abroad.

London Times – New York Times Special Cablegram

LONDON, April 8. – The Macedonian revolutionists are not concerned in regard to the convenience of Europe, says the Vienna correspondent of The Times. Sarafof (the Macedonian leader) deliberately says that it is beyond the power of Austria or Russia to interfere. The correspondent says that Sarafof’s methods strongly resemble those of the anarchists, as they consist of terrorizing the defenseless population while the Turkish troops are carefully avoided. The revolutionists are admirable organized, having even an efficient postal service of their own. They have received donations from foreign sympathizers, and are likely to do more mischief before they are suppressed.” [/quote] (The New York Times, April 8, 1902) The team was back and off again this time to Sofia, Bulgaria, to February 15th, 1903, where many Macedonians were expected to

gather. I didn’t realize how many that could be until I read the following clip the next day;

[quote] “MASS MEETING OF MACEDONIANS

SOFIA, Feb. 15. – A mass meeting of 10,000 Macedonians was held here to-day to protest against the action of the government in dissolving the Macedonian Committees in Bulgaria. The meeting demanded the re-establishment of the Macedonian societies and the judicial punishment of individual offenders. It is reported that warrants are out for the arrest of Boris Sarafof, Yankof, and other Macedonian leaders. Sarafof is said to be now in Macedonia organizing a revolt. Several arrests of Macedonian leaders have been made in provincial towns. The government will prosecute the arrested men.” [/quote] (The New York Times, February 16, 1903) Ten thousand Macedonians in Bulgaria? Did Tito “create” that many Macedonians in one day? And were they “ethnic” or “geographical” Macedonians? Let’s see how the Greeks will handle this one? If Macedonians did not exist and if all these people were ‘ethnic’ Bulgarians as the Greeks like to claim, and if they were fighting for a ‘Greater Bulgaria’, then why did the Bulgarian government have them arrested, I wondered as the team came back and was off again, this time to Geneva, to March 1st, 1903. The next day the following short article appeared in The New York Times;

[quote] “SEVERE FIGHTING BETWEEN TURKS AND MACEDONIANS.

Turks Repulsed With Heavy Loss Near Monastir – Sultan’s Reform Order Regarded as a Trick.

LONDON, March 2. – The Geneva correspondent of The Daily Chronicle telegraphs that news has been received there of an engagement between Turkish troops and bodies of Macedonians and Bulgarians near Monastir. The Turks suffered a repulse. After the fighting thirty-two dead and many wounded were found.” [/quote] (The New York Times, March 2, 1903) Bravo Tito, you managed to insert the words ‘Macedonians and Bulgarians’ in the same sentence! I would very much like to see how

our Modern Greeks today are going to explain this one. How many lies will be told to cover up the original Big Greek Lie? Speaking of Big Greek Lies, after the team departed for the night I came out of the Delorean’s trunk and discovered a crumpled piece of paper on the ground. I smoothed it out and found it was a photocopy of a page from a book. TrueMacedonian must have left it behind for me to find, I thought as I began to read it.

Here is what it said;

[quote] “Argolida has been continuously settled since ancient times. Since the Mycenaean era, it has been under the continual occupation of successive empires and states, from the city-states of ancient Greece through Rome and Byzantium, the Venetians, Ottomans and finally the modern Greek state. Successive waves of conquerors and immigrants have all left their mark. Today the area is widely considered to be the heartland of modern Greece. The revolution that lead to the founding of the modern Greek state in 1821 was centered in the Peloponessos, and Nauplio became its first capital. Since then, the construction of Greek national identity has tended to efface processes of social differentiation. The institutions and ideology of the Greek nation-state have sought to project an unproblematic narrative of Greek history stretching back to ancient times (Herzfeld 1982). Despite these efforts, however, it is difficult to document a continuous lineage of ‘Greek’ identity. Instead what we find is a history of confrontation, contradiction and assimilation among contentious social groups and ethnic identities. The notion of a ‘Greek’ identity in the modern sense is itself in large part a creation of the movement towards statehood. It was not until the nineteenth century that the term came to describe a homogenous ethnic group in the modern sense. Instead, the peoples of the Peloponnessos, including Argolida, made up an intricate mosaic of ethnicities and languages. In Argolida dialects of Albanian, Greek, Turkish and other local languages were spoken (Andromedas 1976). From the Byzantine Empire and onwards, religion was an important marker of social identity. The Byzantines were Greek speakers, but they associated the Greek language with Christianity rather than ancient Greece, and in fact ethnically defined themselves as ‘Romans’, a term carried over to the Ottoman Empire as ‘Rum’ meaning Orthodox Christians.” [/quote] (“Blood and Oranges Immigrant Labour and European Markets in Rural Greece”, by Christopher M. Lawrence, page 12) At the bottom of the page there was something handwritten which read;