INTRODUCTION - Part 16

every move and countered them with stiff resistance. The Partisans were no match for the well-trained, battle-hardened army. The battle lasted all night and as dawn broke it revealed the invisible horror. The snow-white terrain was painted red with the blood of the dead and wounded. It was a terrifying sight to see, especially for inexperienced fighters like Ristana. She could not comprehend the loss of so many lives; of the young, beautiful men and women sent to the grave. Out of four hundred, only forty were left in Ristana’s unit. The rest were dead or wounded. The survivors were re-grouped and re-assigned. Ristana was assigned to the field medics where she encountered her aunt, Rina Bogleva, and Sevda Malkova from Oshchima. Running a gauntlet of machinegun fire, mortar fire, and aerial attacks, Ristana carried the wounded and dead from the battlegrounds to the field hospitals. During the battle for Lerin many were killed instantly while others were wounded and froze to death. With all the planning, organizing, training, and preparing that went on, how could this have happened? Many questions few answers. Ristana believes the Partisan leadership may have been responsible. For example, before the assault on Lerin a Partisan surrendered to the Greeks and could have given them information about the assault. Then, there was that three-day delay between the planned and actual assault. Could this have had anything to do with the Greek Army waiting for reinforcements? Some claim that the attack was held back to give the reinforcements time to arrive. Were these events a coincidence, conspiracy or plain incompetence by the leadership? Ristana was not given a satisfactory explanation. Also, it was observed that the dead were found foaming at the mouth, a symptom of nerve gas poisoning, which some allege the Greeks used during the battle. After the field medic assignment, Ristana, cold, frightened, and hungry was re-issued her old machine gun and ordered to report to Kolomnati for re-assignment. Her voyage took her to Bigla, Psodery, Trsie, Statitsa, and finally Kolomnati. There, after some re-training, she was assigned to a guard patrol responsible for guarding strategic points in the local mountains. This lasted about three weeks before she was sent to Trnaa to prepare for an assault on the village Sourovitch. It was April 1949, and Ristana hoped to go home for Easter but was shipped out before she had a chance. Before leaving, however, Ristana and her old friend Leftera Stefou were visited by Leftera’s mother and youngest brother Alexander. They brought them news from home and gave them zelnik and other goodies for Easter. To celebrate the Easter holiday, Ristana recalls that each Partisan was issued a small piece of zelnik and half an egg, which was all they could afford. Ristana celebrated Easter at Mount Malimadi and shared her egg with her friend Leftera. Not long after Ristana’s departure, orders were given to carry out the assault and capture Sourovitch. It was well known that the neighbouring village Exisou harboured Greek patrols (Bourandari) so Ristana’s unit was left behind to guard against a rear ambush. Ristana recalls wearing a black cape, lying flat on her stomach in the snow with her support mounted machinegun pointing towards Exisou when the mortars began to fall. The Greek forces (Bourandari) were hitting hard from everywhere and within a few minutes most of her unit was decimated. Ristana was lucky to have escaped with her life. A mortar killed two people next to her, a nurse included. Recalling this episode in her life, Ristana remembered another sad experience previous to becoming a Partisan. It was a different battle in a different place and time. A young woman was badly wounded and Ristana had to take her to the hospital. She was transported on the back of a mule but the hospital was far and the woman never reached it alive. She died riding the mule with her head slumped over and her long hair hanging down, bathed in blood.

It was a sad sight and haunts Ristana to this day. After the unsuccessful attempt to capture Sourovitch, orders were given to report to the command centre in Trnaa. Once again Ristana came close to home but could not visit her family. Soon she was shipped out and sent to guard various strategic points in the Partisan held areas. Ristana was guard by night and housekeeper by day. Women with sewing skills, which included almost everyone, were responsible for mending uniforms and laundry duty. Ristana recalls making shirt collars from shirttails to keep the necks of those wearing them warm. Women also took turns washing the camp’s clothes in nearby rivers. One time she was promised time off from guard duty if she helped out with the laundry, but her unit was ordered out and she had no choice but to go. Her uniform was wet so she wore regular clothing and some garments that were partially dried. It was cold that night especially with wet clothing. As luck would have

it, her camp was ambushed that night and Ristana lost all her clothing, including her camping gear and parka. The next night she was on guard duty she nearly froze to death. She recalls being helped up because her legs were frozen and had lost all feeling. For support, Ristana grabbed the tail of a pack mule and walked behind it for what seemed like an eternity before she recovered. Her frozen journey took her from Bel Kamen to Vitcho. Unprepared for the mountain climate, Ristana, like many others, experienced hardship and illness from the cold. Those who lost their gear and supplies remained cold and hungry for a long time. When they passed by Kolomnati, Ristana was given some plain bread to ease her hunger, but after chewing and chewing she was only able to swallow a little due to the pain in her throat. Ristana was weak, sick, and had sore and swollen feet from the cold. The next day during exercise she collapsed from exhaustion. The winter was difficult but it was finally over. After her recovery, Ristana was sent to Malimadi on various work details including gathering food and digging bunkers for the Partisans. She remembers one tragic day when she, along with a few others, went cherry picking. It was a beautiful summer day in early July and everything was perfect. They had picked six bushels of cherries and were happy with their harvest. As they were heading back to camp, they spotted another beautiful cherry tree loaded with delicious fruit. One of the men in the group decided to investigate further. Ristana became uneasy and tried to stop him but without success. The man was determined and paid no attention. Unaware of a minefield, he stumbled on a mine and lost a leg. He was a mess and had to be carried back, bleeding profusely. As the civil war stepped up, Ristana was assigned to various combat duties including manning anti-aircraft guns and guarding various strategic posts. Once again she was on guard duty at night and working during the day. All was going well until this particular day. Ristana remembered this day well because food rations were issued which included two kilos of canned beef. Ristana was paired up with Leftera and sent on a short assignment. They were issued a machine gun, two grenades, and one hundred and fifty rounds of ammunition each. Being already overloaded, both women felt it would be too much to carry food rations on top of the combat gear. Expecting to return no later than the next morning, they both left their food behind. It was a beautiful clear August night and not too chilly. As the women were enjoying the outdoors, their relief arrived unexpectedly early but instead of being relieved the women were dismissed. Word came that the Greek forces had already taken Roula and were fast approaching. The women were told to head for Albania and strongly advised against returning to camp. As the Greek tanks fast approached, pounding the terrain with artillery fire, Ristana and Leftera left for Albania. Their journey took them to Vambel where they found Stoian Boglev from Oshchima. Stoian’s leg was wounded and he could not walk but confirmed the order to head for Albania. Once again scared, tired, and hungry Ristana and Leftera were running for their lives. After several days of dodging Greek patrols the pair arrived in Albania and surrendered their weapons to the local authorities. Then, after three days in Albania, Ristana’s unit was regrouped, rearmed, loaded onto trucks, and taken to Gramos. While in Albania, Ristana was issued food rations of bread and raw meat. Each individual was responsible for finding the means to cook the meat or eat it raw. In addition to food, each combatant was issued a new Italian-made rifle, just uncrated and coated with grease. Since it had no shoulder strap Ristana converted her waist belt for that purpose and ripped parts of her shirt to clean off the grease before inspection. At Gramos, Ristana resumed her old duties of guarding by night and doing laundry and mending by day.

Unlike the summer, however, it was now late August with frequent rainstorms and cold nights. The Greek forces were closing in making contacts and skirmishes unavoidable. One time she was on guard duty with a woman named Sofia. Lying flat on her stomach, Ristana noticed Sofia approaching and in a soft whispering voice told her that the Bourandari were in sight. Ristana ordered Sofia to grab her rifle and without firing a single shot, the pair ran for their lives. The rest of the unit had already retreated. It was raining that evening and the road was wet and muddy. It was hard to run with boots sticking to the mud, making each step a burden. Bullets rained down and rifles crackled in rhythm, mocking the runners at each step. Were they poor shots, or truly mocking the women? The pair survived the ordeal unscathed and later met up with other Macedonian women. Their camp had been captured and once again they were ordered to head to Albania. Ristana had problems with her feet and could not make the trip unaided. She

found a secluded place behind some rocks and spent the night there. In Albania, before arriving at camp, Ristana met Leftera and they took a diversion. Tired and hungry the pair went to look for food in a nearby village. There they were welcomed by a young Albanian mother and were given some bread to ease their hunger. Grateful for her hospitality, Ristana gave the woman her only prized possession, a sewing needle. After arriving at camp, Ristana found members of her family among the refugees who provided her with some comfort, spare clothes, and socks. Ristana, however, was not well as her ordeal had affected her health and she fell ill. After two weeks of recovery at the Albasan hospital, Ristana was well enough to re-join her unit and wanted to leave but was facing a new problem. The locals at Albasan were refusing to let her go, claiming that she was of marrying age and she should stay and marry a local boy. Ristana sought help from Mihail Filkov, an Oshchimian who was also at Albasan. Mihail agreed to take her case to headquarters. Mihail also informed Ristana that her unit was leaving soon and that it was imperative that she was there. Finally after much wrangling, she was released and reported for duty at her camp. After being examined by the doctors and issued new clothes and boots, Ristana’s unit was shipped out, not to combat but to the Soviet Union. The war was over and the combatants joined the ranks of the refugees. The Greek Government did not want the refugees back so they shipped them out to the Eastern Block countries willing to take them. Ristana, along with others, was taken by truck to the port of Durresi, loaded on a cargo ship, and smuggled into the Soviet Union via the Black Sea. From there they were transported to Tashkent, Uzbekistan by train and then by ship. Ristana remembers the voyage well. The cargo ship was a dump but the train and the liner were luxurious. The Soviets did their best to make the refugees feel welcome. Unfortunately, the seas were too rough for Ristana who suffered from motion sickness and could not enjoy the hospitality to its fullest. It was late fall 1949 when Ristana arrived at her final destination in Taskent. After spending a month in quarantine she, along with other refugees, was issued permanent quarters in a converted camp formerly occupied by Japanese prisoners of war. The compound was divided into rooms each with sleeping quarters for thirty-two people in sixteen bunk beds. There, Ristana met Nikola her future husband. Nikola, son of Dimitar and Lena was born on October 15th, 1929 in the village Trsino in the Voden region. Nikola completed grade two in public school before working full time on the family farm. Among other things, Nikola was a shepherd and cow herder. Nikola’s village was famous for producing silk, paprika, and green onions. At age nine Nikola had a shocking experience that changed his life forever. On his way home from work, a policeman overheard him conversing with his cousin. Speaking Macedonian was illegal so the policeman grabbed Nikola and gave him the beating of his life. After that, Nikola developed a deep-seated fear of uniforms. This was demonstrated years later when he suddenly ran into a padar (vineyard guard), an old man in uniform. He ran instinctively for safety before he had a chance to realize that this was not a policeman and his life was not in danger, As the Partisan movement began to end, Nikola’s village experienced increased visits by Greek patrols. Some of the elements in the police force were unsavory and regularly sexually assaulted women. Having no recourse to fight back, much of the population was frustrated and had no alternative but to join the Partisans. This alone, however, was not enough to make Nikola leave his home. The breaking point came when he witnessed the death of an innocent twenty-three year old man. The young man was pushed into the funnel of a water mill and killed by the pressure of the water. The village was angered and on February 11, 1947, many young men, including Nikola, took up arms and left Tresino to join the Partisans in Gramos.

There, Nikola was issued an automatic weapon and sent into combat at the various fronts. By the time the conflict ended, his unit of one hundred and twenty strong was reduced to eleven. When orders came to retreat, Nikola’s unit was combined with another, with specific orders to enter Albania. Unfortunately, there was a misunderstanding between the Albanian border patrol and his command. After twelve grueling, hunger filled, and exhausting days they reached their destination. When they arrived, the active Macedonian leaders were arrested by the Greek Partisan authorities and later released by special request of the Soviet Government. Nikola left with the refugees and was taken to Tashkent. Nikola met Ristana for the first time in November 1949 at the refugee camp in Tashkent. On December 4th, of the same year they married. Nikola joined a local construction company building houses for the refugees. Ristana took a job painting houses and delivering bricks to the bricklayers. Ristana found the

winter cold especially traveling in open transport trucks. About four months after her first job, Ristana found a new job at the aviation factory. She started the job as a lathe operator making airplane parts, then moved on and joined a riveting crew assembling airplane bodies. Nikola also changed jobs joining Ristana at the aviation factory making shipping boxes. A year and a half after settling down, Ristana and Nikola’s first child, Dimitar was born on June 1st, 1951. Three years later a second child, Lena was born on April 15th, 1954. Sadly, however, Lena fell ill and died fourteen months later from severe diarrhea. Seven years had passed since Ristana and Nikola arrived in Tashkent but they still had hopes of returning home. Knowing that they had no chance of going back to Tresino or Oshchima, Nikola and Ristana decided to go and live in the Republic of Macedonia. Their third child, Sofia was born on August 1st, 1957 and with their application accepted, Nikola and his family left Tashkent September 14th, 1957 for Bitola. Bitola was home but life was still difficult. Nikola found a job in construction while Ristana stayed home to look after the children. With the birth of their fourth child Violetta, born on April 12th, 1962, the Minovki’s started looking towards Canada as a prospect for a better life. Members of Ristana’s family lived there, including her mother and father who were willing to sponsor them. The Minovski family arrived in Toronto on July 8th, 1966 where they reside to this day.

Leffie (daughter of Krsto and Petra)

Leffie was born in Oshchima on April 10, 1936, the fourth child of Krsto and Petra. Leffie, along with her family, survived the Second World War followed by the Greek civil war, a war that most Macedonians hoped would result in Macedonian independence from Greece. During the turmoil of this war, parents, fearful for the lives of their children, consented to allow their younger children to be taken away to other countries where they were promised safety. Leffie, along with her older brother, Don, and younger sister, Lena, were part of a group of these young children gathered to be taken to a safe haven. The trip was fraught with hardship. The children, many as young as 4 years old, had to endure several obstacles on their trip to safety, walking over hills and mountains in very cold temperatures. Along the way the children were separated according to age and sent to different countries. Don was sent to Czechoslovakia while Leffie and Lena were sent to Bela Crkva, Yugoslavia. All the children were forced to sleep in dormitories but at least they had a place to stay out of harm's way. While in Bela Crkva, they were treated well and educated but being separated from key family members was very difficult for them. To make matters worse, after only six months in Bela Crkva, Lena was separated from Leffie and sent to Osiek, Slovania. Leffie, only twelve years old, spent the next three and a half years of her life alone, with no family around her. During this time many of the thousands of Begaltsi children she lived with became like her brothers and sisters to her. In 1952, with the help of the Red Cross, Leffie's father, Krsto, who had earlier come to Canada, managed to find and bring Leffie to join him. She was the first family member Krsto was able to bring to Canada. Leffie, now sixteen, was very happy to finally be with her father. However, she was still concerned about her mother and younger brother Nick, back home and her older sisters, Tsana in Russia, Gena in Hungary, older brother, Don in Czechoslovakia, and her youngest sister, Lena, in Slovania. Leffie worked hard and saved her money to help her father buy a restaurant with hopes that the money earned would enable them to bring the entire family to Canada. In 1954, now eighteen, Leffie met and married Steve, originally from Velushina, Bitolsko. Unlike Leffie, Steve hadn’t experienced war in his childhood but he had also endured family separation. Steve's father, Dimko came to Canada in 1926 with hopes of starting a new and better life for his family. Steve was in his mother's womb when Dimko left the village for Canada and while Dimko worked hard to earn enough money to bring his family to join him, it took long twelve years. Steve was eleven years old when he met his father for the very first time.

Fortunately for Leffie, she and her father were able to bring her mother, younger brother, and younger sister to Canada in time for the wedding. At least she was able to have some of her family present to share in her wedding celebration. Over the next fifteen years, Krsto was able to bring the rest of his family to Canada with the exception of Gena who had, by then, started her own family in Budapest and chose to remain there. One of the most memorable moments in the Boglis family was when Gena came to Canada for her first visit. Leffie had not seen her sister in over fifteen years, making this a very heart-felt reunion for Leffie, and the entire family. Krsto and Petra's dinner table was finally filled with all their children. Leffie and Steve started a family of their own soon after their marriage. They had three children Linda, Chris, and Mary Ann who grew up appreciating the value of a close and loving family; something both Steve and Leffie were not as fortunate to experience during much of their childhood. Since Leffie never had the opportunity for a proper education, both she and Steve ensured that their children did. All three of their children achieved university degrees, enabling them to pursue their ambitions. All Leffie and Steve’s children are now married with their own children ranging from ages ten to eighteen. Leffie and Steve now have 7 grandkids who lovingly call them Baba and Dedo, appreciate the importance of their heritage, and believe that their Baba Leffie makes the world’s best zelnik.

Nikola (son of Kata and Vlcho)

Kole, son of Kata and Vlcho was born in the village Zhelevo on December 4th, 1924. In 1929 when Kole was five years old, his mother Kata married an Oshchimian man named Florin and moved to Oshchima. Kole’s father was deceased. From the ages of five to fourteen Kole drifted between living with his mother in Oshchima and his father’s relatives in Zhelevo. Then at age fourteen his stepfather enrolled him in the School of Agriculture in Lerin. Unfortunately, in 1939, war between Italy and Greece broke out and all the schools were closed. Kole returned to Oshchima and lived with his mother until he joined Gotche’s Partisans in 1942 and was captured by the Germans. It was a cold morning on February 2nd, 1942. The ground was frozen and covered with a meter of snow. Gotche and his Partisans were in Prespa when the Germans came to pursue them. The Germans were fierce fighters and would not yield to Gotche’s opposition. The brigade was running out of ammunition and had to leave for its own safety. As the Partisans climbed the mountains for Besfina the Germans switched their fire from machinegun to cannon. Luckily the exploding shells were ineffective in the deep snow and the brigade escaped unscathed. After crossing the Albanian border, the brigade stopped for the night in Bilishcha. It was Kole’s turn on guard duty so he and a fellow Partisan from Zhelevo took the first watch. Unfortunately, the Germans came again, this time from the opposite direction and surprised them. When the two guards saw the Germans they slipped into a barn hoping they would not be seen. In the quiet of the morning they tried to slip away but, unbeknownst to Kole, the Germans had surrounded the barn and snatched them as they came out. The next thing Kole remembers was being tied down on a bench in a basement, near a tap of running water. Kole was very thirsty so he motioned to one of the German soldiers towards the water. But instead of water, Kole received a swift kick to the side of his leg. The blow was so forceful that he thought the bone was sure to shatter. Kole was lucky his leg was only badly bruised and no bones were broken. The next morning the Germans paraded their prisoners in public. There were eight of them, Kole, the other man from Zhelevo, two Serbians, two Albanians, and two Italians. With their hands tied behind their backs, connected by a rope tied at their necks, the prisoners were lined up single file. As they marched through the streets, the German guards constantly kicked the last man, an old Serb, and the poor man kept falling, pulling the entire line down. It was a painful and humiliating experience. When they reached their destination the handcuffed men, still tied by the rope around their necks, were loaded in the back of a truck and shipped to Lerin. On the way to Lerin, Kole remembered he had a sheet of paper in his pocket with “anti-Hitler” songs written on it. Realizing the trouble he could get into if it

was discovered, he struggled hard and eventually freed his hands. Not knowing what to do with the paper, he tore it into small pieces and ate it piece by piece. On its way to Lerin, the truck carrying the prisoners made a stopover at Zhelevo. When his mother found out, she rushed over to see him but he was not allowed to leave. She went to see Kalchev, a Bulgarian officer stationed in Zhelevo but he too could not help. When the captives arrived at their destination and were placed in lockup for the night, Kole untied everyone’s hands to give them some relief. In the morning he tied them again before they were taken and loaded on a train destined for Solun. With his hands loosely tied, Kole, while on the train, was contemplating an escape but was uncertain and needed some reassurances from the others. He rationalized that the Germans were going to kill him anyway, so why not take a chance and escape? By their silence Kole gathered that none approved so he decided against it. When they arrived in Solun, the prisoners were taken to a post office, which had been converted to a jail, and locked up for the night. The next day they were taken to the Second Bulgarian School and surrendered to the Bulgarians. Kole remembered the Bulgarian soldiers held their bayonets horizontally as they escorted them. Had they held them vertically it would have meant respect for the prisoners. Their new quarters, a small room, were in a deep basement. The floor was lined with straw, teeming with lice. In fact, according to Kole there were more lice on the floor than there was straw. Seven days had passed since Kole was captured and during that whole time he had eaten nothing. The men were kept locked up day and night with only a single washroom break per day, during the day. One of the Italian captives had drawn a loaf of bread on the wall and they admired it as if it were real. After the seventh day the captives were again moved. They were loaded in the back of a dark, closed, box truck and taken to the Pavlos Melas 2nd maximum-security prison which was run by the Germans and their Greek allies. This was the prison for lifers from which no one returned. When they arrived, they were dusted for lice and given quarters on the fourth floor in the drying room of what once was a tobacco factory. In the evening the men were given their first meal in seven days which consisted of “all you can eat” watered down spinach and rice soup. Kole ate as much as he could until he could eat no more. It didn’t take too long before his abdomen swelled up and he became sick. Between the itching from the lice and the pain from the swollen abdomen, Kole thought he was going to die. The worst part about being in this prison was waiting for your name to be called. Each morning 20 to 30 names would be called and the men would be taken away to be executed. Kole was devastated one morning when the old Serb he had come to admire was taken away. The man smiled at Kole and waved goodbye. His last words were, “See you in the next life.” The realization of what had just happened, shocked Kole and caused him to lose consciousness. He spent the next 33 days in hospital. While in hospital Kole’s turn to be executed had come up and the Germans were looking for him. Kole was fine and should have been released earlier but the Greek doctor in charge took pity on him and tried to save his life by keeping him longer. When the situation became desperate, the doctor scheduled him for surgery to remove his appendix. Unfortunately, before any surgery could be performed, it had to be approved by the German doctor. This bought Kole a few days but not enough to prevent him from being sent back to the prison. A few days later the German doctor pronounced Kole fit to be released and he was escorted back to jail. The trip back was a sad one as Kole passed by hundreds of women dressed in black roaming the streets weeping and mourning their dead husbands. While in prison, Kole lived on edge, waiting for his turn to meet the executioner.

But as luck would have it, the English bombed Solun and Kole escaped unharmed. It was a dark night when the first wave of airplanes flew by but no one gave it a second thought. Then the second wave came and parachuted bright flares that lit the night sky. Twenty minutes later the bombers came and dropped their thunderous load throughout the city. Solun was on fire, an ammunition warehouse was hit and the flames shot up a mile high. The prison was in chaos with the Germans and their Greek accomplices fleeing to save themselves, leaving the jailhouse unguarded. Kole found his long sought opportunity to escape and took it. He lifted the cylindrical barbwire wall and slid out from under it. He was free at last as he ran with all his might through a maze of cornfields. When he came to a clearing he saw a woman with a little boy. Not knowing what to say, he asked her why she

was wearing black. “I am mourning my dead Partisan husband,” she said. Feeling that he could trust her, Kole asked how he could get in touch with the Partisans. She gave him instructions and sent him off. Kole followed the brook as the woman had instructed and suddenly came upon a road, face to face with a man pointing a gun. “Before you shoot, tell me who are you with?” Kole inquired. “I am with the Partisans, I am a Partisan officer,” replied the man. Kole’s fear vanished as he introduced himself and sought help from the man. He took Kole to a house and introduced him to an old woman. He told him to stay with her until help arrived. The woman took Kole to a room full of wounded men and told him to stay put. In the morning a Bulgarian patrol passed by, knocking on doors, asking if anyone had seen any strangers. The woman was very clever and managed to avoid the wandering eyes from discovering her guests. The next day, about twenty Partisans came and took Kole to a base in the Solunsko Polie where he surrendered himself to the commanding officer. After hearing his story, the officer seemed impressed and took Kole as his own assistant. For more than a month, Kole had the privilege of riding a horse and traveling next to the commander. Next he was transferred to Kukush and enrolled in military school. Kole found the physical training strenuous and exhausting but he managed to graduate as Sargent. After Germany lost the war and began to evacuate, many of the local fascist factions remained active. It was now up to the Partisans to put them down and disband them. Kole took part in one of these battles. It was a large fascist force numbering about 3,500. They were well-armed fighters who refused to disband and were pursued by a larger force of 7,000 Partisans. The chase spanned fifty miles before the Partisans caught up to the fleeing fascists. Kole walked barefoot for most of the trip, because the new pair of shoes he had were a size too small. It was a long and arduous 50 miles. Finally, when the Partisans caught up with the fascists, they surrounded them in a village nestled between mountains. While the Partisans commanded the hills and had a strategic advantage the fascists more than made up for it with their superior German armament. It was a long bloody battle that lasted all night and through to the next evening. There were heavy casualties on both sides. This was Kole’s fist serious brush with the brutality of war. Reality sunk in as he witnessed the decapitation of his friend, who he affectionately called “the doctor”. As the battle raged on, Kole was lying in a shallow bunker next to his friend when suddenly his hat flew off. As he bent forward to pick it up, he heard a low thump. Looking in the direction of the sound, to his horror he saw his friend’s head fly off. Before reality had a chance to sink in, he picked up his hat and put his finger through a hole in it. He too had been hit. After feeling his head looking for blood, Kole realized he was not harmed. When the enemy relented and it was all over, Kole witnessed the true horrors of the battle. Many fighters on both sides were killed and left red stains of blood on the hillside. What was more horrifying were the cries of the dying. For them there would be no salvation. It seemed that it was all over when the Partisans were convinced by the British to surrender their guns and disband in favour of participating in the national elections. Kole felt that he was finally free from the ordeals of war, and left for home. He walked from village to village from Solun to Zhelevo literally living off the generosity of strangers. In Yanitsa he found lodging in a place that had a hot wood burning stove and sacks of chestnuts just lying around. Roasted chestnuts were the best meal he had had in days. The trip took him two weeks but Kole made it home safe and sound. It didn’t take too long before Kole was again in the middle of another conflict. After disarming, many of the Partisan leaders were jailed by the goons in the British-backed Greek Royalist party.

This prompted the Partisan leadership to take action and boycott the elections. Kole not only boycotted the elections himself, but he also publicly encouraged others to do the same as well. Things went from bad to worse for Kole when a letter from the Partisans fell into the wrong hands. A man from Besfina was supposed to deliver a letter to Kole in Oshchima. Unfortunately, Kole at the time was not home so the man gave the letter to a neighbour. The neighbour secured the letter in her belt (poias) but somehow if fell out. As luck would have it, the wife of a local Greek Royalist collaborator found it and took it straight to the police. The letter was a request for Kole to surrender a rifle that he had been previously given. He had buried the rifle a long time ago and had forgotten about it. The police did not waste much time before they surrounded Kole’s house and were knocking on his door. Kole’s

grandmother spotted the policemen as they approached the house and advised him to leave. Kole could have easily slipped away but he had done nothing wrong. When he opened the door, without warning or explanation the men grabbed him and started beating him. He inquired as to why they were doing this but all they said was “You will find out soon enough.” Kole was hauled to the local school where a police official was waiting for him. He showed Kole the letter and demanded that he surrender the guns. Kole told him that he had no guns and the letter was a mistake. Kole knew better than to confess to possession, which at the time was an offence punishable by death. Kole also knew that the letter was altered, probably by the police, to say “guns” instead of “gun”. When Kole did not voluntarily present any evidence, the police official accused him of possessing 28 rifles and took him for further interrogation. The woman (pregnant at the time) who had lost the letter and her husband were also arrested and taken for interrogation. All three had their feet tied to a rifle and the soles of their feet beaten. The pregnant woman and her husband were held for two weeks and released. Kole was sent to Solun to be executed. Three months later, a general amnesty for weapons possession was declared and Kole was set free. After spending two months at home as a free man, Kole was again taken away. This time he was drafted by the Greek military and sent to Alexandroupoly for three months of training. Kole recalls he was issued a rifle but no ammunition. After completing his training he was sent to Athens to transport heavy artillery. Unfortunately, during one of his missions he accidentally overturned one of the vehicles and was charged with sabotage. During his trial, Kole ran into a general who was married to a Macedonian woman from Lerin, whose family owned a bicycle shop. Lying to save his own skin, Kole convinced the general that he was a friend of the family and a regular customer at the bicycle shop. Kole was found not guilty. After that, Kole was re-assigned to the medics as an ambulance driver. His most memorable assignment was when he was declared “best driver” after picking up wounded soldiers during a battle with the Partisans at Kailari. Kole completed his full draft with the Greek military and was released in December 1949. By then the Greek Civil War was over. Before leaving the military, Kole requested and was given a civilian job with the Red Cross in Zhelevo, his hometown. Kole served the local community, consisting of eight villages for over a year before leaving for Canada on December 16th, 1950. He arrived in Toronto on January 12th, 1951. Kole was married before he left for Canada. In fact he wed his young bride the day before he left. Kole met Eftimia a year earlier at Kozheni, her hometown, while serving in the military. The couple met at Kole’s best friend’s wedding where Kole had the honour of being the best man. After his release from the military, Eftimia came to live with Kole in Zhelevo. Six months after coming to Canada, Kole was able to raise enough money to be reunited with his wife. A month after her arrival in Toronto, Kole and Eftimia’s first son Louie was born on August 8th, 1951. After that the family was blessed with two more children, Manoly born October 5th, 1955 and Jim born June 3rd, 1961.

Naso (son of Vasil and Stoia)

Naso, son of Vasil and Stoia was born in the village Oshchima on April 16th, 1923 and currently lives in Toronto, Canada. As a young boy Naso completed grade six in public school in Oshchima then went to work on the family farm on a full time basis. Naso’s father Vasil left Oshchima for Canada in 1938 to seek work as a pechalbar. Being the oldest male in the household, Naso assumed responsibility for running the farm. Vasil had left home to find work many times before but had always come back. His first of five return trips to Canada took place in 1906. This time was different, however, as conflict was rising on the horizon. Naso would not see his father again for many years. Burdened with the responsibility of an adult, Naso did everything from tilling the soil and harvesting crops to cow herding and shepherding. Today Naso is almost eighty years old and does not remember much detail about his younger years but he cannot forget one particular incident. It was just another ordinary day in the routine

life of the young shepherd. His sheep were climbing up the Chershnik slope just above the Dzigerov kaliva (cottage) with Naso following close behind. As he passed the barn his concentration was interrupted by the sound of soft footsteps rustling in the dry summer grass. He turned to look and close behind him he saw a dog, a really big dog. It didn’t take long for Naso to realize that the creature staring at him was not a dog but a very large wolf. His sheep were now in danger and Naso had to do something to scare it away. With all his might he mustered a long and loud yell, to no avail. The wolf only took a few steps away then circled around and came right back. “Why doesn’t it run away or attack the sheep?” Naso thought to himself. After making more commotion by jumping up and down and yelling, Naso came to the realization that the wolf was not going to leave. “If it is not after the sheep it must want to eat me,” he thought to himself. He was just a small boy and did not want to die this way, he thought to himself as fear began to paralyze him. But the sound of barking dogs in the distance gave him renewed courage. A pack of dogs from the village had picked up the wolf’s scent and arrived in time to save Naso and sent the wolf running for its life. His experience taught him to be fearful of wolves but left him with a good story to tell. As Naso grew older he met and married Sevda, a young Oshchimian girl. Their wedding took place on September 12th, 1942. Sevda, daughter of Iovan and Tsveta was born on February 24th, 1924. Sevda completed grade six in public school and assumed responsibility in the Popov household and on the farm before her marriage to Naso. Like many young Oshchimian girls, Sevda learned to cook, knead bread, knit and crochet garments and acquired many other skills expected of a young Oshchimian. Their wedding was memorable especially after hiring Ilo Timio’s band from Trnaa; the most talented musicians in the region. After their wedding, Sevda moved in with Naso’s family in the Novacev household. A year or so later, fearing German reprisal, Oshchimians left the village for the safety of the hills and forest and many settled near Kshche Ritche. This was a zone frequented by the Partisans and served as a source of new recruits. At the time recruits were generally volunteers but as needs increased more pressure was applied to motivate men, especially married men, to join the cause. Naso remembers the day he was recruited. He and some other men were up in the forest cutting wood for fuel when they were approached by Partisans and asked to participate in blowing up a small bridge. It was supposed to be a onetime assignment. Several men volunteered and talked Naso into going along also. They succeeded in destroying the bridge but did not stop the Germans who used a portable bridge and carried on with their advance. After that, one assignment led to another and Naso found himself involved with the Partisans on a full time basis. After blowing up the bridge, Naso was sent to Statitsa for training and carried out various assignments. The next time he came home it was for only a day, to harvest shouma (oak leaves) for someone in Oshchima. By 1944 Naso was assigned to Goche’s Partisan brigade and sent to Yugoslavia to liberate Macedonia from the Fascists. Just before leaving, he returned home to gather a few necessities and visit his pregnant wife and family for the last time. While Naso fought the Albanian Balisti in Tetovo, Sevda stayed home with her mother-in-law and on May 5th, 1945 gave birth to daughter Fana. The stress of being alone with a young child, coupled with worries for the safety of her family, was too much for Sevda to cope with and she fell ill. When the Partisans came looking for her, she was too sick and escaped the draft that swallowed so many other young Oshchimian women. On March 25th, 1948 Sevda entrusted Fana to the care of the Oshchimian surrogate mothers and sent her off to the safety of eastern block countries with the refugee children.

Fana eventually ended up in Poland. In the fall of 1949, during the last refugee evacuation, Sevda also left Oshchima and was eventually settled in Poland. For six years mother and daughter lived in the same country but in different cities. While Fana attended school, Sevda worked in a dormitory looking after children. Only twice a year, during holidays were they able to get together for a visit. Four years later the dormitory moved to another city and Sevda was without a job. Eventually she found another job working in a factory making macaroni. She worked there for the next two years before coming to Canada. After the Germans were driven out of Yugoslavia and pockets of local Fascist bands were defeated, Goche’s Partisan brigade was disbanded. The men who fought side by side were given the choice of joining the regular army or becoming civilians. Naso chose the latter, moved to Skopje and found a job in construction. He desperately wanted to go to Canada to be with his father but politics at the time would