BIG Greek Lie 4 - There is no such thing as a Macedonian
(Modern Greeks are conditioned to believe that Macedonians do not exist)
By Risto Stefov
[NOTE: Our apologies to the Greek people if they find these articles offensive. Our objective here is NOT to create tension between the Macedonian and Greek people but rather to highlight the problem that exists within the Greek State and its institutions. As long as the Greek State denies our existence as Macedonians with rights and privileges, we will continue to publish these types of articles.]
In this article we will show you that Macedonians do indeed exist, not only in the Republic of Macedonia but also in Greece, Bulgaria, Albania, Canada, Australia, the USA and in every remote corner of this planet.
This BIG Greek lie is my favourite because I can relate to it from personal experience. I am not referring to my experience in Greece, I am talking about my experience in Canada. One could not say they were Macedonian to a Greek inside Greece without severe consequences! Being an immigrant teenager in Canada, and speaking English with an accent, I was often asked for my nationality, more often by Greeks. It seemed like there were no barriers to torment against Macedonians anywhere.
The conversation/interrogation which many Macedonians, especially those from Greece, will relate to usually went like this;
"Are you Greek?" No I am not! " What are you?" Macedonian! " What is that? There is no such thing!"
(They would not even say the word "Macedonian".)
After a few run-ins with the Greeks I began to develop anxiety about revealing my nationality.
Unlike you modern Greeks who were artificially created in the 19th century by Hellenizing and assimilating a variety of other ethnic groups; Vlahs, Albanians, Turks, Macedonians, Anatolian Turks and more recently Georgians, Russians, more Albanians and others, we the Macedonians are a real nationality and have been Macedonian since our great, great, great grandfathers can remember.
Unlike your modern Greek great grandparents who spoke anything but Greek, our great grandparents all spoke Macedonian.
Our language which we call Macedonian is a living vibrant language, a language we learned from our mothers unlike your language, the ancient dead Koine, which your government resurrected and taught you in school.
Before the Republic of Macedonia codified the modern Macedonian literary language, Macedonians all over geographical Macedonia spoke a variety of beautiful dialects. Macedonians living in Greece and Bulgaria, which those states refuse to recognize, still speak Macedonian in their original dialects.
Unlike the Greek language which is spoken by only about ten million Greeks, Macedonian is a Slavic language which belongs to a large family of languages spoken by about six-hundred million people throughout Eastern Europe. The fact that this language is so widespread shows that it has survived for many millennia and has been passed on orally from generation to generation.
Modern scholars and scientists believe that the Slavic language has its roots in prehistory. A number of ancient inscriptions deemed undecipherable have recently been successfully deciphered by linguists Vasil Iliov, Anthony Ambrozic, Sergei V. Rjabchikov and others, by using the Slavic languages which indicates that these languages have been around a lot longer than previously thought. Even Alexander the Great may have spoken Slavic. It is well known that Alexander spoke at least two languages. We know one was Koine and the other was a language indigenous to Macedonia labeled "unknown" by Greek historians.
Since no Macedonian or foreign archeologist has even been allowed to dig in Greek occupied Macedonia or examine any archeological findings unsupervised, we can't verify what other language Alexander the Great spoke.
Greek archeologists cannot be trusted to factually report findings, especially those findings that don't agree with the Greek Government's "politically correct policies".
If Greeks refuse to acknowledge the existence of "living and breathing Macedonians" what makes you think they would acknowledge the existence of artifacts that do not agree with their political ideology?
Aren't they the same Greeks who destroyed every speck of Cyrillic (Macedonian) inscription from every single grave stone and church icon in Greek occupied Macedonia in order to erase everything that is Macedonian?
Are they not the same Greeks who torched and burned every single Slavonic book and bible and banned the Macedonian language and made it illegal to speak?
The question that begs to be asked is NOT whether Macedonians exist or not but, "Why do Greeks deny the existence of Macedonians?"
I have often asked that question and to this day I have not been able to get an honest answer. I believe those Greeks who deny our existence genuinely don't know themselves why they do it. They have been conditioned from a very young age to believe that somehow Macedonians are a threat to their own existence.
I have often heard expressions like, "they will do anything to take our Macedonia away from us" but to this day, I don't know who "they" are. Sometimes "they" are the "Bulgars", other times "they" are the "Communists" and sometimes "they" are "the bad people" like myself.
I have repeatedly stated that I was born in Greece and am a Greek citizen of Macedonian descent and yet to this day no Greek has acknowledged that. They keep ignoring what I say and go back to calling me "Skopjan" and treating me as if I was born not in Greece but in a totally different country. (I use myself as an example here but my situation is identical to tens of thousands of Macedonians who were born in Greece after 1912, after Macedonia was occupied by Greece.)
Why is it so hard for Greeks to accept the fact that Macedonian live in Greece?
1. It is a well-known fact that Greece occupied about half of Macedonia's territory in 1912-1913. The other half was occupied by Serbia and Bulgaria.
2. It is a well-known fact that Macedonia was already fully populated by Macedonians when it was occupied.
3. It is also a well-known fact that Macedonians became Greeks by force.
Is it not possible then that some of those Macedonians who were forced into becoming Greeks actually don't want to be Greeks?
Well my Greek friends, there IS such a thing as a Macedonian. In fact there are many of us living throughout the entire planet. Our history goes back to about 1,000 BC when the word Macedonian was first coined. I can't say with certainty that we are direct descendants from those early Macedonians but I can say that there is a high probability that we are not only the descendants of those pre-historic Macedonians but also the descendents of all those who overran and conquered our Macedonia.
Before the nineteenth century, most Macedonians lived in geographical Macedonia. Nineteenth and twentieth century turbulence such as the breakup of the Ottoman Empire, a number of uprisings inside Macedonia, the two Balkan wars, the partition of Macedonia, WW I, WW II, the Greek Civil War and Greek, Bulgarian, Serbian and Albanian oppression, have all contributed to the displacement of many Macedonians. Many left their homeland and went wherever they were welcome. More recently displaced Macedonians as well as political refugees and willing immigrants have been concentrating in Canada, Australia, the USA and Europe where they endeavour to preserve their culture and make their revival.
Greeks can deny our existence as much as they like but that doesn't mean that we don't exist.
(Modern Greeks are conditioned to believe that Macedonians do not exist)
By Risto Stefov
[NOTE: Our apologies to the Greek people if they find these articles offensive. Our objective here is NOT to create tension between the Macedonian and Greek people but rather to highlight the problem that exists within the Greek State and its institutions. As long as the Greek State denies our existence as Macedonians with rights and privileges, we will continue to publish these types of articles.]
In this article we will show you that Macedonians do indeed exist, not only in the Republic of Macedonia but also in Greece, Bulgaria, Albania, Canada, Australia, the USA and in every remote corner of this planet.
This BIG Greek lie is my favourite because I can relate to it from personal experience. I am not referring to my experience in Greece, I am talking about my experience in Canada. One could not say they were Macedonian to a Greek inside Greece without severe consequences! Being an immigrant teenager in Canada, and speaking English with an accent, I was often asked for my nationality, more often by Greeks. It seemed like there were no barriers to torment against Macedonians anywhere.
The conversation/interrogation which many Macedonians, especially those from Greece, will relate to usually went like this;
"Are you Greek?" No I am not! " What are you?" Macedonian! " What is that? There is no such thing!"
(They would not even say the word "Macedonian".)
After a few run-ins with the Greeks I began to develop anxiety about revealing my nationality.
Unlike you modern Greeks who were artificially created in the 19th century by Hellenizing and assimilating a variety of other ethnic groups; Vlahs, Albanians, Turks, Macedonians, Anatolian Turks and more recently Georgians, Russians, more Albanians and others, we the Macedonians are a real nationality and have been Macedonian since our great, great, great grandfathers can remember.
Unlike your modern Greek great grandparents who spoke anything but Greek, our great grandparents all spoke Macedonian.
Our language which we call Macedonian is a living vibrant language, a language we learned from our mothers unlike your language, the ancient dead Koine, which your government resurrected and taught you in school.
Before the Republic of Macedonia codified the modern Macedonian literary language, Macedonians all over geographical Macedonia spoke a variety of beautiful dialects. Macedonians living in Greece and Bulgaria, which those states refuse to recognize, still speak Macedonian in their original dialects.
Unlike the Greek language which is spoken by only about ten million Greeks, Macedonian is a Slavic language which belongs to a large family of languages spoken by about six-hundred million people throughout Eastern Europe. The fact that this language is so widespread shows that it has survived for many millennia and has been passed on orally from generation to generation.
Modern scholars and scientists believe that the Slavic language has its roots in prehistory. A number of ancient inscriptions deemed undecipherable have recently been successfully deciphered by linguists Vasil Iliov, Anthony Ambrozic, Sergei V. Rjabchikov and others, by using the Slavic languages which indicates that these languages have been around a lot longer than previously thought. Even Alexander the Great may have spoken Slavic. It is well known that Alexander spoke at least two languages. We know one was Koine and the other was a language indigenous to Macedonia labeled "unknown" by Greek historians.
Since no Macedonian or foreign archeologist has even been allowed to dig in Greek occupied Macedonia or examine any archeological findings unsupervised, we can't verify what other language Alexander the Great spoke.
Greek archeologists cannot be trusted to factually report findings, especially those findings that don't agree with the Greek Government's "politically correct policies".
If Greeks refuse to acknowledge the existence of "living and breathing Macedonians" what makes you think they would acknowledge the existence of artifacts that do not agree with their political ideology?
Aren't they the same Greeks who destroyed every speck of Cyrillic (Macedonian) inscription from every single grave stone and church icon in Greek occupied Macedonia in order to erase everything that is Macedonian?
Are they not the same Greeks who torched and burned every single Slavonic book and bible and banned the Macedonian language and made it illegal to speak?
The question that begs to be asked is NOT whether Macedonians exist or not but, "Why do Greeks deny the existence of Macedonians?"
I have often asked that question and to this day I have not been able to get an honest answer. I believe those Greeks who deny our existence genuinely don't know themselves why they do it. They have been conditioned from a very young age to believe that somehow Macedonians are a threat to their own existence.
I have often heard expressions like, "they will do anything to take our Macedonia away from us" but to this day, I don't know who "they" are. Sometimes "they" are the "Bulgars", other times "they" are the "Communists" and sometimes "they" are "the bad people" like myself.
I have repeatedly stated that I was born in Greece and am a Greek citizen of Macedonian descent and yet to this day no Greek has acknowledged that. They keep ignoring what I say and go back to calling me "Skopjan" and treating me as if I was born not in Greece but in a totally different country. (I use myself as an example here but my situation is identical to tens of thousands of Macedonians who were born in Greece after 1912, after Macedonia was occupied by Greece.)
Why is it so hard for Greeks to accept the fact that Macedonian live in Greece?
1. It is a well-known fact that Greece occupied about half of Macedonia's territory in 1912-1913. The other half was occupied by Serbia and Bulgaria.
2. It is a well-known fact that Macedonia was already fully populated by Macedonians when it was occupied.
3. It is also a well-known fact that Macedonians became Greeks by force.
Is it not possible then that some of those Macedonians who were forced into becoming Greeks actually don't want to be Greeks?
Well my Greek friends, there IS such a thing as a Macedonian. In fact there are many of us living throughout the entire planet. Our history goes back to about 1,000 BC when the word Macedonian was first coined. I can't say with certainty that we are direct descendants from those early Macedonians but I can say that there is a high probability that we are not only the descendants of those pre-historic Macedonians but also the descendents of all those who overran and conquered our Macedonia.
Before the nineteenth century, most Macedonians lived in geographical Macedonia. Nineteenth and twentieth century turbulence such as the breakup of the Ottoman Empire, a number of uprisings inside Macedonia, the two Balkan wars, the partition of Macedonia, WW I, WW II, the Greek Civil War and Greek, Bulgarian, Serbian and Albanian oppression, have all contributed to the displacement of many Macedonians. Many left their homeland and went wherever they were welcome. More recently displaced Macedonians as well as political refugees and willing immigrants have been concentrating in Canada, Australia, the USA and Europe where they endeavour to preserve their culture and make their revival.
Greeks can deny our existence as much as they like but that doesn't mean that we don't exist.
Sources:
http://public.kubsu.ru/~usr02898/sl45.htm http://www.carantha.net/anthony_ambrozic.htm http://www.unet.com.mk/ancient-macedonians/lac_a.htm http://www.mymacedonia.net/aegean/hellenization.htm
You can contact the author at rstefov@hotmail.com
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