The LOMA Weekly Herald Volume 1 Issue 8

The League of Macedonian-AmericansVolume 1, Issue 8

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Interested in joining LOMA? Do you have ideas to share or a project you want to work on? Or do you want

to contribute an article or section to The Loma Weekly Herald? Contact us at

[email protected] and visit our website at www.leagueofmacedonians.com.

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IN THIS ISSUE:

Recap of the Week...............1

Next Weeks Goals...............1

Test Your Knowledge.............1

Did You Know?...................2

Crossword.......................2

Explore Macedonia.............2-3

Narodna Song of the Week......4-5

Book Review...................5-6

Book Club.......................6

Weekly Satire.................6-7

Quotes about Macedonia..........7

News from Macedonia.............7

Recap of the Week

Increased membership and online presence, particularly on Facebook

Added a Book Review section

Began book club initiative

Next Weeks Goals and Projects

Increase online presence

Continue planning and implementing new initiatives and plans

Advocate for farmers markets and book club initiatives

Watch news for use of FYROM and Slav

Test Your Knowledge about Macedonia!

Last weeks answers: 1. I was born in the village Kozica, Macedonia in the year 1870. I died in 1903 in the Illinden Uprising. There are several songs about me. Who am I? Jordan Siljanov-Piperkata 2. Thousands of Macedonians emigrated to this city in Illinois in the late 1890s and early 1900s, with many living in the section of the city known as Hungary Hollow. Granite City 3. What was the name of the court case of 1912 and 1913 in the state of Minnesota, in which the plaintiff won and the judge stated the plaintiff was Macedonian? Vaneff v. Great Northern Railway Company

4. Which American author wrote the following in his recent book on Alexander the Great: The Macedonian nobility

might study Greek philosophy and recite the poetry of Homer, but the common Macedonian solider was proud not to be Greek. Philip Freeman 5. Which duet is known for the song Bratski Da Se Splotime (Nie Sme Makedonci)? Selimova-Zelchevski

This weeks questions:

1. What is the name of the historic site, located just 12 miles southeast of Skopje, where the Byzantine Emperor Justinian I was born? 2. Why does Radika River in Macedonia have a strong green color to it? 3. In what country in the 1940s were the Macedonians not allowed to enter cities in order to sell their produce or buy produce? 4. What color peppers are the most widely grown in Macedonia: green, red, or yellow? 5. Bitolchanka is recently composed folksong

by which female Macedonian artist?

You know that LOMA stands for the League of Macedonian-Americans and that it is based out of the United States. But did you know that Crna Loma is the name of a mountain situated 5 miles south of

Skopje just outside of the village Osinchani? The

name of the mountain likely means black fractures or black ruins and also goes by the name Ilina Gora. Several historical artifacts around the mountain have been found -- some of which are nearly 10,000

years old that include ancient Macedonian language inscriptions and Macedonian symbols, such as the

Macedonian sun.


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Macedonian Crossword

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8 9

10

Across

3. /povtoruva

6. /omrazen

7. /povekje

8. /seriozna

10. /vkusni

Down

1. /so

2. /pred

4. /mirno

5. /sudbina

9. /ushte

The Alphabet as a Helping Tool

= a = b = v = g = d = gj = e = zh = z = dz = I = j = k = l = lj = m = n = nj = o = p P = r C = s T = t = kj = u = f X = h = ts = ch =dzh = sh

Explore Macedonia -- Perovo

Perovo is located in the southwest of

Macedonia. It resides in the region known as

Prespa. In 2011 I was fortunate enough to spend

3 months there. Perovo has two parts, Dolno

and Gorno Perovo. The village also has two

main roads that the residents use. The two

pictures included show the main road going

North and South. The views were outstanding

with mountain ranges surrounding the village.

One of the best views in the village was being

able to see The Cross in Podmocani from the

main road.

Coming from urban America to Perovo the

difference was stark, but refreshing. The village

had its own prodavncia from which the local

residents were able to purchase bread, cheese

and other basic foods. In addition to the local

prodavncia, there was a bread and meat

salesman that would come through the village

asking residents who needed what something

that is unheard of in America. Additionally,

many locals had their own farms that they used

for self-sustinence. My family also had an apple

farm, which was outstanding. In conclusion, the

experience of living in the village is something

every American-Macedonian should experience.

It provides a great insight as to how our

relatives live and how our ancestors used to live.

We encourage you to send in your own stories,

pictures and share with us! It doesn't have to be

much, but something that's important to you.

Thanks for reading!


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Narodna Song of the Week This weeks song is Esen Dojde (Autumn Came). Gjorgji Andreevski and Jordanka Kuculova have a great version of his feel-good song. The lyrics in English are as follows: Autumn came in our city and the soldiers are leaving with the army; my sweetheart went with them, far away to some unknown city. I was left alone to sit and wait until next year; tears upon tears flowing like a stream, breath after breath blowing like the howling wind. Autumn came in our city, the soldiers were returning from the army; my sweetheart came with them, from some unknown city far away. I went to go wait for him, and I welcomed him and held him tightly; smile after smile the sun began to shine, kiss after kiss a song emerged.

Book Review (Note: Our book reviews are reviewed for their

substance on Macedonia and Macedonians.

Therefore, a book that may not be primarily about

Macedonia or Macedonians will still be reviewed, but

mostly for its content relating to Macedonians.)

Our first review is of A Balkan Freebooter: Being the

True Exploits of the Serbian Outlaw and Comitaj

Petko Moritch, Told by Him to the Author and Set

into English written by Jan Gordon in 1915.

This book is set in the late 1800s and is based on the

life of Petko Moritch, and more specifically, about his

Robin Hood adventures in Serbia and Macedonia.

Although most of these events are likely true, it is not

clear if the author sought sources other than the

mouth of Petko (whose real name is kept hidden),

whether to confirm the stories or to fill in blanks.

Some scenes seem exaggerated and far-fetched, and

the book is written utilizing a good versus bad

approach, which is, of course, due to the book being

more about Petkos perception, rather than an

objective analysis, of the events. Still, based on other

books and sources describing the situation of the

Balkans during this period, it is likely that these events

(or versions of them) occurred.

The author mentions Macedonians several times.

There is not much talk about the Macedonians

identity as being anything but Macedonian, except in

one passage where Petko says that certain

Macedonians celebrate the Sava, and because only

Serbs celebrate the Sava, Macedonians must be Serbs.

In another passage, Petko tells the Macedonians they

are not Bulgars and the Macedonians agree. It should

be noted that none of the Macedonians in this book

state that they are Bulgar, Serb, or Greek.

Petko, who hails from northern Serbia, decided to

explore Macedonia because he sought adventure,

hoped to plunder from the rich, and yearned to kill

those Turks that he hated so much. Once he finds his

way into Macedonia (about two-thirds into the book),

there are several descriptive passages about the

Macedonians. Some of these are simple and basic,

with no way to distinguish if Macedonian is being

used to describe the people in a geographical sense or

a national or ethnic sense. Other passages, however,

point toward a clear distinction between Macedonians

and their Balkan neighbors. Here are three following

examples:

At the same time, each of the three comitaji,

Bulgarian, Serbian and Greek, looking with greedy

eyes at the rich country, were endeavoring by money

and other means to induce the Macedonians to throw

in their lot with their respective countries. Page 226

he was a Serb, and with him came another

workman, a Macedonian. Page 168


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The Macedonians themselves he marked as a saving

race of good workmen, strict in their religion,

observant of fasts and very careful of the morality of

the women; many were of fine physique, though

naturally the most bold had rebelled and were

amongst the Serbian or Bulgarian comitaji. Page 305

In the first quote, we see that Bulgarians, Serbians and

Greeks bands were competing for the allegiance of the

Macedonians. Thus, if these foreigners are fighting for

the loyalty of the Macedonians, it shows that the

Macedonians were not aligned with an identity outside

of Macedonian. In the second quote, we see the term

Serb used instead of Serbian (Serb being a

reference to identity and Serbian a reference to

country of origin). Petko was in Bulgaria at the time

and identified the men as a Serb and a Macedonian.

He did not claim they were both Serbs, or that one

was from Serbia and one from Macedonia.

The author does this several times and also uses a

distinction between Bulgar and Bulgarian. For

example, in one passage, Petko asks why the

Macedonians are in a Bulgarian comitaj when they are

not Bulgars. Clearly, Bulgar is being used in the

ethnic sense and Bulgarian is being used to signify

someone from Bulgaria.

The third quote is probably the most confirming of

Macedonians being a separate ethnic group from

Serbs and Bulgars. He states that the Macedonians are

a saving race. These Macedonians, being racially

different than others, went on to serve in Bulgarian

and Serbian comitaji; that is, they joined armed bands

from Bulgaria or Serbia, or those working in the

interests of Serbian or Bulgaria. These armed bands

were not, however, necessarily completely racially or

ethnically Serb or Bulgar.

Despite the one claim that Macedonians must be

Serbs because they celebrate the Sava, the author, on

several occasions, distinguishes between Macedonians,

Serbs and Bulgars. He also mentions Macedonian no

less than 25 times. This book contains one instance of

a Serb telling Macedonians what they are, but

ultimately the author defers to how the Macedonians

refer to themselves.

Overall, the book is a fun read it emphasizes the

Robin Hood nature of Balkan Christians during the

19th

century and gives the reader numerous

descriptions of the conditions during those times. If

youre looking to read about the exciting lives of

outlaws in the Balkans or to discover something about

Macedonian and the Macedonians, youll enjoy this

true story.

Have you read this book? Do you want to read it? Do

you have an opinion about our review or want to

comment on the book yourself? Let us know! Also, if

you have a book you want to review, write a review

and send it to us.

Book Club

Our purpose for doing book reviews is two-fold:

first, we want to expose Macedonians to books

about Macedonia and Macedonians; and second,

we want Macedonian-Americans to start book

clubs in their communities. You could meet once

or twice a month, at your cultural center or

house, and talk and discuss books related to

Macedonians or written by Macedonians. Its a

great way to learn about Macedonia and a

reason to meet up with fellow Macedonians.

Give it a try, start a Macedonian Book Club in

your community!

Weekly Satire

Today, the director of the Bulgarian National Division for Fabricating Historical Documents, Milomije Fabrikov, refuted Macedonias claim

that the Bulgarian army deported Jews from Macedonia during World War II. It would have


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been impossible for Bulgaria to have done so,

he stated, because all census figures prior to

World War II show that there were never any Jews in Macedonia. Shortly afterwards, the

Macedonian Association of Jewish-Americans, based out of Israel, released video surveillance showing the head fabricator and other employees in the fabricating division crossing out Jews on census documents and replacing the term with Bulgarians. A commander of the Albanians for Equal Rights Army (also known as the Albanian Era) addressed Macedonian reporters from the steps of the US Embassy in Skopje regarding last months violent attack on the Macedonian

country. Were fighting for equal rights,

Commander Klintonaj shouted. We can no

longer live in a Macedonia where we Albanians have greater rights than everyone else: we can veto any law we want; we are required to be a part of the ruling coalition solely based on our ethnicity; we can use the Albanian flag for official government business; we dont even know that there is such a thing as a Macedonian language; and we dont even get the opportunity to defend ourselves in court if we murder someone they release us before we spend a night in jail! This inequality is unjust and, personally, I think its quite reminiscent of how our Albanian ancestors lived privileged lives in Macedonia under the Turks simply because we converted to Islam. Well, were here today to say that were sick of being treated as superiors. We will continue planning attacks from Kosovo and this US military base until we are finally equal.

Quotes about Macedonia

Of course, in Macedonia, as well as all over Yugoslavia, there is an opposition to the Tito regime.

The leader in Macedonia is Metodi Andonov from the town of Prilep, who fought with the Partisans as Cento but who is not a Communist. He now is in prison. He and his followers are said to desire a completely independent Macedonia including Greek and Bulgarian Macedonia with no ties to Belgrade. Even the committees in Bulgaria, adds the correspondent, have little influences with the Macedonian peasants, who trust their own leaders, and do not care for the political designs of Bulgaria, Servia, or Greece. Their moto is Macedonia for the Macedonians and their aim [is] the abolition of Turkish rule and the substitution of autonomy. The New York Times, March 30, 1903

[Old Serbia], thus vacated by the Serbians, was occupied by Albanians, who, favored by the Turkish government, have pushed forward their settlements south of the Shar Mountain into Macedonia. The policy of having these Albanian settlements planted among the Christians of Macedonia has been to overawe and keep in subjection the Christians. These Albanians, who were practically unmolested by the provincial authorities in their treatment of the Christians, have been one of the principal causes of all the unrest and discontent in Macedonia.Stephen Panaretoff, Near Eastern Affairs and Conditions, 1922, Pg. 25

News from Macedonia Macedonian politicians could not manage to finalize agreements on the political situation in Macedonia.

---------- Around 2,000 ethnic Albanians protested in Skopje demanding that the ruling Macedonian government resign and for the government to treat Albanians as equals to Macedonians.

*News generated from a Google news search