Part 1 – Mito and Rina’s Story

by Risto Stefov
rstefov@hotmail.com

Rina’s Story

Rina was born in the village Oshchima in 1923 and being the eldest of three siblings, her job from a very young age, was to look after her brother and sister. In 1936 she lost her father to pneumonia and at age thirteen she assumed some of his duties for running the farm. Among other things she was responsible for tilling the soil, planting, watering and harvesting the fields, and looking after the sheep and other livestock. At age 19, in 1942, she met Mito, a fellow Oshchimian, and in October of the same year they were married. The wedding was a happy occasion for both bride and groom. Rina was a shy bride respectful of Macedonian traditions which required her all through the wedding to look down and avoid eye contact with the guests. Only from the jubilant sounds and happy laughter she could tell that many guests had attended. Besides the entire village that was invited, there were also guests from the neighbouring villages. The music was particularly pleasing as the band played lovely Macedonian melodies filled with traditional Macedonian songs. Everyone danced and had fun.
Sotir, Mito’s older brother, who at the time was a pechalbar (migrant worker) in Germany took leave from his job and came home just for the occasion. On his way, Sotir ran into a German garrison at Bigla where he met and invited some of the soldiers to accompany him to his brother’s wedding. The Germans were disciplined and well behaved but they did drink large quantities of rakia (home made alcoholic spirit) to the astonishment of the Oshchimian men who considered themselves to be serious drinkers.

A year after their wedding, Rina and Mito were blessed with their first daughter, Fania. Rina was content living at Mito’s house even though it was crowded at times. Rina’s mother-in-law was a kind woman and so were the three wives of Mito’s brothers. In March 1946 Rina and Mito were blessed with the birth of their second daughter, Atinka. Rina remembers being happy living with her extended family and the times she spent visiting with the young neighbourhood mothers, listening to the old men sing in the streets as she and others often joined in the chorus. But as luck would have it the good times were short lived.
Just as Germany was loosing the war, Partisan movements began to intensify attracting young men and women and Mito was no exception. Like many young Oshchimians, Mito joined the Partisan movement because he believed it was a good cause but was unfortunate to get caught by the Greeks. He was only suspected of providing aid to the Partisans when he fell prey to a Greek patrol. His deeds, however, earned him a prison sentence in the Greek concentration camps.

Then as the Greek Civil War broke out and began to move north into Macedonia it posed a great danger not only to the fighting men and women but also to civilians, particularly the innocent children. Rina could not forget the dreaded day, March 25th, 1948, when she had to take her daughter Fania to Preol and send her away to the Eastern Block countries. She knew it was for the best but she could not shake the emptiness or question her judgment for handing her daughter over to strangers. As she made her way home her body shivered and trembled. She was certain it as a bad omen.

A few months later Rina, along with all other Oshchimian mothers with young children, was drafted by the Partisans and sent to the battle zones to serve in the medical corp. Rina’s first assignment was to transport, using draft animals, a load of shoes and clothing to the Partisans in Epirus. Among the team members chosen to do the job was Rina’s friend Sevda from Oshchima, who was also the mother of a young child. After the mission was complete the women were sent to Bigla to dig bunkers for the Partisans. Two weeks later they were sent to Kolomnati for new duties. Rina remembers traveling by Oshchima during a heavy rainstorm and being drenched in rain. The women begged their officer let them go home, if only for a moment, to change into dry clothing but the officer refused for fear that they might desert. When they arrived in Kolomnati the women took exception to the way they were treated. Grozda, another woman from Oshchima, demanded that these mothers be allowed to go home and see their children. A decision was finally made and women who breast fed were given permission for a short leave. The rest were dispatched to the combat zones in the Kostur region. Rina was teamed up with Sevda and two other women, serving as field medics responsible for evacuating the dead and wounded from the battlefields. After serving in Kostur for a few days the team was dispatched to Oshchima, taking wounded from the battle in shiroka bouka and delivering them to the temporary field hospital set up inside the village. When the battle shifted the team was dispatched to move wounded from Kolomnati to Roula then from Roula to Preol. This lasted for about four weeks.

As the war intensified the team was sent to the mountains of Posdivishcha to transport the wounded to Roula and Breznitsa. Rina remembers it was Christmas, 1948, when the Greek forces hit the Partisans hard with machine gun fire, artillery and dive-bombings. It was a terrible day and many Partisans lost their lives. When it was over they were sent to a place near Zherveni to transport wounded to Posdivishcha. When they arrived they received news that several women medic teams from the village of Bapchor were killed by cannon and artillery fire. Rina remembers being afraid and refusing to go, until she was ordered at gunpoint.

Her team’s next assignment was in Negush where a fierce battle was raging which nearly killed her. The teams were ordered to march in daylight, single file in snow-white open fields facing machine gun fire and dive-bombings from above. Rina was afraid of being shot and did not want to go so Sevda grabbed her, despite orders to move single file, and the two women dashed together keeping each other company. On the way they found a dead Partisan partially buried in the snow. Sevda was heart-struck thinking he might be Gierman, her brother-in-law. As it turned out it wasn’t Gierman. But when they arrived at camp in the valley below, unluckily, Sevda found Gierman dead.

When the Partisans were preparing to attack Lerin on February 12th 1949, Rina’s team was dispatched to Kolomnati and from there they were sent to Psoderi to prepare for the next day’s offensive. As the battle took formation Rina recalls watching Partisans, dressed in white, marching four by four through the snow to the front. Thirteen women were dispatched to Lerin near the Church of St. Nikola to pick up wounded and carry them to Armensko. They were continuously under gunfire and the camps were filling with dead and wounded. The situation became so dire that some women contemplated surrender just to escape the torment. When they could take no more they fled their posts. After spending some time hidden in a house they fled for Lerin to surrender. Fortunately they ran into a former commander who recognized them and turned them back. Upon arriving in Armensko the sight and number of dead bodies horrified them. This horrific sight was enough to make them abandon their posts again and run for home. They ran from Armensko to Psoderi and over Golina Mountain to Oshchima. They immediately surrendered to the officer there and reported on the situation in Lerin. The officer refused to accept their story, charged them with desertion and sent them to Trnaa for a court martial hearing. The court found the women not guilty, reinstated them to their former duty and sent them to Posdivishcha to await further orders. The women hid in bunkers until they met with an officer they knew from before, who had previously served in Oshchima. He escorted the women to Dalipov Most between Roula and Breznitsa and gave them orders to transport dead and wounded Partisans as well as wounded prisoners of war from the battlefields to the field hospitals. As the situation became desperate the women again contemplated surrender and began to destroy documents to avoid capture. As it happened, among the wounded was a young Greek soldier who had been captured during the battle. After hearing what they were planning the young man warned them not to surrender. He had seen what the Greeks did to women prisoners and told them that they would most likely be shamed before they were executed. The Greeks did not take prisoners. The women took the young soldier’s advice and did not surrender. Soon afterwards the soldier died.
When it was safe to travel the women deserted and left for Breznitsa. By then the situation was rapidly deteriorating and the Partisans began their withdrawal. In Breznitsa the townspeople gave the women food and shelter and warned them that they must leave as soon as possible. By being there the women put the village in danger from the Greek authorities. If the Greeks found out the village was harbouring Partisans they would surely burn it down. After a few days of rest the women left and headed for Albania. Rina remembers the road was seeded with tacks and sharp nails, placed there by the Greek army to slow down the Partisan exodus.

As the women passed through Smirdesh the local people gave them each a canteen full of water to take with them. Rina remembers the trip was horrible as she tried to cope with an appendicitis attack, which caused her much pain and discomfort. She remembers telling her friends to leave her by the side of the road so she could die in peace.

After entering Albania, the women, along with a flood of other refugees, were taken to the port of Durasi and loaded on cargo ships. Rina and Sevda were loaded on a livestock ship destined for the port of Zgozelets, Poland. Rina remembers the passengers were told to keep very quiet when the ship crossed the straight of Gibraltar where there was an inspection station. The passengers were escorted down to the dark cargo bays as they were smuggled through Gibraltar. Once the danger had passed they were allowed to come out. Rina and Sevda stayed on deck for the rest of the trip and were even brave enough to eat raw fish.
The refugees were welcomed and treated with respect by the Polish people. Upon their arrival they were given a change of clothing, donated by the Polish state, and housed in a military camp where they were placed under quarantine for about a month. After that the refugees were moved to open camps. The younger and more able people, including Rina, were recruited to help out in the kitchens and cafeterias.

After eighteen months of living in refugee camps, the Polish authorities announced that they could no longer look after them and each was expected to find work for themselves. Local business and industry officials were invited to hire workers from the camps.

The refugee camps were run by a Greek administration. Having prior knowledge of when hiring was to take place, the Greek organizers made sure the Macedonian women were sent away on day trips. This was not by accident because day trips seemed to always coincided with the day of hiring. Rina, however, did eventually get a job in a glass works factory in Pinks. She worked there for about six months but found the job very difficult. She could not get used to the constant rushing and extreme heat. While looking for another job, Rina ran into a social organization managed by Macedonians. They had some good ideas for her and helped her find a new job in the food sector. Her first assignment was to fill mugs with beer and wash dishes and pots. Slowly she began to learn the Polish language and was able to read the menus. Then after a Macedonian woman quit her job there, Rina was promoted to making sandwiches. Here she became friends with a French woman who helped her learn the various jobs in the restaurant which earned her a promotion to a buyer’s position, ordering supplies. Rina was well respected by her colleagues and in time became a model worker and qualified for a month’s paid vacation. After winning the draw she was sent to a luxurious mountain resort. Rina was alone and felt uncomfortable about going places. She did, however, wanted to go and see the Nativity in a local Church. There she met two women who recognized that she was not Polish and were curious about how she got there. After some discussion, it turned out the women were Red Cross workers, interested in finding people like Rina. When the women found out that Rina was a refugee interested in returning home, and that many others were in a similar situation, they urged her to seek help. She was given an address in Warsaw where she could meet with Red Cross officials.
Upon her return from vacation, Rina and Sevda went to Warsaw and after eleven days of appealing and pleading, their story was finally heard. Officials were curious as to why this did not come up at the camps during the official Red Cross visits. As Rina recalls, unbeknownst to her, the Greek organizers made sure that the Macedonians were sent on day trips on the days of the Red Cross visits.

Even after all this, Rina was still not allowed to go home. Greece would not accept her without a request from her husband. Mito at the time was still in prison somewhere in the Greek concentration camps.

In 1954, after being released from prison, Mito initiated a process of repatriation to bring Rina home. Then on May 19th, 1958 Rina finally arrived in Oshchima. Mito and Rina’s daughters, Fania and Atinka, through the efforts of the Red Cross, were repatriated with Mito’s parents in 1953.

While living in Oshchima Rina found life stifling and demoralizing. After being free to express herself as a Macedonian and to share her culture and traditions with other Macedonians in Poland, she now had to go back to the old pre-war oppressive atmosphere and speak Greek or stay mute. With Mito under house arrest and his mobility restricted to the limits of the village, she felt like a prisoner in her own home.

Rina and Mito had two more children, Freda born in 1960 and Mara born in 1962. Realizing that there was no future for them or for their young daughters in Greece, Mito and Rina made a decision to leave. They loved Oshchima but they could not stand Greek oppression. With the help of his brothers Mito left for Canada alone on September 5th, 1965. He left his family behind until he could find a new home and establish himself. Rina, Fania, Freda, Mara and Mito’s mother Vana then followed on April 14th, 1968.
Atinka married Tanas, a young Macedonian man from Tsrnovishcha before Christmas in 1963. In 1975 they too left for Canada with their two children.

Mito’s Story

Mito, fourth child of Risto and Vana was born in the village Oshchima in October 1916. After finishing school, at twelve years of age, Mito was sent to the village of Shtrkovo for about six months to work as a hired hand. Then at age seventeen he was sent to France to work as a shepherd in the Ouxel Mountains. About four months later he left this job and joined his brother Krsto in Saone, France where Krsto helped him find another job nearby. Mito liked the new job because his boss was a kind man and respectful of his employees. When his business moved to Silemar, in another part of France, Mito went with him. Mito stayed with this organization and served as a shepherd from October 1936 to January 1940. Mito remembers an encounter with a man there that had a lasting impression on him. Mito recalls injuring his arm and being sent to a doctor who, after patching him up, sent him to purchase medication. At the drugstore, the man behind the counter looked at Mito and said, “You are not from around here, are you?” The man then asked Mito “What nationality are you?” Mito, surprised by the sudden inquiry became flustered and said, “I am Greek-Macedonian.” The man looked at Mito and said, “You are either Greek or Macedonian, you can’t be both.” “Macedonian.” the replied Mito. “Where from?” asked the man. “Lerin.” replied Mito. “Where in Lerin?” asked the man. “Oshchima.” replied Mito. The man then proceeded to tell Mito that he was in the area with the French army in 1916 and was responsible for building the main road from the city of Lerin to Oshchima and from Oshchima to Prespa. The man had learned some Macedonian words and was eager to share them with Mito. He also told Mito that he employed many workers from the surrounding villages and enjoyed working with them. They were hard workers and very friendly. The experience gave Mito confidence and made him feel good about himself and his nationality. It was an uplifting experience to hear a foreigner speak his mother tongue, especially when it was forbidden back home.

After spending a little over three years in France, Mito came back to Oshchima in January 1940. On May 30th of the same year the Greek army drafted him. He was trained in combat and sent to the Albanian front to hold back the Italian advance. Mito recalls being dispatched from Lerin to Roula then to Besfina before going to Albania. He spent September and October doing maneuvers at Vrba Planina. Before leaving Lerin Mito took a horse and used it to carry his provisions and supplies. While at Vrba Planina, Mito, for the first time, witnessed aerial bombardment. He recalls looking at the bombs coming out of the plane. They glistened in the morning sun with an egg-like, white glow as they fell from the sky. Then came the thunderous, deafening explosions followed by carnage and the cries of the wounded.

Winter came quickly in the mountains at the war front and many, unprepared, fell victim to the cold and frostbite. As the war stabilized Mito was moved to Vrbnik then to Zhakoni and finally to Korcha. He recalls being very hungry, as provisions and clothing were in short supply. Soldiers were left without supplies and had to walk barefoot in the snow. He and some soldiers spent Christmas walking through the warehouses looking for food. The only food they found was a bushel of dried corn on the cob and that too was confiscated by their officers.

In April 1941 Germany invaded Greece, which put an end to the fighting with the Italians in Albania. After that all Greek combat units were ordered to march to Ianina where most of the soldiers were disarmed and sent home. The Germans captured some, had their guns destroyed and sent them home. No soldier was harmed by the Germans. After disarming, Mito left for Kostur where he was given a hero’s welcome, including a free meal at a local restaurant. He arrived home May 1st 1941.

Not too long afterwards Mito met Rina and married her in October 1942. By now the Partisan movement was gaining momentum, attracting the attention of the youth and ex-soldiers. When the Partisans came to Oshchima, Mito and two other Oshchimians attended a recruiter’s meeting held at Katin Livage, where he made his decision to join. At this time Partisans operated underground and all activities were kept confidential. Meetings were held in seclusion, usually in the mountains away from prying eyes. At the conclusion of each meeting the three men took care not to be seen while returning home. The men fell into a routine but one day Mito decided to take a short cut. He packed his utensils in his food sack and left for home. The other two men followed protocol and returned by the usual method. As luck would have it Mito ran into a Greek patrol and was immediately questioned regarding his whereabouts. He told them he was coming home after shepherding in the mountains. His story unfortunately did not sound credible so he was searched. The Greeks found several utensils in his dinner sack indicating that more than one person was involved. Mito was again questioned but refused to disclose any information. Suspected of aiding the Partisans, Mito was beaten on the spot, detained and taken to the village-square where he was further interrogated and beaten. Mito did not break down. From there he was sent to the police stations in Zhelevo, Gierman and Pupli. In Pupli his legs were tied to a rifle and he was hung upside down. The under sides of his feet were beaten with a wooden stick until they were bruised purple. His feet were then splashed with water and beaten again. This was a typical interrogation method employed by the Greeks. After repeated beatings, Mito could no longer endure the pain and broke down but did not implicate the other two or the person who supplied the food for the meeting. Velika, from Oshchima, had donated the food and Mito knew that she would be executed if he betrayed her. Mito knew he was in serious trouble but didn’t know what to do. Someone suggested bribing the authorities so his brother Krsto was sent to offer the bribe. His attempt unfortunately failed, his money was confiscated and Krsto too was arrested and beaten. Now both Mito and Krsto were in jail. The brothers spent a week in jail at Pupli. Krsto was tried, found guilty and sentenced to three months in jail or pay a hefty fine. Krsto chose the latter. Mito was sent to the Solun detention center to await trial. Eight months later, on December 2nd 1946, his trial came up and he was found not guilty. His lawyer pleaded that Mito had no choice but to deliver the food to the Partisans or the lives of his family would have been placed at risk. This incident was entered into Mito’s record. After being released Mito took a bus from Solun to Lerin and from there walked home to Oshchima. Due to his physical inactivity and the abuse he took while in prison, Mito found it difficult and very tiring to walk. Being a free man however, gave him the will to continue walking and not give up.

Mito’s freedom did not last long and on April 17th, 1947, he, along with thirteen other men from Oshchima including his father and brother, was detained by the Greek patrols and sent to a lockup in Lerin. Mito spent 105 days there, building bunkers and wire fences for the Greek army. His memories, especially the ones of the 26 heads of dead men hung in the prison yard, still haunt him. Twenty-six men were decapitated and their heads were strung through a wire and hung along a fence inside the prison in full view of the prisoners. The dead men were supposedly Partisans and this was a lesson for the prisoners to show what the Greeks do Partisans. There were some prisoners however, who recognized the faces of the dead men and knew them not as Partisans but as farmers from the neighbouring villages.

Every time the Partisans showed themselves near Lerin the Greek police would escort the prisoners into the yard of the police station and use them as human shields.

After being charged with “being a danger to the security of the Greek State”, Mito was sent to Solun where he spent two days in prison and from there was loaded on a freight ship, along with one thousand other men, and sent to the island of Aistrati (Agios Estratios). The freight ship was overloaded, tightly packed with prisoners and was constantly sprayed with cold water. When they arrived they found another thousand prisoners already delivered. After about two weeks the numbers had climbed to six thousand five hundred. The men were constantly hungry. Mito recalls his father purchasing unrefined flour and making pancakes on a geramida (earthenware roof tile). As the camp grew and its administration became more efficient, food rations were increased to one-quarter of a loaf of bread and some spaghetti or manestra (orzo) per day. After spending some time in Aistrati, Mito was temporarily relocated to Makroniso but eventually was returned to Aistrati. Seven years later Mito was finally released and left for home in March 1954.

After arriving in Lerin Mito spent three more months in house arrest before he was allowed to go home to Oshchima. At home, Mito was placed under house arrest with restricted mobility, confined to the boundaries of the village. To go beyond he was required to get a travel permit from the police station located in the neighbouring village of Zhelevo which was off limits because it was outside of his travel boundaries.

Mito was fed up with the constant interrogations, harassment and of being followed by plainclothes policemen, and found life very hard. When he applied to repatriate his wife, he was refused several times. For missing a month of military service, (due to the Greek capitulation to Germany, Mito was released a month before completing his draft), he was fined 25,000 drachmas about 1,000 drachmas for each day he missed. Even though he was a veteran soldier and fought at the front of a terrible war to protect the Greeks, he was still charged with fine he could not afford. Mito felt that there was no future for him and his family in Greece.

Mito left Greece for Canada in September 1965. He is grateful to his brothers, not only for making his leave possible but also, for providing him with financial assistance through the hardest times of his life and for making it possible for him to leave his torment behind.

Canada has been a land of opportunity for the entire family. Mito’s mother Vana was given a second chance to live with her entire family for ten more wonderful years before she passed on at the ripe old age of 103. Mito and Rina’s daughter Fana married Nikola from Tersie and had a daughter named Cathy who is currently married and has two children of her own. Mito and Rina’s second daughter Tina (Atinka), who came to Canada in 1975, is happily living with her husband and two children. Freda and Mara, Mito and Rina’s youngest daughters are both married to Macedonians and are currently living in Toronto. Freda has two children and Mara has three.

Life in the past was not easy for Mito and Rina but they are now happily living in Canada surrounded by their family.