Part 6 - Alexander's Story

June 2005

by Risto Stefov
rstefov@hotmail.com

Alexander, the seventh child of Risto and Sofia, was born in the village Oshchima in September 1935. As a child Alexander did not attend grade school due to the outbreak of the Greek–Italian war in October 1940.

Since he was five years old Alexander worked at home, tending livestock, helping out with farm chores and delivering food to his family working in the fields.

At age ten Alexander became head of the household. His father fell ill, his oldest brother Lazo died of appendicitis, his brother Vasil left with the Partisans and his brother Nikola was taken to the Greek concentration camps.

For three years Alexander had to plough and harvest the fields, look after the livestock and do all the hard work practically on his own. His father did help but only with light jobs.

In 1948, as the Greek Civil War escalated and started to concentrate in Macedonia, the “save the children program” was introduced and most children ages two to fourteen were evacuated.

Alexander was thirteen years old when he left home and joined the mass exodus of fleeing children. It was a sad day for Risto and Sofia. The war had consumed their entire family but with Alexander at least there was hope. The evacuation was supposed to be temporary until the war was over and he would return safely. As for the rest of the children, their fate was unknown.

After crossing the Yugoslav border, the children were separated, regrouped and sent to various Eastern countries. Alexander was sent to Romania.

As it turned out, Romania was not the best place to be at the time but still it afforded Alexander the opportunity to attend school for the first time. Even though it was for a short time, among other things, he learned the Macedonian alphabet, which would have been impossible to learn at home.

As the civil war intensified and the Partisan numbers dwindled, the Partisans began to experience manpower shortages. There were no more able bodied people left to recruit in Macedonia so the Partisans began to look at the refugee camps as possible sources. Alexander remembers the camps in Romania being regrouped and young men and women being drafted. The propaganda campaigns were so intense that it was impossible to resist the lure to go back home and fight.

Even though he was only thirteen years old, Alexander was able bodied. He had enthusiasm and a strong desire to fight. He remembers being handed a rifle, which was actually longer than he was tall. But that did not matter to the recruiters who were more than happy to take him.

Before Alexander departed from Romania, two prior groups were recruited and sent back to Greece for military training. Alexander joined a third group and was sent to Rudary, Prespa. Because he was a volunteer, Alexander was sent to Shtrkovo, Prespa for combat training. After that, for the better part of March and April, 1949, he spent his time doing military exercises and weapons training.

By then the Partisans were losing ground to the well-trained, well-equipped Greek Royalists. The fighters that fared worst were the new recruits; the children brought back from Romania. The same children who, six months ago, were evacuated to keep them from harm, in a twist of fate, were now thrown back into harms way. This outraged many people including the adult fighters who were disgusted at the idea of sacrificing children.
A loud outcry came from the community, especially from the parents of these children who were supporters of the cause. Many took to the streets and demonstrated against this barbarism.

The practice was immediately terminated and the remaining children were dismissed from the draft.
Alexander requested and was granted permission to go home to visit his family. He remained there from April to August looking after his parents and farm until the mass exodus of 1949.

In August 1949, as Greek Royalists advanced on western Macedonia and began to bomb villages, people abandoned their homes and left. There was a mass exodus of refugees headed for Albania, among them were Risto, Sofia and Alexander.

With their fate unknown, they left everything they had worked for all their lives and fled. They left Oshchima for Drenovo, Prespa where they were told to head for Albania. Bombs were falling everywhere, and everyone was worried about the fate of their loved ones. Would they ever see them again? Would they ever be able to return home? The future looked bleak.

When they arrived in Albania, they were told that they would be sent to foreign countries. No one knew for how long and what awaited them. They were grouped in accordance with requirements of the hosting countries and shipped out to places all over the Eastern Block.

Alexander was allowed to remain with his parents who were shipped to Poland. Refugees were taken to the Adriatic port of Durresi, loaded on cargo ships and smuggled out to their destinations.

After a long and an arduous trip they finally arrived at camp Mendigudje where they were issued clean clothes, treated for lice and placed under quarantine.

Alexander spent several months in quarantine but his time was not idle. He met a young lady named Eva from V’mbel, who in the future would become his wife.

After the quarantine, he and other refugees were sent to Zgorzelec for relocation. The adult refugees were given one year’s vacation to relax and recover from their long ordeal before they joined the workforce. The young boys and girls were sent to school.

Alexander was fourteen when he resumed his schooling where, among other things, he was taught the Macedonian, Greek, and Polish languages.
After completing his primary education, Alexander went to Legnitsa to pursue higher education. He attended a technical school for two years and studied machine assembly and repair. After completing that program, graduating with honours, he went to the city of Lodz to further his education and attended a four-year college technical program studying instrumentation. He graduated in the spring of 1956 and soon after left Poland to join his sister Sevda in Toronto Canada.

While in college, Alexander courted Eva and married her in May 1955. Eva worked during her stay in Poland until her departure for Canada.

Alexander arrived in Toronto in 1956 without his wife and immediately began the immigration process to bring her to Canada.

For most of their working lives both Eva and Alexander lived in Toronto and worked at Canada Packers. Alexander enjoys hobbies such as watch and clock repair and making quality furniture. Alexander and Eva have three daughters all born in Toronto, Sofia born in 1958, Helen (Lena) born in 1960 and Christina born in 1963.