Part 7 – Sotir and Slavka’s Story

July 2005

by Risto Stefov
rstefov@hotmail.com

Sotir’s story

Sotir, son of Risto and Vana, was born in Oshchima in June 1912. As a young boy Sotir spent most of his time working on the farm and helping out with family chores.

Sotir was a boy of small stature due to poor nutrition. At birth his mother had no milk and was unable to breast feed him so he grew up solely on coarse foods, consisting mainly of vegetables and grains.

At age ten Sotir was sent to the village German as a hired hand to herd cattle for the summer. After that he became a seasonal migrant worker and took on a variety of jobs inside Oshchima and in the surrounding villages.

Around 1928 Sotir had to give up working and go to school. The Greek Government implemented a new education policy ordering Macedonian children to learn Greek, even by force if necessary. After completing grades two and three his teachers, satisfied that he knew enough Greek, allowed him to graduate. After that, Sotir continued to work as a hired hand at various jobs.

He recalls one of the hardest jobs he ever did was working in the construction trade. For two years he carried stones and clay up ladders and scaffolds. Several times he tried to enlist in the Greek army but was rejected due to his young age. Then at age twenty-four he was drafted and served for two years.
In the summer of 1938 he was hired by the Oshchima village counsel to serve as a water and vineyard manager.

During the same summer Sotir proposed to Slavka, also from Oshchima, and in November married her. After they married Slavka moved in with Sotir’s extended family.

In August 1939 Sotir, in need of a job, left home and went to France. His trip took him to Athens and to the port of Perea where he boarded a ship which took him to France.

The trip was an eye opener for Sotir. He had never been this far away from home before and for the first time he saw how other people lived, dressed, danced and behaved in public.

While passing through Athens, Sotir heard on the news that a general mobilization was taking place. This was a call to arms to defend Greece from fascist Italy.
A week later Sotir arrived at the port of Marseilles. Seeing how other people lived raised his hopes for a better life but what he witnessed in France really disappointed him. He saw men walking the streets barefoot with torn clothes and could not believe that they were even worse off than he was.
Sotir arrived at the farm in d’Auvergne in Yonne province in August 1939 and took on the job of shepherding a flock of over five hundred sheep. It was a twenty-four hour job but he was well rewarded and the staff was very pleasant to work with.

Unfortunately, as luck would have it, France fell prey to Nazi Germany and after ten months of employment, Sotir lost his job. Soon after the Germans invaded France the bombing began. The owner was the first to abandon the farm. After settling his debts with his employees, the owner just picked up and left. The farm was left to the care of his employees, many of whom were foreigners and did not see any point in dying for a job. Most packed up and left. A Polish woman begged Sotir to go but he refused. A day or so later everyone left. When Sotir came back from the pastures to replenish his supplies all he found were dead animals killed by the bombing. Sotir panicked and fled for the Vichi Mountains, abandoning his sheep. After weeks in hiding he came back, packed up a wagon with his belongings and some supplies and left.

By now there was not much food left and Sotir subsisted on boiled wheat. Having no particular destination in mind, Sotir traveled along the main road and met many refugees and columns of German soldiers.

Sotir’s horse pulling his wagon was easily startled and during a critical moment bucked and caused a German car to go off the road and into a ditch. One of the passengers, a German officer became very upset and ordered Sotir to do something with his horse. Unable to understand what the officer wanted, Sotir just stood there motionless. The officer took his pistol out and placed it on his head and again repeated the order. Sotir again stood motionless. Frustrated, the officer left.
Emotionally traumatized, Sotir steered his cart off the road and left it there. He took his bike and some of his clothes from the wagon and rode off to Paris 175 kilometers away.

In Paris Sotir met-up Ziso, another Oshchimian, who helped him find a place to stay.

French law prohibited migrant workers from accepting any work other than their designated jobs, so job hunting became a futile exercise. After a few attempts at job hunting, the French authorities became stern with Sotir and reiterated the country’s employment policy. He was given two choices, go back to the farm where he was originally hired or face jail time. Sotir got on his bike and personally paid a visit to the immigration office. He explained to the authorities that the farm where he worked was no longer in operation and that he was in desperate need of employment. The immigration office granted him permission to seek employment elsewhere, outside of Paris. While looking for work in the town of Sens, Sotir met Yane, another Oshchimian. Yane introduced him to his boss and helped him get a job at the construction site where Yane worked. Sotir went back to the immigration office and had his work permit extended for three years.
Sotir worked with Yane from March to October 1941 delivering wagonloads of construction material. When that project was over, Sotir, Yane and another Macedonian, from the Kostur region, found work as lumberjacks. This, however, lasted only two months because the men did not have the strength or the nutrition to do labour intensive work. After Sotir and Yane quit their jobs they took a train to Paris where they found out about new employment opportunities offered by the German Government.

Determined to stay employed, Sotir and Yane signed up and soon after were shipped out to Germany. Late in 1941 they arrived at a very large camp set up especially for migrant workers mainly from France, Poland and Bulgaria. The camp was set up to provide labour for the large steel mill industry. There was plenty of work, food and cigarettes and if one stayed out of trouble, life was good.

The mill operated in three shifts and there was plenty of work if one wanted to work overtime. By speaking Macedonian, Sotir found it easy to communicate with the plant’s middle managers since most were Poles and Bulgarians.

Being frugal with his earnings, Sotir made enough money to be able to make loans to those in need, especially to the Bulgarians who loved to gamble. Workers in Germany were awarded food ration coupons and those who could not pay their loans back with money, paid them with coupons. Unfortunately, even though coupons were a very popular commodity and easy to dispose of, it was illegal to sell them.

One day Sotir sold coupons to two Frenchmen who, unbeknownst to him, were unemployed and followed by the police. The police interrogated him and searched his locker but found no evidence of illegal activities. Sotir kept his wallet and stash of coupons under his mattress. Since no evidence was found, Sotir thought he would be freed and he denied the charges. Unfortunately the Germans were not so easily convinced and took him to trial. One of the Frenchmen, a witness, became very ill and could not testify so the trial was delayed indefinitely. Had Sotir pleaded guilty, he would have been jailed for no more than four months but now his future was unclear. The trial eventually did take place and Sotir was sentenced to twelve months for the crime and two additional months for distorting the truth. His boss from the mill tried to have him released early by pleading that he was a good worker and was needed at the plant, but it didn’t work.

Sotir recalls the jail was twenty-five kilometers away from the steel mill and the building itself was cross-shaped and housed thousands of men and women prisoners. Four-meter high walls surrounded the buildings. The American bombers continuously bombed the walls but none of the buildings were ever hit.
Before he got into this mess Sotir received news that, back in Oshchima, his younger brother Mito and his brother-in-law Risto were about to be married. In September 1942 Sotir went to the Gestapo to ask for permission to leave the country. After much advice about what route to take they granted him leave. His trip took him to Vienna, Austria where he purchased some clothes for his family, then on to Belgrade, Skopje, Bitola, Solun, Lerin and finally Oshchima. After two and a half weeks of travel he had finally arrived home.

Sotir’s trip was uncomfortable mostly due to erratic train schedules and having to sleep outdoors waiting for trains. As soon as the wedding ceremonies were over Sotir returned to Germany. His employer paid for the entire trip and his expenses.

After serving a year of his sentence Sotir was liberated from jail in 1945 by the allied invading armies. At this point he had no money, passport, or travel permits. The Americans had imposed curfews and travel restrictions. Anyone caught breaking the rules would be shot on sight. Sotir’s first thoughts were to go back to the mill to try and find his passport, but how? After several futile attempts he finally got a ride with some Greek men who were willing to take him to the camp. His search, however, proved fruitless. The men in the camp had broken into his locker and had taken everything, including his passport. He identified a shirt and jacket of his worn by a Greek man. When confronted, the man denied stealing the clothes and had no knowledge of the whereabouts of his passport. Helpless to do anything on his own Sotir turned to the local authorities for assistance. The authorities informed him that if he could find a witness to prove his identity they would allow him to leave. All migrant workers, according to German law, were allowed to return to their country of origin. Sotir found a Bulgarian man who vouched for him and was given permission to leave. Prior to his departure Sotir met Yane, who he had not seen for a couple of years, who was also destined for France. Upon arriving in Paris, the men again went to Ziso, who found them a place to stay. They had a room in a boarding house belonging to a Greek man with an influential French wife. Being influential, the French woman was able to recommend Sotir for employment in a local restaurant. This was a restaurant that served soldiers on leave, sometimes up to three thousand at a time. Sotir accepted the job and worked twelve hours a day, from 6am to 6pm, washing dishes.The job was very difficult and demanding so after about a month of toil Sotir gave up and left. By now Sotir was making his own contacts and with the help of some friends in the US embassy he was able to get another job serving coffee at a coffee bar. Unfortunately, the coffee bar soon moved to a new location far away and Sotir was unemployed again. It was not too long before Sotir, with the help of some Greek friends from Asia Minor, found another job at a factory. This time it lasted about five months. By now Sotir had saved enough money and was looking to start his own business.

In 1947 he applied for and received his permit to operate a business in Paris. The nephew of one of the Greek men from Asia Minor owned an outdoor variety shop and was willing to sell it. Without hesitation Sotir purchased the shop and started his own business selling coffee, chocolate bars, roasted chestnuts and sweets. Soon after Sotir purchased an ice cream making machine and served ice cream. American soldiers traded their rations of chocolates and gum for cash and Sotir sold the rations to the French ladies who loved American sweets.

All the success and money, however, did not bring Sotir happiness. After seeing many of his friends leave for the US and Canada he became uneasy and wanted to leave also. But without a passport he could do nothing. With Ziso’s help and with help from his Greek connections, he pleaded his case to the Greek Government in Athens and received a new passport. He immediately applied and was granted leave for Canada.

Sotir sold his shop in Paris and left for Canada by ship. He arrived in Toronto in January 1948. His first job was washing dishes and a year later he opened his own restaurant. As soon as he was established, Sotir began proceedings to reunite with his daughter Sofia, who at the time was living in Bela Tsrkva, Yugoslavia and his wife Slavka who was living in Poland. With help from the Red Cross and concerned groups, his daughter Sofia arrived in Canada in 1952 followed by his wife Slavka in 1955.

Slavka’s story

Slavka, daughter of Sterio and Dafina, was born in Oshchima in December 1920. Slavka received six years of education before going to work helping out on the farm and assisting with chores at home. After marrying Sotir, Slavka moved in with his family and stayed with them until her departure for Poland as a refugee.
Three months after Sotir’s departure for France in 1939, Slavka gave birth to her daughter Sofia.

Slavka spent most of World War II and the Greek Civil War at home, looking after Sofia and helping Sotir’s family. Her quiet life, however, was not without incident. One day in the solitude of Oshchima, a Greek patrol passing through the vicinity spotted Slavka out in the fields and immediately assumed she was guilty of aiding the Partisans. When confronted about her whereabouts she told them the truth that she was out watering one of her fields. Not satisfied with the answer, they apprehended her and began to beat her.

The village elders came to her aid immediately after finding out and challenged the Greek policemen to provide evidence showing that crimes had been committed. They didn’t have any so they backed off and let her go. Unfortunately the harm was already done. In addition to her physical injuries, Slavka was also emotionally traumatized. Her brother Risto took her to a doctor in Lerin who examined her and treated her injuries. On the way home they could only get transportation to Bigla and had to walk the rest of the way home.

Exhausted by her ordeal and unable to make the trip on foot, Slavka collapsed and nearly died. She was taken to nearby Zhelevo where she spent a few days recuperating before she was able to go home. Even after nearly sixty years, Slavka finds it emotionally difficult to talk about it.
If that was not enough, on July 1947 Slavka’s brother Risto was killed in action. The year after, in March 1948, she said goodbye to her daughter Sofia who departed for Prespa with other refugee children from the village. This was an emotional time not only for Slavka and Sotir’s family but for the entire village. Sotir’s extended family alone saw twelve of their children depart with the refugees.

In August 1948 Slavka and other Oshchimian women were mobilized by the Partisans to serve as field medics, carrying dead and wounded from the battlefields to the field hospitals. Slavka endured many battles, including the final battle for Lerin where she served in the hills of Bouf. In July 1949 her unit was disbanded and individuals were ordered to leave and avoid capture by the Greek Royalists. Destiny took Slavka to the refugee camps in Albania from which she was shipped out to Poland.

Slavka spent the next five years working at one of the children’s restaurants in Poland washing dishes. In 1953 Sotir, with help from the Red Cross, found Slavka and brought her to Canada. She arrived in Canada in July 1955. Slavka now lives in Toronto together with her husband and daughter.