On August 10, Macedonians around the world will unite in a moment of silence to remember those who have suffered the brutality of the Greek and Bulgarian states for the last 150 years.
The partition of Macedonia was carried out by the force of arms and sanctioned by the Bucharest Peace Treaty signed on August 10th, 1913, according to which several Balkan states expanded their territories. Macedonia was denied its autonomy and Greece seized the biggest part of Macedonia, southern Macedonia.
The tragic outcome of the Balkan Wars was a national catastrophe for Macedonia. The unresolved Macedonian Question continues to remain an everlasting and unremitting struggle for ethnic Macedonians.
Throughout the Greek Civil War (1946-1949) some 44,000 Macedonian children were evacuated to Yugoslavia and other Eastern European countries under extremely difficult circumstances. Many of them only children, known as “Deca Begalci” or child refugees. Hundreds of thousands of Macedonians fled Greece since 1912, both voluntarily and forcefully. Whilst those in Pirin Macedonia suffered a similar fate under the Bulgarian Fascist Occupier throughout 1941-1944.
Today, the Macedonian minority populations in Greece and Bulgaria, numbered in the hundreds of thousands, continue to be oppressed and deprived of their basic and fundamental human right to self-identify. Greece today is also known to be one of the few countries in the world which refuses to collate data on ethnicity, thus deliberately turning a blind eye to a population suffering endlessly throughout generations. Similarly, Bulgaria’s systematic discrimination continues to deprive its Macedonian minority of equal rights and freedoms, despite having its human rights offences brought before the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR).
As Macedonians around the world unite on August 10 for a moment of silence, we remember those that suffered, perished, and fell victim to such brutality. Don’t let Greece erase, whitewash its role in the Macedonian Genocide, or dictate our history. These atrocities must be brought to the public stage.
Please join us in lighting a candle either in front of every Greek Embassy and Consulate in the world or from your home, between 7-9 pm in your respective time zone. Please wear a mask and follow COVID-19 social distancing measures where appropriate.
Send us your vigil photos: info@umdiaspora.org
Never Forget.
#rememberformacedonia
#macedoniangenocide
