The "Blame game" another Old Greek Trick!
Risto Stefov
July 24, 2010
Just recently I received a phone call from a very disappointed Macedonian activist who complained to me about another Macedonians activist, both of whom I shall not name, who said that among others I, Risto Stefov, am "somehow" responsible for Macedonians living in Greece, you know the non-existent ones, losing their pension because of the articles I write that constantly criticize Greece! Yes, you heard it right! Some senior citizens of Macedonian descent living in "democratic" Greece today have been informed that they may no longer be receiving their pensions because people like me have ruined it for them with the constant criticism of Greece! In other words, seniors will not be getting their pensions because of my criticism of Greece!
Ladies and gentlemen welcome to bizarro world!
Well, where do I begin?
Let me begin by saying that this, coming from Greeks, is nothing new and now that the Greek government has no more money to pay its senior citizens, I too have become a "scapegoat". Instead of admitting that they screwed up and put the blame on themselves where it belongs, some Greeks are now blaming their economic problems on everyone including Germany, one of Greece´s strongest financial supporters. So should anyone be surprised that the Greeks would blame me for their problems as well?
But this is more than just straight forward blame. This is an attempt to shirk responsibility for their own inadequacies and project it onto others; a typical Greek ploy. It is also an attempt to "fool" some Macedonians into believing that "somehow" I and other Macedonians like myself, or in this case "Greek expatriates", are to blame for Greece´s economic troubles.
What this in fact implies is that the senior citizens in Greece, at least those of Macedonian descent, will lose their pensions because expatriates like me are fighting for their human rights! This is yet another opportunistic Greek trick to kill two birds with one stone; hide their economic inadequacies from their own people and at the same time blame others for it. In the case of the non-existent Macedonians, blame their expatriates for their problems. Let the Macedonians focus their anger at their own people; you never know they may turn on each other! It has worked before!
If the Greek objective here is to shut me down and stop Macedonians from writing negative things about Greece´s dismal treatment of the Macedonians, then there are easier ways to address the issue. For example;
1. If Greece will immediately recognize the Macedonian ethnic identity, language and country. And,
2. If Greece will immediately recognize the Macedonians living in Greece and afford their overdue human rights. And,
3. If Greece will immediately repatriate all the Macedonians who it exiled over the years, including the 28,000 refugee children from the Greek Civil War, and return their citizenship, rights and properties. And,
4. If Greece will accept responsibility for the crimes it committed against the Macedonian people over the years and make amends for them. And,
5. If Greece will apologize to the world for the lies it spread not only about the Macedonian people but also about the other minorities living there and about the so-called "Greek" identity.
Then I and others like me will stop writing "negative things" about Greece. It´s that simple!
Everything I stated above is "doable" and within Greece´s power and means to accomplish and if Greece decides to follow up on it, I will not only stop "the negative publicity", I will personally become Greece´s greatest advocate!
But let us not fool ourselves into thinking, even for an instant, that Greece will now do such a thing for the Macedonians "out of the goodness of its heart" given its track record and the "harm" it has done to them for over a century now.
The only way Greece will do "anything" other than what it has being doing in the past is if Greece "changes" and is "reformed" into a truly democratic country. And that has to come from the inside. But as long as Greek citizens continue to vote for the same parties and for the same politicians and support the same "racist" policies, we will continue to get the same "racist attitudes" we have always gotten from their governments!
Just to bring you up to date, Greeks not only deny the Macedonian people their human rights such as not allowing them to speak their language, practice their culture and traditions, etc., Greeks go beyond that and also rob the Macedonians of their constitutional and fundamental rights as citizens of that country.
Expatriates and still citizens of Greece (of Macedonian descent) living in the Diaspora today have frequently been denied access to Greek administrative services because they go to Macedonian churches, attend Macedonian functions, or donate money to Macedonian organizations. But again, this is nothing new; Macedonians have been penalized by this Greek practice for years even here in Canada.
Many expatriates who are still citizens of Greece have reported that they have been threatened with having their property confiscated, denied entry into Greece and with bodily harm if they continue to be involved in Macedonian activities.
One woman complained to me that the Greeks were threatening to confiscate her property back in Greece if she continued to speak in support of the Republic of Macedonia. After receiving their Greek pensions, a Macedonian couple stopped attending Macedonian functions, fearing that they might lose their pensions if they were reported to the Greek authorities. A man told me that he applied for his pension some time ago and, even though he believes he qualifies for it, the Greeks would not give it to him. They told him that he was not getting his pension because he had been involved in Macedonian activities and if he wanted a pension he should ask the "Skopjans" for one.
Even if this man, for other reasons, did not qualify to get a pension the Greeks most likely would not tell him the truth about why he was not getting a pension. They would rather make him believe that he did not deserve a pension because he was Macedonian. This is done to spite him and to serve as an example to others.
I have also met people here in Canada who are afraid to talk to me, fearing that if they are seen talking to me they would be reported to the Greek authorities and would lose their properties in Greece. Some fear that they will be blacklisted and prohibited from entering Greece.
All these things are happening here in Canada, today; a reality which many Macedonians (from Greek occupied Macedonia) have to live with and endure!
From what I gather, "democratic" Greece still uses incentives and fear mongering to keep its citizens in check.
From what I gather, these pensions that Greece offers, especially to its expatriates of Macedonian descent, are used more as incentives to keep the Macedonian communities in the Diaspora divided and dysfunctional. They give the grandparents a small pension and that way they have the entire family, if not loyal to Greece, then not loyal to Macedonia either. The more families that the Greeks can keep out of the Macedonian community the less strength the Macedonian community will have! Offering expatriates pensions and then threatening to take them away is a way for Greeks to keep Macedonians under their control!
Macedonians who have been threatened this way should not be afraid of the Greeks. If that happens to them then they should be hiring a lawyer and finding out what the law has to say. As Greek citizens, in matters like pensions, they are protected by law and by the Greek constitution. What the Greeks are telling you; i.e. that you will be losing your pension in Greece because of what I and others do here in Canada is utter nonsense.
It is time for us Macedonians to stop blaming each other for what the Greeks are doing to us. It is time for you to stop blaming me for what the Greeks threaten to do to you simply because I am speaking up on your behalf. Do you really think that your situation would "somehow" improve if only I were to stop writing and keep quiet?
As a people and as Macedonians we have been under the "Greek thumb" for an entire century and the Greeks have done "nothing" for us nor have they allowed us to do for ourselves. Know that Greek occupied Macedonia is a Greek colony where the colonists from Asia Minor living on our lands have more rights than we do. When are we going to wake up and face this reality? While the entire world is enjoying its rights, we still, willingly if I may add, remain passive and subservient to our occupiers, the Greeks!
As Macedonians we don´t want the Greeks to do anything for us except to let us be what we are. But as tax paying citizens of that country you have legal and constitutional rights that equally apply to all citizens. You are Macedonians, not criminals. But it seems that criminals in Greece have more rights than Macedonians. Perhaps that is because "criminals" know their rights and fight for them! What are you doing about your rights?
I know fear over the years has crept into your psyche and as Macedonians under Greek occupation fear has entered out genes. But enough is enough, if we don´t stand up for ourselves and demand our rights, no one will and forever we will live in fear.
If you ask me to stop writing then who will write about your pain? If I stop writing then we all will have to endure that pain in darkness and in silence and no one will ever know about it. Haven´t we suffered enough?
Other articles by Risto Stefov:
http://www.maknews.com/html/articles.html#stefov
http://www.americanchronicle.com/authors/view/3446
You can contact the author at rstefov@hotmail.com
Ladies and gentlemen welcome to bizarro world!
Well, where do I begin?
Let me begin by saying that this, coming from Greeks, is nothing new and now that the Greek government has no more money to pay its senior citizens, I too have become a "scapegoat". Instead of admitting that they screwed up and put the blame on themselves where it belongs, some Greeks are now blaming their economic problems on everyone including Germany, one of Greece´s strongest financial supporters. So should anyone be surprised that the Greeks would blame me for their problems as well?
But this is more than just straight forward blame. This is an attempt to shirk responsibility for their own inadequacies and project it onto others; a typical Greek ploy. It is also an attempt to "fool" some Macedonians into believing that "somehow" I and other Macedonians like myself, or in this case "Greek expatriates", are to blame for Greece´s economic troubles.
What this in fact implies is that the senior citizens in Greece, at least those of Macedonian descent, will lose their pensions because expatriates like me are fighting for their human rights! This is yet another opportunistic Greek trick to kill two birds with one stone; hide their economic inadequacies from their own people and at the same time blame others for it. In the case of the non-existent Macedonians, blame their expatriates for their problems. Let the Macedonians focus their anger at their own people; you never know they may turn on each other! It has worked before!
If the Greek objective here is to shut me down and stop Macedonians from writing negative things about Greece´s dismal treatment of the Macedonians, then there are easier ways to address the issue. For example;
1. If Greece will immediately recognize the Macedonian ethnic identity, language and country. And,
2. If Greece will immediately recognize the Macedonians living in Greece and afford their overdue human rights. And,
3. If Greece will immediately repatriate all the Macedonians who it exiled over the years, including the 28,000 refugee children from the Greek Civil War, and return their citizenship, rights and properties. And,
4. If Greece will accept responsibility for the crimes it committed against the Macedonian people over the years and make amends for them. And,
5. If Greece will apologize to the world for the lies it spread not only about the Macedonian people but also about the other minorities living there and about the so-called "Greek" identity.
Then I and others like me will stop writing "negative things" about Greece. It´s that simple!
Everything I stated above is "doable" and within Greece´s power and means to accomplish and if Greece decides to follow up on it, I will not only stop "the negative publicity", I will personally become Greece´s greatest advocate!
But let us not fool ourselves into thinking, even for an instant, that Greece will now do such a thing for the Macedonians "out of the goodness of its heart" given its track record and the "harm" it has done to them for over a century now.
The only way Greece will do "anything" other than what it has being doing in the past is if Greece "changes" and is "reformed" into a truly democratic country. And that has to come from the inside. But as long as Greek citizens continue to vote for the same parties and for the same politicians and support the same "racist" policies, we will continue to get the same "racist attitudes" we have always gotten from their governments!
Just to bring you up to date, Greeks not only deny the Macedonian people their human rights such as not allowing them to speak their language, practice their culture and traditions, etc., Greeks go beyond that and also rob the Macedonians of their constitutional and fundamental rights as citizens of that country.
Expatriates and still citizens of Greece (of Macedonian descent) living in the Diaspora today have frequently been denied access to Greek administrative services because they go to Macedonian churches, attend Macedonian functions, or donate money to Macedonian organizations. But again, this is nothing new; Macedonians have been penalized by this Greek practice for years even here in Canada.
Many expatriates who are still citizens of Greece have reported that they have been threatened with having their property confiscated, denied entry into Greece and with bodily harm if they continue to be involved in Macedonian activities.
One woman complained to me that the Greeks were threatening to confiscate her property back in Greece if she continued to speak in support of the Republic of Macedonia. After receiving their Greek pensions, a Macedonian couple stopped attending Macedonian functions, fearing that they might lose their pensions if they were reported to the Greek authorities. A man told me that he applied for his pension some time ago and, even though he believes he qualifies for it, the Greeks would not give it to him. They told him that he was not getting his pension because he had been involved in Macedonian activities and if he wanted a pension he should ask the "Skopjans" for one.
Even if this man, for other reasons, did not qualify to get a pension the Greeks most likely would not tell him the truth about why he was not getting a pension. They would rather make him believe that he did not deserve a pension because he was Macedonian. This is done to spite him and to serve as an example to others.
I have also met people here in Canada who are afraid to talk to me, fearing that if they are seen talking to me they would be reported to the Greek authorities and would lose their properties in Greece. Some fear that they will be blacklisted and prohibited from entering Greece.
All these things are happening here in Canada, today; a reality which many Macedonians (from Greek occupied Macedonia) have to live with and endure!
From what I gather, "democratic" Greece still uses incentives and fear mongering to keep its citizens in check.
From what I gather, these pensions that Greece offers, especially to its expatriates of Macedonian descent, are used more as incentives to keep the Macedonian communities in the Diaspora divided and dysfunctional. They give the grandparents a small pension and that way they have the entire family, if not loyal to Greece, then not loyal to Macedonia either. The more families that the Greeks can keep out of the Macedonian community the less strength the Macedonian community will have! Offering expatriates pensions and then threatening to take them away is a way for Greeks to keep Macedonians under their control!
Macedonians who have been threatened this way should not be afraid of the Greeks. If that happens to them then they should be hiring a lawyer and finding out what the law has to say. As Greek citizens, in matters like pensions, they are protected by law and by the Greek constitution. What the Greeks are telling you; i.e. that you will be losing your pension in Greece because of what I and others do here in Canada is utter nonsense.
It is time for us Macedonians to stop blaming each other for what the Greeks are doing to us. It is time for you to stop blaming me for what the Greeks threaten to do to you simply because I am speaking up on your behalf. Do you really think that your situation would "somehow" improve if only I were to stop writing and keep quiet?
As a people and as Macedonians we have been under the "Greek thumb" for an entire century and the Greeks have done "nothing" for us nor have they allowed us to do for ourselves. Know that Greek occupied Macedonia is a Greek colony where the colonists from Asia Minor living on our lands have more rights than we do. When are we going to wake up and face this reality? While the entire world is enjoying its rights, we still, willingly if I may add, remain passive and subservient to our occupiers, the Greeks!
As Macedonians we don´t want the Greeks to do anything for us except to let us be what we are. But as tax paying citizens of that country you have legal and constitutional rights that equally apply to all citizens. You are Macedonians, not criminals. But it seems that criminals in Greece have more rights than Macedonians. Perhaps that is because "criminals" know their rights and fight for them! What are you doing about your rights?
I know fear over the years has crept into your psyche and as Macedonians under Greek occupation fear has entered out genes. But enough is enough, if we don´t stand up for ourselves and demand our rights, no one will and forever we will live in fear.
If you ask me to stop writing then who will write about your pain? If I stop writing then we all will have to endure that pain in darkness and in silence and no one will ever know about it. Haven´t we suffered enough?
Other articles by Risto Stefov:
http://www.maknews.com/html/articles.html#stefov
http://www.americanchronicle.com/authors/view/3446
You can contact the author at rstefov@hotmail.com
Print
Email
