The Great Lie – Chapter 12
Risto Stefov
February 09, 2012
In April, newspapers with news about the Central Committee´s Fifth Plenum and about NOF´s (Peoples´ Liberation Front) Second Congress arrived at the Prenies Refugee Camp in Albania. Lazo, who never passed up an opportunity to go to the camp office, was not feeling well that day so he asked his wife to ask Kuze to go to the office and bring him some newspapers.
"In this rain?…" mumbled Kuze and, scratching his neck, looked out the narrow window. He then asked: "How is he doing? Has he recovered from his cold?"
"It´s nothing. He got a bit of a cold yesterday when he was at the meeting with his superiors. He is complaining a bit about his throat and his nose is running…" replied Lazovitsa (Lazo´s wife).
"It sounds like he was talking a lot," interrupted Kuze.
"I guess so. You know my Lazo very well. When he starts talking," she boasted, "only his voice is heard and not even a teacher or a priest can out talk him, let alone this shameless guy, you know the one-armed man from the office who has no shame or subtlety.
"Yes you are right, Lazovitse," muttered Kuze.
"Kuze, I should go and you can run the errand and bring Lazo the newspapers. He said to bring him both the Greek and Macedonian newspapers. That´s what he said…" trailed off Lazovitsa.
After Lazovitsa left, Kuze stepped outside and noticing that it was pouring rain he stepped back in. His mattress made of straw looked inviting so he lay down and covered himself. Disturbed at the thought of Lazo asking him to walk in the rain just so that he could get his paper, Kuze began to swear and curse out loud: "That bum, so he wants to read the newspaper eh? Why doesn´t he mind his own business, instead of…"
"Who are you talking about?" interrupted Kuze´s wife.
"Lazo, who else?" replied Kuze.
"Well, since he asked you then go," advised the wife. "What are you afraid of, getting wet? Put this bag over your head."
"What?" inquired Kuze.
"I said put the bag over your head so that you won´t get wet," repeated his wife.
"Are you out of your mind? Me with a bag over my head?" replied Kuze.
"Well, we don´t have an umbrella!" complained the wife.
"I prefer to get wet over putting a bag over my head. Those who see me will make fun of me. Got it?" protested Kuze.
Kuze tucked his head into his shoulders, covered his neck with his collar and skipping over the mud puddles ran to the office. From there, with the Macedonian newspaper "ΗΕΠΟΚΟΡΕΗ" and the Greek newspaper "Προς τη Νικη" tucked in his underarm, he went to visit Lazo.
"Lazo my friend," Kuze complained "you sure found the time to send me to get the papers in this awful rain. Look at me I am drenched!"
"Ok, ok," said Lazo attempting to calm him down "you are not made of sugar and you won´t melt. My neighbour mentioned that there are some important things about us Macedonians in the papers, so I thought how is it possible that my half literate neighbour knows about these things and we don´t? Give me the Greek newspaper, let me read what they said…. My, my, Kuze miracles are about to happen. Did you know that?"
"Where?" asked Kuze.
"There, in the free territories…" replied Lazo.
"Okay Lazo, enough with the lies…" interrupted Kuze. "What free territories are you talking about? The one that comes and goes through our village? You consider that a free territory? If there is such a ´free territory´ as you say then why are we here in Prenies, in Albanian territory and not in our own so-called ´free territory´, ha?"
"There," continued Lazo, as if he heard nothing that Kuze had said, "our dear Central Committee did a very important thing for us. Finally! I told you, some day a smart person would come along and find a solution for us. Listen now," said Lazo as he took a deep breath and read to Kuze the Resolution that the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece undertook regarding the Macedonian question.
Kuze stood there with a stunned look and, while staring at Lazo´s eyes, slowly said: "Nothing, I swear, I understand absolutely nothing about this."
"Well Kuze, you don´t have to understand it. What is there in here, what can´t you understand? Everything is clear. Only comrade Zahariadis can write this clearly. This certainly comes from him. No one else can write like this," replied Lazo "and what Zahariadis says and writes about us is like he is ´Our Father´." Finally God gave us a smart man who is telling us ´listen, your way is this way!´ He has shown us the way, all we need to do is now follow it. Yes… Isn´t that what I was telling you Kuze, that one day we would create our own Macedonia? So, now the way is open. Zahariadis is very clearly telling us ´you will create your Macedonia, the way you want to… Bravo Zahariadis. Bravo!" exclaimed Lazo loudly.
"I don´t know, Lazo if that´s the way it is… My mind cannot fathom this… How do we know it is not a clever trick?..." asked Kuze.
Lazo read the part about the Resolution again and placed his finger on the newspaper and proudly said: "There it is, clearly written wiser than what Solomon himself could have done. I told you Kuze, one day a smart man would come along, a great man, a leader… yes a leader!"
"Let it be that way Lazo, but… But to me it seems like something is not right. And why are you boasting and rejoicing? Isn´t it this kind of rejoicing and boasting that divides us? Are we not of the same blood and religion as those in Vardarsko? Dear Lazo, find me a smart person, more educated than the two of us and let´s ask him to enlighten us on this…" replied Kuze.
"There is nothing to be enlightened about," replied Lazo angrily. "The Party said it and it will be done!.."
"It will be that way because we have no thoughts of our own, our heads are filled with other people´s thoughts and that is how they make fools of us. Who, dear Lazo wants to dance with a fool? Doesn´t it seem to you that someone is playing mind games with us?" replied Kuze.
Lazo angrily tossed the newspaper on the ground and jumped to his feet. "Now I should whack you one!" yelled Lazo "Is that how you feel? You should not talk like that. Do you know who talks like that today? The Contra! I want you to know. The Contra! And don´t push me or I will whack you one across the eyes so that you can see more clearly and if I whack you one across your big mouth then maybe you will speak wiser… Do you understand?!"
"I understand, Lazo, how can I not understand? I understand…" replied Kuze feeling hurt and insulted.
"Come now, don´t be bitter," said Lazo. "We are just having a friendly discussion…"
Kuze did not reply. He took his hat, bowed his head and left.
The same evening the two met again. Side by side they stood in the line, waiting for the cook to serve food from the cauldron. Lazo was first to speak.
"What do you say, Kuze, can I come to your place after supper for a smoke?"
Extending his metal dish towards the cauldron, Kuze whispered, "The door will be open."
Later in the evening Lazo and Kuze sat opposite one another and while taking puffs of tobacco smoke, continued their interrupted conversation from earlier.
"I am saying," said Lazo, "that this is written by Zahariadis. Look how he praises our people? These people, he says, gave all they had for the struggle and are fighting with unprecedented courage and sacrifice, that is why they will have the right, after the victory, to live as they see fit… and even to create their own Macedonian state… Here, see for yourself what it says in ´ΗΕΠΟΚΟΡΕΗ´… Let me find it. Here is what it says: ´There is a need by the Congress to declare the Macedonian people´s national question, a people who by their own participation in today´s struggle have the right to form their own independent Macedonian state…´ It also says the same thing in the Resolution of the Second NOF Congress. Did you read it? No? You need to read it…"
Kuze was silent.
"Why are you so quiet?" asked Lazo.
"What can I say now? I told you what I thought earlier and you accused me of being a Contra. You ask me if I read it. Yes I read everything but understood very little. For example, this is what is written about Kostur Region."
Kuze took the newspaper from Lazo, turned the page and began to read: ´There is a need for particular district boards to establish unity in the villages in the shortest possible time. It is of importance for personal reasons to stop the whining and establish internal organized democratic life and function. In today´s conditions, this type of shaky situation should not be allowed to continue especially between the various organs and all cadres are invited to establish normality and internal unity of the bodies´. "Okay Lazo, now you explain to me what you got from all this?" asked Kuze.
"Well, what can I tell you, I think this was not written for us, because we are absent from it. We have now been absent from Kostur Region for more than ten months… Right?" replied Lazo.
Kuze did not say anything. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, looked at the corner, shook his head and began to sway back and forth.
"What do you think Kuze?" asked Lazo.
The flame emanating from the candle began to dwindle. The wick was burning out. A few breaths later they found themselves in the dark.
Two months after this conversation had taken place, Kuze and Lazo sat silently on the beam outside the barracks. The sharp smoke coming out of the thickly cut tobacco rolled in a piece of newspaper, torn from the same newspaper which they were reading two months ago, brought tears to their eyes and burned their lips.
"Yes, yes… Who would have thought, eh?" said Lazo in a stretched out tone of voice.
"Ah?" said Kuze.
"Don´t ´ah´ me, who would have thought?" repeated Lazo.
"What?" asked Kuze.
Lazo spit the bitterness out of his mouth and at the moment when he wanted to explain the meaning of his questions, Numo, the one legged invalid, stopped in front of them. He tossed a newspaper at their feet and, with a slight smile on his face, asked: "Eh brothers, did you welcome the news? Did you read what comrade Zahariadis told the Macedonian cadres? Did you not read? Eh brothers, daydreamers, listen and learn! Zahariadis changed his song."
"What?!" Lazo asked indignantly. "What song?! What song?!"
"That song, which you comrade Lazo together with this bootlicker here were singing about an independent Macedonian state…" replied Numo.
"It was decided like that during the Plenum, right? Did you not hear?" replied Lazo and asked: "And that song which you are referring to, what happened to that?"
"Well brothers it happened, the big guy gathered all the Macedonian Cadres. He first criticized them and then he told them that the Central Committee´s Fifth Plenum decision regarding the Macedonian question, you know the one regarding self-determination, with which your brains were filled, and the one for an independent Macedonian state, was a mistake. He added that the resolution was taken under pressure from some divisive and treacherous elements at an inappropriate time for the requirements of the revolution, and because of that they should immediately forget the slogan about self-determination and start chanting the slogan about equality... And what? You Lazo, what were you going to say?" concluded Numo.
"Well, if that is what the Party decided then let it be that way," answered Lazo. "It doesn´t matter what the slogans is, if the Party rejected it, surely it is in its right to do so. And you, Numo or whatever your name is, it is best that you keep quiet and not confuse the people… It is shameful for a fighter, former fighter, to talk like that. Do you understand? Also remember that our existence lies in the hands of the Party… You should know that… And don´t think that you will not be a marked man for what you have said to me…"
Numo left without saying a word and disappeared around the corner of the barracks. But Lazo and Kuze could still hear the creaking of his wooden leg.
By Petre Nakovski
Translated and edited by Risto Stefov
Other articles by Risto Stefov:
http://www.maknews.com/html/articles.html#stefov
http://www.americanchronicle.com/authors/view/3446
Free electronic books by Risto Stefov available at:
http://makedonskakafana.com/ebooks.html
Our Name is Macedonia
www.mhrmi.org/our_name_is_macedonia
You can contact the author at rstefov@hotmail.com
"In this rain?…" mumbled Kuze and, scratching his neck, looked out the narrow window. He then asked: "How is he doing? Has he recovered from his cold?"
"It´s nothing. He got a bit of a cold yesterday when he was at the meeting with his superiors. He is complaining a bit about his throat and his nose is running…" replied Lazovitsa (Lazo´s wife).
"It sounds like he was talking a lot," interrupted Kuze.
"I guess so. You know my Lazo very well. When he starts talking," she boasted, "only his voice is heard and not even a teacher or a priest can out talk him, let alone this shameless guy, you know the one-armed man from the office who has no shame or subtlety.
"Yes you are right, Lazovitse," muttered Kuze.
"Kuze, I should go and you can run the errand and bring Lazo the newspapers. He said to bring him both the Greek and Macedonian newspapers. That´s what he said…" trailed off Lazovitsa.
After Lazovitsa left, Kuze stepped outside and noticing that it was pouring rain he stepped back in. His mattress made of straw looked inviting so he lay down and covered himself. Disturbed at the thought of Lazo asking him to walk in the rain just so that he could get his paper, Kuze began to swear and curse out loud: "That bum, so he wants to read the newspaper eh? Why doesn´t he mind his own business, instead of…"
"Who are you talking about?" interrupted Kuze´s wife.
"Lazo, who else?" replied Kuze.
"Well, since he asked you then go," advised the wife. "What are you afraid of, getting wet? Put this bag over your head."
"What?" inquired Kuze.
"I said put the bag over your head so that you won´t get wet," repeated his wife.
"Are you out of your mind? Me with a bag over my head?" replied Kuze.
"Well, we don´t have an umbrella!" complained the wife.
"I prefer to get wet over putting a bag over my head. Those who see me will make fun of me. Got it?" protested Kuze.
Kuze tucked his head into his shoulders, covered his neck with his collar and skipping over the mud puddles ran to the office. From there, with the Macedonian newspaper "ΗΕΠΟΚΟΡΕΗ" and the Greek newspaper "Προς τη Νικη" tucked in his underarm, he went to visit Lazo.
"Lazo my friend," Kuze complained "you sure found the time to send me to get the papers in this awful rain. Look at me I am drenched!"
"Ok, ok," said Lazo attempting to calm him down "you are not made of sugar and you won´t melt. My neighbour mentioned that there are some important things about us Macedonians in the papers, so I thought how is it possible that my half literate neighbour knows about these things and we don´t? Give me the Greek newspaper, let me read what they said…. My, my, Kuze miracles are about to happen. Did you know that?"
"Where?" asked Kuze.
"There, in the free territories…" replied Lazo.
"Okay Lazo, enough with the lies…" interrupted Kuze. "What free territories are you talking about? The one that comes and goes through our village? You consider that a free territory? If there is such a ´free territory´ as you say then why are we here in Prenies, in Albanian territory and not in our own so-called ´free territory´, ha?"
"There," continued Lazo, as if he heard nothing that Kuze had said, "our dear Central Committee did a very important thing for us. Finally! I told you, some day a smart person would come along and find a solution for us. Listen now," said Lazo as he took a deep breath and read to Kuze the Resolution that the Central Committee of the Communist Party of Greece undertook regarding the Macedonian question.
Kuze stood there with a stunned look and, while staring at Lazo´s eyes, slowly said: "Nothing, I swear, I understand absolutely nothing about this."
"Well Kuze, you don´t have to understand it. What is there in here, what can´t you understand? Everything is clear. Only comrade Zahariadis can write this clearly. This certainly comes from him. No one else can write like this," replied Lazo "and what Zahariadis says and writes about us is like he is ´Our Father´." Finally God gave us a smart man who is telling us ´listen, your way is this way!´ He has shown us the way, all we need to do is now follow it. Yes… Isn´t that what I was telling you Kuze, that one day we would create our own Macedonia? So, now the way is open. Zahariadis is very clearly telling us ´you will create your Macedonia, the way you want to… Bravo Zahariadis. Bravo!" exclaimed Lazo loudly.
"I don´t know, Lazo if that´s the way it is… My mind cannot fathom this… How do we know it is not a clever trick?..." asked Kuze.
Lazo read the part about the Resolution again and placed his finger on the newspaper and proudly said: "There it is, clearly written wiser than what Solomon himself could have done. I told you Kuze, one day a smart man would come along, a great man, a leader… yes a leader!"
"Let it be that way Lazo, but… But to me it seems like something is not right. And why are you boasting and rejoicing? Isn´t it this kind of rejoicing and boasting that divides us? Are we not of the same blood and religion as those in Vardarsko? Dear Lazo, find me a smart person, more educated than the two of us and let´s ask him to enlighten us on this…" replied Kuze.
"There is nothing to be enlightened about," replied Lazo angrily. "The Party said it and it will be done!.."
"It will be that way because we have no thoughts of our own, our heads are filled with other people´s thoughts and that is how they make fools of us. Who, dear Lazo wants to dance with a fool? Doesn´t it seem to you that someone is playing mind games with us?" replied Kuze.
Lazo angrily tossed the newspaper on the ground and jumped to his feet. "Now I should whack you one!" yelled Lazo "Is that how you feel? You should not talk like that. Do you know who talks like that today? The Contra! I want you to know. The Contra! And don´t push me or I will whack you one across the eyes so that you can see more clearly and if I whack you one across your big mouth then maybe you will speak wiser… Do you understand?!"
"I understand, Lazo, how can I not understand? I understand…" replied Kuze feeling hurt and insulted.
"Come now, don´t be bitter," said Lazo. "We are just having a friendly discussion…"
Kuze did not reply. He took his hat, bowed his head and left.
The same evening the two met again. Side by side they stood in the line, waiting for the cook to serve food from the cauldron. Lazo was first to speak.
"What do you say, Kuze, can I come to your place after supper for a smoke?"
Extending his metal dish towards the cauldron, Kuze whispered, "The door will be open."
Later in the evening Lazo and Kuze sat opposite one another and while taking puffs of tobacco smoke, continued their interrupted conversation from earlier.
"I am saying," said Lazo, "that this is written by Zahariadis. Look how he praises our people? These people, he says, gave all they had for the struggle and are fighting with unprecedented courage and sacrifice, that is why they will have the right, after the victory, to live as they see fit… and even to create their own Macedonian state… Here, see for yourself what it says in ´ΗΕΠΟΚΟΡΕΗ´… Let me find it. Here is what it says: ´There is a need by the Congress to declare the Macedonian people´s national question, a people who by their own participation in today´s struggle have the right to form their own independent Macedonian state…´ It also says the same thing in the Resolution of the Second NOF Congress. Did you read it? No? You need to read it…"
Kuze was silent.
"Why are you so quiet?" asked Lazo.
"What can I say now? I told you what I thought earlier and you accused me of being a Contra. You ask me if I read it. Yes I read everything but understood very little. For example, this is what is written about Kostur Region."
Kuze took the newspaper from Lazo, turned the page and began to read: ´There is a need for particular district boards to establish unity in the villages in the shortest possible time. It is of importance for personal reasons to stop the whining and establish internal organized democratic life and function. In today´s conditions, this type of shaky situation should not be allowed to continue especially between the various organs and all cadres are invited to establish normality and internal unity of the bodies´. "Okay Lazo, now you explain to me what you got from all this?" asked Kuze.
"Well, what can I tell you, I think this was not written for us, because we are absent from it. We have now been absent from Kostur Region for more than ten months… Right?" replied Lazo.
Kuze did not say anything. He crossed his arms in front of his chest, looked at the corner, shook his head and began to sway back and forth.
"What do you think Kuze?" asked Lazo.
The flame emanating from the candle began to dwindle. The wick was burning out. A few breaths later they found themselves in the dark.
Two months after this conversation had taken place, Kuze and Lazo sat silently on the beam outside the barracks. The sharp smoke coming out of the thickly cut tobacco rolled in a piece of newspaper, torn from the same newspaper which they were reading two months ago, brought tears to their eyes and burned their lips.
"Yes, yes… Who would have thought, eh?" said Lazo in a stretched out tone of voice.
"Ah?" said Kuze.
"Don´t ´ah´ me, who would have thought?" repeated Lazo.
"What?" asked Kuze.
Lazo spit the bitterness out of his mouth and at the moment when he wanted to explain the meaning of his questions, Numo, the one legged invalid, stopped in front of them. He tossed a newspaper at their feet and, with a slight smile on his face, asked: "Eh brothers, did you welcome the news? Did you read what comrade Zahariadis told the Macedonian cadres? Did you not read? Eh brothers, daydreamers, listen and learn! Zahariadis changed his song."
"What?!" Lazo asked indignantly. "What song?! What song?!"
"That song, which you comrade Lazo together with this bootlicker here were singing about an independent Macedonian state…" replied Numo.
"It was decided like that during the Plenum, right? Did you not hear?" replied Lazo and asked: "And that song which you are referring to, what happened to that?"
"Well brothers it happened, the big guy gathered all the Macedonian Cadres. He first criticized them and then he told them that the Central Committee´s Fifth Plenum decision regarding the Macedonian question, you know the one regarding self-determination, with which your brains were filled, and the one for an independent Macedonian state, was a mistake. He added that the resolution was taken under pressure from some divisive and treacherous elements at an inappropriate time for the requirements of the revolution, and because of that they should immediately forget the slogan about self-determination and start chanting the slogan about equality... And what? You Lazo, what were you going to say?" concluded Numo.
"Well, if that is what the Party decided then let it be that way," answered Lazo. "It doesn´t matter what the slogans is, if the Party rejected it, surely it is in its right to do so. And you, Numo or whatever your name is, it is best that you keep quiet and not confuse the people… It is shameful for a fighter, former fighter, to talk like that. Do you understand? Also remember that our existence lies in the hands of the Party… You should know that… And don´t think that you will not be a marked man for what you have said to me…"
Numo left without saying a word and disappeared around the corner of the barracks. But Lazo and Kuze could still hear the creaking of his wooden leg.
By Petre Nakovski
Translated and edited by Risto Stefov
Other articles by Risto Stefov:
http://www.maknews.com/html/articles.html#stefov
http://www.americanchronicle.com/authors/view/3446
Free electronic books by Risto Stefov available at:
http://makedonskakafana.com/ebooks.html
Our Name is Macedonia
www.mhrmi.org/our_name_is_macedonia
You can contact the author at rstefov@hotmail.com
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