Skopjan myth about Deca Belgaci exposed – Testimony of Irene Damopoulou

Even if the entire world acknowledges the Abducted Children during the Greek civil war were Greek, Skopjans have invented through years another falsification of history, claiming that all these children were “Slavomacedonian”.

Here is an excempt from the book “I foni tis Irinis” by Ioannis Bougas, where one of those Greek children, the self-witness Irene Damopoulou shatters FYROMian propaganda with her testimony.

(EXCERPT FROM):

I FONI TIS IRINIS (THE VOICE OF IRENE)

I Martyria tis Irinis Damopoulou apo to Paidomazoma

(The Testimony of Irene Damopoulou from the Child-gathering)

By Ioannis Bougas

Erodios Publishing House

Thessaloniki, 2006

Part II (Chapter 19), pages 124 – 127

The KKE (Communist Party of Greece) Constructs Slavomacedonians

It was decided by KKE officials in our community in Florika [Romania] to divide the inmates of the base into Greeks and Slavomacedonians. This division into Greeks and Slavomacedonians started in school. The primary person responsible for the classification of children into one or the other group was the teacher Kostas Triantafyllides from Kalohori, Kastoria [Greece]. Although he had studied to become a teacher in Greece, he had become a fanatical communist, Slavomacedonian, and a persecutor of Greeks. He had personally thrown my brother Ilia and me out of the Greek school [in Florika]. He told us that we were Slavomacedonians and not Greek because we were from St. Demetrios [Greece], which according to him was a village solely of Slavomacedonians.

Since my brother and I refused to declare that we were Slavomacedonians and refused to take courses in  Slavomacedonci, we were also thrown out of the Romanian school for three days. Our dismissal from school above all created a problem of survival as we had no more right to food from the school mess hall. When my mother complained to the community leaders because we were not given food, she was told that there was nothing that they could do and that we should think of the consequences of our denial to identify as Slavomacedonians.

Then my mother went to the school to complain. She found one of the teachers, a man named Mr. Nikos from Kilkis [Greece]. Unfortunately, I cannot remember his family name.

“Comrade Niko, why have you thrown my children out of school?” she asked.

“Because you are Slavomacedonians from St. Demetrios!” he answered. “Your children need to change schools and attend the Slavomacedonian school.”

My mother retorted, “Comrade Niko, you are making a big mistake! My children and me are Greeks! We are descendants of Alexander the Great! We have nothing to do with Slavomacedonians. Just because we lived in St. Demetrios, doesn’t mean that we are Slavomacedonians! My father was a Greek priest and fought against the [Bulgarian] komitadjis so that Macedonia could remain Greek. I heard that you, comrade, originate from Pontus [Asia Minor]. With your logic, you should be Turkish then!”

My mother’s fervent complaints had a positive effect, I suppose. My brother and I returned to the Romanian school and continued to take Greek and not Slavomacedonian classes.

The Greek communists on the Florika base also tried to divide the adults into Greeks and Slavomacedonians. They created a committee of communist members that visited the inhabitants of the base one by one so that they can classify them into one or the other group. It was evident however that for many people, the committee members had already decided the result before the visits. Perhaps these visits were a means to inform the inhabitants of their classification, or a means to convince them of it.

Many inhabitants were greatly shocked when they learned that from one day to the next they had become Slavomacedonians. Some actually dared to complain. Others on the other hand accepted the committee’s decision without a word. This should not come as a surprise to anyone today as we lived under such oppressive conditions that all decisions depended on the communist leadership of the community.

When the committee members came to our room to classify my mother, she was naturally informed that she was Slavomacedonian. My mother however, did not accept this. My brother and I cried and pleaded with her to accept so as to avoid seeming oppositional because we were afraid that the community leaders would take her away from us into exile again. My mother however did not hold back her tongue and did not display any fear as she harshly criticized the Greek Communist Party’s plan.

“Comrade Elpida, I had heard of you but I never imagined that you would be so difficult,” said one of the committee members who had visited our room that evening.

After visiting our family, the members went to see an old lady who lived in the next room. Like us, she was from Macedonia [Greece] and had also been brought as a hostage by the KKE to Romania. Unlike us though, she had originally been a refugee from Asia Minor but had immigrated to Greece after the  Asian Minor [Ottoman Turkish ethnic cleansing] Catastrophe. My brother and I were listening behind her door:

“How should we classify you granny? Greek or Slavomacedonian?” they asked.

“Greek! How else, my children? I am from Asia Minor, poor old me! What business do I have with Slavomacedonians?” she replied.

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Comments
Alexandros says:

I feel pitty about brainwashed Bulgarians like yourself. How else can anyone describe someone so utterly detached from reality. When ancient Macedonian history is being taught in ALL universities around the world as PART of Greek history, when NONE of the university professors around the world links it with a bunch of brainwashed Bulgarians but on the other hand associates it with Greek people and speak about the ancient kingdom of Macedon which its vast majority, along with all the Royal Macedonian tombs fall into the province Macedonia of Greece, then yeah you definitely keep your head in the sand and you are becoming more and more Pitiful. Get over it Bulgar, as already stated sooner or later you will have changed your “ethnicity” once gain Like your grandpas did and you cannot do anything to change it!!

Kristina says:

You just can’t help it do you? How does it feel when the whole world knows who we are -- Macedonians and they DO associate us with the Republic of Macedonia? It must hurt awfully to be acquainted with that fact and not to be able to accept it. Believe me I understand you. And that’s another thing you can do nothing about it, can you? But it’s Ok, you don’t have to accept it. Like you say keep your heads in the sand, keep denying.

Alexandros says:

Rather you will remain a bunch of brainwashed Slavs (Western Bulgarians) for ever than anything else. Sooner or later your state will be split and Albanians of FYROM will form most likely a seperate state, while the rest of you will be a part of Bulgaria (most probable scenario) and your kids will be proud Bulgarians for ever. So please keep your grandiloquent gibberish solely for yourself. You can do Nothing to change that. On the other hand everybody in the world knows that you the brainwashed Slavs have absolutely Nothing to do with ancient Macedonians either you like it or not.

Kristina says:

Yeah, whatever… every subsequent move is another proof of your superficiality. Like you know the truth ha? You only know what you are thought to know. You can call us whatever you want-that doesn’t change anything, we will remain MACEDONIAN forever. And you can do absolutely nothing to change that. Except for writing your senseless comments which of course are equivalent to nothing. There you go -- a simple math.

Alexandros says:

Bulgarians of FYROM spare us with your stupidity. Stick to your Bulgarian propaganda sites and fool yourselves as much as you want. All documents from International organizations makes it clear to everybody these children were Greek. You can keep your heads in the sand as much as you like. It doesnt change the truth at all. I wonder how much more stupid you can be to claim these children as “SlavoMacedonian” from the moment many of them were from Thrace, Epirus, Thessaly, etc. Wake up Bulgarians of FYROM!

Kristina says:

Well, that’s a real thing in here. Do you believe it yourself?Please! And just when I thought you can’t be that stupid. Why do you spend your energy on making up this crap, when the world has innumerous pressing problems. But you obviously don’t have the capacity for solving them and instead you get really happy with inventing this kind of rubbish. Please spare us in future!!

Alexandros says:

Ah!…another dumb worthless Skopjan comment…

Stefan says:

Ah!….another greek fable…..