Woona the Blog

I am still savoring the impressions from the event that took place on Saturday, still speechless to express what I experienced there.

A small briefing for those who missed it:

The subject that I’m referring to is the Macedonian-Greek dialog, anti-nationalistic and anti-militaristic in nature, that took place in Skopje as a co-op event between Macedonian and Greek organizations, as well as citizen initiatives from both countries.

The discussion at the “Continental” Hotel was a success. The place was provided at the last moment for free – Tocka which is usually used as a locale for such events was overbooked, while Mala Stanica and many other places were similarly unavailable. Eventually, strings had to be pulled and the “Continental” was the end result. As a “fancy” place, the hotel allowed for a completely different dimension and weight to the event, namely to familiarize both the media and the citizens with what was going on, as well as providing us with sufficient space. In spite of my substantial skepticism, the locale turned out to be a good choice and I believe that its official nature didn’t inhibit the participants or in any way alter the planned schedule of events.
There was a greater attendance than I expected, although the audience thinned as the discussion neared its conclusion (it lasted for almost 2 and ½ hours, if not more).

Regarding the speakers:

Anti – Alexander was a butcher. Bullseye.

Sisi Vovou – An overview of the solidarity of the Greek activists, condemning the Greek national policy.

Kire – It is easy to recognize foreign nationalism. We call ours patriotism. The most controversial of all the speakers.

Dimosthenis Papadatos – A quality speech, a consistent critique of the NATO idiotism, of nationalism and capitalism.

Afterwards, an interlude from the old wolf, Nikos Giannopulos – “I am not a linguist, but I know the meaning of peaceful coexistence, which is why I say that there IS a Macedonian language” etc. Finally, a good Montesquieu quote by Zlatko: “I choose Europe before France, and the World before Europe, because I am a Frenchman by accident, but I am human by necessity”.

The discussion was followed by the protest. I will freely say that our friends from Greece gave us a lecture on how one should be organized. Slogan boards, chanting, a positive spirit..
Perhaps it’s a little disappointing that in the end, apart from the 50 or so Greeks, there were only about 15 Macedonians left, but what is, is. The media response was mostly positive, and I hope that the citizens, at least those who saw and heard us directly, received our message.

After the whole thing was over, we continued socializing with the Greeks during what was left of the day and the whole evening, after which they started for Greece in the morning, where, as we could hear on the news, they were branded as spies and traitors. I hope that they all made it safe and sound and had no trouble with the border police.

On Saturday, we managed to demonstrate solidarity, support for the humane ideas, international cooperation and understanding and the courage to stand against the madness promoted by both governments and widely accepted by the masses in ours, as well as their country.
Hoping that this positive experience will serve as a lesson in organizing similar actions, for now we are left with the message: “No to Nationalism, No to Militarism, YES TO SOLIDARITY”. Next on the agenda is a Macedonian trip to Salonica and Athens to organize international events of this type in Greece.

Thanks for the translation to Ivan