By: Macedonian Welfare Workers’ Network of Victoria (Australia)
P/b: 95 pages (includes 30 photos & illustrations)
Editor & Translator: Jim Thomev
Price: $18 CAD USD$14
A book of recollections and reflections from some of the 28,000 Macedonian child refugees who were evacuated from their homes in northern Greece between 1948 and 1949 during the Macedonian struggle for independence in the Greek Civil War.
Five of the oral histories are from child refugees, the sixth from the mother of one of the children. The six individuals are from the villlages of Bapchor, Lagen, Neret & Krushoradi. All are now Australian residents.
The stories recount village life before the war, destruction wrought by Greek soldiers and their American and British allies. There are memories of separation from parents and family, the journey to Eastern Europe, growing up in foreign lands, and their eventual arrival in Australia. The refugees, now in their 60’s, use their growing maturity and insight to understand the events and experiences that changed the lives of all Macedonians from northern Greece.