Part 8 – Vasil and Sofia’s Story
August 2005
By Risto Stefov
rstefov@hotmail.com
Vasil, son of Risto and Sofia, was born in the village Oshchima in August 1925. Vasil attended school up to grade six and after that went to work on the family homestead on a full time basis. After the death of his brother Lazo, Vasil, being the eldest male living at home, assumed responsibility for most household activities. His father Risto worked outside Oshchima, sometimes abroad, and was unavailable for household duties for most of the year. Yields from the land were not sufficient to support a family of twelve so Risto had no choice but to seek employment elsewhere. Before Lazo’s death, on many occasions, Vasil assisted his father with his projects. This included many trips to Prespa and Albania, which sometimes lasted for months.
Vasil’s father Risto (File and Stamena’s son) was born in 1883 in the village Oshchima and died in 1951 in Warsaw, Poland. During his youth Risto made a living house painting, bricklaying and doing masonry work. He was also a capable woodworker, lumberjack and carpenter.
During his adult life Risto was a pechalbar and traveled from place to place looking for work. He traveled to Prespa, Albania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Central Greece and Canada. Due to severe weather, stranded in Bulgaria, Risto attended school and learned the Macedonian alphabet enabling him to read Macedonian. On another occasion, while working in Turkey (Anatolia), Risto lost his uncle Kale in a construction accident. Kale fell off the roof of the building they were working on and died.
While seeking work the expense of travel was a burden to them so to minimize their costs, Risto and his traveling companions begged for food and shelter while traveling from village to village. Risto did not speak Greek and while traveling to central Greece he depended on his first cousin Tase and other co-workers to seek directions and acquire contracts.
Risto traveled to Canada three times. There he worked in tanneries, restaurants and laid cobblestone in the streets of Toronto. On one occasion when Risto came back from Canada an entourage of people from Oshchima came to greet him. In front stood his wife Sofia with two young girls in her arms. In a stern voice she said, “You’ve been away so long I bet you can’t recognize your own daughter.” Risto cleverly replied, “Put the girls down and the one that comes to me is my daughter.” Sure enough Dafina rushed to him, proving him right.
With the money earned, in 1922 Risto built a house in Oshchima on top of the ruins of the Iofkova house. As payment to purchase the plot, Risto granted Bosilka and her daughter Sofia free room and board for life. To expand his homestead, Risto purchased land from Tase who had moved to Lerin and no longer needed his property. Risto gave some of the land to his older brother Vasil.
There is a tale told about Risto’s money. After returning from Canada Risto converted his earned wealth from gold into Greek currency in order to purchase building materials for his house. Unfortunately, at that same time war broke out and the Greek currency lost its value. Tragically Risto lost his wealth. It has been rumoured that his wife Sofia cursed him for leaving her for so long to bear the burden of raising the children alone in such harsh conditions. It has also been rumoured that Risto did not convert his gold to cash, but instead buried it somewhere in Oshchima, perhaps never to be found. These however are only rumours?
Year after year Risto traveled to Prespa and Albania to work as a painter, bricklayer, plasterer and occasionally as a carpenter. According to some of his clients, Risto was the best chimney builder in the region.
From 1920 to 1922 Risto was drafted by the Greek army and served as a border guard at the Albanian-Greek border. In 1948, during the Greek civil war, he was drafted by the Partisans to build bunkers. In 1949 Risto, along with many other Greek Civil War refugees, left home for the last time never to return. Risto accompanied by his wife Sofia and son Alexander on August 10, 1949 left for Albania. From there he was sent to Poland where he later was reunited with his daughter Sevda. While is Poland Risto became very ill and disabled, dependent on his wife and daughter to look after his daily needs. He slowly fell into a depression and could no longer bear his condition and died in 1951. His body was buried in Poland where it remains to this day. According to those who knew him in person, Risto was a gentleman well respected by all. He was a hard worker and an honest man.
With the outbreak of the Greek–Italian War in 1940, like many young men, Vasil found himself in the middle of a brewing controversy. At that time the Greek communist party was growing in strength and recruiting young Macedonian men and woman into their ranks with promises of freedom, human rights and equality for all Macedonians. Organizers frequently came calling on the young to join. In 1943 Vasil, along with other idealists from Oshchima, signed up and became a party member. In June of 1944 Vasil was drafted by the Partisan police force and sent to Lagen, near Vicho, where he served as a police officer from July to September. When his service ended Vasil joined the youth group and was allowed to go home, provided he returned to service on short notice. His leave lasted until March 2nd, 1947 when Vasil was recalled to fight in the Greek Civil War. He, along with about five thousand Partisans, was trained, armed and sent to serve at various posts between Vicho and Gramos. After two years as a courier Vasil achieved the rank of second lieutenant. During his career as a Partisan, Vasil saw much action and experienced pain and suffering. One time after a bomb exploded Vasil was knocked unconscious. Thinking that he was dead, his comrades hurrying to avoid capture buried him by piling stones on his body. Hours later Vasil awakened traumatized and confused, dug himself out of the rock pile and went wandering the countryside. The trauma had left him with short-term memory loss, which took hours before he was able to comprehend his predicament. He recalls his chest being bruised and having severe pain and difficulty breathing. His chest trauma subsequently re-occurred for six years, each year on the anniversary of the episode.
After his recovery Vasil was assigned to lighter duties delivering information between commands. This lasted until mid 1948 when once again fate dealt him a different hand. It was a rainy, fog filled morning when Vasil was ordered to deliver mail to a nearby battalion. On his way he ran into enemy fire and was almost hit by mortar. He was not directly hit but a spray of rock and sand lightly injured his leg and temporarily blinded his eyes. Under the cover of fog, however, Vasil was able to slip out and escape enemy detection. He arrived at his destination intact and successfully completed his mission. But as luck would have it, a battle was brewing and men were needed to fight. In spite of his injuries and inability to see properly, the local commander detained Vasil and ordered him to take part in the fight. This was an important fight defending a strategic position. The men were given strict orders to hold on to it no matter what happened. Soon the enemy engaged them and the battle lasted until dusk. When it was over, eight out of the fifty-six Partisans that took part were killed. Vasil was wounded in the back but the enemy advance was repelled.
Vasil was taken to a nearby field hospital and had his wounds looked after. His recovery, however, was brief and prematurely interrupted by a courier who delivered orders to evacuate. Because the Bourandari (Royalist Greek forces) were fast approaching and the hospital staff needed time to evacuate, all available able hands, including the wounded, were ordered to fight and stall the advance. Vasil remembers it was a fierce battle. The Partisans fought with mere guns against the onslaught of mortar and machinegun fire. Being unprepared the Partisans ran out of ammunition. Those able to move escaped while the rest fought to the end. Only five made it out alive. During his retreat Vasil spotted a supply man in the distance, but before he could get to him a mortar fell killing him and his mule. Vasil picked up what he needed and continued his retreat. He was on the run when a Bourandar hiding behind a rock fired at him. It was a loud burst of machinegun fire. Vasil with his automatic rifle in one hand and gear in the other ran into the woods for cover. He realized that his diversion would take him away from his destination but what choice did he have? His escape route was in the open and dangerous. As he contemplated his predicament, Vasil heard a woman’s voice in the distance crying out for help. The woman called out in Macedonian then in Greek. It appeared that she was wounded and could not move. He quickly went to her aid and as their conversation ensued, he found out she was from Nestram, a Macedonian village. He picked her up, put her over his shoulder and carried her through the woods. His effort, however, was in vain as a mortar fell close by instantly killing the woman with a severe blow to the head. Vasil was devastated, dropped the woman’s body and ran. Unable to properly see, he lost his bearings and did not know where he was. He realized he had left the woods when he heard the dreaded roar of a fighter plane overhead and watched the dust ripples of bullets running by. He ran as fast as he could, watching the ripples come and go again and again as fire from the sky rained down on him. It seemed like an eternity as the two planes circled around from above again and again, mocking him and playing with his life. Finally he was in the safety of the woods. He was still running when he encountered the cliff of a sinkhole and almost fell in it. It was one of those phenomena that naturally occur in nature due to years of limestone erosion. Vasil was lucky he stopped in time. He paused for a moment looking down when he heard a man’s voice softly muttering something to him. The words were Greek and beckoned him to come closer with promises of ending his misery forever. He slowly looked up in the direction of the voice, coming from the other side of the cliff. As Vasil’s sore eyes began to focus he saw a man and recognized his uniform, that of a Bourandar officer. During his ordeal Vasil must have somehow circled back and was now in the hands of the enemy. Too many things had happened that day and Vasil was in no mood for mockery as he opened fired. He doesn’t remember how his rifle got into his hands, but he was grateful it was there. He thinks it came off his shoulder during his abrupt encounter with the sinkhole. Figuring him for a deserter, the unexpected burst of automatic fire surprised the enemy. As Vasil continued to fire, fearing an ambush, the Bourandari quickly retreated.
Vasil tired, wounded and hungry made it back to Breznitsa where he came upon a stream of water. Being thirsty and watching the water trickle down the stream made him want a drink badly. Vasil knew that in his condition he couldn’t have any water. He had seen the wounded die after drinking water. Vasil succumbed to his thirst and had a sip. After that he reported to local command and asked them for transportation to the hospital. He was refused, as there were too many other priorities. Vasil left disappointed and spent two days in Rula (Ano Rulski) before walking to Preol where he, along with one hundred and fifty other wounded, boarded two trucks destined for the Yugoslav border. The first truck was allowed entry but the second was refused and turned back. Vasil made it in and was taken to a hospital in Kutlanovo to recuperate. After fifteen days of hospitalization and daily baths in the thermal springs, Vasil fully recovered from his wounds. It was now time to leave so Vasil, along with sixty others, was ordered to report to Pozdivishcha for re-assignment. Vasil was re-assigned to the fourteenth brigade at the village Kazani in Kostur. His new commander was an old acquaintance who recognized Vasil from a previous meeting they had in 1945 at the village Papratsko. Vasil was campaigning there for the Partisans when he met the man for the first time. The new boss gave Vasil command of twenty men and put him in charge of guarding Kolomnati. Vasil remembers this day well as he ordered his men to take up position inside a patch of tall ferns, behind some stones. It was the same day that Georgi from Oshchima was captured. With four machine guns on standby, the men hid in the ferns and kept silent for most of the day. This went on from dawn until about four in the afternoon when a guard noticed movement from the direction of Bapchor. It was a band of Bourandari headed their way. Vasil ordered his men to take position and hold their fire. After a brief firefight, feeling the sting of the ambush, the Bourandari retreated. In other parts of the battle, however, Partisan units did not fare as well and many men and women lost their lives during the fight. When it was over all able bodies, including the lightly wounded, were ordered to retreat and regroup. At the new camp combatants were separated according to education and technical skills with military equipment. The more educated were made officers and given command positions regardless of their combat experience. The rest were assigned to lower ranks. Having over two years of combat experience and being a trusted courier, Vasil was not happy with his demotion into the lower ranks. He complained to the commanding officer and asked for his rank to be reinstated. The officer was unmoved by his plea and ordered him to either pick a weapon and stay where he was or leave and join another command. Vasil chose to stay and took his case to the battalion commander. The top boss heard Vasil’s case and gave him command of a guard unit comprised of three men and a woman. After spending ten days at camp, Vasil’s unit was sent on assignment to guard a work crew of sixteen women and several mules, responsible for picking grapes and apples. When they arrived at their destination the group encountered several rotting human skulls propped up on wooden stakes. The heads belonged to the guards of a previous work crew ambushed by the Bourandari. Hesitantly the crew began picking grapes while the guards, certain of an impending ambush, took up defensive positions. True to expectation, before they were finished several shots rang out sending everyone for cover. The Bourandari came back with high hopes but the guards fought fiercely and repelled the attack. The crew, fearing for their lives, fled the scene. Vasil, along with the other guards, assembled the mules along with the grapes and left for Posdivishcha to pick apples. There to their surprise they found the missing crew hiding inside the village. In spite of their desertion no charges were laid against members of the crew. When Vasil returned to camp he heard from the news wire that his skirmish left one Bourandar dead and one wounded.
After that assignment Vasil was transferred to a battalion near the village Bukovik to prepare for battle. The frontline was ordered to penetrate a triple barrier of barbed wire, laced with activated grenades. When they reached their target, a man experienced in mine removal breached the first and second barriers but discovered a land mine and could not penetrate the last barrier. As a result the advance was halted and the combatants refused to continue until the area was de-mined. The unit commander disagreed with the assessment and called the men cowards for not proceeding. In spite of the danger he went forward to show them how it was done. Unfortunately he stepped on a mine and was blown up. The force of the explosion shook the fence and triggered activated grenades causing them to explode. As the startled men retreated in panic, Vasil remembers taking a glimpse at a dying woman lying on the ground with a large hole in her back. After the danger passed Vasil felt severe pains in his head. A quick examination revealed wounds to his head, leg and hand. Vasil walked back to command and was taken to a nearby field hospital. He lost a lot of blood and went into shock before he passed out. Next he remembers hearing a voice and opening his eyes to bright sunlight. It was almost noon the next day and he had slept through the night. The voice that woke him was that of an old man whom Vasil knew. The old man advised Vasil to leave at once because the Greek forces were advancing quickly and his life was in danger. The field hospital was evacuated in the dark the night before and the camp was abandoned. Vasil was unable to walk on his own so he asked the man to fashion him a crutch from a tree branch. Before he could get too far, however, the Bourandari arrived and started shooting. Vasil made an effort to hide but was spotted. The next thing he remembers was a sharp pain in his leg and rolling down a steep hill. He was wounded in the same leg again. One of the Bourandars went looking but would not risk going down the hill so he abandoned the search. Vasil passed out and when he came to he remembers feeling very cold, fists clasped tight and teeth clenched. He had fallen into a sandy pit and was now trapped. He was lucky, however, because soon after the Bourandari left a deliveryman came by and found him. Vasil convinced the man to take him to the hospital. He went to another camp by mule and from there to Posdivishcha by horse. On their way the men heard the roar of a bomber which sent them scurrying. Vasil urged the man to run for cover while he slumped off the horse and rolled into an irrigation ditch. The horse took off down river and disappeared. The water was running fast and felt cold as Vasil submerged himself out of sight when a bomb fell nearby, temporarily rendering him deaf. When the danger was over, unable to walk, he pulled himself out of the ditch and waited. Another man came by and helped Vasil to his feet. Fearing more encounters from above, Vasil asked the man to help him hide in a nearby garden, close to the river. The garden was fenced in and its foliage provided good cover. Soon after, the first man came back with the horse but refused to go any further because he felt it was too dangerous. He helped Vasil mount the horse and left. Vasil’s latest wound was high up on his leg impairing his riding and causing him severe pain. Having no other choice Vasil rode to Posdivishcha. The doctor there examined him and recommended that he be taken to the hospital at Kolomnati. Vasil was very hungry and asked for some food. Given a choice he asked for fried red peppers. While riding through Posdivishcha he had noticed a bunch of red peppers hanging on the windowsill of a house. As his hunger grew, the image of peppers remained in his mind. The good people of Posdivishcha obliged and fried some peppers with feta cheese for him. When he finished his meal he was put on a stretcher and carried by a team of six field medics from Posdivishcha to the field hospital in Kolomnati. From their conversations Vasil concluded that all the women were Macedonian. Two pairs of women carried the stretcher and the third pair was relief. Vasil was a big man, over six feet tall, a burden for four women to carry at the best of times. For most of the trip he kept to himself as the women conversed and complained about his weight. Their tranquility, however, was broken when the roar of a bomber came from above. Suddenly Vasil was dropped to the ground flat on his back in the middle of the road as the women scurried for cover. When the danger passed the women came back and asked Vasil if he was all right. Vasil did not appreciate how he had been treated and kept to himself saying nothing. Thinking that he was Greek and didn’t understand Macedonian, the women continued their chat and complaint until they reached the bottom of a hill. They were already tired and now had to carry him uphill on narrow footpaths. Being upset they started the climb with Vasil upside down, his head lower than his feet. The constant jolting and blood pressure from being carried that way caused Vasil severe pain and headaches. The women were struggling as they continued the climb. One of them suggested that they toss Vasil down a ravine and leave him there to die. Surely he was not worth the effort? Another objected and scolded the first for having such thoughts. “What if he was your husband or brother, would you still do that?” she asked. Vasil was in too much pain to listen to the moral dilemma or care about what happened to him. When they finally arrived, a familiar face greeted Vasil. It was Rina from Oshchima. Rina told Vasil that his sister Sevda was also there. When Vasil asked for her, Rina ran through the camp looking for her to give her the news. Hearing that her brother was in the camp, Sevda was thrilled and ran back as quickly as possible asking people on the way, “Where is my brother, where is my brother?” One of the women who carried Vasil heard her and answered, “Here is your brother you silly woman, you call everyone your brother.” But after a hug, tears and a long conversation in Macedonian, the woman was convinced Vasil was Sevda’s real brother and the women apologized for their behavior. While in the hospital, Sevda cared for Vasil until his wounds healed.
Vasil was summoned to Gramos once again and from there (after the defeat of the Partisans) he left for Albania (Burely camp) to escape capture. In his career as a Partisan, Vasil experienced much combat and was wounded four times, with twelve entry wounds. It was August 26th, 1949 when Vasil saw his homeland for the last time. With an uncertain future he boarded the ship, Vladivostok, at the port of Durresi in Albania and headed for Russia. From there he was sent via train to Tashkent in the Republic of Uzbekistan.
In April 1950 Vasil married Sofia from the village Trnava. Vasil met Sofia for the first time in 1948 at Gramos and again in Albania. Sofia was also drafted by the Partisans and served from 1947 to 1949. Initially she was sent to Gramos for training and was taught to use a rifle. After that she was sent to school to train for communications (telephone). Then she was sent on combat missions first to Voden and later to Lerin where she fought the final battle of the Greek Civil War. Sofia also escaped to Albania to avoid capture and was sent to Tashkent.
In Tashkent Vasil and Sofia found jobs in a textile factory where Vasil worked as a cotton loader and Sofia as a painter of cotton combine equipment. In 1951 Vasil was accepted into the military academy and after 38 months, graduated as an artillery officer equivalent to 1st Lieutenant. After graduation in 1953 Vasil went back to work in the textile factory for another year and a half. For the next eleven years before coming to Toronto, Vasil worked as an insulation worker, producing roofing shingles and insulating hot water pipes and boilers.
Sofia continued to work in the textile factory until the birth of her first son Vasia in 1952. She spent the next five years at home with Vasia. After that she worked in construction for a while and later in a leather factory assembling wallets and purses. Her second son Alexander was born in 1962.
In November 1965 Vasil, Sofia, Vasia and Alexander permanently left Tashkent and came to live in Toronto, Canada.
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