–
–
Nancy Pelosi, Speaker of the US House of Representatives, PHOTO: Reuters
–
The Macedonian Patriotic Organization has written a letter to the US Congress asking it not to use the “Macedonian language” in a resolution proposing that September be the month of Macedonia’s American heritage, BGNES reported. Here is the full text of the letter:
“I am addressing you on behalf of the Macedonian Patriotic Organization (IPO), which was founded in 1922 by immigrants from Macedonia and continues to be supported today by their descendants. The mission of the IGO is to advocate for all Macedonians in the world, to promote and preserve the ethnic traditions, customs and history of our people, as well as to promote and develop the cultural and social growth of young people. IGO members are also very proud Americans, bearers of the national spirit of the United States – the American Dream and Respect for Democracy, Human Rights, Freedom, Equality and Freedoms, which are a prerequisite for prosperity, success and social mobility achieved through hard work. and dedication!
As Macedonian Americans, we are pleased to see Congressional resolution (House Resolution 741), which proposes that September 2022 be declared Macedonian Heritage Month. The idea of honoring Macedonian Americans is a good one, as many former and current members of our Macedonian American diaspora have indeed made a “valuable contribution” to the quality of life in America.
HOWEVER, THERE IS A PROBLEM with the wording of the resolution, as it includes the expression “celebration of the Macedonian language”. Using the “Macedonian language”, the resolution completely ignores the contribution of Macedonian Americans who immigrated to America before World War II and the contribution of their American-born descendants who have identified and continue to identify as BULGARIAN-speaking Macedonians. The “Macedonian language” is part of the new ethnic Macedonian identity, which gained prominence only after the Second World War with the creation of an ethnic Macedonian state within the Yugoslav Federation.
Our American ancestors before 1945 were Macedonians and defined themselves as “Macedonians”, but they used the term “MACEDONIAN BULGARIANS” or “Bulgarian Macedonians” to distinguish themselves from other ethnic groups in Macedonia. Before World War II, “Macedonian” was not an ethnographic but a geographical term, and the vast majority of Macedonians before 1945 defined themselves as Macedonian Bulgarians. Like Swiss citizens, Macedonians represent a number of ethnic groups, including Bulgarians, Turks, Greeks, Aromanians (Vlachs), Albanians, and Sephardic Jews, and Bulgarians in Macedonia identify themselves as Bulgarian Macedonians. The Macedonian part of their identity was almost an affiliation, and I say almost because it was not a state in the physical sense of the word. However, the fact that they supported the Macedonian liberation movement, the IGO and the struggle for a free and independent Macedonia suggested that they were Macedonian patriots seeking to establish an independent state. For them, their independent Macedonia would be like America, made up of many ethnic groups living in harmony!
So, when the current resolution of the Congress mentions the “Macedonian language”, the vast majority of Bulgarian-speaking Macedonians who have contributed to the greatness of America are ignored. This resolution recognizes only ethnic Macedonians of the past and present, who, however, were never really a factor until the post-World War II period, when Yugoslavia’s present-day Northern Macedonia, as a federal Yugoslav unit, began to seriously promote ethnic Macedonian identity. The so-called “Macedonian” language, with the help of the Yugoslav educational system and practices of ethnic cleansing.
In summary, there are two Macedonian identities – the Macedonian-Bulgarian and the ethnic Macedonian identity. Your resolution would only recognize those who identify as ethnic Macedonians because it refers to the “Macedonian” language.
The wording of the resolution needs to be changed. The reference to the “Macedonian language” must either be removed or a clarification of two Macedonian identities added.
For members of the Macedonian Patriotic Organization who believe in their Bulgarian Macedonian or Macedonian-Bulgarian identity, dropping the term “Macedonian language” would be important because Bulgarian Macedonians have almost always called themselves simply Macedonians. So I think that one modified version of the above-mentioned phrase that both countries could accept is the following: Expressing support for declaring September 2022 “Macedonian Heritage Month” and commemorating the history, customs and traditions of the culture of Macedonian Americans who identify as ethnic Macedonians or Macedonian Bulgarians, and commemorate their incredible contributions to the United States.
Preserving the phrase in its current form would be a “slap in the face” of the vast majority of our Macedonian ancestors and founders and supporters of IGOs who came to the United States before World War II and identified themselves as Macedonian Bulgarians!
Please consider reformulating the resolution so that September 2022 can truly be Macedonian American Heritage Month for all Macedonians, regardless of their identity! ”
–
