Worldwide with Wee-Cheng #32: Thessaloniki, Greek Macedonia & Skopje, Republic of Macedonia: A Tale of Two Macedonias, Part II -

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24 June 2002

Skopje, the capital, is a run-down city of 500,000 people. It was destroyed in the great earthquake of 1963, and huge ugly complexes were built after that. After the following decades of socialist decay and the economic collapse due to the breakup of the Yugoslav Federation, everything started to fall apart. Even the famous Stone Bridge is off-bounds for repairs, for god-knows-how-long. What a pity for this historic city ,which was the birthplace of the Roman Emperor Justinian and once-capital of the great Serbian Tsar Dusan Stefan.

Even then, Skopje has its charm. 600 years of Turkish rule have left the city full of tall magical Turkish minarets in the skyline. If you step into the Old City, which is largely inhabited by local Turks and Albanians, you feel as though you are in some part of Turkey or Albania, with loud Turkish and Albanian pop music bursting out from the many cafes in its winding streets and bazaar, the latter described by Lonely Planet as the last Oriental bazaar of its kind in Europe. Across the river in New Skopje, young fashionably dressed Slavic Macedonians stroll around in its wide avenues and leafy squares. Nearby is the statue of saintly Mother Theresa, an ethnic Albanian who was born here.

With the Kosovo conflict of 1999 and the subsequent Albanian rebellion in Macedonia of summer 2001, Skopje has somehow experienced an unusual boom of sorts. The large numbers of NATO troops, UN personnel, aid agencies, EU bureaucrats, assorted diplomats, intelligence services and journalists have led to the appearance of numerous restaurants (the local Chinese and Indian restaurants have branches in Pristina too), bars, night clubs and even an Irish pub.

There are few tourists, and everyone thinks that any foreigner must belong to some international organisation. Indeed, one comes across KFOR soldiers, UN vehicles, FAO, UNICEF and so on. I have been asked so many times which organisation I belong to. One local even thought I might be from the British Army, given the slight hint of English accent after 5 years in London. They remain suspicious when I said I was a mere tourist. Hmm... he's probably a spy from somewhere. Maybe Beijing, or even Taiwanese.

Macedonia is the site of some strange intrigue of even the two Chinese states. China accused the Macedonians of treachery when the latter switched to recognition of Taiwan, after the Taiwanese offered millions in aid. China then vetoed resolutions in the UN on sending peace-keepers to Macedonia. Since then, the Macedonians have switched recognition back to China, with millions in Beijing aid replacing that of Taiwan.

Macedonia is an easy country to travel around. Most Macedonians speak English very well – like the Scandinavians – and they are open about their political views. It's interesting to hear them, but it is also depressing to notice that many believe that war will break out some time. Between 20 to 40% of the population is ethnic Albanian (exact number depending on who you believe),and since the liberation of Kosovo from Serbian oppression, many Albanians, especially those in Kosovo, believe in the establishment of a Greater Albania, including all the territories where ethnic Albanians live, i.e, southern Montenegro, Preshevo Valley in Serbia and western Macedonia. Rebellion broke out in Tetovo, one of the largest cities in Macedonia, in summer 2001, the pretext being discrimination by the majority ethnic Macedonians against the ethnic Albanians. The small Macedonian Army was ill-prepared for this insurgency and many say, would completely lose control of the situation if NATO didn't intervene. Since then, a ceasefire is in effect, although political tension remains high. According to the "Internationals" I spoke to, the large western cities of Tetovo and Goristar are today 75% Albanian, as ethnic Macedonians have fled eastwards.

I took a bus to the UNESCO-rated city of Ohrid, passing the city of Tetovo with its beautiful Alpine scenery (I remembered the scenes on UK TV showing the Albanian rebels firing on Tetovo from those mountains above this charming city). Ohrid is one of the oldest cities in the Balkans. Located on the shores of the lake bearing its name, Ohrid was the old capital of the Bulgarian Empire of Tsar Samuel and more importantly, where the Cyrillic alphabet (used in languages such as the Russian, Bulgarian, Serbian, Macedonian, Ukrainian and Belarusian) was invented by the Slavic saints, Cyril and Methodius.

Ohrid is also famous for the amazing frescoes in its churches – 40 altogether, but there used to be 365, one for each day of the year. Brightly coloured frescoes, some dating back to the 10th century, adorned its many churches.

For US$10, I rented a room from retired professor Kirste, his wife Olga and jobless son Mitko. The collapse of the former Yugoslav states had a dramatic impact on the lives of its citizens. My many Macedonian friends lament the good old days under Josip Tito, the strongman who tolerated no racism and ethnic chauvinism. Those were the days when Yugoslav citizens needed no visas to visit the world, apart from Australia and the USA. Now they can't even step into neighbouring states. The loss of traditional markets and political instability has destroyed prospects of economic growth. After 10 years of warfare, many wondered if only the political class have benefited from all these, especially when so many in this group have become rich from smuggling, private deals and privatisation.

It was also in Ohrid, when I met a pretty local model, J., with whom I had a romantic evening walking along the banks of beautiful Lake Ohrid, with the lit-up citadel of Tsar Samuel in the background. "Bring me to Skopje, maybe out of this hopeless land," J. said in semi-jest, the miserably high unemployment rates meaning that J has few assignments. The meeting of foreigners, most of whom associated with international organisations, do bring some obscure hopes of a better future. Sometimes I wonder about how lives can be different for people in different lands. A twist of fate at birth and different fates...

This is a very sad thing for such a proud and hospitable people, be it ethnic Macedonians, Albanians or Turks. I have met so many friendly people who have bought me drinks and shown me around, despite the state of affairs. I love this country and I wish them luck in resolving their political issues and moving forward in a brave new world.

After two days in Ohrid, I am back in Skopje. In a few hours' time, I will be hopping on an overnight bus to Belgrade, capital of Serbia and the soon-to-be-abolished Yugoslav Federation (to be renamed Serbia and Montenegro, which would be a very loose form of confederation that nobody knows would last how long).


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