At the beginning of the 20th century, a 7-year-old girl caused an international scandal. So big that Ivan Vazov wrote a poem in her defense. It is about his work “Pa shta si ti” and the little Vaska Zoicheva, writes poznanieto.bg.
This is an incident that took place on October 14, 1912. At that time, the Bulgarian army led successful actions against the Ottomans, and the Serbs managed to enter Macedonia first. On October 14, Serbian Crown Prince Aleksandar Karadjordjevic entered Skopje.
He is greeted by children with flowers. Among them is 7-year-old Vaska Zoicheva. Alexander decides to ask her – “Pa shta si ti” (What are you like), and she answers “Bulgarian” for which she gets slapped by the crown prince.
This incident did not go unnoticed by the Bulgarians in Skopje, who thought that they had welcomed liberators, but realized that this was not the case. The reaction is so strong that it even reaches the Bulgarian poet Ivan Vazov.
In response to this incident and a series of other acts against the Bulgarian population by our allies, he wrote the following poem:
“So what are you?”
– such a question is asked in your home by a cheeky foreigner.
“So what are you?”
– with such a curse, some stranger disturbs your soul;
“So what are you?”
– that’s a bad question
– near Drin, near Shar, near Vardar, Prespa draga
Oh, Blarino, a Serb is asking you and waiting with a sullen face for an answer.”
A black mark remains on the reputation of Aleksandar Karadjordjevic because of the scandal. Even when he became king of the KSHS (Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes), he connected with Vaska Zoicheva’s family. He offers them to go public and say that such an incident did not happen, and in the dungeon he promises them a serious sum of money. However, the Zoychev family refused this amount and maintained their position.
Of course, Ivan Vazov’s poem is not dedicated only to little Veska Zoycheva.
It is simply a symbol of all the repressions that the Bulgarians are forced to endure by their allies. The same Alexander Karadjordjevic wants to have a prayer service in the “Church of King Dushan” – as he calls the Bulgarian church in Skopje.
Here are a few more emblematic events with Bulgarians in Macedonia only within the framework of the Balkan Wars, which have been documented:
A Bulgarian was beaten because he greeted his relatives in Bulgarian when sending them to the station. (Dimche Arsov)
A Bulgarian was beaten because he was late in changing the sign on his shop from Bulgarian to Serbian. (Toma Topalov)
In April 1913, an interesting situation unfolded in Kumanovo. The Serbian authorities make all Bulgarian leaders sign a declaration that they are Serbs. They unanimously refuse, but within the next few days they all disappear without a trace.
During the celebration of the birthday of the Serbian heir to the throne on December 4, 1912 in Ohrid, the Bulgarian teacher Atanas Lutfiev raised a toast in honor of Ferdinand. Then it disappears without a trace.
Of course, this is a very small part of the information. The most emblematic is the report of Major Yosif Razsukanov from the Bulgarian army, who wrote to our military minister General Nikiforov – March 31, 1913. In this report, he tells an incident about a meeting of the Bulgarian population with the Serbian heir to the throne in the village of Brazda – near Skopje.
We quote verbatim part of his conversation with an elderly Bulgarian woman from the village:
“Prince Alexander:
– What do you wash, where are you from, what do they say to you?
Gaita Pavlova:
– Don’t you see, sir, we are from here.
– What are you?
– Bulgarian.
– What are you?
– Bulgarian, sir.
The Prince (annoyed):
– Who taught you to say that?
– I know myself, sir. That’s what we call ourselves in this village.
– I know who is teaching you, but he too, and you will understand if I hit you with that humpback (whip)!
– Turks have beaten us, so you too, if you want, beat us! I tell you what is right.”
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2023-10-09 12:31:00
#Vazovs #blood #boils #7yearold #girl
