Bosnian turmoil

Twenty years after Dayton – time for revision?

The Bosnian EU accession process has been blocked for several years now. A key role in this has played the 2009 ruling of the European Court of Human Rights (ECHR), which stipulated that the Bosnian constitution is discriminating against some of its citizens with regard to holding certain electoral posts.

However, the court ruling is now six years old, and no real progress has been made aligning the constitution ever since. In the meantime, the ruling has blocked Bosnia’s signing of the Stabilization and Association Agreement, which otherwise would have kicked off Bosnia’s EU accession process six years ago.

In consequence, we’re now hearing more and more voices suggesting that the ruling is now doing more harm than good. Or, rephrase: For how very important the ruling is, we need to find a way to re-launch the EU accession process anyways, despite, or in parallel with (non-) implementation of the ruling. The situation on the ground is dire and both the EU and Bosnia can’t afford to waste any more time.

The Anglo-German initiative to re-energize EU accession in the Western Balkans at the Balkan Summit in Berlin last August clearly went along with that vision. The recent visit of German and British Foreign Affairs ministers Steinmeier and Hammond to Bosnia corroborated the Anglo-German resolve to re-launch the process in Bosnia. And the adoption of the initiative by the EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs Federica Mogherini and the EU Foreign Affairs Council in November 2014 turned the initiative into the new EU strategy for Bosnia.

However, how deeply will this affect things? Will this really break through the deadlock?

At a recent event at the Madariaga Institute, director of CERI at professor at Sciences politiques (Paris) Jacques Rupnik and former EU Special Representative/Head of the EU Delegation to Macedonia Erwan Fouéré expressed their genuine concern over the current situation in the country.

According to Fouéré, “the situation in BiH is very serious and we’re all underestimating the dangers.” And: “The fire brigades come in only when the fire’s broken out, and it’s as if we’re all waiting for a calamity to fall upon us.”

The most serious problems in Bosnia today is, he says, “corruption, corruption, corruption”. And, to some lesser extent, political interference of the judiciary and government control of the media. These are the issues that need to be addressed most urgently, he affirms.

Rupnik reminds us of how “Bosnia is the basket case” and “the one Balkans country that is not moving anywhere”. And of how Bosnia’s last EU progress report should have been called the non-progress report. Fouéré points to the necessity of reassessing the EU’s progress reporting system which, he says, has become far too bureaucratic.

Fouéré says with regard to the Anglo-German initiative that “the only danger here will be that it would only go so far” and focus on the socio-economic aspects only, and not address the deeply entrenched issues of corruption and ethno-nationalist politics beyond that. “What we would really need is a fundamental constitutional debate, which could take the form of a constitutional convention”, he asserts.

Fouéré goes on to say that “the EU is very often far too quiet and weak in its reactions with regard to the Balkans”, and that this has caused it to lose leverage and credibility among many local actors.
“We need a much stronger hand. The local nationalists are benefiting from this limbo situation. The focus of the EU must be much more dynamic, the reaction much stronger,” he concludes.

In autumn this year, it will be 20 years since the signing of the Dayton Peace Agreement, and the adoption of the now-so-contested Bosnian constitution. “Maybe this is a good moment for revision”, both Fouéré and Rupnik agree. Ideally, there would be a revision of the Dayton Peace Agreement (which the constitution is still part of), the constitution itself, and the priorities of EU progress reporting.

Palisraelian Symphony

Israelis and Palestinians speak with one voice in the European Parliament

We don’t often hear Israelis and Palestinians speak with one voice. Let alone in parliament, let alone in the European Parliament. And yet, that’s exactly what happened the other day.

Earlier in November 2014, Israeli parliamentarian Nitzan Horowitz, representing the pro-peace wing in the Israeli Knesset, and his colleague Dr Abdullah Abdullah, seasoned diplomat and head of the Palestinian Legislative Council’s political committee, spoke with one voice. To the point of note-taking journalists not knowing who said what anymore – because it was so identical. Although they didn’t agree on everything, they did agree on the necessity of a compromise, and on the substance of that compromise. Horowitz and Abdullah were accompanied by a colourful ensemble of other Israelis and Palestinians, many representing civil society organisations, who added their own Alto and Tenor voices to the Horowitz-Abdullah duo, to create one harmonious Palisraelian symphony. And giving us a glimpse of what life could be like if there were peace in the Middle East.

The main theme of that symphony was their wholehearted request to European Union law- and decision-makers to assist them in convincing the Israeli government of the need to reconsider the Arab Peace Initiative, or something very much resembling it, as a basis for lasting peace and prosperity for Jewish and Arabs alike.

Arab Peace Initiative

To reconsider the what? Hand on heart, have you heard of the Arab Peace Initiative (API) before? If you have, chances are you’re either a fan of the region, or you work in international development. If you hadn’t, no worries, you’re just mainstream. Should you have? Well, the API remains the single most significant and comprehensive peace initiative launched 12 years ago by 22 Arab heads of state, to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

And yet, no one is talking about it.

And that is the problem Horowitz, Abdullah and their colleagues were trying to address at the event on 13 November. To their minds, whilst western governments have welcomed the initiative in principle, and many of them even adopted it as part of their Middle Eastern policy, EU and other leaders haven’t been actively promoting it on the international stage, let alone with their Israeli counterparts. And that, they say, has to change if the world wants to see change in the Middle East.

“The only good idea”

Titled “Towards a comprehensive Middle East peace: Is the Arab Peace Initiative still a relevant basis?”, the conference was hosted by Sinn Fein MEP and Chair of the EP Delegation
to the Palestinian Legislative Council (D-PLC) Martina Anderson, and co-organised by a range of civil society organisations. Those included the Jerusalem-based Center for Democracy and Community Development, the Beersheva-based Negev Institute for Peace and Development (AJEEC-NISPED)and PAX from the Netherlands.

And the unequivocal answer to the question asked in the conference title, flowing forth from all sides of the hall, was a big resounding Yes.

Horowitz took a firm stand when he said “this initiative is a good idea. It’s the only good idea.” Vivian Silver, Board Member of the Negev Institute for Peace and
Development (AJEEC-NISPED) said, if not endorsed, the API would become “an enormous colossal missed opportunity of unheard of proportions.” And she adds: ”We do not accept the narrative that we’ve been fed by the Israeli government that there are no partners for peace.”

Bit of background

The Arab Peace Initiative was first proposed in 2002, at the Beirut Summit of the Arab League by then-Crown Prince, King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, and unanimously adopted by all 22 Arab League members. It was then re-endorsed at the Riyadh Summit in 2007, and again at more recent summits after the Arab spring. The initiative aims at ending the Arab–Israeli conflict, and offers Israel a normalization of relations with all 22 Arab countries, in exchange for a complete withdrawal from the occupied territories, based on the pre-1967
armistice lines. It furthermore allows for the option of negotiated land swaps and a “just” and mutually “agreed” compromise solution to the Palestinian refugee problem.

The API has been accepted by the EU, the UN, the Quartet, and, more recently also by the US as a possible basis of their Middle East policy. And, just a few weeks ago, “in what appears to be the largest-ever joint protest by senior Israeli security personnel, a group of 106 retired army generals, Mossad directors and national police commissioners” have followed course. As Israeli daily Haaretz informs us, the 106 Israelis have signed a letter to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu urging him to “initiate a diplomatic process” based on a regional framework for peace with the Palestinians, thereby referring to the API (Haaretz, 3 November 2014).

Lack of leadership

And yet, and spectacularly so, ordinary Israelis “are not aware of the initiative”, says Horowitz. Mainly because successive Israeli governments have at best rejected it, and, at worst, outright ignored it. Significantly, the main message of those recent signatories was that Israel has “the strength and the means to reach a two-state solution that doesn’t entail a security risk,” and that it hadn’t managed to reach an agreement yet because of “weak leadership.”

And that lack of leadership is the gap that Horowitz, Abdullah and their colleagues want the EU to plug. Or, to kick-start plugging. Until the Initiative takes on a life of its own, and the Israeli leadership takes over.

“The EU’s role is to help the Israeli government and press explain things to the Israeli citizens,” maintains Horowitz, adding that such interventions would fall onto
fertile ground. “The Israeli population wants peace as much as everybody else”, but they are not aware of their options. “People don’t know. They need to be told.” And: “we’ve seen in the past that whenever there’s been political will, the general public has gone along.”

Vivian Silver speaks of polls according to which 76% of the Israeli population would actually be ready to accept a solution based on the API if adequately explained. “If only the government were leading, the general public would follow,“ she concludes.

No longer just an Arab initiative

All participants want greater EU involvement. “We, Israelis and Palestinians, are here to ask you, the EU, to support us to bring the API back onto the table, as we can do that only with outside help,” says Vivian Silver. “Please don’t be just spectators from the side, but please get involved,” says Nitzan Horowitz. And he even tells us how we could do that: “Join the API talks, and nominate an EU facilitator!”

All participants want a regional approach. “The API is no longer just a Middle Eastern or Arab initiative. It is now an international initiative”, says Walid Saleem, director of the Center for Democracy and Community Development in Jerusalem.

“The API is the only solution, now that the bilateral track is blocked” and, to overcome this impasse, “we need a regional approach including our Arab neighbours, the EU and the US”, concludes Horowitz.

Urgency

And there is this sense of urgency. “We don’t have the luxury of time anymore,” say Ashraf Khatib and Omar Shihabi from the Palestinian Negotiation Affairs Unit. “The occupation has lasted 47 years and we demand its end now,” they affirm.

“This initiative will not be on the table forever,” says Horowitz. “Especially if we’re now entering a period of time of increased violence again.” And, not seizing the moment would be “a tragic missed opportunity of historical proportions,” he adds.

According to Abdullah, a seasoned diplomat who fondly remembers his childhood days in pre-1948 Jerusalem, “we’re now at a crossroads. The status quo is not an option; it keeps everyone in fear, despair and frustration. We need a third party to convince the Israeli government to partner with us. – For all of us. And we have to act now before the momentum is lost.”

Maj. Gen. (res.) Amnon Reshef, the former Armored Corps commander who initiated the letter signed by the 106 Israeli army generals, told Israeli dailyYedioth Ahronoth that he was “tired of a reality of rounds of fighting every few years, instead of a genuine effort to adopt the Saudi initiative.”

Opportunity

Talking about momentum, Horowitz maintains that “there may be a window of opportunity in Israel soon.” He goes on to explain that “it is quite possible that there will
be early elections leading to the formation of a pro-peace government.” And, “once this happens, we will need your help in a more vigorous way!”

Christian Berger, Head of the EEAS Directorate for North Africa and the Middle East, sees another opportunity in the emergence of ISIS, which, he says,
provides Israelis and other nations in the region with a common enemy. This, he stresses, “could be a huge opportunity to form new alliances, and give new
impetus to the API.” Others echo this and say that this new situation “may well facilitate dialogue and negotiations between Israel and its neighbours.”

Last, but not least, there’s Federica Mogherini, the new EU High Representative for Foreign Affairs and Security Policy who has made
it her personal challenge to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict by the end of her mandate. That gives us five years. That means that we should start now.

When, if not now?

Marina Anderson MEP concludes the conference by saying that “the definition of insanity is to do the same thing over and over again, and expecting a different outcome,” suggesting that the Israeli government, and the world, should try something new now.

Emphasizing that this should all be embedded within a regionally or even globally-backed security framework, which would safeguard the rights of all sides. “We either win together, or we lose together”, she concludes.

Abdullah offered a view of a brighter future: “I’m a Jerusalemite. And I still remember how, as a boy, in the 1930s, I would switch off the lights for my Jewish neighbours on Friday nights when they were celebrating Shabbat. We all helped each other. And we could go back to that.”

And musing over that possibility, as if he clearly saw it in his inner eye, he reaffirmed that “Yes, that can come again. When the Israeli feels that he is free from
fear. And when the Palestinian feels that he is free from occupation.”

Shorter version republished by Cafe Babel

(Little titbit from Larisa 2)

larisa train station

just for your info and those who got worried after ast night’s post: well, as it was already 19:00 when i posted it and as in greece it’s pitchdark by 20:30, i decided to take it easy (yes, for a change) and to stay in larisa for the night. i asked the nice guy in the cafe, and was told that there’s a cheap hostel near the train station, which was where i had just come from, (and which was all i’d ever see of larisa btw, and good enough).

and off i went, and within 20 mins, literally, i had paid 20 euros (!), had put my bags inside a very small, but cosy room, and was shmoozing with the owner’s baby son vassilis, with the owner (kiki) telling him (with a glance at my ID) that “this is isabella”.
those were friends quickly made. some things just come easy.

kafeneio kourbeti

i nevertheless couldn’t just go straight to sleep (too much caffeine in my bloodstream), and went for a leisurely walk around larisa train station instead. reminded me a bit of le quartier leopold; about 5 or 6 cafes arranged around the station with men watching a basketball game, all the same game, greece vs serbia, with a guy called bogdan bogdanovic featuring prominently.

i found a lovely kafeneio among those 5 cafes, called kourbeti, the greek answer to the french bistrot, where one can eat little bits and bobs, like meze, but not only, in a traditional and cosy atmosphere. i talked to the people running it, andreas and effi, ate a divine portion of redbeet salad (omg, with garlic and cream, ein gedicht), listened to music played by a group called “beirut” as andreas informed me, and really indulged in the somewhat mythical vibe that ran through the place.

good things come easy

all in all – a lovely ending to a difficult day. i felt blessed and reassured. and i thought of what (new best friend) marianthi had just told me the day before: “the big things in life, the important things, and those that have been really good for me, have just come by themselves, and i didnt have to do much about it, or invest much energy into it…”

and well, although not “a big thing”, this little evening in a scenery that was so very different from last night’s felt to me like it was meant to come my way as well, and all that without me having to do anything, but to recognize it, and accept it! (as opposed to having insisted on cycling on last night, into the darkness again, trying to stick to my principles and maybe saving 20 euros).

and now its the morning after, and i just had a freshly pressed orange juice and a wholewheat cheese pastry, and all that for just 3 euros (larisa prices!), and now it’s (really!) time to go look up that place sikourio and nesonas and…. find the biketour!!!!!

ive been missing my tribe!!!!

xxx

(Little titbit from Larisa)

halkidiki

after two rather lonely days finishing (the official, edited and flawless part of) this blog on the first leg of halkidiki, i finally (!!!!) arrived, in thunder and lightning, in vourvourou (on the second leg of halkidiki) where i managed to locate nikos’ sister angeliki, over a longdrink at a beach bar surrounded by a group of amsterdam-based greek people who certainly managed to make us laugh for the next few hours.
it was lovely, and the ensuing days in and around vourvourou were lovely, too.
special mention deserves the day in kriaritsou! OMG, i highly recommend that place. with a view on mount atos, and a team of crazy greek amsterdammers around you if you can manage that.

next was a busride back to thessaloniki. thessaloniki is somehow sticky, i dont seem to be able to ever get away from it!!! 

(back in) thessaloniki

i arrived in thessaloniki late, found myself having to make an awful late night bikeride from some dodgy far-away busstation to the centre, and finally (after 45 minutes of trauma and fear of getting hit by a car) paused at the quai, the lungomare, near “my” pirate ships where people were playing rebetika music. i literally (almost) passed out there, dropped my bike and grabbed a chair, half sitting, half hanging, just taking in the wailing rebetika, and the fact that i was still alive. 

by that time it was about 22:45 and i still had no idea where to sleep, but somehow didnt care much about anything. until suddenly my phone beeped and i got a text saying that the hostel i had had in mind for that night was (hopelessly) booked up and so were all other hostels and the cheapest accommodation to be found in the city for that night would “start at 70 euros”.

laugh or cry? i somehow didnt even realise what they meant, just got up, and figured i’d go for a a bit of a bikeride to check things out more closely…
when two people sitting right before me stopped me and asked me where i was from, and next thing i knew, offered me to stay in their spare appartment for the night!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

and no, they werent after my organs, or planning to traffic me to ukraine, or elsewhere!!! they were just HELPING!!!!!!!!!!!!!! what followed was a walk to the flat, a wonderfully restful night there, and then a breakfast which ended up lasting until 16:00 in the afternoon when marianthi (my new best friend), her partner and i finally parted and i managed to take another bus (God, those buses) out of thessaloniki again, this time down the other side, down south towards volos – and leave this city behind me – for good i hope, because my experiences here have been somehow mixed…!

but marianthi and her partner have been a definite highlight!

katerini

last night i arrived in a place called katerini, where i (leisurely) lit a candle at the local church, and enjoyed things for about 20 mins until i started looking for a cheap hostel, LOL, just to hear that there was NOTHING at all, no accommodation anywhere, not even for 50 euros (!), and that i had to ride an extra ten kms to an ugly place called paralia to find a bed.

which i did – through thunder and lightning again – quite scary this time actually, everything got wet, and by the time i checked into an (ugly and unfriendly) hotel, it was 23:00!!!! ot a nice experience!
katerini and paralia – thumbs down.

this morning: cycled back from paralia to katerini (yes, more paralia and katerini), in the rain, with my stuff just barely dried over night, and my feet wrapped into two plastic bags which i then stuck into my (still dropping wet) tennishoes.
leopard print btw; think i set a new trend.

got to the busstop eventually just to learn i should take a train.
and once i sat on the train to larisa, i felt like i had survived a bit of a nightmare.

good, turn the page. a new start.

biketour part 2 has begun.

we’re heading south now!
hoping to find the biketour in a place called nesonas near sikouria tonight.

hugs!

i.

7. Flow

Dearest friends,

This will be my last longer post.

I’ve been on the road for one month now and I’ve managed to put out seven blog entries so far only, each one of which has cost me a good chunk of a day. To get the logistics running and to finetune it at the end takes so much more time and energy in a place that is not your own, with your laptop’s battery low, no electricty around, and Greek hiphop blasting out of loudspeakers right above your head. Add to that another seven days spent doing other things online, my emails, my admin, various other – plus the two days on the bus at the start – and you have about 50% of my time away so far spent not exactly relaxing, but rather locked up in internet cafes, working hard.

It’s been a good experiment, but it needs to stop now.
I really intend to spend the rest of my time here really switching off – and… shifting dimensions. And getting into a bit of a… flow.
And I’ve felt that with every sitting-myself-down and analysing-my-time-here, I’ve drifted further away from that.

I will be in touch with the occasional titbit, or sign of life, and maybe also add the odd photograph or two – and that although I’ve lost – for the second time (???) – the charger of my camera, and I may therefore not be able to make as many pics as I would have liked to.

But with some luck, you’ll still get a taste of where I am and what I’m up to.

A few more words to conclude:

Ecotopia Biketour Season has been great so far, and I continue to warmly recommend it to everyone.

The cycling itself has been much easier than anticipated. I must have gotten much fitter these pas two years, and I found myself even doing “the scouting” (being the first of the group, marking the way for the others) on several days.

The activism has been great as well. We’ve visited a number of amazing projects so far, including a chestnut farm in a place called Kastaneri (Paikos mountain region) run by the charming Danos & Magia, an organic tomato farm in Xifiani (other side of Paikos mountain, where we picked tomatoes under the blazing sun), the Perka project in Thessaloniki (gardening and other), Skurries (trying to prevent goldmining on Halkidiki) and Viome, the occupied factory where workers have organised themselves to both guard the premises, continue the production, and sell it to a network of buyers all around Europe. The solidarity shown within and between some of those initiatives has truly been impressive, and it’s been really very, ver nice to see that there (maybe???) really (???) is another way of doing things – AND to be (a small) part of that!

The group has been good although, with a very few exceptions, much younger than myself. I had not felt that way on any other biketour before. Must be that I’ve gotten both much fitter and much older those past two years. Maar het valt toch wel mee. Mainly thanks to Koen, Barry and Hughes, my “older men” (two of which are actually younger than me), who’ve kind of balance things out again.

As for getting the balance right between being with the group, and doing my own thing – that’s worked out perfectly well, too. Even better than expected. And not least thanks to Ivo who generously let me stay at the AKSC in Skoplje for ten days in a row, and thanks to Koen who had the (brilliant) idea to chill out in the biketour flat in Thessaloniki for a while. Last, but not least, there’s Nikos’ sister Angeliki who has agreed to host me at her family home on Halkidiki for a day or two or three, and I’m really looking forward to that.

What else?
The new tent’s been great, the bike’s been really wonderful, and I’ve even managed to eat healthily. And I’ve done a lot of chanting; I’ve always found a moment and quiet space to squeeze it in.

On the downside, I’ve been stressing about this blog (yes, believe it or not, and I think most bloggers would, but few would actually tell; now here’s a piece of insight).
And, I’ve felt lonely at times, despite my “older men” and the many lovely moments with so many wonderful people!

All in all: I’m still in love with the Balkans, and with Greece, and the sunshine of the Mediterranean, and cycling, and Ecotopia Biketour (Season), and I just need to let go of that Brussels connection right now for a little while – and float away for a bit…

… to be back when the time is right.

I thank you for all your interest so far – it’s been great!

And I’m looking forward to seeing you all again upon my return!

Big hug from Halkidiki!
(…about half-time and half-way…
It’s been exactly one month tonight that Koen and I stepped out of that Belgian bus and onto Macedonian soil!)

Isabella

 

 

(Little titbit from Halkidiki)

… or from hotel istion to be precise…
a luxury hotel built in the 60s, or early 70s…
funny, it felt like ive been here before… weird…
i walked up from a noisy commercial all inclusive resort called portes, to suddenly find myself in the lobby of this hotel, which is deserted, quiet, grandiose – an purrrfect for finishing up this blog!

took today’s day to get it done and over with!
and out!
and then focus on something else!

so, here i am with an (overpriced) luxury frappe, some chocolate in my bag (which i’m snacking on when the waiter aint watching, and he never is), my laptop, and the knowledge that it’s really 1st september, that’s it’s been a month (!), and that as of tonight, i’ll be somewhere else!

fyi, i cycled (all on my own, so proud!) all the way from thessaloniki to a place called nea kalikratia two days ago,
then found a lovely campsite called aigias where i put up my new tent (for the first time, so proud again!!!),
to continue cycling yesterday, to a place called nea moudania where i found another lovely campsite campsite called ouzouni where i spent a second night (in my wonderful new tent, and by now the putting-it-up thing was almost routine!),
to find myself spending an extravagant hour in the crystal clear water and the beach this morning (yes, so cliche; think of those images of tropical islands, just take out the palmtrees)!
my first real beach morning – previous beach moments where afternoons on 2d class beach neo epivates – which were indeed nothing to be compared to… THIS!

feels like one month into my big fat greek macedonian adventure – i have finally – arrived!!

hugs!

My Big Fat Greek (& Macedonian) Adventures

A few impressions of My Big Fat Greek (and Macedonian) adventures this Summer…
Happy reading (and you can click through from one post to the next one)!

1. Ecotopia Biketour Season 2014
2. Eurolines: Getting There in Style
3. Transit in Skopje: Getting Ready for Take-off
4. Mission Find-A-Bike
5. Macedonian Disneyland
6. This side and that side of the Border
7. Flow

and…

(Little titbit from Goumenissa)
(Little titbit from Thessaloniki 1)
(Little titbit from Thessaloniki 2)
(Little titbit from Halkidiki)
Little titbit from Larisa
Little titbit from Larisa 2

(Little titbit from Thessaloniki 2)

still in thessaloniki, i moved into flat of biketour organisers for a few days, in the very city centre, a change from the somewhat squallid location of the project in the outskirts of the city where we were lodging previously.

so, now i have a bed again (wow!), and a shower, and electricity and other extravagancies like a fridge and the proximity to the port, where there’s a most delightful little ferry going straight to a beach called neo epivates, which everyone tells me is “nothing much”, but which i’ve come to love, mainly for the 50 minute ferryride to get there and back, and the free beach chairs (you just pay for a drink) right by the beautifully placid and clear water.

agreed, a bit further there is also some garbage and algae and screaming greek children (“the ukrainians and russians are not coming this year, and the western europeans all go to the nicer beaches at halkidiki”), so it’s a bit like the backyard beach for thessalonikians who can’t go on holiday anywhere else, but well, i am one of them right now, and thoroughly enjoying it.

my first real beach experience this year – and that when the summer is almost over. reports of 12 and 16 degrees in belgium and germany are reaching me via email, and i’m so very grateful to still be snug here in my 33 degree bubble. 

(Little titbit from Thessaloniki 1)

greetings from a noisy cafe in thessaloniki!
i’m on plateia aristotelous, in the very city centre!
next to me a frappe, the all greek must-have-every-day summer drink, aka coffee with ice and milk and sugar, all whipped up and creamy and delicious!

i had a spanakopita and a pomegranate juice this morning and then sought refuge in this cafe, called izzy (nomen est omen!), where i recharged my phone, and my camera, and then had a go at my email, which made me feel like i’m somewhat connected to the rest of the world again.

the last few days have been great, the shifting dimensions thing has started to happen.
we’re taking a 4 day break at a local gardening project called perka right now, in an ancient military base on a hill, at a 30 mins in bikeride from the city centre, over large highway-like streets crammed with bad and bike-un-friendly drivers. but thats ok; i already got used to it, (and am cycling around thessaloniki (almost) like its my own town, lol).

i’ll now go and check out hagia theodora and hagia sofia (streets), near tsimiski (street), where i’m supposed to find a camping shop where i intend to buy myself a (proper) tent, and a torch, which i’ve been missing these past few weeks. the days of sleeping in a tent with (gay) jaime from “e-spain”  and his three-weeks old stray cat strudel apollo sanchez will be over and (i will be missing them, but) it’s time to get (even more) organised.

it’s 33 degrees! 

6. This side and that side of the Border

Macedonian Dilemma

I used to think the Greeks were overdoing it a bit with that Macedonian name issue and their non-recognition of the fledgling young little state of (formerly the Yugoslav Republic of) Macedonia. I used to think they were making it difficult and claiming for no good reason that “FYROM” or “Skoplje” was laying claim on parts of  Greek territory where all they wanted was keep their own name.

I no longer think that way now. Mind you, I (still) don’t think that Skoplje is really laying claim on Greek territory, or that it wants to create a Greater Macedonia. And I do think that they should be allowed to call themselves “Macedonia” (as they have for many decades; just that they weren’t an independent country then). However, I also think that they’ve now become overly assertive to say the least, and although much of this is probably aimed at securing the awe and the votes of their own population, it’s nevertheless not pleasant to see for the Greeks.

 Chicken and egg?

Now, one could argue that this Macedonian over-assertiveness is a reaction to two decades of Greek adversity, and that might even be true (?). Having said that, it seems to me that in any case, the Macedonians have gone overboard now, or should I say gone off on the wrong path. A path that more and more resembles the path of nationalism, both aimed at trumping and outsmarting the Greek, and at shutting out the Albanians in its pompous and bombastic display of Macedonian nationhood.

But I resolved I would enjoy myself all the same. Nationalism or not, I wouldn’t let it spoil my experience. After all, this blog is called “Walking on Common Ground”, so I figured I’d find what keeps us all together rather than focusing on the differences.

Good moments

And indeed, I enjoyed Skoplje like I’ve always done. I enjoyed strolling from the new town to the Albanian parts in the Old Town. I liked lighting a candle at St Clement’s church, speaking with the imam of Alipashina Mosque, and chanting on top of Kale fortress.

I also enjoyed hanging out with the AKSC crowd and watching an old Macedonian/Yugoslav classic called Tetovaza. As a matter of fact, I wish I had hung out with the AKSC people more; they seemed to be genuinely inclusive and open-hearted. And I enjoyed eating telecu corbu, pecene paprike and sopska salata in a tiny little “restaurant” in the old Town. Or shall I say dining hall (all they had were three dishes, delicious dishes that is, and I ordered all three and spent about 4 euros) and I ordered those. The place was called Sarajevo and seemed to be owned by someone who had lived in Sarajevo, and who was, I think, actually Bosnian.

Other heart-warming moments included my finding a good old-fashioned shoemaker/repairshop who agreed to repair my flipflops for a mere 3 euros. And then thre was the brief but restoring encounter with the quiet young man in his photoshop who managed to finally find me a new cable for my camera. And last, but not least, Nikolina, the leopard-leggings-wearing overweight woman who have me a pedicure, nail polishing included, for a mere 5 euros, on her balcony.

Dojran

And then one day, my Skoplje time was up and I put my bike on a bus to Lake Dojran on the Macedonian/Greek border, got off at the other side, got onto my bike and cycled across the border. Just like that – and I was in Greece. Almost too easy.

A few observations from the border region:

The girl in a hotel on the Macedonian side of Lake Dojran where I bought a bottle of water spoke fluent Greek, which she claimed she had learned from magazines and on tv – “just because I love Greece so much”.

Second, the Greek border guard conversed with the tourist from Belgrade before me in almost flawless Serbian. Or Macedonian, or call it whatever you like, but it was clearly Slavic, with that adorable Greek lilt, but still very good. (And the Serbian tourist was clearly delighted; the Serbs and Greeks have a long-standing lovestory.)

Third, another Greek border guard asked me what passport I carried and when I said “Alemania”, I could have sworn that he raised his eyebrow. And then gave me a patronising smile, as if to say “you know we don’t really like guys right now and we have good reason not to, but hey, you’re just a girl on a bike, and I’ll be a nice guy today”. But I could have of course made that up.

Happy to be Greek

Fourth, even before I had officially entered Greece, somewhere in no man’s land, there was a little old church and a large billboard announcing how that church had been dedicated to St… who had “brought culture and civilization to the Slavic tribes residing in the area”. Or something along these lines. Just to remind everyone: The Greek were cultured and civilised when the rest of the world was still primitive and tribal.

But that was the first and the last incidence of anything resembling Greek nationalism that I encountered. (Not to mention the car with a huge Golden Dawn flag riding through a village called Kali, but that was a one-off, I hope, and another story). Not even in Pella, the birthplace of Alexander the Great, which we passed a few days later, there was any nationalism in the air. As a matter of fact, the statue of Alexander the Great in Pella was straight out tiny compared to the bombastic one on the main square in Skoplje, and the main focus there seemed to an archeological excavation site rather than the statue itself.

Happy to speak Macedonian

Generally speaking, everyone I spoke to in Greek Macedonia had nothing but good things to say about “Skoplje” or even “Slavic Macedonia” or just “Macedonia”, and many of the older people actually prided themselves in speaking the language. So the border guards were no exception. It seems like in the old days, people would simply learn each other’s language. Rather than learning English, the Greeks would learn Macedonian and the other way around. And trade across the border, intermarry, live in peace. Which might have been much more effective for the local economies than learning English and how to work with computers.

One particularly nice encounter took place in a place called Goumenissa, a small town at about 60 kms from the border, where the biketour took a one-day break, and I took a break from the biketour. I sat myself down in a local Ouzeria, ordered a freshly squeezed orange juice and got a small plate of delicious mezze, for an astonishing one euro. Macedonian prices. Plus the orange juice ended up being paid for by the old men sitting at the table next door so I got the whole thing for free.

Walking on Common Ground

But what was truly remarkable in that little place was that the owner Chistos had a wife – called – Velika. Which was clearly Slavic. And while Christos spoke very good German (many Greeks from that region had been Gastarbeiters in Germany), Velika spoke Greek, but neither German nor English nor French or Italian and I had almost resigned myself to not being able to communicate with her – until I heard her name.

We then spent the next hour together, chatting in Macedonian and Serbian, about her life and her husband’s life and the lives of the old men in front of us, and the whole Macedonian dilemma. And what she said was that while the politicians from both sides see only their own point of view, she and her husband and all the people from here see both points of view, and therefore understand things much better.

She explained that Christos also spoke Macedonian as his mother is Macedonian, yes, from this region, this side or that side of the border – it didn’t seem to matter much; it’s one region after all. Called Macedonia. Yohoo. Walking on Common Grond.

Her two little sons, 8 year old Vasillis and 1 year old Achileas, are learning both languages whilst, unfortunatelty, a lot of younger people nowadays no longer bother to do the same, which is a pity, but, as Velika suggested, a trend that could also still be reversed.

Dekapedavgustos: Christmas in the summer

Goumenissa treated me well. Whilst I was hopping from cafe to cafe, frappe to frappe and internet connection to internet connection, little Vassilis would follow me, and spot me here or there, introduce me to his friend Dimitris, and greet me with many a cheery “Yasou Isabella”, which by the time it was 18:00 made me feel like I was a native of the town.

It was the 15th August, and after 20:00, the preparations for Dekapedavgustos, the Greek Ferragosto, a major religious celebration, were starting to happen. People gathered on the two main squares, along long tables and around food and drink and some folk music – one beautiful popular celebration – Christmas in the summer as Vera, one of the biketour’s Greek participants cared to explain to the rest of the group.

Alongside some of the local people, I also visited a local church that night and lit a candle, and watched people write down the names of their loved ones that they wanted to be reached by other people’s prayers. And guess what, after a while I did the same, and I wrote down more names than anyone of them. After all, I had 40 years to catch up on.

That night I actually had yet another memorable experience. Memorable being an understatement. On my way back to the campsite that night, I saw a falling star, complete with a tail worthy of the nativity story. A first in my life; i had never seen such a thing ever before. And it just lasted for a split second, plus the person I was walking with didnt see it, but I know what I saw. And the timing was right – Christmas in the summer.

I did make a wish – of course -, and I’m somehow confident that it will come true – almost as if it already happened. I’ll tell you when it’ll have happened for real.