Authored by Elvi Sidheri. Translation Petrit Latifi.
When we think about the Macedonian nation and language today, we inevitably face a multitude of diverse doubts, identity conflicts and contradictions that outline the existential dilemmas of the Macedonian people, in confrontation with their neighbors, mainly Greeks and Bulgarians.
Macedonian independence comes from Ohrid and Struga
While maintaining the necessary impartiality in these clashes where Albanians have no reason to become a part of the fray, I would like to emphasize that the beginnings of the idea of Macedonianism, that is, of the separate separation of the Macedonian nation and language from Mother Bulgaria, are strongly linked to several characters originating mainly from Struga and Ohrid, who would be extremely active in promoting this idea at the end of the 19th century.
Naum Evro
Four of them stood out, and one of them was a man named Naum Evro, born in Struga in 1872 (along with three of his friends, in order: Temko Popov from Ohrid, Kosta Grupce, also from Ohrid, and Vasil Karajovov), who together as students will create in the Bulgarian capital, Sofia, the “Secret Macedonian Committee” (in Macedonian “???? ??????? ????????”) in 1885.
This committee remains of particular importance for Macedonian culture, nationality and language, because through it the cultural, linguistic and national foundations for the Macedonians were laid, in stark contrast to the common roots with the Bulgarian nationality and language, until then dominant in the areas of today’s state Macedonia (North Macedonia).
Slavic Macedonianization activities continued from Belgrad
After the Bulgarian authorities discovered this Macedonianization attempt by Slavic students from the regions of Macedonia at the University of Sofia, the four members of this illegal organization would then move to Belgrade (from where they also received instructions for their assimilationist aims against the Bulgarian nationality and language, the Macedonians and their language).
In Belgrade, in 1886, Naum Evro from Struga, and his three friends, became part of the Society of Serbo-Macedonians, headquartered in Constantinople, founded and led by the Serbian ambassador and senior politician, Stojan Novakovic, the father of the Greater Serbian doctrine, and head of the Serbian Academy of Sciences.
Serbophile orientation of the new Macedonianists
The consequences of the feverish Macedonianizing activity of this group of Macedonian students, with a Serbophile orientation, would be manifold, as in 1888, in Constantinople, under the supervision of Stojan Novakovic, the Society of Serbo-Macedonians would publish the “Macedonian Primer” (in Macedonian “???????????? ??????”), in the Macedonian dialect of Bulgarian, where the foundations of the independent contemporary Macedonian language are found.
Naum Evro, after continuous efforts on behalf of the Macedonian (and Serbian) cause in Constantinople, where together with his friend, Kosta Grupce, they sent sensitizing letters to the Sublime Porte and the Great Powers, always in inseparable cooperation with the Serbian ambassador, Stojan Novakovic, then returned to Struga sick in 1888.
Evro was Albanian
Meanwhile, Evro is a highly respected surname (and family) in the city of Korça in Albania, and the prominent scion of this Korça family is the well-known athlete, holder of several records in the middle and long distances, Pavlina Evro.
Bulgarian actress Katerina Evro is of Albanian origin
To emphasize this fact even more, again in Bulgaria, we find the case of the well-known Bulgarian actress, of Albanian and Korça origin, Katerina Evro (born in 1956), who for years has been considered one of the most famous actresses and television hosts in Bulgaria.
With a Bulgarian mother and an Albanian father from Korça, as she herself reveals in the biographical book dedicated to her life entitled “Katerina Evro… and something more”, (in Bulgarian “???????? ???? …? ??? ????”) by Diljana Cenova Gogova, Katerina Evro constitutes another proof of the Albanian origin of the family with this surname, namely “Evro”.
The life story of Katerina Evro and her family, perhaps deserves another article, since the separation of her parents treacherously from the Albanian monist regime, had left her mother, Katerina and her brother Petro, separated in Bulgaria, from her father, Ilia Evro, who was forced to remarry another woman in Korça and paint walls for several years with heavy manual labor, despite his profession as a musician, only because of his previous marriage to a foreign, Bulgarian woman.
Meanwhile, another interesting character, again a member of the Evro family, this time again from Struga, is Kliment Evrov (born in 1927), a prominent anti-Yugoslav activist, member of the pro-Bulgarian VMRO, who, together with a group of students, became active in the Ohrid Gymnasium and beyond, demanding the independence of Macedonia from Yugoslavia with American support.
Kliment Evrov and his associates were discovered by the Yugoslav security services, and he was sentenced to 8 years in prison for this reason.
Kosta Grupce, Naum Evro’s closest friend, is meanwhile a scion of the large “Grupce” family from Ohrid, the son of the rebirther Angel Grupçe, who had been a close collaborator with the teacher, writer and distinguished translator Grigor Përliçev, the author of the immortal poem “Skënderbeg”, an excellent connoisseur of the Albanian language (I am also convinced that I am of Albanian origin), a supporter of Albanians, who are always inspired by his lyrical literary creations.
Kosta Grupçe will learn Greek from Grigor Përliçev in Ohrid, but from then on his activity, without hesitation, supports the Serbian goals towards Macedonia, where among other things, he will also direct the central Serbian printing house in Constantinople, aside from a host of other services to the Serbian state and politics.
Nowadays, Naum Evro, in Macedonia is widely regarded as a national renaissance man, and a man with an invaluable contribution to the formation of the independent Macedonian language and identity.
What is striking, however, is that in this Serbian-Bulgarian-Macedonian confrontation, an Albanian has left an indelible mark.
Reference
Balkan Academia 