I posted this web page around the same time last year in the hopes that it would shed some light on the philosophy and beliefs of the "Vevi organization" and what the forced Greek occupation of Aegean Macedonian really meant. It's not that Macedonians deny their existence in a country called Greece, or that they have ethnic-Greek neighbours but to explain to the world that Macedonians were in Aegean Macedonia (Northern Greece) first, and that we are not ethnic Greeks - but a distinct cultural civilization different from that of the Ancient and Modern-day Greeks.

I had originally posted the names and advertisers in this calendar no so much as a "blacklist" as some people referred to it as, but simply a wakeup call ... if you want to associate yourself with such an organization, be sure you know what it's beliefs and goals are - both culturally and politically.

A year has passed and I've received a lot of praise and a lot of criticism - from friends and family as well as complete strangers. Hopefully the message has been made clear and I believe it has now come time to take the list of names down. The information that was previously posted was not compiled by myself, it was whatever was already in the calendar - publically available information.

As of today I haven't seen or heard of a 2003 edition of the calendar. Perhaps the message that Macedonians were in Banitsa first was made clear. Now we can only hope those inhabitants of Banitsa today can freely express themselves in the Macedonian language and culture without the fear of being persecuted or singled out from the rest of the Greek citizens in Aegean Macedonia.

The "Allilovoithiticos Syllogos Vevis and Ladies Society" of Toronto, Canada has just released a 2002 calendar. In addition to the monthly calendar is advertising from various sponsors. It seems that these sponsors support an organization that is based on a history of denial and suppression of the original ethnic Macedonian population of the village Banitsa.

Many of the members of this organization and others like it are ethnically Macedonian. "If they are Macedonian, why do they belong to a Greek society" you ask? That is a difficult question to answer but I will provide some background information for those who are unaware of the situation.

Macedonia is generally referred to as a region in the Balkans, an area of southern Europe east of Italy, and west of Turkey. In present-day geographic terms, Macedonia consists of a portion of eastern Albania, the south-west portion of Bulgaria (called Pirin Macedonia), the Republic of Macedonia (called Vardar Macedonia) which was a part of Yugoslavia, and practically the entire northern portion of Greece (called Aegean Macedonia). This region consists of a vast collection of different ethnic groups along with religious faiths as is common with many regions and countries. The most predominant ethnic group is Macedonian. They speak their own language, they practice their own culture, they have their own folklore.

From approximately 1300 AD to the early parts of the 1900s a major portion of south-eastern Europe was occupied under the Ottoman Empire.

As the Ottoman stranglehold into eastern Europe was diminishing, the Greeks decided it was time to rebel against the Ottoman Turks to create an independent Greece. The result was the Greek War of Independence 1821 - 1832. After years of fighting the greater European powers assisted in creating a Greek state. As such the autonomous Republic of Greece was created, although it's northern boundaries did not include Aegean Macedonia.

It wasn't until the struggles of the First Balkan War in the early 1900s that Greece began to occupy Aegean Macedonia. Over some fierce fighting between the neighbouring states of Serbia, Bulgaria, and Greece was the region of Macedonia torn between three sides. Boundaries changed constantly until the Greater Powers intervened once again and split Macedonia into basically three pieces - of which Greece was handed the largest portion of Macedonia. Greece now "inherited" the spoils of war.

From 1913 onwards the government of Greece began a policy of ethnic-cleansing in Aegean Macedonia. Village names were changed, family surnames were "Hellenized", lakes and rivers, churches and roads. Any existence of a Macedonian identity was either destroyed or severely crippled. Even under Ottoman rule the original ethnic Macedonians were allowed to keep their identity.

Lets start with a quick explanation of what happened before Greece was handed the geographic region known as Aegean Macedonia:

For those that are unaware, the country of Greece proclaimed its independence in the 1800s. Little does the public know that the land under which Greece proclaimed its independence did not include their province of Macedonia, or what is more rightfully named Aegean Macedonia. It was not until 1913 that Greece was "handed" this portion of land during the signing of the "Treaty of Bucharest" (for more information please visit Macedonia for the Macedonians) Since that time the Greek government had been actively involved in wiping out any sign of the Macedonian culture - people were forcibly beaten for declaring themselves as Macedonian and not Greek, Macedonian Orthodox churches were either burned down to make way for Greek Orthodox churches or inscriptions inside the church written in the Macedonian alphabet were erased, surnames and village names were changed to Greek-sounding names, etc.

The village of Banitsa was re-christened under the Greek name "Vevi" and many "Banicheni" (inhabitants of Banitsa) were also re-christened with Greek-sounding names. With the Greek occupation of Aegean Macedonia, and within it Banitsa, a massive campaign to re-educate all individuals in the Greek language, Greek culture, and Greek society. This is not to say that the entire village of Banitsa is inhabited by ethnic Macedonians ... almost undoubtedly there may be ethnic Greeks and others of differing ethnic backgrounds.

Unfortunately some people truly believed what the Greek government was telling them. These are descendants of ethnic Macedonians - their grandparents spoke Macedonian and followed Macedonian traditions. Some of these people still speak Macedonian in the home where nobody will catch them. To the outside world they are Greek, to themselves they are confused and afraid of the truth.

What follows is a list businesses which support this Vevi society. By advertising in such a publication each business therefore becomes a supporter of what the "Allilovoithiticos Syllogos Vevis and Ladies Society" believes in and stands for. Many of the businesses that follow are unaware of the implications of supporting an organization associated with the village of "Vevi". Some simply want to expand their business clientele by reaching a wider audience. Perhaps there are true ethnic Greeks who advertise also. But my biggest concern is that many of these advertisers may very well be ethnic-Macedonians but afraid to admit it, or perhaps do not want to admit it. It is these individuals to which Macedonians call the name "Grkomani" - essentially an ethnic Macedonian who wants and/or tries to be Greek.

This web page is not intended to condemn anybody from supporting any of the following businesses, but simply to raise awareness of what this association is indirectly built upon.

*** names have been removed ***