Macedonia is a small, poor country that lies on disputed
land. Both the Greeks and the Bulgarians believe they have a claim to the land,
but Macedonia remains quiet and peaceful as its neighboring countries pretty
much give them the cold shoulder. So that’s just about all I knew about
Macedonia when I got here, and that’s really all I know as I leave, but in the
short time I was here I had an unexpected and incredible experience. When we
arrived late at night, with our stomachs growling and our legs tight, we saw a
surprisingly beautiful city. Skopje (pronounced Scope -(like the mouthwash)
yah) is one of the most impressive cities I have seen, judging on the tiny part
I saw of it. The center of it has a statue everywhere you look, and it has
huge, clean buildings, which are lit beautifully. If you want to know or see more of the city I highly suggest you look it up. That's what I had to do because we had virtually no classes on the country or city and I personally prefer to know something- anything- about the places I go. We had a late pre-ordered
dinner in a restaurant near Macedonia Square, which is simply a large square
with shops and monuments in the middle of the city.
This morning we went to the Holocaust museum in Skopje,
which is built in the former Jewish ghetto and is dedicated to the Jews of
Macedonia who perished in the Holocaust.
The Macedonian Holocaust story is
virtually the exact opposite of the Bulgarian story. 98% of the Jews in
Macedonia were taken to Treblinka. 8,000 Jews lived here before the war, and
today there are only 250 Jews, who are mainly the children of the rare survivors.
We were fortunate enough to meet with a survivor today
before we toured the museum. She hid out in a tobacco factory with four other Jews
for ten days, but when asked if the Jews knew what was going on, she said that
most Jews were passive because they thought just the men would be deported to
labor camps. She was eventually caught and put in jail for being part of a
communist resistance group. She was in jail from April 1943 until the end of
the war, which essentially saved her life. Having gone on the March of the
Living and having been to Treblinka gives me a much better understanding of this
tragedy. Today was really the first time since the March that I really thought
hard about the Holocaust and what I learned and experienced while in Poland.
We had lunch around 1 and then got on the bus to go to
Thessaloniki, Greece, a historic port city with a rich Jewish history.
Thessaloniki, or Salonika, was one place the Jews thrived in after the
Expulsion from Spain in 1492. I’ve had a surprisingly incredible time on this
trip so far, but the best part is just beginning. I’m extremely excited for
this next week and I’ll do my best to keep up with the blogs.
And of course my prayers go out to everyone in Israel right
now, specifically my friends and family. The situation really sucks, but let’s
hope Israel can take care of business quickly and safely. Be safe. I'll be sure to keep everyone updated on our status here too, because Kivunim's main priority is our safety, and if they don't feel comfortable taking us back to Israel, they won't. The possibilities of what we can or cannot, or may or may not do are endless.
“The world is a neutral place.
White canvas.
What paint are you?” –SB
3 down, 9 to go.
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