Brotherhood on the Bloc

Novinite Insider » EDITORIAL | August 8, 2006, Tuesday // 00:00
Brotherhood on the Bloc

By Ivelina Puhaleva

Skopje. Tuesday. August 8. Pompous rhetoric from the west (Bulgarian border) has been replaced with statements of municipal brotherhood and visas free of charge for Macedonians. How nice, a Skopje man would say. It is normal, we are like brothers, an elderly lady would add. Literally a substantial part of Macedonian families have relatives living for years in Bulgaria, with Bulgarian passports, Bulgarian children and Bulgarian future. Historic ties between Macedonians and Bulgarians can never be erased - yes, dear anti-Bulgarians in Skopje, you are doomed to complete failure in such efforts. Our two peoples have been forced so long to be antagonists that it could never happen again. Even if politicians in Sofia show off some irritation at colleagues in Skopje from time to time, people do not seize to frequent the lands on both sides of the border. This traffic pumps up not only the economy of border areas, otherwise chronically starving of poor economic strength, but also the assurance of local people they can maintain family - and even neighborhood - relations. There are rules to be respected once Bulgaria is in EU - and Macedonia outside, but the decision to make it free of charge is more than neighbourhoodly.

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