Why did the ancestors of the Macedonian representative at Eurovision, Vasil Garvanliev, leave their native village of Paigalishte in Bulgaria and move to Strumica? The Bulgarian weekly "168 Hours" writes about the reasons and the course of that trip. The plot of events is located in the seventies of last century.   

"Officially, the authorities call them 'bandits', 'saboteurs', 'criminals.' Then our childhood consciousness accepted the view that these are dangerous people who wish evil to the people and the homeland. We learned the names of the most terrible 'bandits' in the area: the Vampire and Aglikin from Petrich, Arsenija (Asen Rizov from the Playground) and several others. Sometimes we saw police and soldiers chasing offenders. There were also casualties. "I later found out that they were braver than the others and that they had the courage to express their disagreement with the new government, with the communist ideology and with the perversion in its implementation."

The text of "168 Hours" begins with this quote from the book "Ograzden" by Kiril Nazrov (born in the village of Dragus near Petrich), in which he recounted his childhood memories. The memoirs state that in 1970 in the Petrich district there were few men who rebelled against the socialist regime and allowed themselves to boldly express their position, which made them bloody enemies of the government, but it did not scare them. One of the brave was Asen Rizov, who today was remembered only by the oldest people in his native village Pa Играalishte.

- There are only two or three people left who say that his irreconcilable soul can not be described in words, and his blood boiled every time he heard the word 'communist'. Is it possible that there is a connection between this man and another, who a few days ago stirred the spirits in Northern Macedonia? The answer is - yes, writes "168 hours".

Who was Assen (Arsenia) Rizov?

According to the weekly, one of the biggest opponents of the Bulgarian government before 1989 was actually Vasil Garvaliev's grandfather. More precisely, Assen, or better known as Arsenia, was the husband of Vasil's grandmother's sister. "168 Hours" states that they did not find out if the young Garvanliev knows these things.

Who was Assen (Arsenia) and what happened to Norca and Seraphim - Vasil's grandparents, in 1970? Asen Rizov was described as a man with a different worldview, attached to the struggle against the socialist regime. Because of his firm convictions that Todor Zhivkov should be ousted and every communist sent to prison, he drew the attention of the authorities who declared him a "bandit". They wanted to imprison him at any cost, and threatened that the same fate would follow the herdsmen who helped him hide. A long persecution began.

- He was something like a coma, wanted for his political beliefs, stated for "168 hours" the deputy mayor of the Playground, Mitko Stojanov.

- There was no man in the neighborhood who did not know his name. He fled across the Malashevo Mountain, from village to village, sleeping in huts. His birthplace was then divided into several neighborhoods. He hid where he could, so as not to be detained. He fled across the border to enter Greece and then returned. They were always behind his heels, but he always slipped away from them, stated Stojanov.

According to the memoirs of the author of "Ograzden", Asen Rizov had no choice but to leave the country when he committed the irreparable - murder, but not of anyone, but of the most important person in the Petrich region at that time. Under the Markovi Kladenci peak, Assen killed the head of the State Security in Petrich, Captain Todorov. Assen was to disappear after the murder.

- He had hiding places with us and stayed in Bulgaria for a while, but he had to leave the country. He did so quietly, sometime between 1970-1973. He left for today's Northern Macedonia. I can not say exactly where he was hiding there, but the persecution continued, said his acquaintance.

Vasil's grandparents also had to leave

Authorities in Bulgaria began pressuring his relatives: his wife Magda, her sister Norka and her husband Seraphim - Vasil's grandparents. Nobody knows how, but Arsenia managed to organize their crossing of the border. Before that, they briefly hid in a village 3-4 km from Strumica. But the ultimate goal of Norka and Seraphim was Strumica.

- During the escape, the father of the Macedonian Eurovision participant, who is also called Vasil, was with them. He was 3 years old then. The family settled there permanently. For "168 Hours" insiders say that in his youth Garvanliev's father sold newspapers. Then he fell in love and got married. He had two sons. The elder was baptized Constantine, and the younger - Vasil. Unfortunately, Vasil the Elder (father) leaves this world after the accident in Italy, where he works for some time. A year later, Vasil's grandmother died, and then his grandfather, writes the newspaper.

According to testimonies, during her life in Strumica, Norka never returned to Bulgaria. Unlike her, her husband Seraphim often thought about his birthplace and as an adult he visited Bulgaria several times to see old friends and the house where he grew up.

- Many people from here visited Vasil's father in Strumica, as well as people from there traveled to here, they never forgot their roots, stated the Deputy Mayor of the Playground, Mitko Stojanov.

What happened to Arsenia and his wife Magda? They had no choice but to go to America and settle permanently in Chicago. They never returned to Bulgaria. It is not known if they had children.

According to Stojanov, only one woman from the family remained in the village. She was said to be Magda and Norca's sister, but they were not sure if she was a biological sister, or adopted.

- Today all the locals in the Playground are behind Vasil Garvanliev, writes "168 hours".

The newspaper reminds of the Macedonian reactions to the "Bulgarian tricolor" in Garvanliev's video, but also that after the analysis of the reactions in the public, he still remains the Macedonian representative of Eurovision.

The Bulgarian village of Paigalishte is located on the southeastern slopes of the Maleshevo Mountain, at 900 meters above sea level. It is located 20 km west of the city of Sandanski and is part of the municipality of Strumyani.

Taken from Deutsche Welle.

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