Everyone speaks Greek in Sandanski, Bulgaria

[Mygdonia]

Shopping in Bulgaria’s ‘Kolonaki’

Sandanski is known to Greeks as the Kolonaki of Bulgaria because the living standard of its 30,000 inhabitants is by far the highest in the country. At weekends on Macedonia Avenue, you can only tell who the Bulgarians are by the newspapers under their arms. Everyone speaks Greek. The economy of southern Bulgaria is based on more than 150 Greek factories employing as many as 200 workers apiece, as well as hundreds of smaller businesses.

Alexandros Serafeidis from Nea Michaniona, Thessaloniki, has a paper napkin factory in Sandanski and an employment bureau for seasonal laborers. “This year I’ve sent around 500 workers to northern Greece. Without them, our crops would be lost,” he told Kathimerini.

Florina, famed for its red peppers, now buys them from Bitola, and some Greeks find it easier to buy bread and cheese from there than to make it themselves.

Folk musicians from Bitola, Yevyeli and Gotse Dechev play at feasts and celebrations in the villages of Florina, Kilkis and Serres, while more economically robust neighbors shop in Kastoria, Kavala, and Thessaloniki, and build holiday homes in Halkidiki and Thassos.

A shortage of women brings men back across the border from Orestiada, Serres and Ioannina in search of brides, and the first cross-border health centers set up on Greek territory have gone into operation.

:thumbs:

http://www.ekathimerini.com/4dcgi/_w_articles_ell_3034590_06/06/2005_57163

[PhiliptheUniterchaeronea]

Are these people ethnically Greek? Very interesting find. Nice to see what peace can accomplish. Thessaloniki may very well become the "capital" of the Balkans. This will certaily ease pressure off of Athens. I hope the city planners prepare properly.

[akritas]

Is known that the Bulgaria, and specially in the South we have a lot Greek investors.
Unfortunely a lot of these manufuctures and industries were first in Greece (specially in the North) and mooved in Bulgaria and some in FYROM. The cause was the chip "labor hands".
Also a lot of Greeks moved in Bulgaria because the Greek buisnesmen wanted Greek supervisors and some olders beacause of the cost of the life.
As about the Greeks speakers in Bulgaria estimate 5000. A lo of them are Vlach origin. We are not sure for the Hellenic consiounce.

[Tsontos]

This is the kind of shit going on. good for Greece's industry but has many negative aspects like the fact that we have more bulgarians coming to work in Greece when not all of us apart from factory oweners want them there

no philip they are not ethnically greek; what this article is saying is that this area is so full of Greek industry and factories that everyone speaks Greek. (these factories have mostly moved FROM Greece TO Bulgaria taking Greeks' jobs)


If you think there are alot of people who speak Greek in Bulgaria and Albania these days you should visit FYROM. The whole country is owned by Greek companies and there are Greek flags flying in Bitola LOL

you have these Greek-hating gypsies in the diaspora carrying on and then you go to FYROM and everyone who has a job has it in a Greek factory and speaks Greek


Besides the negatives of this there are some positives. With everyone speaking Greek and with Greek companies owning so much capital in FYROM, it helps our macedonian cause greatly

assimilation should be our goal. Ideally FYROM will be carved up by Bulgaria, Albania, Serbia and Greece.

It certainly is possible considering the amount of territory controlled by albanian militias, the amount of skops fleeing to Bulgaria and the amount economic control Greece has over the country