Distortion of history and none-incriminatory attitude of persons in charge for
paidomazoma was attempted by academicians Riki Van Boeschoten from the

University of Thessaly and Loring Danforth from Bates College, Maine in the frame of a workshop, titled "Refugee Children from the Greek Civil War in Eastern Europe: Displacement, Memory and the Natural Order of Things". In the workshop, which took place on May 10, 2005, in Princeton University, the aforementioned academicians tried to give a rather “rosy” picture of the most horrid crime of humanity, the “paidomazoma” (child-gathering), importing new vocabulary and the presentation of photographic material.


The two anthropologists, Van Boeschoten and Danforth in their respective papers `From "Janissaries" to "Hooligans": Refugee Children in Hungary and `We Came Back Like Angels and Found Ourselves in Hell’, even though they characterized paidomazoma as action of "political expediency", they used terms as "evacuation" while the children that were seized were called "refugees".


The well-known journalist/author, Mr. Nicholas Gage intervened and clarified the term “evacuate” as “the space is evacuated by individuals who are facing natural disasters, such as storms, floods, fires etc”. Mr. Gage also determined the importance of the word "refugee", pointing out that "refugee is the individual who faces predicaments in his area and out of his OWN will resorts to other places where help is granted”.


In Nick Gage’s Eleni, Xantho Veneti, answering to the question of a woman partisan: "Comrade Xantho, will you give your children the chance to live their lives without fear?” she gave the answer that every Greek mother would give, even though she knew this answer was her death: “NONE of us will give you our children” (pg 260).


During the introduction of their papers, Van Boeschoten and Danforth, explained that since 1998 they studied one hundred cases of children of paidomazoma (which they constantly referred to as “evacuation”) in Greece, Eastern Europe and Canada. Their papers were accompanied by photographic material, from victims of paidomazoma, now adolescents henceforth. The photographic material however, emanated from Hungary, depicting modern, well dressed, well coiffed, content teenagers, engaging in ballet, music lessons and sports activities.


Dr. Danforth, supplementing the study of his colleague added that when the adolescents were repatriated they were not satisfied with their environment and their families any more. The two scholars used the term “Macedonia” irrespectively when they referred to the FYROM. It has to be pointed out that Dr. Boeschoten teaches in the University of Thessaly and is paid by the Greek state! We are not aware that Greece has recognized the FYROM as "Macedonia"!


One of the photographs depicted a team of "happy" children and right above them there was a questionable banner in which was written in the Greek language a sign that separated the children as ELLINOPOULA AND "MAKEDONOPOULA"!


Dr. Floudas also pointed out “this ideal, rosy picture that the scientists presented does not reflect reality”. Mrs. Nina Gatzoulis, Vice-President of the Pan-Macedonian Association, USA who also teaches Modern Greek in the University of New Hampshire, observed that “Hungary might have been one of the more progressive countries during the time that these events were taking place, however Hungary was not the only country that the children were disseminated”.


A legitimate question arises as to why the two academics did not present compatible photographs, and studies of children who were sent to other countries of the iron curtain, such as Bulgaria, Yugoslavia, or Albania. Why this unilateral demonstration of photographs from Hungary? Do the academicians know the case of children that were led to Rumania and for a long time they were on their own, without a guardian? As for their diet in some of these countries, Nick Gage in Eleni writes:

The Pan-Macedonian Association of USA, referring to the customary academic exchange between academicians and audience, points out: "We were particularly astonished that a professor of Greek origin and host of the panel, Dr. Gondicas, denied Mr. Gage to further comment on the issue. Mr. Gage has a plethora of information on the subject, since he personally was involved in the paidomazoma during that time, and he wrote about it in his book Eleni. Mrs. Gatzoulis added: "Indeed representing the Pan-Macedonian Association, I called Dr. Gondicas and I personally asked him to have scholars that have different views than those of Drs. Boeschoten and Danforth, so that a complete picture of the drama would be presented.


Apparently Dr. Gondicas was satisfied in the distortion of history in the frame of a HELLENIC STUDIES PROGRAM in Princeton!! However we wonder how is the Hellenic history and the Greek culture promoted when TRUTH is hushed down in such academic circles by professors of Greek origin?»


Lieutenant General D. Zafiropoulos in his book “Antisymmorikos Agon 1945-49 (pg. 668) inter alias formal protest by various entities world-wide against the paidomazoma, presents what the Voice of America stated on December 29, 1948:


The name of Herod will remain in history linked with one of the most appalling crimes in humanity. Herod sinned against God and man, using the child as vehicle to secure his rule. Now after 2,000 years some other fiends used the child as a political weapon”.


Marcus Templar in his introductory unit, Historical background, states:

…Baba-Donka’s first son, Nikola, during the Bulgarian occupation of the area, decided to walk from Bitola to a neighboring village to see a friend of his. On his way, he was unlucky to meet some Bulgarian troops who thinking that he was a partisan threw gasoline on him and burned him alive.


Because of the above event, after the communist took over Yugoslavia, the communist authorities bestowed the "honor" to Baba Donka, as a hero’s mother to escort the kidnapped children from Greece to Skopje. Baba Donka went to Kremenica, a town on the borders to Greece where the communist Partisans kept the children, put them on a train and from there, they took the children to Bitola and through Prilep, Titov Veles to Skopje. Many of the children were babies crying, the older ones speaking only Greek made the task of the women-escorts difficult. However, what made my Baba Donka’s life extremely difficult was that a good number of children died of illnesses as dysentery, privation, etc. The children were under partisan control unattended for long time.


Concluding, we can say that perhaps it is time now the TRUE history to be heard, perhaps by TRUE scholars in Princeton. Mr. Nick Gage has challenged these two professors to a debate regarding the issue of paidomazoma in one to one basis.