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Macedonia’s
Long Transition
From Independence to the
Prespa Agreement and Beyond
Edited by
Robert Hudson · Ivan Dodovski
Macedonia’s Long Transition
 Robert Hudson · Ivan Dodovski
Editors

Macedonia’s Long
Transition
From Independence to the Prespa
Agreement and Beyond
Editors
Robert Hudson Ivan Dodovski
University of Derby University American College Skopje
Derby, UK Skopje, North Macedonia
University American College Skopje
Skopje, North Macedonia

ISBN 978-3-031-20772-3 ISBN 978-3-031-20773-0 (eBook)

https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-20773-0

© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer
Nature Switzerland AG 2023
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 To RJ and Emilie-Anne from your father
—Robert Hudson

To Aleksandra and our sons Jakov and Elisej

—Ivan Dodovski
 Acknowledgements

The editors would like to thank Toni Vasikj for designing the excellent
map of North Macedonia. We also would like to thank Demjan Anatoli
Golubov for his hard work in helping produce the index. Our thanks
go to ENTAN—the European Non-Territorial Autonomy Network—
supported by COST (www.cost.eu), for funding a short-term scientific
mission in Skopje in the latter days of our project and also to our editors
Ambra Finotello and Rebecca Roberts at Palgrave Macmillan for their
support and guidance, and to Redhu Ruthroyani and Nandakini Lahri in
the final stages of producing this book.

vii
 A Chronology of Key Events During
Macedonia’s Long Transition

1990

11 November First ballot of the multi-party elections for the

Macedonian Assembly took place.
25 November Second ballot held with VMRO-DPMNE
winning the majority of seats – 38, the League
of Communists of Macedonia – 31.

1991

25 January The Macedonian Parliament (Sobranie)

adopted the declaration of Macedonian
independence.
27 January The Sobranie elected Kiro Gligorov as the Pres-
ident of the Socialist Republic of Macedonia.
8 September Macedonia organised an independence refer-
endum. The turnout was 75.74 per cent of the
Macedonian population, of whom 95.26 per
cent voted in favour of independence.
17 September The Sobranie proclaimed a new constitution by
which Macedonia was defined as a sovereign
and independent democratic state.

ix
x A CHRONOLOGY OF KEY EVENTS DURING MACEDONIA’S …

1992

15 January The Badinteur Commission (Arbitrary

Commission of the EC) report confirmed
that all requirements for the international
recognition of Macedonia (and Slovenia) had
been met. However, the European Commis-
sion ignored this opinion because of the Greek
veto.
26 March The Yugoslav People’s Army (JNA) formally
left the territory of Macedonia.
26 April The Yugoslav dinar was replaced by the Mace-
donian denar as the official currency of the
country, initially as a means of avoiding the
effects of hyperinflation on the Yugoslav dinar.
The Macedonian denar would be devalued
several times until May 1993.
27 June The Lisbon Declaration of the EC recognised
the country only under a name that would not
contain the word Macedonia.
11 December UN approval for the deployment of the United
Nations Protection Force (UNPROFOR) to
Macedonia made up of 700 soldiers. UN Secu-
rity Council resolution 795.

1993

7 April Macedonia admitted to the UN, under the

provisional name of Former Republic of Mace-
donia (FYROM). UN SC resolution 817.
14 June The Sobranie votes in a new Law on the Trans-
formation of Enterprises with Social Capital,
ushering in the second stage of privatisation.
18 June UN Security Council (resolution 842) approves
of the deployment of an additional contin-
gent of 300 soldiers as a protection force in
Macedonia (UNPROFOR) to prevent any spill
over from the conflicts to the north of the
 A CHRONOLOGY OF KEY EVENTS DURING MACEDONIA’S … xi

country. In 1995, this would rise to 1,100

troops mainly from the Scandinavian countries
and the United States under the rebranded
mission’s name of UNPREDEP.
3 December US Liaison Office established in Skopje.
7 December Blazhe Koneski died. He was a key figure of
Macedonian literature and culture after the
Second World War, and the main contributor
to the codification of the standard Macedonian
language.
23 December The Sobranie voted to apply for the NATO PfP
(Partnership for Peace) programme.

1994

9 February The United States recognised Macedonia.

16 February Greece unilaterally blockaded its border with
Macedonia.
14 November The announcement of the results of the first
census after independence.

1995

17 February Clashes between ethnic Albanians and police

near Tetovo over the governmental decision to
prevent the opening of an Albanian university
in Tetovo. One person was shot dead.
13 September Greek and Macedonian foreign ministers
signed an Interim Accord on the normalisation
of relations between Greece and Macedonia at
the United Nations in New York. This would
result in Greece lifting its economic blockade
on Macedonia and Macedonia removing the 16
sun rays of the Star of Vergina from its state
symbols, with negotiations over the name of
Macedonia to take place in due course. Mean-
while, full diplomatic relations were established
between the United States and Macedonia.
xii A CHRONOLOGY OF KEY EVENTS DURING MACEDONIA’S …

27 September Macedonia admitted to the Council of Europe

under the provisional name of FYROM.
October The Macedonian economy was stabilised and
repegged to the German mark.
3 October Unsuccessful assassination attempt against
President Gligorov in Skopje.
12 October Macedonia admitted to the Organisation for
Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
as FYROM.
15 October Greek blockade lifted.
11 November NATO unanimously agreed to the accession of
FYROM to the ‘Partnership for Peace’ (PfP)
programme.
15 November Branko Crvenkovski the Macedonian Prime
Minister signed the PfP programme with
NATO.

1996

8 April Yugoslavia recognises Macedonia’s indepen-

dence, its constitutional name (Republic of
Macedonia) and the Macedonian language.

1997

6 March The scandal involving the approximately 120

million Deutsche mark pyramid scheme of the
TAT savings bank in Bitola began to unfold
affecting around 13,000 depositors, of whom
over 100 committed suicide for over a decade.
This was the greatest pyramid fraud in the
history of the country, affecting the stability of
the banking system and for the longer term,
trust in the state institutions.

1998

8–14 March Macedonian Albanians demonstrate in support

of the independence of Kosovo from the FRY.
 A CHRONOLOGY OF KEY EVENTS DURING MACEDONIA’S … xiii

September–October NATO accelerates the build-up of troops in

Macedonia.
30 November After election victory, VMRO-DPMNE forms
a coalition government led by Ljubcho
Georgievski.

1999

27 January Macedonia recognises Taiwan.

14 February China breaks diplomatic relations with Mace-
donia over Skopje’s recognition of Taiwan and
subsequently puts veto in the UN Security
Council over the extension of the UN peace-
keeping mission.
24 March–11 June NATO bombings of Kosovo and FRY.
5 April Massive influx of some 360,000 Kosovar Alba-
nians from Kosovo into Macedonia at the Blace
border crossing. This was the equivalent of 17
per cent of Macedonia’s population. They were
held in Macedonian refugee camps.
20–25 April Washington Summit and the signing of the
Membership Action Plan with NATO.
9 June Following the signing of the Kumanovo Agree-
ment between KFOR and governments of the
FRY and of the Republic of Serbia, Macedonia
agrees to the transiting of KFOR troops across
Macedonian territory, although KFOR troops
had been present for some time.
14 November Boris Trajkovski wins the second round of
elections and the following day succeeds Kiro
Gligorov as President of the Republic of Mace-
donia.
xiv A CHRONOLOGY OF KEY EVENTS DURING MACEDONIA’S …

2000

24 January The European Commission Directives

proposed to the EU Council were adopted,
concerning the elevation of the cooperation
level between Macedonia and the EU as well
as commencing the official negotiations for
prospective EU membership.
30 January In a communique, the NLA assumes the
responsibility for the killing of three police offi-
cers in the village of Arachinovo near Skopje,
on 11 January, and for the attack on the police
station Oslomej in Kichevo, on 19 January,
which marks the beginning of the armed offen-
sive of the NLA.
5 April Pursuant to the Lisbon Decision of the Euro-
pean Commission, the first round of negotia-
tions between the Republic of Macedonia and
the EU officially commenced relating to the
SAA (Stabilisation and Accession Agreement).
Negotiations on the SAA were realised between
April and November 2000.
24 November The SAA is initialled on the margins of the
Zagreb Summit. It is later signed in Luxem-
bourg on 9 April 2001.

2001

16 February Following the kidnapping and release of the A1

TV crew at Tanushevci (the Tanushevci Inci-
dent), the first clashes were witnessed between
Macedonian government forces and ethnic
Albanian rebels in the NLA.
15 March NLA rebels within 12 km of Skopje.
23 March Macedonian authorities decide to launch an
offensive against the NLA near Tetovo which
lasts until 30 March. By many accounts, this
 A CHRONOLOGY OF KEY EVENTS DURING MACEDONIA’S … xv

offensive was successful, at least in military

terms.
9 April Macedonia admitted as an ‘associate member’
of the EU, after signing up to the Stabilisation
and Association Process (SAP) in Luxembourg.
4 May Some 4,000 guerrilla fighters from Kosovo
invade and take over villages near Kumanovo.
9 June The rebels take control of Arachinovo, 8 km
from Skopje and near Skopje Airport. This is
known as the Arachinovo offensive.
24 June A ceasefire enables the NLA rebels to leave
Arachinovo.
22–24 July Fierce fighting around Tetovo.
28 July Peace talks in Ohrid.
13 August Peace deal signed between the two sides,
known as the Ohrid Framework Agreement
(OFA), which introduces features of consoci-
ational power sharing. In the meantime, some
scattered clashes continue.
15 November The Sobranie approves the Ohrid reforms, such
as building a new multi-ethnic police force and
using Albanian as the second official language
in areas dominated by an ethnic Albanian popu-
lation.

2002

1 November Following the heavy defeat of the VMRO-

DPMNE government in the general elections
held on 15 September, the SDSM forms a
new government under the leadership of Prime
Minister Branko Crvenkovski.

2003

2 May The Adriatic Charter is signed by Macedonia,

Albania and Croatia under the aegis of the US,
xvi A CHRONOLOGY OF KEY EVENTS DURING MACEDONIA’S …

intended to promote the prospective NATO

membership of the three countries.

2004

26 February President Boris Trajkovski is killed in an aero-

plane crash in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
28 April Branko Crvenkovski (SDSM) was elected as
President of Macedonia; he assumed his office
on 12 May.
31 May The Sobranie appointed Hari Kostov as Prime
Minister of Macedonia; he resigned on 15
November following rows within his coali-
tion government and was succeeded by Vlado
Buchkovski, who was elected on 17 December.
7 November Referendum to overrule the new law on territo-
rial organisation which introduced new munic-
ipal borders to give greater control to ethnic
Albanians in local districts. The referendum
failed due to low turnout following the call to
boycott by the Macedonian Prime Minister, as
well as by the US and EU.

2005

17 December At the Brussels Summit, the European Council

granted candidate status to Macedonia.

2006

5 June VMRO-DPMNE wins the parliamentary elec-

tions.
28 August A new government is formed under the leader-
ship of Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski.
27 December Petrovec Airport renamed after Alexander the
Great, the first in a series of ‘antiquisation’
measures introduced by Gruevski’s govern-
ment.
 A CHRONOLOGY OF KEY EVENTS DURING MACEDONIA’S … xvii

2008

2–4 April US presses for Macedonia’s entry into NATO

but Greece blocks Macedonia’s integration into
the alliance at the Bucharest Summit due to the
name dispute. By contrast, Croatia and Albania
are invited to join.

2009

5 April Gjorge Ivanov (VMRO-DPMNE) elected as

President of Macedonia. He assumed office on
12 May.
19 December Visa liberalisation whereby Macedonian citizens
of the Republic of Macedonia are allowed visa
free travel within the EU’s Schengen zone.

2010

4 February ‘Skopje 2014’ project plans presented in pubic.

2011

5 June VMRO-DPMNE wins again in the general

elections, Prime Minister Nikola Gruevski stays
in power.
6 June Protest in several cities against police brutality
after a 22-year-old is killed by a member of the
special forces Tigers.
5 December The International Court of Justice in the
Hague found Greece guilty of violating the
Interim Accord with Macedonia by blocking
the country’s NATO membership in 2008.
xviii A CHRONOLOGY OF KEY EVENTS DURING MACEDONIA’S …

2012

24 December ‘ Black Monday’ incident in which opposition

MPs refusing to vote the budget were forcibly
ejected from the parliament, along with jour-
nalists.
12 April Smilkovci Lake massacre in which five civilians
were killed at a man-made lake outside Skopje.

2014

27 April Early national elections coincide with the

second round of the presidential elections:
Gjorge Ivanov wins a second presidential term,
and VMRO-DPMNE’s leader Nikola Gruevski
remains as prime minister. SDSM will not
recognise the results and subsequently boycott
the parliament claiming election fraud.

2015

Throughout 2015 There is a huge influx of migrants on what

becomes known as the Balkan Route. Mostly
Syrian refugees, increasing migration by 16
times compared with the 2014 figures. By
November, over 11,000 refugees and migrants
have been registered at the transit centre in
Gevgelija.
8 February The leader of the opposition Zoran Zaev
starts a series of public releases of informa-
tion ‘bombs’, that is, illegal audio recordings
of conversations of Prime Minister Gruevski
and other high officials, accusing him and the
secret police of wiretapping 20,000 citizens
including politicians, journalists and religious
leaders. Various protests will ensue in response
to the scandal calling for interim government
and early elections.
 A CHRONOLOGY OF KEY EVENTS DURING MACEDONIA’S … xix

9 May Shoot out in the Divo Naselje neighbour-

hood in Kumanovo between members of the
NLA and Macedonian police, demonstrating
that signs of lingering tensions still exist in the
country. 8 policemen were killed whilst 37 offi-
cers were wounded in the incident. Also, 10
of the militants were killed, whilst 28 were
arrested and charged for terrorism.
2 June–15 July Mediation of the Przhino Agreement with the
EU, in a bid to end the political and institu-
tional crisis that had arisen in the first half of
2015, with the establishment of a special prose-
cutor (Katica Janeva) to lead investigations into
the wiretapping scandal.

2016

14 January VMRO-DPMNE Prime Minister Nikola

Gruevski resigns. It is announced that elections
will take place on 5 June, but these are delayed
until December.
12 April President Ivanov grants a blanket amnesty
to officials suspected of involvement in the
wiretapping affair. This sparks demonstrations
which in eight days turn into ‘The Colourful
Revolution’ with colours being thrown at
government buildings and monuments of
the Skopje 2014 project as a symbolic sign
of protest. As anti-government rallies grow
stronger and spread in several cities, Ivanov
decides to withdraw the abolition by signing
two annulment acts on 27 May and 6 June,
respectively.
8–9 July NATO ignores Macedonian entry at the
Warsaw Summit, inviting only Montenegro
from the Western Balkans to join the alliance.
xx A CHRONOLOGY OF KEY EVENTS DURING MACEDONIA’S …

September The so-called Balkan Route for migrants and

refugees is sealed off with participation from 11
countries.
11 December Elections held, but it would take four months
before President Ivanov would call on Zoran
Zaev, leader of the SDSM, to form a new
coalition government.

2017

29 January VMRO-DPMNE fails to form a coalition

government with its former Albanian partner
DUI.
23 February Zoran Zaev, leader of the SDSM, forms a new
coalition with DUI.
27 April The storming of the Macedonian Sobranie, also
known as ‘Bloody Thursday’ (Krvavčetvrtok),
when about 200 Macedonian nationalists
stormed the parliament in reaction to the elec-
tion of Talat Xhaferi, an ethnic Albanian, as
speaker of the parliament. Several politicians
injured in the scuffles and over twenty arrests.
31 May Zaev’s government comes to power, declaring
Euro-Atlantic integration as its strategic goal.
1 August Macedonian Prime Minister Zaev and
Bulgarian Prime Minister Borisov sign a
friendship treaty between the two countries.
10 December Nikola Gruevski resigns as leader of VMRO-
DPMNE.

2018

17 June Prespa Agreement signed between the Mace-

donian Foreign Minister Nikola Dimitrov and
the Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Kotsias.
30 September Consultative referendum on membership of the
EU and NATO, and acceptance of the name
 A CHRONOLOGY OF KEY EVENTS DURING MACEDONIA’S … xxi

agreement between the Republic of Greece and

the Republic of North Macedonia, as set out
in the Prespa Agreement. With 94 per cent
in favour, but only 37 per cent voter turnout,
when a 50 per cent threshold was required, the
referendum failed, and so the agreement had
to be ratified by two-thirds (80 MPs) of the
Sobranie.
19 October 80 out of 120 MPs voted to start the process
of renaming of the country.

2019

11 January Constitutional changes for renaming of the

country to the Republic of North Macedonia
are passed by a two-thirds majority (81 MPs)
in the Sobranie thus completing the legal adop-
tion of the Prespa Agreement.
25 January Ratification of the Prespa Agreement in the
Greek Parliament.
6 February North Macedonia’s accession protocol with
NATO, signed by all 29 NATO member states.
12 May Stevo Pendarovski is elected as President of the
Republic of North Macedonia.
15 September The Sobranie ends the mandate of the institu-
tion of the Special Procurator after she resigns,
thereby ending the Przhino Process. She had
been detained on 21 August on charges of
abuse of authority and involvement in an extor-
tion scandal.
18 October The EU Council takes the decision not to give
a date for the start of accession negotiations
for the Republic of North Macedonia to enter
the EU, thereby causing yet further delays in
the EU integration process. This was due to a
French veto on the grounds that a new acces-
sion negotiations methodology should be put
in place first.
xxii A CHRONOLOGY OF KEY EVENTS DURING MACEDONIA’S …

2020

24 March After so many delays, ministers for European

affairs give their political agreement to the
opening of EU accession talks with North
Macedonia.
27 March North Macedonia becomes a member state of
NATO.
15 July Initially set for 12 April but postponed due
to the coronavirus pandemic, early parliamen-
tary elections are held on 15 July resulting in
a divided parliament: an SDSM-led coalition
wins 46 seats, followed by 44-seat coalition of
parties led by VMRO-DPMNE. Having won
15 seats, DUI declares its participation in any
government coalition dependant on the nomi-
nation of an ethnic Albanian as prime minister.
18 August Striking a deal with DUI, Zoran Zaev concedes
to be nominated for prime minister and
hand this position over to an ethnic Albanian
nominee no later than 100 days prior to the
next parliamentary elections.
30 August The Sobranie approves a coalition of an SDSM-
led alliance of parties with two Albanian
parties—DUI and DPA (Democratic Party of
Albanians)—comprising a slim majority of 62
MPs in a 120-seat parliament.
17 November Bulgaria puts a veto on the Negotiation Frame-
work for North Macedonia’s accession talks
with the EU.

2021

5–30 September National census is held, the first in two decades;

preliminary results suggest a significant decline
in population; final results are expected in the
spring of 2022.
 A CHRONOLOGY OF KEY EVENTS DURING MACEDONIA’S … xxiii

31 October Following the SDSM-led coalition’s major

defeat at the local elections, Zoran Zaev
announces that he is to resign from his position
as prime minister and party leader.
14 December EU Foreign and European affairs ministers fail
to set a date for the start of the accession talks
for North Macedonia due to the continuing
blockade by Bulgaria.
29 December President Stevo Pendarovski hands over the
mandate for the composition of a new govern-
ment to Dimitar Kovachevski, who had been
elected on 12 December as SDSM’s new party
leader.

2022

30 March The State Statistical Office announces the

results of the national census: the country’s
resident population totals 1,836,713 with
58.44% declaring themselves as Macedonians,
24.30% as Albanians, 3.86% as Turks, 2.53% as
Roma, 1.30% as Serbs, 0.87% as Bosniaks and
0.47% as Vlachs.
24 May At a joint liturgy in Skopje, the Serbian Patri-
arch Porfirije announced that the Serbian
Orthodox Church had recognised the
autocephaly of the Macedonian Orthodox
Church—Archdiocese of Ohrid.
16 July 68 out of 120 MPs voted in favour of the
so-called French proposal that is meant to over-
come the Bulgarian veto on the start of North
Macedonia’s accession negotiations with the
EU. Prior to the vote, protestors supported by
the opposition had been rallying in Skopje for
10 days, asking the government to reject the
deal.
Map of the Republic of North Macedonia
 Contents

1 Introduction 1
Robert Hudson and Ivan Dodovski
2 Macedonia’s Long Transition: An Overview
of the Key Issues 17
Robert Hudson
3 Macedonia’s Revolving Security Threats: Perpetual
Instability on the Edge of Europe 45
Stevo Pendarovski
4 The Impossible Reconciliation of Historical
Narratives: The Macedonian Name Dispute
and Prospects for the Future 61
Zhidas Daskalovski
5 The Economic Transition of Macedonia 77
Marjan Petreski
6 Privatisation in Macedonia and Communities
in Transition 95
Hyrije Abazi-Alili
7 Political Parties and the Trials of Democracy 111
Nenad Markovikj

xxv
xxvi CONTENTS

8 Macedonia’s Euro-Atlantic Integration 145

Blerim Reka
9 Migration Movements and Their Implications
for Macedonia 163
Marina Andeva
10 The Identity Shift: Claims on Antiquity
in Macedonian Fiction and Drama 179
Ivan Dodovski
11 The Dissonant Narratives of the Skopje 2014 Project 195
Loreta Georgievska-Jakovleva
12 An Analysis of Bulgaria’s Rejection of the Macedonian
Ethno-Linguistic Identity and Its Implications 207
Ognen Vangelov
13 And Beyond: An Afterword 223
Robert Hudson and Ivan Dodovski

Index 233
 Notes on Contributors

Hyrije Abazi-Alili is Associate Professor in Economics and Dean of

the Faculty of Business and Economics at the South East European
University in Tetovo, North Macedonia. She teaches undergraduate, post-
graduate and doctoral courses in economics, analytics and econometrics,
and research methodology. She holds a Ph.D. in economics from Stafford-
shire University, UK. She was Affiliate Fellow at CERGE-EI, Prague,
in 2014–2020. Her research interests include economics of innovation,
ICT, entrepreneurship, ownership issues, labour market, gender and social
issues, and advanced application of econometrical models. She published
research articles and serves as editor and reviewer of several international
journals. She has been involved in Erasmus + projects as well as a senior
expert in several international EU-funded and UNDP-funded projects.
Marina Andeva is Associate Professor at the University American College
Skopje. She currently teaches on the ‘Migrations and Refugees’ module
at postgraduate level and on the ‘Introduction to Law’ and ‘Regional
autonomy and local self-government’ modules at undergraduate level.
Her other working engagements include the position of Research Fellow
at the Institute for International Sociology (ISIG) since 2009. She
finished her Ph.D. on Transborder policies and an M.A. in European
Policy Making at the University of Trieste in Italy. Her B.A. was in Law at
the Faculty of Law ‘Justinius Primus’, Sts. Cyril and Methodius Univer-
sity in Skopje. She is actively involved in the field of migration, minority
protection, and cross-border cooperation.

xxvii
xxviii NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS

Zhidas Daskalovski holds a Ph.D. from the Political Science Depart-

ment, Central European University. He has published numerous scholarly
articles on politics in the South East European region, as well as co-
editing books, including Understanding the War in Kosovo, Frank Cass,
London, 2003, and Ten Years After the Ohrid Framework: Lessons (to be)
Learned from the Macedonian Experience, CRPM, and Friedrich Ebert
Stiftung, Skopje, 2012. A professor at the University of St. Kliment
Ohridski in Bitola and one of the most prominent political scientists in
Macedonia, he is Director of the Council of Europe supported School of
Public Policy ‘Mother Teresa’. He is the recipient of a number of distin-
guished research fellowships, including the Lord Dahrendorf Fellowship
at St. Anthony’s College at the University of Oxford, the Macedo-
nian Studies Fellowship from the School of Slavonic and East European
Studies, University College London, and the Social Science Research
Council/Ethnobarometer Fellowship at the University of North Carolina.
He has written Macedonia country reports for Freedom House/Nations
in Transit, Open Budget Index, Global Integrity Report, Bertelsmann
Transformation Index, UNDP People Centred Analysis and the UN
Human Development Report. His expertise is prominent in the fields
of policy analysis in general and decentralisation, democratisation, ethnic
and multicultural issues in particular.
Ivan Dodovski is Professor in Critical Theory and Literature. Currently,
he is Dean of the School of Political Science at University American
College Skopje. He studied general and comparative literature with Amer-
ican studies and obtained an M.A. degree in Macedonian literature and
narratology at Sts. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje. He holds
a Ph.D. from the University of Nottingham, UK. His recent research is
focused on politics and identity representation in contemporary Balkan
drama. He has edited the volume Multiculturalism in Macedonia: An
Emerging Model (2005) and nine recent volumes dealing with Euro-
pean integration, politics, economy and culture. He has also published
academic papers, three poetry books and a collection of short stories. His
is Chair of ENTAN—the European Non-Territorial Autonomy Network.
Loreta Georgievska-Jakovleva, Ph.D. currently works as a professor and
researcher at the Institute for Macedonian Literature of Sts. Cyril and
Methodius University (UKIM) in Skopje. Her research areas include:
cultural studies, cultural policy, theory of literature and gender studies.
She is currently the Head of Doctoral Study Programmes in Cultural
 NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS xxix

Studies and Macedonian Literature at UKIM. She is Visiting Professor

at the State University of Tetovo and at the Goce Delcev University
in Stip. Her publications include: An Open Circle: The Poetics of the
Novels of Tashko Georgievski (1997), A Mirror of the Discourse (2000),
The Fantastic and the Macedonian Novel (2001), Allegory, Grotesque and
the Macedonian Novel (2002), The Literature and the Transition (2008),
Identiti(es) (2012) and Culture and Media (2016). She is a member of
the Association of Comparative Literature of Macedonia, Association of
Writers of Macedonia, the Centre for Culture and Cultural Studies, and
the Balkan Network for Culture and Cultural Studies. Her social and
professional functions include: Director of the Institute of Macedonian
literature (2005–2011), Member of the Rector Board of the Sts. Cyril and
Methodius University in Skopje (2004–2009), Member of the Council of
the International Seminar of Macedonian language, literature and culture
(2004–2011), President of the Council of the Institute of Macedonian
Literature (2002–2004), Editor in Chief of the Journal Spectrum, Editor
in Chief of the International Journal Culture and President of the Center
for Culture and Cultural Studies.
Robert Hudson is Emeritus Professor in European History and Cultural
Politics at the University of Derby, Visiting Professor at University Amer-
ican College Skopje, North Macedonia, and the former Director of the
Identity, Conflict, and Representation Research Centre. A graduate of
the School of Slavonic and East European Studies, University of London,
he held a Yugoslav government scholarship as a Postgraduate Fellow at
the University of Sarajevo. He was a faculty member of the EU Marie-
Curie-funded European Doctoral Enhancement Programme (EDEN) in
Peace and Conflict Studies (1997–2010). He has revisited the former
Yugoslavia and its successor states frequently since 1995 and during the
1990s participated on six missions in the Western Balkans with the OSCE
(Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe) as an election
supervisor. Amongst other publications, he co-edited Politics of Iden-
tity: Migrants and Minorities in Multicultural States (Palgrave, 2000),
Different Approaches to Peace and Conflict Research (Deusto UP, 2008),
Peace, Conflict and Identity: Multidisciplinary Approaches to Research
(Deusto UP, 2009), After Yugoslavia (Palgrave 2012), Land and Identity
(Rodopi, 2013), Affective Landscapes (Ashgate 2014) and Europe and the
Balkans (UACS, 2018).
xxx NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS

Nenad Markovikj is Professor in the Political Science Department of

the Law Faculty ‘Justinius Primus’ at Sts. Cyril and Methodius Univer-
sity in Skopje. He obtained his M.A. through the European Regional
Masters Programme in Democracy and Human Rights in South East
Europe (ERMA) at the Universities of Sarajevo and Bologna in 2003. He
defended his Ph.D. thesis at Sts. Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje
in 2010. His thesis was entitled ‘The Impact of Civil Society Organisa-
tions on the Democratic Transition and Consolidation in the Republic
of Macedonia’. He is the founder and senior researcher in the Institute
for Democracy ‘Societas Civilis’ in Skopje and a member of the editorial
board of the quarterly magazine Political Thought. He is President of the
Macedonian Political Science Association (MPSA) as well as the founder
and director of the foundation ‘Alliance of Civilisations’—Macedonia. His
main interests are in political theory, political philosophy, nationalism, civil
society, political culture and myth.
Stevo Pendarovski is Professor in International Security and Foreign
Affairs at the School of Political Sciences at University American College
Skopje. In the 1990s, he was an Assistant-Minister for Public Relations
and Head of the Analytical and Research Department in the Macedo-
nian Ministry of Interior Affairs. He has served as National Security and
Chief Foreign Policy Advisor to two Presidents of the Republic of Mace-
donia. In 2004/5, he was a Head of the State Election Commission.
His teaching and research areas include geopolitics, globalisation, national
security, US foreign policy, EU foreign and security policy, and small
states in international affairs. Since 2019, he has been serving as the fifth
President of the Republic of North Macedonia.
Marjan Petreski is Professor at the School of Business Economics and
Management and Research Vice-Rector of University American College
Skopje. He holds a Ph.D. from Staffordshire University, UK. His research
focus is on exchange-rate regimes, monetary policy and strategy, as well
as an array of development and labour market topics, all with a focus on
transition economies. He has published widely, with more than twenty
articles in international peer reviewed journals, as well as being the author
of four books and five chapters in books published internationally. He
was awarded the Young Scientist Award in 2009 for his research by
the Macedonian Academy of Sciences and Arts. In 2013, he won the
Olga Radzyer Award in 2010 by the Östereichische Nationalbank and the
Japanese Award for Outstanding Research on Development by the Global
 NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS xxxi

Development Network and the Government of Japan. He served as a

Career Integration Fellow of CERGE-EI in Prague, as well as being an
external consultant of the World Bank, the International Labor Organi-
zation, the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development, and
the UN Women and other consultancies.
Blerim Reka is Professor of International Public Law, EU Law and
International Relations at UBT in Prishtina. He was Pro-Rector for Inter-
national Relations, Pro-Rector for research, Dean of the Faculty of Law
and Dean of the Faculty of Political Science and Public Administration
at the South East European University (SEEU) in Tetovo-Skopje. He
was Minister for EU Integration of the Republic of Kosovo, a presiden-
tial candidate in the Republic of North Macedonia and Ambassador of
the Republic of Macedonia to the EU, Brussels. He obtained his Ph.D.
in International Law from the University of Prishtina and the Univer-
sity of Graz. He holds an M.A. degree in Civil & Economic Law and a
B.A. degree in Law. His was Fellow at the Harvard University Kennedy
School of Governance and Fulbright Senior Research Fellow at Univer-
sity of Southern California in Los Angeles. He was visiting lector at:
USC, USFSP, Bologna University, Graz University, Ghent University and
Calabria University. He has overseen a wide range of research projects as
a senior research with: Colombia University, Indiana University and Graz
University; alongside mentoring Ph.D. candidates at: Sorbonne Univer-
sity Paris, Catholic University in Belgium, University of Tirana, University
of Prishtina and SEEU. He gave legal consultancy expertise for interna-
tional organisations and also did constitutional drafting in Macedonia and
Kosovo. He was a member of the expert team of the Government of
the Republic of Macedonia for the National Strategy for Integration into
the EU (2004). He is expert for the Western Balkans at the Geopolit-
ical Information Services (GIS), Vaduz, Lichtenstein. He has authored 20
books, including the most recent one: Balkans Geopolitics: Between Cold
War and Hot Peace (Jalifat Publishing, Houston & GIS, Vaduz, 2020).
Ognen Vangelov graduated at the Faculty of Philology at the Sts.
Cyril and Methodius University in Skopje, gained an M.A. at Denver
University as a Ron Brown Fellow of the US government and was
awarded his Ph.D. at the Queen’s University in Canada as a Fellow
of the Canadian Government under the Ontario Trillium Scholarship
and the Canada Vanier Graduate Fellowship. He is currently Assistant
Professor in Political Science and International Relations at University
xxxii NOTES ON CONTRIBUTORS

American College Skopje. He is a member of the Macedonian–Bulgarian

Joint Multidisciplinary Expert Commission on Historical and Educational
Issues.
 Abbreviations and Acronyms

AA Alliance for the Albanians

ASNOM Anti-fascist Assembly of the People’s Liberation of Mace-
donia
BCP Bulgarian Communist Party
BESA An Albanian political party, derived from the Albanian
concept of honour. Literally, a pledge of honour.
DPA Democratic Party of Albanians
DUI Democratic Union for Integration
EBO Employee buy-out
EC European Commission
EU European Union
EUSR European Union Special Representative
FDI Foreign Direct Investment
FRODEM Front for Democratic Macedonia
FRY Federal Republic of Yugoslavia
FYROM Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
GDP Gross Domestic Product
ICJ International Court of Justice (UN)
IMRO Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation
IOM International Organisation for Migration
ISAF International Security Assistance Force
ISIS Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (also known as Daesh). Also,
ISIL (Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant)
JNA Yugoslav People’s Army
KFOR Kosovo Force
KLA Kosovo Liberation Army (also known as UÇK)

xxxiii
xxxiv ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS

LATP Law on Asylum and Temporary Protection

LDP Liberal Democratic Party
Levica The Left, a political party
MAP Membership Action Plan (NATO)
MBO Management buy-out
NATO North Atlantic Treaty Organisation
NDP National Democratic Party
NGO Non-Governmental Organisation
NLA National Liberation Army
NSDP New Social-democratic Party
OFA Ohrid Framework Agreement
OSCE Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe
PDP Party for Democratic Prosperity
PfP Partnership for Peace (NATO)
SAA Stabilisation and Association Agreement (EU)
SAP Stabilisation and Association Process (EU)
SDSM Social Democratic Union of Macedonia
SFRY Socialist Federative Republic of Yugoslavia
SOE Socially Owned Enterprise
SP Socialist Party
UNHCR United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees
UNPREDEP United Nations Preventative Deployment Force
UNPROFOR United Nations Protection Force
UN SC United Nations Security Council
US United States
VMRO-DPMNE Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation-
Democratic Party for Macedonian National Unity
VMRO-NP Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organisation-People’s
Party
 List of Charts

Chart 5.1 GDP growth rates of the Yugoslav republics

after Yugoslavia’s dissolution (Source Penn World
Tables) 78
Chart 5.2 Unemployment rates (Source International Labour
Organisation) 79
Chart 5.3 Macedonian inflation (Source World Development
Indicators) 80
Chart 5.4 Exchange rate of the Macedonian denar to the German
mark (Source National Bank of the Republic
of Macedonia) 81
Chart 5.5 Macedonian economic growth (Source World
Development Indicators) 82
Chart 5.6 Some indices on the political stability and corruption
(Note Indices range between -2.5 [weak] and +2.5
[strong]. Source World Bank Governance Indicators) 84
Chart 5.7 Export and import of Macedonia (Source World
Development Indicators) 84
Chart 5.8 FDIs and remittances in Macedonia (Source World
Development Indicators) 85
Chart 5.9 Annual growth rates of construction (Source State
Statistical Office of Macedonia) 90
Chart 5.10 Unemployment rate (Source State Statistical Office
of Macedonia) 91
Chart 5.11 Public debt (Source Ministry of Finance of Macedonia) 92

xxxv
 List of Tables

Table 5.1 Trade shares of Macedonia with the EU and the Western
Balkans 86
Table 5.2 FDI shares of Macedonia with the EU 87
Table 5.3 Trade volume with Greece (% of total trade) 92
Table 6.1 Average shareholding of largest seven shareholders
owning more than 5% of shares 103
Table 6.2 Average labour productivity by ownership concentration
category in years (in million denars per employee) 106
Table 7.1 Index of party democracy in Macedonia—General level
of democracy within the party 132
Table 7.2 Index of party democracy—Relations between the central
party organs and the local branches 133
Table 7.3 Short history of political crises in the Republic
of Macedonia 1994–2014 136
Table 7.4 Boycotts of the Macedonian Parliament 1994–2015 138
Table 7.5 Scores of the Republic of Macedonia in four categories
according to Freedom House 139
Table 7.6 Ranking of Macedonia on the World Press Freedom
Index, 2003–2016 139

xxxvii
 CHAPTER 1

Introduction

Robert Hudson and Ivan Dodovski

The seed of the idea of compiling an edited collection on Macedonia’s

long transition was first sown in the New Year of 2015 in response to a
paper delivered by Stevo Pendarovski at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of
the Republic of Macedonia in Skopje on 4 December 2014. Pendarovski’s
ideas were subsequently published in a chapter entitled ‘Electoral Author-
itarianism at the End of the Transition in the Western Balkans’ (2015).
This led to the editors of Macedonia’s Long Transition reflecting on the
thirty-year-long duration of Macedonia’s transition by comparison with
the much shorter transitions of other post-socialist states in Eastern and
Central Europe.
In the thirtieth year of Macedonian independence, it would seem
that at long last there might be light at the end of the tunnel and
that the country, recently renamed as North Macedonia, will eventually

R. Hudson (B)
University of Derby, Derby, UK
e-mail: r.hudson@derby.ac.uk
R. Hudson · I. Dodovski
University American College Skopje, Skopje, North Macedonia
e-mail: dodovski@uacs.edu.mk

© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer 1

Nature Switzerland AG 2023
R. Hudson and I. Dodovski (eds.), Macedonia’s Long
Transition, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-20773-0_12
2 R. HUDSON AND I. DODOVSKI

emerge from its long period of transition. Central to this belief is the
potential role that could be played by the Euro-Atlantic project which
has already involved Macedonia’s full membership of the North Atlantic
Treaty Organisation. From the perspective of security, it would seem most
appropriate that the final words of this book project were written at a time
when armed conflict had broken out once again in Europe with President
Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and at a time when we are confronted with
tensions arising from the changing geopolitical situation in Europe and
beyond with the growing influence of non-Euro-Atlantic powers. Stability
in the Western Balkans, in general, and in North Macedonia, in partic-
ular, is crucial in the face of current security issues confronting Eastern
and Central Europe.
With the exception of one writer—himself with forty years’ academic
and personal engagement with the Balkan region—all the contribu-
tors hail from the Republic of North Macedonia. The work has drawn
together contributions from leading Macedonian scholars representing
the different ethnic communities and political persuasions of the country.
Macedonia’s Long Transition is interdisciplinary in its approach, with
contributions from political scientists, historians, lawyers, economists,
political leaders, political commentators and literary academics. We also
wanted to provide an updated representation of developments in Mace-
donia during its long transition by focusing on events over the last
decade and building on the excellent scholarship of previous publications
by authors such as James Pettifer (2001), John Phillips (2002), Hugh
Poulton (1995, 2000) and Andrew Rossos (2008) inter alia.
So much has happened in Macedonia since the original germination
of this project. The country has suffered from political corruption, and
it went without government for a period of more than five months
(December 2016 to May 2017) following the wiretapping scandal, which
led to the ‘colourful revolution’, and then disputes over the Transatlantic
project and the impact of migration along the Balkan Route and the
coming to power of the coalition government of Zoran Zaev, in 2017.
This was followed a year later by the signing of the Prespa Agreement
between Macedonia and Greece and the ending of the name dispute
in 2019. Meanwhile, in May 2019, our colleague and fellow contrib-
utor Professor Pendarovski was elected President of the Republic of
North Macedonia, and then, on 27 March 2020, the country became
the thirtieth member state of NATO.
 1 INTRODUCTION 3

At the time, from looking at the country through an optimistic prism

and following its renaming, it seemed as though the road to NATO and
EU membership might eventually bear fruition and that Macedonia’s long
transition might gradually be drawing to a close. Although the admission
process of North Macedonia to the EU was blocked by France, Denmark
and the Netherlands in October 2019 (Tidey et al., 2019), in the second
half of March 2020 the European Union announced that the block’s 27
members had reached an agreement to open membership negotiations
with North Macedonia. Then came another setback on North Macedo-
nia’s road to EU integration when, in November 2020, Bulgaria put a
veto on the Negotiation Framework for North Macedonia’s accession
talks with the EU.
In the second chapter in our book, Robert Hudson presents an
outsider’s overview of some of the key issues confronting Macedonia in its
transition. This is not presented as a linear historical narrative as such but
introduces the reader to some of the key issues confronting Macedonia
by placing greater emphasis on more recent events over the past decade.
The author recognises that the earlier period of the transition between
Macedonian independence in 1991 and the Ohrid Framework Agreement
of 2001 has been dealt with most adequately elsewhere, especially by the
authors named above in this introduction. Hudson considers Macedonia’s
external relations both within the Balkans and further afield—focusing on
relations with the five immediate neighbours: Serbia, Bulgaria, Greece,
Albania and Kosovo, then with NATO, the EU, the United States and
Russia. Special attention is paid to the resolution of the name dispute in
the summer of 2018 and the signing of the NATO accession protocol
in February 2019. In addition to this, Macedonia’s internal problems
are considered, with an emphasis on cultural and identity politics, and
concerns and issues of ethnic identity which might arise from internal
lingering tensions within the country as well as considering the impact
of the 2015 phone tapping scandal and the 2016 Colour Revolution
and the corruption, backsliding and state capture impacting on the coun-
try’s progress towards European integration. Key questions arising from
this chapter centre on the decision by the VMRO-DPMNE government
to hold long-postponed elections in December 2016; the absence of
government before June 2017 when Zoran Zaev, the leader of SDSM,
formed a coalition with three ethnic Albanian parties; delays in Macedo-
nia’s progress in entering NATO and the EU; and the implications of
4 R. HUDSON AND I. DODOVSKI

the failure of the Przhino Agreement (July 2015) on Macedonia’s Euro-

Atlantic vision. The chapter also considers the significance of the Prespa
Agreement (June 2018) and its ratification in the Greek Parliament in
January 2019. Many of these issues are dealt with in greater detail by
fellow contributors in subsequent chapters.
In the third chapter, Stevo Pendarovski focuses on security and foreign
policy in Macedonia since independence. He analyses the internal and
external threats and challenges to the country in chronological order and
divides his chapter into five distinctive periods, starting with the early
post-independence years, when outsiders saw Macedonia as an ‘oasis of
peace’ as the chaos and conflict threatened from the North between 1991
and 1995. It was during this period that the Macedonian government
and president put their trust in American diplomacy as a guarantee of the
survival of the state. Growing international recognition and inclusion in
the second half of the 1990s came with NATO offering a role to Mace-
donia in the Partnership for Peace project, along with an improvement
in relations with the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia, hitherto seen as the
principle external threat to the new state. However, there was a down-
side to these developments, the key element being Greece’s veto on EU
integration and full NATO membership as a result of the name dispute.
Pendarovski wryly adds that at the time, virtually nobody could have fore-
seen that Macedonia would remain in NATO’s waiting room for more
than a decade and a half, until the country’s full membership in 2020.
Further on, Pendarovski discusses NATO’s conflict with the FRY over
Kosovo in 1999 and its impact on Macedonia. In his third section, he
considers the crisis in 2001 and its aftermath, at a time when Mace-
donia almost sank to the status of a failed state, before signing the Ohrid
Framework Agreement (OFA) which confirmed the compromise of ethnic
Macedonians and ethnic Albanians to have a stake in the common future
of the country through a power-sharing mechanism. Pendarovski adds
that ever since OFA, interethnic co-habitation has been recognised as a
precondition for the survival of the state, adding that any serious desta-
bilisation could not happen now without some external stimulus. The
fourth section centres on the Bucharest summit of 2008, which he sees as
a milestone, and the newly emerging challenges that have taken place over
the last decade. Here, he focuses on the challenge of political Islam and
the refugee crisis of the Western Balkan Route, which began in 2012 and
reached its peak in 2015/16, before considering the dangers of growing
authoritarian tendencies in the country. For Pendarovski at the heart of
 1 INTRODUCTION 5

the matter is his belief that Macedonia’s internal legitimacy depends on

the genuine implementation of three strategic projects: the Ohrid Frame-
work Agreement; Euro-Atlantic integration; and last, though by no means
least in terms of importance, the flourishing of liberal democracy which is
intrinsically linked to the former two.
Although Macedonia has a number of outstanding issues with its
neighbours, relations with Greece remain crucial for its long-term stability
and development. Despite the provisions of the UN-backed Interim
Accord from 1995, Greece blocked Macedonia’s admission to NATO
and the beginning of negotiations for the country’s EU membership.
Failure to integrate into these two organisations risked bringing about
economic hardship to the country, set against the background of lingering
interethnic tensions with the Albanian minority which had escalated into
armed conflict in 2001. Given the fragility of the region and the delicate
relations with Macedonia’s neighbours, the solution of the name dispute
has been crucial throughout the period and has impacted upon the
internal stability of Macedonia. In the fourth chapter on ‘The Impossible
Reconciliation of Historical Narratives’, Zhidas Daskalovski argues that
whilst for a variety of historical reasons Macedonia’s relations have been
difficult with all of its neighbours, relations with Greece have been crucial
for the long-term stability and development of the country. He opens by
providing an overview of the name dispute, since the Macedonian decla-
ration of independence in September 1991, set against the background
of the uneasy period of state building confronting the transformation of
Macedonian society that culminated in internal armed conflict in 2001.
He then explains the Greek position on the name dispute, which has
consistently argued that the Republic of Macedonia does not have a
historical right to the names of Macedonia and Macedonians. The author
goes on to present the Macedonian position on the name dispute and
then the clash between national narratives and nation building with refer-
ences to Benedict Anderson, Anthony Smith, Barbara Jelavich and Pierre
Bourdieu inter alia. So, how can the dispute be resolved? Originally
writing just before the signing of the Prespa Agreement, Daskalovski
presents potential legal and political solutions to the problem in the
run-up to the events of June 2018 when the Prespa Agreement was
brokered between Alexis Tsipras and Zoran Zaev. For Daskalovski, the
issue is not just about Macedonia gaining access to the EU and NATO,
but about ensuring Macedonian stability, given that if the EU should
6 R. HUDSON AND I. DODOVSKI

continue to side with Greece, this might further stimulate ethnic Mace-
donian nationalism. Such a development might in turn lead to a backlash
from the ethnic Albanian minority, encouraged by Kosovo’s indepen-
dence and the fact that Albania is already a NATO member and moving
to ever closer EU integration. Any instability in Macedonia could spill
over the borders, causing conflict with Bulgaria, Turkey and Albania. In
his postscript written after the signing of the 2018 Prespa Agreement,
Daskalovski points out that, beyond potential NATO and EU member-
ship for North Macedonia, critics will argue that a name lies at the heart
not only of the individual, but also of a collective identity and that no
outside government should waive the Macedonian people’s right to self-
determination. In the meantime, with the signing of NATO’s accession
protocol on 6 February 2019, which was subsequently ratified by NATO’s
29 member countries, on 27 March 2020 North Macedonia eventually
became part of the alliance by depositing its instrument of accession.
In the fifth chapter entitled ‘The Economic Transition of Macedonia’,
Marjan Petreski provides an overview of the performance of the Mace-
donian economy over the period since the abandoning of the central
planning economy until the present day. In particular, he focuses on the
thorny road that the country took after gaining its independence from
Yugoslavia, whereby Macedonia was rated along with Romania as having
endured the worst privatisation processes of the former socialist bloc.
This period witnessed the impoverishment of the working class, following
trade collapse, large layoffs of the work force, high inflation and a stag-
nant economy. Petreski explains the separation of Macedonia from the
Yugoslav monetary union of the then dinar and the introduction of Mace-
donia’s own currency, the denar, in a time of galloping prices and empty
shelves in the supermarkets.
This chapter disentangles the structural policies pursued to reform the
economy, as well as the monetary and fiscal policies that were set in order
to achieve macroeconomic stability. Specifically, the author explains the
set-up and the context of the introduction of the exchange-rate peg to the
then German mark and then to the euro, which has continued to function
until the present day. Particular emphasis is placed on the impact of the
economy of several non-economic processes, such as the intense corrup-
tion, state capture and political instability, embargoes, refugee crises and
the internal armed conflict, all being prevalent or hitting the country
during the period under investigation.
 1 INTRODUCTION 7

Petreski also discusses two current topics in the context of Macedonian

transition. The first is the emigration ‘crisis’, with the large transfer of
the Macedonian workforce to the West, including a brain-drain. This is
a problem rooted in the early years of transition which has continued
into the present day. It is estimated that more than 250,000 Macedonian
citizens (more than 12% of the population) have left the country since
1991, dissatisfied with the poor economic opportunities and the quality of
life in Macedonia. The second section focuses on the effect Macedonia’s
desire to achieve full membership of the European Union is having on
the Macedonian economy to join the European market and face up to
subsequent competitive pressure. The final part of the chapter discusses
the effects of the recent global economic crisis and the European Debt
Crisis on the Macedonian economy. Special consideration is devoted to
the effects of the Greek economic crisis on the Macedonian economy,
amid the name dispute with Greece which has only recently been resolved.
This leads us nicely into the sixth chapter where Hyrije Abazi-Alili anal-
yses the Macedonian transition from a financial perspective. One of the
key issues confronting Macedonia in the difficult period which witnessed
independence and the early stages of transition was the privatisation of its
socially owned enterprises inherited from the Yugoslav self-management
system (samoupravuvanje). Abazi-Alili points out how the successor states
to Yugoslavia differed from other socialist economies in that property
rights and capital were owned by society rather than by the state, so
that employees became the direct beneficiaries of the former Yugoslav
enterprises. This obviously posed a problem for the newly independent
Macedonian government, which was privatising in hazardous times, given
the nature of the conflicts breaking out elsewhere in the former Yugoslav
republics. In this chapter, Abazi-Alili explains the nature and implications
of the 1993 Law on the Transformation of Enterprises with Social Capital.
The downside of the privatisation process came after 1993 as managers
began to convince, sometimes by use of force, their employees to sell their
shares. This ties in with Petreski’s observation in the previous chapter
that Macedonia had the highest and ever-increasing unemployment rate
of all the former Yugoslav republics, so that the Macedonian, along with
the Romanian, privatisation processes were the worst executed ones in all
the countries of the former-Socialist bloc. The early period of privatisa-
tion was characterised by sackings and forced redundancies, leading to a
large number of protests as the government navigated its course through
8 R. HUDSON AND I. DODOVSKI

an unstable period. To add to the problem, the ethnic Albanian popula-

tion did not benefit from privatisation to the same extent as the ethnic
Macedonian population. This was partly because of greater unemploy-
ment amongst this group, exacerbated by lower education standards by
comparison with the ethnic Macedonians, which all led to their under-
representation in managerial positions, with few ethnic Albanians actually
understanding what shares were actually all about. It is possible that this
sense of being disadvantaged by the whole privatisation process might
have fed into the sense of grievance that eventually surfaced in the armed
insurrection of 2001. During the 2000s, the Macedonian government
launched an intensive investment promotion campaign to attract foreign
investors into the country. So that, from a financial perspective, in the
second decade of the century there were clear signs that the Macedonian
transition was coming to an end.
Ever since gaining independence in 1991, the Republic of Macedonia
established the plurality of political parties as one of the foundations of
its political system. In the seventh chapter, Nenad Markovikj shows how
this was based on a very liberal framework for party formation, and how
in the early years of its democratic transition, Macedonia started out as a
fragmented political system, evolving from a four-party system with two
prominent Macedonian and two prominent Albanian parties occasionally
evolving into a political system with a predominant party. The devel-
opment of the party system has also been accompanied by the change
of as many electoral models: first, a majoritarian model, between 1990
and 1998; then a mixed majoritarian and proportional model, between
1998 and 2002; and finally, D’Hondt’s proportional model, between
2002 and the present. In addition to this, there have been fundamental
constitutional changes arising out of the Ohrid Framework Agreement of
2001.
It becomes clear that Macedonia is notorious when it comes to political
clientelism in which personal and political ties are essential in acquiring a
job, and that Macedonian politics is based on a complete blurring of the
separation of powers, so that the wiretapping scandal of 2015 was the
outcome of a classical clientele and patronage system. Markovikj paints
a pretty grim picture, commenting on how Macedonia suffers from one
of the lowest levels of social trust in the Balkans. He argues that low
confidence in the institutions and the existence of one of the lowest levels
of social capital by comparison with the rest of the Balkan region put
Macedonia in the group of mistrust societies where political ties are built,
 1 INTRODUCTION 9

based on kinship and solidarity groups, rather than on authentic polit-

ical affiliation or political interest. He goes on to argue that whilst the
development of the political party scene, accompanied by an evolving
electoral and constitutional framework, has changed the political land-
scape of Macedonia, it has failed to change two fundamental features of
the political process in the country. Markovikj is referring to: the highly
undemocratic and even ‘sultanistic’ nature of the political parties and the
constant spill over of the political process from the borders of the polit-
ical system into ‘idiosyncratic forms’ of democracy. These ‘idiosyncratic
forms’ entail everything from leaders’ meetings to the intervention of
extra-constitutional political actors such as the international community.
In addition to all of this, there are those interethnic negotiations at the
level of ethnic groups with regard to political battles carried out by party
‘negotiators’ posing as ethnic entrepreneurs.
Without the start of accession negotiations with the EU, Macedonia is
the only country, apart from Turkey, which has experienced such a long-
delayed status in the EU integration process. So argues Blerim Reka in the
eighth chapter of this book, entitled ‘Macedonia’s Euro-Atlantic Integra-
tion’. The author comments on how in the first decade of independence
Macedonia had established official bilateral relations with the EU, but that
since the Bucharest summit in 2008, when Greece vetoed Macedonia’s
NATO membership bid, both the European Union and NATO accession
of the country were put on hold. Reka argues that remaining outside
EU integration and NATO membership brought Macedonia’s future into
question. Nevertheless, if Macedonia had been confronted with one major
external issue for such a long time, namely the name dispute with Greece,
this situation would eventually be resolved following the signing of the
Prespa Agreement of June 2018, and in due course, North Macedonia
was welcomed into NATO as the thirtieth member state, in March 2020.
Yet, just as it looked as though the country could finally start negotiating
entry into the EU, Bulgaria put a veto on the Negotiation Framework
for North Macedonia’s accession talks with the EU in November 2019,
based on Bulgaria’s rejection of North Macedonia’s historical, cultural
and linguistic identity.
However, these two external issues apart, the focus of Reka’s chapter
is an analysis of the two key internal processes which were designated by
the EU and NATO as being pre-conditions for any further Euro-Atlantic
integration of the republic, namely greater interethnic reconciliation
following the 2001 Ohrid Framework Agreement and greater intra-ethnic
10 R. HUDSON AND I. DODOVSKI

political dialogue, through the 2015 Przhino Agreement. Reka analyses

the challenging internal domestic issues over the greater democratisation
of the country with evidence of scandals, political corruption and state
capture with reference to the ‘tape scandals’, the Przhino Process and
the failure of the Office of the Special Prosecutor to bring allegations of
political corruption to the criminal courts. Whilst the author acknowl-
edges the importance of relations with external neighbours, and the need
to end historical disputes with Bulgaria, as in the case of having ended the
name dispute with Greece, he argues that at the end of the day internal
intra-ethnic relations and building a democratic, functional and multi-
ethnic state are crucial to the future stability of North Macedonia and
the broader region as a whole, particularly when set against the back-
ground of the changing geopolitical situation in Europe and the growing
influence of non-Euro-Atlantic powers. Resolving these internal disputes
is also crucial to the process of North Macedonia’s integration into the
EU.
When dealing with migration and its effect on Macedonia, four specific
dates during the country’s long transition spring to mind: 1991, 1992,
1999 and 2015. The year 1991 witnessed the attempted migration
of ethnic Macedonians from Albania into Macedonia, mainly from the
southern and western shores of Lake Ohrid. These Albanian Macedo-
nians were looking for better living conditions and legal settlement in
Macedonia, yet they were encouraged by the Macedonian authorities
to remain in the country in which their families had been living for
several centuries, and with the passage of time successive Macedonian
governments lobbied for an improvement in the political status of ethnic
Macedonians in Albania.
The spring of 1992 witnessed a larger migration of some 90,000
refugees into Macedonia, mostly Bošnjaks (Bosnian Muslims) from Bosnia
and Hercegovina who were fleeing the conflict raging in their country
between 1992 and 1995. This influx of migrants and refugees placed
considerable pressure on the Macedonian infrastructure at the time.
Then came NATO’s conflict with Serbia over Kosovo—the 78-day war
in 1999 which brought in a massive influx of 360,000 Kosovar Albanians
fleeing persecution from the Serbian authorities (operation Horseshoe)
which came in direct response to NATO bombardments of Yugoslavia.
The 1999 migration not only threatened the institutional capacities of
the recently independent state by impacting upon Macedonia’s health,
welfare and educational infrastructure, but also threatened a considerable
 1 INTRODUCTION 11

imbalance to the ethnic make-up of the country as the temporary resi-

dents made up 17% of the population, in addition to the approximately
23% ethnic Albanian population already living in the country.
So, when it comes to any potentially significant increase in the number
of migrants entering and transiting the country in 2015 and 2016, one
can begin to understand how this might have been disconcerting not only
for many EU member states and Western Balkan countries in general,
but for the Republic of Macedonia in particular. Indeed, in 2015 the
largest number of refugees and migrants who entered Europe was regis-
tered as reaching one million before the end of December in what was an
outstanding moment in the history of migration movements. Admittedly,
most migrants and refugees saw Macedonia as a transit country rather
than as a country of final destination which led to the state institutions
working more on facilitating transit, rather than improving the national
asylum system.
Marina Andeva takes up on this theme in her chapter on ‘Migration
Movements and Their Implications for Macedonia’, pointing out that the
flow of migrants and refugees from Africa, the Middle East and South Asia
has presented all European leaders and policymakers with their greatest
challenge since the beginning of the European economic crisis in 2008.
In Andeva’s opinion, the Republic of Macedonia and its role within the
Balkan Route is seen as being of crucial importance and is frequently
disputed. In her chapter, she attempts to present the Macedonian expe-
riences with migration movements by focusing first on the right of the
free movement of people and Macedonia’s position in the face of recent
emigration issues and analyses the Macedonian legal framework in the
field of illegal migration and asylum and whether or not the country’s
regulatory framework is in compliance with EU measures on asylum and
refugees.
In Andeva’s opinion, Macedonia has stepped up to the plate and faced
up to protecting the EU borders, even though it is as yet a non-EU,
non-Schengen state. Yet, for all this, Macedonia has been accused of
having used the migration crisis to override its democratic commitments,
whilst Greece has accused Macedonia as having ‘shamed’ Europe by using
plastic bullets, stun grenades and tear gas to beat back refugees from the
border gates between Macedonia and Greece. Sadly, one remembers the
images on television at the time. Yet, at the end of the day, in spite of the
fact Macedonia is not as yet a member state of the EU, Andeva demon-
strates that Macedonian legislation has to a large extent complied with EU
Another random document with
no related content on Scribd:
Met duizel en gloeiing van woede in z’n hoofd, ging ie terug. Z’n
kinder-poppig gezicht stond stram. In giftige vegen rukte ie door z’n
baard, bisschoppelijk-zilver op kielblauw.

Tot laat in den avond bleven de jongens op ’t land. Als wisten ze van
geen ophouen en vermoeienis. Dirk neuriede zachtjes, want nou,
t’met over ’n half uurtje zag ie z’n meid.

Overal op de akkers van bollen en tuinderij stond nog werkvolk te

wroeten in den grond, koppen gebukt naar de aarde, nekken
weggediept achter groote zonnehoedranden. Soms in halsheffing
even, keken wat verbronsde koppen òp, staarden lichtende oogen
rond, in ’t wije akkerland. Dàn weer vóórt, in kruip, of hurk, hakkend,
kervend, wiedend, over den groen-lichtenden grond, altijd gezichten
néér, in strakken loer naar ’t gewas, handenparen, groot en woest in
grabbel, tot zonnevuur wegzonk en koelende scheemring over de
velden doolde, stil en wijd, den nacht in. [284]

[Inhoud]
 TIENDE HOOFDSTUK.

Om den hoek van Wiereland, waar dorp Duinkijk begon, poortte,

recht voor landgoed van jonkheer van Ouwenaar, ’n beukenlaan,
prachtig in bloei. Rondom stonden de lommerende moestuinen,
groenende boomgaarden, innig-zonnige, klooster-stille hofjes en
wilde boschplekken, woest opgroeiend hakhout vóór en tusschen
weibrokken, in heidergroene, wondre glorie te gouddampen in ’t licht.

In den Mei-ochtend straalde wonderteer, goudglanzing door de

beukenlaan, schaduwkoel en omboogd in gothischen takgroei. En
diep, diep, aan laan-end, naar het voortuinbrok van den jonkheer,
schitterde op lichtrookenden achtergrond van goudgroen,
zondoordoopte bladerenpracht, vonkerend in zonnegoud.

Diep-poortig neigde ’t siergroen van beukenlaan in takkenpracht,

naar elkaar toe, en daaronder bloeiden jonge meidoornhagen, als
lichtgroene betrofeede wanden van glans, doorrookt van sappige
bloesemgeuren, waarachter weer ooft- en moestuinen aroomden,
met hun zwaàr beladen vruchtboomen. Als àfglanzend fijn
goudwaas, lichtten de hagen zàchter glans terug, op ’t donkere
beschaduwde boomgroen van beukenlaan, er boven dichtgegroeid
in geheim-stille pracht. En hoog, van af Duinkijk-weg, tot diep in de
laan naàr ’t landgoed, stond tusschen elken boom, in goud-groene
vochtsfeer van zoelende zoete Mei gedoopt, ’n rooie beuk, geweldig
hoog opschietend, met brons-goud van blaren, hooger, al hooger,
vergloeiend in bloedrooden tooi, met suizelende toppen, doorvlamd
van zon; diep prachtvuur van wijnrooden gloed, wuivend ’t zalige
wije, [285]trillende luchtblauw in. Zoo, hoog geheven, boven gothische
laan, die donkergroende in koelend lommer, uit de aarde òpgoudde
met wazende wanden van zacht licht,—zoo bloedde in karmijnen
zang, om tooversfeer van getemperden gouden poortschemer, de
rooie beukenbrand in luchtegloed.—

En ver, perspektivisch verkleind, ’t vóórbosch van Van Ouwenaar’s

landgoed, met z’n hooge, goud-groene grot, oplichtend uit ’t
laanlommer, door de zon erin gegraven. Langzaam nu en dan,
schommelden in de beukenlaan, uit dwarspaden en
wegkrommingen, boerenkarren en wagens áán, langzaam, onder de
koele schaduwgroene poort, tot ze op ’t eind inplasten, paardpooten,
schommelkar en al, in de dicht rookende zonnegrot; plasten daar, in
zuiver dampend goud, met ’n warreling nog van takkenschaduw,
splinterend fijne silhouetjes, op karkrat en achterbinten, van vèr,
vlietend te zien.

Gouïg-licht tentwagentje reed luchtig door laandiepe poort, en plots

aan ’t eind, ook dàt plaste weg in lichtgrot, als verdrinkend in
zonnedamp, dook weer òp in nauwen wegkronkel, met stille vaste
naschittering van z’n hoogen, gouen rug en verpaarste kap.

Gloed-teer straalde Meizon, in trillende glorie op ’t witte pleister van

tuinmanshuis, van de laan uit te zien als fellichtende reuzige krijtvlek,
schitter-ver, blauwig afdampend waasglans, bijzij uithoekend naast
de goudgroene grot, zonneplas van vóórbosch. Over grondje van
beukenlaan, éven zonnend paars-rood beschemerd, sprankelden en
flonkerden grillige zonspatten, door bladerengaatjes neergepijld in
gebroken glans, verdampend als fijn paars-blank licht. En tusschen
de verdonkerende beukenstammen aan weerszij, zweefde fijn
schaduwleven, zacht violet-teer, verkoelde de lichtnevel, waar
insekten in zoemden en slierten, sòms met glans-strependen
dwarrel, dàn drijvend in stilstaande vleugeltrilling op goud
uitpoeierende lucht.

Heel de laan, met haar beuken-rood voorspel van hooge karmijnen

sier, rood, smachtend roode regen van ruischend licht, naast goud-
doorkoortsten groenen bladerentooi, door elkaar [286]heengeslingerd
in takkenpracht, goud-poortte daar, in wondre luistering naar
Meigroene lied, naar streel-lichte, lokkende vogelen; minne-gevloei
van zilveren zangetjes overal uit de lucht, de zoet-geurende, zalige
lucht. En rondomme, ’t zoet-zachte gekwinkeleer uit de zilveren
gorgeltjes van zanglijsters en leeuw’rik de lokkende zangaanloopjes
van parelende minneliedjes, eindloos zoet, wiegend gestreel van
fijne vlei-fluitjes.

Zoo, in Mei-droom vloeide koele, groene schemer uit en in de

beukenpoort, als voorhof van ’t landgoed, met z’n grot van
fonteinende, opspritsende zonnevlammen aan ’t eind, heet vloeiend
goud, waar alles naar toe dreef, alles in verdronk en verdampte.

Langs Wiereland en Duinkijk, overal uit de tuinderijen, op vervlakten

duingrond, tusschen bedden groenten en aardbeien in, harpten in
wonderteere standen de vruchtboompjes, bebloesemd, rose
sneeuwig en purperend blank, zoet bruidswit, doorvlekt van
scheutjes rose, maagdelijk teer. Stil harpten hun takken en stil, de
knoestig dikke, fijn-groen bemoste stammetjes stonden daar,
omjoeld van lichtend groen, in hun broos bloesemleven, in roerloos
gepeins, over eigen vruchtbare schoonheid. Overal, rond de
vruchtboompjes, uit de tuinen, wasemde òp, kruiig kittelend aroma
van versche groenten, sappige gistigheid, zoete seringen,
verwaaiende in koelen windwuif, geurgevloei langs akkers en
wegjes. En van overal, kastanjebloesem en jasmijnen zongen méé
in den zoeten wellustzang van zacht-rookige geuren uit tulpen en
hyacinten-akkers.

De tulpen stonden er met hun vlam-kelken open, te duizelen, diep in

het licht. Eén felle duizel van kleuren, tulpenbrand, die het land te
schroeien lei in laaiende kleuren. Langs de akkers, op weg naar
Zeekijk, waar de duinen eerst heel aan ’t eind, vaag opgolfden in
violet waas, aan twee kanten, schoten telkens vooruit, tulpenvelden
en hyacint-akkers. Maar ’t dichtst om Wiereland, ver van hoogduin,
tusschen de bewerkte, vlakke tuinderijteelt, rijden ààn, nuancen van
paars kleurleven, en witte, zacht golvende hyacinten-zee. [287]Het
licht stond er voor te beven, te sidderen, kroop en boorde driftig in de
kelken, als hommeltong in honingmerk, bruiste er rond, dronken-
zwaar van geuren, smolt er in het bloemaroom. Heele zeebrokken
paars, op licht groen bladerloof, golfden áán, zangerige symfonie
van licht, naar àl dieper blauwpaars, tot plots in anderen akker, de
vloed terugsprong in donkere deining van rood, tusschen
schuimenden sneeuwval van witte hyacinten, midden in. En rond die
blanke lawine, op doorschijnend loofgroen, dat te flitsen zilverde in
zon, bronzen, kaneel-doorpoeierde kleuringen, wulpsch-roze, zoete
brand van roodbruin en lila. Stoetjes van uitrookende geur-klokken,
legende-doorwaasde feeërie, kleurfestijn in ’t sprokenland.…

Rondom, één wijde aanspoeling, aangolving van kleur-klokjes, die

sidderden, zwollen in ’t zonnegoud, brand van bloemen, in al
gamma’s; kleurwemel die koortsend te zingen, te ijlen lag onder
azuren lichtteeren Meihemel.—

Maar feller nog, rond half-verdorde hyacinten, festijnden met hun

rook-rooden adem, de grootere, fellere kleurenbrand van tulpen, die
lichtfeest vierden pas. Als een orgie van vlammen, kroop, sloeg,
rilde, leefde, ijlde ’t licht dáár op de aarde.

Héél-stille groene hoeken, stil van sappige moestuinteelt, in

Meizoeten toon, aan greppels en beekoevertjes, in lentepraal
volgestrooid met druipglanzende boterbloempjes, omzoend van
onschuld-madeliefjes met d’r gele koontjes, naïeve kijkertjes,
halsjes-rekkend uit ’t malsche grasgroen, tusschen de fijn geschulpte
akkerhoorn,—heel die stille hoekjes, teer wit, broos wit,
sneeuwspatjes rond gouên vonken in ’t klare groen,—lagen plots
verdrongen door vlammenbrand van tulpen, helsch-hevig en
schroeiblakerend, als levende kleurkreet; vermiljoen, daar
aangeblazen tot hellevuur in kelken, vlammen die in wondren brand,
zichzelf styleerden in levend spel van vonklijnen, uitlekten en rank
weer òpgroeiden tot flonkerende wijnschalen, op blauw-waas van
loof, grijs-zacht bedauwd. Heel de bosschage, duin-woest, op hooge
glooiingen uitgegroeid boomgroen, wild hakhout, met z’n sier van
roze en witte koekoek, z’n blanke lafenis van vloeiend vogelenmelk,
z’n slanke waterster,—lag [288]daar, als weggeslagen en verdoft
achter de kleurkreten der tulpen. Tulpen van spattend vuur, kelken
wijd-open, waar invloeide schuimende zomer-wijn, borrelde bruisend
in de roemers, boordevol geschonken, dat de zonnedrank als
lichtvocht er droop over de kelkranden.

En vlak daarnaast, erover, ertusschen, duizelden kleurgamma’s van

hoog goudgeel, en goud-gloeiende honigkelken, die bruisten en
vonkten, vlak tegen het rooie tulpenvuur, in rondsidderenden,
zengenden gang langs den grond. En verder, weer akkers, vol
donkerend tulpenpurper, als in verdoofden zwijmel uitgedroesemd,
met enkele schalen slank er boven uit, stengelende, lichtende
kelken, er nog tusschen, als schitterende roemers, hoog geheven in
het laaiende licht, dat er bruisend in vervonkte en spatte als
schuimende zonnewijn. En rond daarom weer, als nooit eindigende
zee, aangolving van nog donkerder kelken, rood doordauwde tulpen,
wazig geplooid in half uitknoppende bloem, waar al driftig het
zonnegoud tegen opspatte, de beschulpte randjes verterend in
gloed.—Daarachter weer koraal-rood gevlam, met ertegen
opgedrongen, diep gele en witte lawines van lichtende, luiende
kleurklokken.… En heel apart, als vreemde, zoetste, tooverende
akkersier, in geheim-zachten geur, die er boven bleef drijven als
nevel, tulpen van teederst zangerig lila. Kelken, uitgeschulpt in ’t
fijnste rose, blankig doorroomd. Kelken, hoog en groot, als omblazen
in waas van venetiaansch glas, met rond-dwalende weerschijnen,
besluierd teer-blauw, en roze-rood hier, wazig en blank purper daàr,
fijn gebogen in stengelsier. Ver van het helsche demonenrood, het
gillende vuur, waarin het licht gepijnigd bruiste, dìe akkers met hun
teeren kelkenbouw, uitgegroeid als glanzig uitwaaierend spel van
venetiaansche roemers, doorwaasd in kleurmist. Koel en toch
vonkend, broos, teeder en toch rank-sterk, zonder brio-brand,
doorgeurd en zwemmend onder den nevel van hun eigen zoetsten
gouden honinggeur, als temperend de ijlende lichtkoorts van de
rondomme vlammen-akkers.—

En vreemd, in ’t lage land, met z’n vochtdamp en prachtig

[289]mistend lichtzilver, gloeide daar overal van tulpen, rooie, gele,
paarse brand; kleuraangolving van narcissen en hyacinten, zònder
oplossing in ’t lichtende, heldere schitter-innige weigroen, en de
goud doordampte stille achtergronden van vervlakt duin, zònder rust
in ’t avondnevelige waterland, met z’n goudvocht en trillende
vloersen.—

Als was daverende stoet Oosterlingen neergestort en verpulverd op

de lage landen, als had titanische vulkaan-ruk één heet kleur-
doordoopt brok zuideraarde uitgeslingerd en weggespoten, midden
in den verbluften Hollandschen Mei, met z’n malsche wei-groening
en grazige zoetheid, zoo onopgelost bleven daar gloeien de
bollenakkers, helsch opengebarsten brand, uit eerst koesterend
groen van prachtig sierloof.

[Inhoud]

II.
In festoenen hing zoo de Meidag te tooveren, was wintergrauw in
Wiereland weggezakt, goudde ’t licht, schooner soms waar geen
bollenakkers te koortsen geurden, in de tuinen, op stille laantjes en
paadjes; lichtgesprenkel van zon, splinterend rond drommen,
goudgroen boomblaar. Omjubeld van licht en kleur stonden de
landwerkers in den Meidag, in pracht van werkgebaar, op de groene
akkers, warm-rood en blauw bekield, in ’t opene zonneveld of
kleurschemerend tusschen rijzenpaadjes.

Plots kwam Meimaand weifelen, verstierf de goudpracht van de

jubelende dagen. Als in zatten wellust leien de bollenakkers elken
dag weer hun geuren uit te hijgen, tusschen het geploeter der kerels,
die niets meer zagen van kleurpracht rondom. Plots was daar,
dampige horizon aangewaasd, wuifden wolkenslierten als reuzige
veeren, berkenzilverend den hemel door, trok grijzig luchtspel uit zee
áán. ’t Groen dreef in tintige wazen, en Hollandsch-ijl, dampte er
weer gebroken licht door ’t landschap.

De kleurlyriek van Mei donkerde àl zwaarder weg, achter luchtgrauw

en zilverende gevaarten. Hengelaars, éven achter [290]Wierelandsch
haventje, in polderbegin, stonden onrustig aan de rustieke
weidammetjes in ’t watervlak te turen, dat soms schitterspatte,
zilvervloeiend en rimpelend, of stug terugkaatste wolkdreigende
regenlucht, ontzaglijk welvend over polderruimte, waar het stille zilte
licht, wijd-neergeplast, nattig glansde over veld en wei. ’s Avonds
vooral, lei Wierelandsche polder, stil en oneindig, steeg er dampige
watergeur uit de kronkelende plassen, soms éven lichtelijk doortint
van avondrood, ging er koele rietfluister langs slootjes en kwaakte er
stijgende kikkerzang uit de droomerige, innige oevertjes. Vochtig en
doorzilverd wasemden de dagen daar uit. Soms droef plots, in ’t
verguurde weer, eenzaamden boven fort en dijken, vage
kerktorentjes, als violette puntjes op horizonrond. En zacht, in
wissel-licht, schemerden de avonden weer aan, ruischte en
fonteinde ’t riet, teer en geheimvol, als fluisterend van nog komende
zoete Mei-verlangens; doofde droomerig, op kleine sloepjes en
schuitjes, weggegroend tusschen slootkantjes en pluimriet, de
kleuren en tinten stil uit. En áánwieken kwam in breede zeilvlucht en
zwier, ’n ooievaar door de eenzaame polderlucht, steeg aan anderen
kant òp, van donkerende weivlakte, klein leeuwerikbeestje,
uitparelend hóóg, zoeten zang, als gewiegde toontjes van fluitlied,
stijgend in jubel, doorslierd van zilveren klankjes, tègen het late
wolkenspel in, al hooger zwevend tusschen oneindigheid van
donkerend weigroen en wijd-eenzame avondlucht.

Er ging gemor onder de tuinders van Wiereland en omtrek.

Snerpende vorst hield ’s nachts aan. Wat jonge groente stond gelig,
blad-verdord, doorspoeld van regen en ’s nachts vroren fijne
vruchtbloesems dood. Schade, schade van allen kant. Nergens
meer schoot ’t gewas de aarde uit. Alles klefde en modderde vuil.
Overal was geloer van angstige tuinderskoppen naar den grond, op
de bedden, angstig gekijk naar onheil en schade. ’t Weer bleef
dreigen kil, en windguurte vlijmde langs de akkers, de kerels in ’t
gezicht, dat hun handen soms krampten in kou-onmacht.

—Da sel main ’n loatertje worre, gromden ze tegen elkaar, [291]in

nood voor hun oogst. Mee klaagden de kweekers, die bang waren
voor hun bollen.

Aan Duinkijk, naar zee, stond ’n groepje tuinders te praten, met één
kerel op den akker.

—Daa’s puur bot afspronge van alle weer, zei dof ’n lange uit ’t
stoetje.

—Daa’s net, de vorst hep hier huishoue.… kaik t’met alle

blommetjes dood op die oarbai-bedde.… en kaik die frambose.… die
appele!.… die pruime!.… kaik kaik! die peere! d’r is kwoalik veur vier
duite meer àn!

Stil liep ’t stoetje door, bleef de werker op z’n akkers, zorgelijk turend
naar z’n bedden en vruchtboomen.

Dagen op dagen bleef regen drenken en vorst door de aarde killen,

vunsde er vocht uit regengrond, dampig en nattig. Onrustig joegen
de tuinders elkaar òp in hun verborgen angst. Dat was nog nooit
gezien, zoo slechte maand.

Toen plots, sloeg Meiweer òm, kwam goudpracht weer lichten in

goudgroenen gloed over het volgedromde boomenstedeke en dorp.
—Heel vroeg in de ochtenden, blankte en purperde de
bloesempracht van vruchtboomen weer, als nooit te voren.

Uit de beukenlaan liep ’n lange, magere tuinder met de zeis op den

rug, zilveren bliksems vlijmend en flitsend boven z’n hoofd, als
zenboom bewoog op z’n krommige schouers. Achter dichtgegroeide,
begroende rijzenlaantjes met erwten, op de akkers, klonk klare
mannestem, zangerig en diep, in de hooge gouen lichtglorie en
morgenblauwte, tusschen zang van kerse-diefjes, alt-volle
melodiëerende merels en nachtegaalslag, schuchter, toch vloeiend.
Eén wild getjirp en getjilp, fluiterig gedraal van zoet-lokkende
lentezangetjes en geluidjes, waar doorhéén galmde, in vibreerende
sonore diepte, de menschenstem, verborgen achter ’t groen van
vruchtboomen en haag, dat ’t daverde door de zoet-geurende
zonneruimte. Overal harpte takkensier in moestuinen, en weelde-
bloeseming. De groene hagedoorn stroomde van licht, en op al de
labyrinthpaadjes en laantjes verjubelde groen-goud, lagen hoog
doorzond, de doodstille wegjes in den reinen Meiglans om
Wiereland, volgestrooid en doorwaaid met [292]zoetsten geur, licht-
bedroesemend in zwijmel. In pracht van stilte en licht, stond ’t wilde
hakhout rondom te dauw-druppen, en bladergroen te zwemmen in
zonnegoud. Wondere lentelicht dauwde en vloeide er, één
sneeuwing van maagde-blank uit de vruchtboompjes, in hun
mystieke gratie van heerlijken takgroei, geheimvol neigende
standen, als spraken ze ’n taal van zachte tinten, gebukt onder het
zware, vrucht-sappige leven. De boomen en boompjes, van noot,
morel, peer, appel en pruim dààr, harpten in bruidswit,
bloesemsneeuw, in blankste gamma, overwaaid met goudstof dat er
van kapellenvleugels poeiert, blank-ijl, in het dansende dronken
geurlicht. De bloesemen erop, breed-uit in takwiegeling, als stille
glans-ruikers van heilige pracht, toch beschroomd in hun overvloed,
teer in hun maagde-adem, als verblankte bruidszielen, omstraald
door de Meitoortsen van goudglans.

Verwrongen de takken, de kleine verkromde stammetjes gebukt,

ernstig van vol leven dat ze droegen, stonden andere pereboompjes
weer als geheiligde kommuniekinders, in gewijde schittering, stil nu
en hoogblank, in het zachte groene land, roerloos. Tusschen die in
weer, op ’t doordauwde grasgefonkel rijden òp, zacht-rose
sneeuwige appelboompjes, als hooggegroeide boeketten, in zacht-
wadend goud; stammetjes, bescheiden teruggekrompen, als in angst
voor de zoete purpering van bloesemweelde. Weer andere, kleiner
en ranker, gebogen in bidhouding, heilige bekoring van groei, stil
gebaar van schoonheid, toch overzegend met lichtende bloeseming,
ònder de hoogeren, in luisterend leven. En overal van de paden, op
lichte koele wuifjes, zoelde ààn, geur van linden, kastanje en sering.

In wondre verjonging praalde het stugge grauwe winterstedeke weer,

van goudschemer en groen. Langs de weggetjes, woest gestruik bij
slooten, zeefde Meilicht, stonden hoogslanke, wilde waterboeketten,
fijnrose koekoek. Teere zilvering blankte langs de greppeling, woest
doorgroeide oeverbeekjes, hoog belommerd, met zilverend
pluimgras, riet, goud-gloeijende brem en doovenetel. Felle
boterbloempjes glansden als gepolijst; en overal [293]rondom,
hooggele toetjes en vlekjes van roze koekoek, even paars getoorts
van hondsdraf, laag gekruip van madeliefjes en akkerhoorn.—Soms
in de blanke Meimaand, uit de fijne darteling van lichtende glanzen
en deinende, brooze tinten, schoten òp hoog-roode papavers,
kopjes-wiegelend op slanke stengeling.

Ook de straatjes van Wiereland, nauwe kronkel van arbeiderswijkjes,

zwommen in bloeseming en geur, groenden in boomenpracht,
waaiden vol Meihoning en doordrènkende grasgeur. Overal waaide ’t
vol lichtjes en zonneflitsjes, vol goud-gevonk en lommering, zoemde
gevleugel van insekten en goudhaantjes, die aandreven als vurige
arabeske, in slingerende lijn door de lucht, vliegjes met groenstalige
schijnseltjes en goud-beschubde lijfjes.

Zoo bleef de Meiemaand rondgaan in ’t stedeke en dorpjes-zeeweg.

Door de tuinen en uitgebloeide bollenvelden, vergeurden de
seringen hun weemoedsgeur in avondrood, kwam ’t schemergoud in
nog heiliger nimbusval glanzen, roodblond en gloedloos, droom-teer,
als van bijbelschen boschbrand, niets verterend. ’t Licht verstierf
over de kleine, stille dorpshuisjes, even néervloeiend voor de
raampjes, plintjes, kozijnen, ze bewasemend vol rooden goudglans,
als staarden ze òp de ruitjes, naar de Zon, die wijd-plechtig verzonk,
in wolken van wond’re violet, en staartglans van pauwendauw.

[Inhoud]

III.

Loom slofte Kees den weg naar zee af, met doffen klomp-schuur,
zandwolken voor zich uitpoeierend. Eindelijk dan was ie bij de
sekretarie van Duinkijk, doodop van verveling en lanterfanterigheid.

In de zoete lenteavond-scheemring van weibrok, achter Van

Ouwenaar’s landgoed, vaagden vorm-fijn, twee stille, peinzende
paardjes, grazend in halslagen kop-hang. Avond was aangefloersd
in heilige rust. Overal rond droomden wazig, in duister dampig violet,
tonige bosschages, en hoog aan een zij van den [294]weg, dromden
dennen, donker op zwaar begroeide glooiingen, waarachter ver,
woeste duinstreek schemer-mistte, tusschen jachtgrond van Van
Ouwenaar, tot aan zee. Waziger in rust, dommelde andere tuinkant,
vlak-bewerkte moestuinderij, met ver, teer paars verschiet op
duingolvingen. Uit de pastorie, schuin over Kees woning, glansde
avondlampje op ’n kamer, roodzacht kapje, in goud-oranjen
lichtkring. Stil zat dominee in mijmer, in ’n rieten tuinstoel, aan den
weg. Sigaren-rook krulde wolkerig loom om z’n in schemer
verduisterd gezicht. Loome koe-gestalten, in de wei, vlak vooraan,
stapten over donkerend avondgroen gras, in loggen gang, stap voor
stap. Onder hun koppenduister raspte graas-geluid òp, ritseling in de
avondstilte, zacht als eerste haperende zeisslag van maaier.—

Kees voelde niets om ’m van de weirust. In ’m gromde wrok, driftige

lust om iets uit te schreeuwen. Hongerdrift was ’t die ’m wrevelde, en
verveling dat ie nog overal z’n kop stootte, wààr ie vroeg naar werk.
Tegen pluktijd, hooitijd, zou ’r misschien wat voor ’m zijn. Koortsige
drift jeukte er in ’m, om iemand te pakken, te ranselen, als ze ’m
maar een woord in den weg zouen leggen. Hij voelde, dat ie ’r gek
van zou worden, overal teruggestooten en tòch lachjes en
schampere lolgezegden over z’n niks doen. Op ’n bulterig brok
duinweg, uitgegraven voor tuinderij, vaagde ’n gestalte op de akkers,
donkerend.

Dat most kweekertje Reeker zijn.—Zou sain d’r nog erais veur ’t lest
vroage.
—G’noafed Reeker!.…

—G’noafed.… Kees nie?.… joa! Kees!.… zei Reeker. Zangerig-klaar

galmde z’n stem van de akkers in de scheem’ring.

—Mooi weer hee?.…

—Daa’s net.… fierkant somer.… wá’ doe jai nou?.…

—Ikke hep sien noa ’t onhail.… se hebbe d’r gister hier drie honderd
muise pakt.… da tuig.… freet wortel en bol op.… je sou se
kroàke!.…

Kees luisterde niet meer, stond even droomerig te turen ’t veld òver,
met een been op prikkeldraad. Boven een wijen [295]akkerhoek
vloeide nog wat geel hemellicht, met rooie teere sikkelveeren
doorwuifd.—De nacht dekte donkerder, al donkerder land en
boomen. Reekertje was opgeloopen, stond stil onder het gelige
luchtbrok, in het avondgedroefde, verzonken akkergroen, toch in
duistering van gestalte. Vol klonk Kees’ stem door avondstilte.

—He je t’met gain kerel noodig Reeker?

—Spait main, moar t’met ke’k nog mi main jonges besti of.… In de
pluk.… op tuin.… dan is ’t wá’ aers!.… Bai de groote hoal.… dàn
m’skien.… Moar nou.… ’t is niks daàn, hoor.… f’r wá’ hei je selfers
nie ’n lappie hee?.…

Kees stond te turen, in één houding, schemer-akkers op, waar stilte

wijd-om staarde.…

Wá’ nou.… vroeg die kerel naar de bekende weg?.… Wist ie nie dá’
t’r veur sain geen grond was?.…
—Wá’ nou?.… je wee tog suiver, dat t’r hoast niks niemedal grond
is.… en daa’k niks kraig sonder borg.… al ses.… wá’ ses?.… al tien
keer bi’k weest bai netoàris en bai alderlai volk hier.… moar vast niks
hoor!.… vast niks!.… d’r is nie één die goed wil stoan.… ka’ jai d’r
nie wá’ op finde?.…

Kees had nog wat ouë vriendschap met de Reekertjes. Vroeger had
ie veel vooral voor hèm gedaan bij strooptochten. Nou dacht ie, dat
dìe vent nog wel es wat helpen kon.… Maar „’t speet” Reekers weer
duivels. Stil wrokte de tuinder in zichzelf, dat ie d’r mee begonnen
was. Wat had ie te klesse mit soo’n hongerlijer.… die skooier!.… Nou
ja, vroeger,.. vroeger was vroeger! Toen most hai ook stroope.… Hai
borg?.… dá’ kon ie denke!.… Pas d’r self indroaid.… en dan
ankomme mit soo’n lid!.… Ieder most moar veur s’n aige sorge.…
sien dat tie ’r boven op kwam!.…

Zoo had ’t even stil, in z’n hoofd geredeneerd..

—Neenet Kees, aarzelde z’n stem in de starende schemerstilte van

akkers en straatweg.… dá’ wee je, aa’s ’k je pelsiere ken.… mi d’een
of den aêr.… groag!.… duufels groag!.… Moar borg stoan.… dá’
kennie.… Main waif sou me van veure d’rin, van achter d’ruit
trappe!.… Eenmoal [296]andermoal.… ik hep selfers kooters.… ikke
mó’ main aige rekenskap gaife!.… Eenmoal.… andermoal.… aa’s ’k
je pelsiere ken.… mi d’een of den aêr.… Groag!.. ik erinner main nog
bestig, dá’ je main vroeger.… veul vroeger.… te freete hep gaife.…
da je main op stroop.… wel van de twintig beesies.… tien hep
loate.… eenmoal andermoal Kees.… tjonge.… aa’s ’k wa hep!.…
moar.…

Kees tuurde weer in den akkerschemer, die stiller staarde, verder

naar duin.… Niks zei ie, maar ’t wrokte heet, heet van binnen.
Dá’ tuig! niks had d’een voor d’aêr over, of ze motte wete dat ’t vast
goed gong.… dan.… dan ha’ je je man.… Moar ’n kwinkwanker aa’s
hai, hellepe mi ’n lappie.… ’n skorem sonder rooie duit.… dá’ gong
nie.… Veur d’r aige siel en salighait poere.… Verder kon ieder d’r
krepeere.… wá’ tuig.… nie een die d’r noà je omkeek!.…

Baloorig was Kees doorgesloft, rhytmisch in klosgang langs de

wegstilte.—Stiller droomden de verdonkerde boomen in de
scheemring; ’t gele luchtbrok, boven den tuinder was verbleekt in
groenige vaalheid. Zoele geurtjes wuifden op windefluister aan, door
hakhout en gras. Zachter verzonken de akkers in ’t wije geduister, en
overal rondom ruischte het groote avondzwijgen van land en lanen.
Doodstille huisjes, ver van elkaar, verdoften in sluimerrust, glansden
in teer raampjesgoud van lamplicht, zacht droomrig, als heilige
kluisjes. Voor ’m lag de lange wilgenlaan naar zee in boomschemer,
waar dunne luchtstreep boven waasde, teer-groenig, heel ver.—
Vogeltjes kweelden en weedomden rondom, in zoete zangetjes,
zaligdroeve murmel van vleiende fluitertjes. En nu en dan zeilde ’n
zwaluw, vlak over z’n hoofd naar den grond, de duindonkering in.

Angst en wrevel kwam in z’n hart op, nou ie Wimpie ging zien.
Wrevel om de geloofsfratsen, al begonnen met de Vasten, en de
Maria-maand, Mei.—Woedend was ie geweest dat ’t mannetje den
goeien Vrijdag puur droog broodhomp had geslikkerbikt en niks
meer!—En dàn, dat snikken om z’n kruiske [297]op Asch-
Woensdag.… van stof mòakt.… tot stof sel je weerkeêre.…
Netuurlik!.… Skoàp!.… Wat ’n Paschen en Hemelvoartsdag ’t feur ’t
manneke weust was!

Was de pluktaid d’r moar;.… de oarebaie,.… de peule, de vroege

groentes!.… Wa sou die se smere!.… Femorge had ie Wimpie op ’n
poar kiste mi s’n bedje in ’t sonnetje set.—Veur ’t huisie!.… Wa’ ’n lol
dá’ kereltje had hep!.. Enne.… wat ie bleek sien hep? godskristis.…
kon die d’reis selfers ’n lappie grond kraige?.… Soue se sain nou
moar feur los wille!.… Wa’ da kereltje invalle was!.… een-en-al
been!.… die f’rekte vaste.… bai ieder feestdag! ’t skoap! f’morge hep
ie lache en songe.… mi se ooge knippertje speult teuge de son!.…
In joàre had ie gain licht soo sien.… stakker!.… Enne nou Ant weér
mi’ d’r swangert laif.… Dat tie nou tog nie van d’r afblaive kenne
hep.… Had soo duivels s’n aige sait.… Had ie moar ’n hoekie.… ’n
lappie.… Snof’rjenne wá’ sou die poere!.… Tut ie d’r bai neerviel!.…
Nou niks.… veur ieder kon ie krepeere.… D’r woàre wel meer aa’s
hai.… veul, veul meer!.… moar die krege d’r nog es los werk!.… die
gonge stiekempies noa kerk.… likte pastoor of dominie.… of dokter
of netoaris.… Nee, da gong sàin nie af.… dá’ bleef sain in s’n keel
sitte.… Nou stroope dààn.… ook gain freete.… wá’ nou?.… Dá’ rooit
ná’ niks.… ná’ niks.… aa’s tie nou erais poere gong, ergens wait hier
vandaan!.… kon die d’r moar is de wereld in.… Moar wie holp
sain.… wie?

Enne Wimpie?.… hai sou ’t vast besterrefe.… enne tog.… ’r moar

van komme ’t most.… Waa’s tie nou moar knecht! Se konne ’m veur
sain part soo veul bloedsuige aa’s ze woue.… aa’s tie moar wa
had.… kaik! d’r was ie ’r.…

Tegen ’n duinhoogte, woest naar voren dreigend uit vlakken grond,

diep in ’t pad, lag z’n huisje, donker, met geel lichtje, uitprikkend
achter naakt ruit. Avondlucht, wijd en geheimvol groen-teer
schemerde wijd áán, van de duin-zee.

Angst duizelde in z’n hart, nou ie instappen ging met leege handen,
eeuwig met leege handen.… En woest, met wrevelgevoel, [298]kwam
ie zichzelf opporren! Wat donder! wá’ kon hai ’t helpe!.… Aa’s s’n
waif ’t ’m zuur moake gong, sou die d’r van mekoar splintere.… En
aa’s d’r moer wá’ sai sou die d’r ’n kruk op d’r test stuksloan.…
Gram-zwaar in barsche-zwijg, stapte ie in, kwakte zich op bed,
zonder ’n woord, zonder Wimpie zelfs te durven aankijken.—

’n Week later klompkloste Kees weer in den avond, den weg naar
zee àf, opgeruimd en veerkrachtig. Dirk, z’n broer, had ie
gesproken.. Hij kon meehelpen. Ouë Gerrit had gegromd, en bang-
strak gezeid, dat als Kees op ’t land stond er ongeluk kwam over ’t
huis. Maar Dirk, Piet en Guurt waren vóór ’m, hadden geantwoord
dat ie hongerde, dat ’t zoo niet langer blijven kon; dat ’r te veel werk
was voor hun handen, dat ’r anders toch ’n vent gesteld moest
worden, daalder daags.… En Kees was al heel blij als ie zeven pop
kreeg voor de heele week.—

Nou liep ie rustig naar huis, blij om Wimpie, dat ie eindelijk, eindelijk
heel stil kon zeggen, dat ’r wat was, dat ie ’m ààn kon zien, en z’n
wijf ’m nou es niet kon uitschelden, waar ’t kereltje bij lag.—

Zoet woei lenteavond licht z’n longen in, en telkens even rekte ie
zich de spieren, spande ie z’n kracht, om vooruit te weten of ie ’t nog
wel uithouen zou, of ie nog wel wieden, kruipen, hurken, harken en
spitten kon in den grond.—

Volgende week stond Kees op de Beek.—Z’n vader had ’m niet

gegroet, niet aangekeken zelfs. Ouë Gerrit wist dat Kees kon
aardwroeten in de tuinen als de beste, maar hij had gruwelijk ’t land
aan ’m, was bang voor z’n spullen en Kees’ geloer; geloofde stellig
dat ’r ongeluk op ’t huis lag, als hij in z’n nabijheid werkte. Toch, Dirk
wou Kees hebben, hield wel van den kerel, zonder vast zich
rekenschap te geven, waarom. Blij was ie, dat ’r ’n paar flinke
handen meewerkten, nou de Ouë maar weinig meer hielp. En Guurt
had Kees ’n gehavende broek van Dirk gegeven, met schoone kiel.
[299]
Kees, aan ’t wieden, rustiger nu in z’n arbeid, schoof handig z’n
peulenschoffel tusschen de boonen. Dirk werkte af, rond de rijzen in,
met z’n handen nawiedend, waar de schoffel niet bij kon.

De zon stond al hoog, en hitte dampte er òp uit de zweetkoppen der

werkers, die gloeiden, pal in ’t zonnegesteek. Dirks blonde kop stond
in glans, en de rossige vlekken er in, brandden als
schedelvlammetjes achter z’n petje. Kees, reuzig, met ’n vuil-gelen
strooien hoed, schonkigde boven de rijzen uit, die knoesterig en
kaal-vermergeld, in het sappige gewas en kleurlicht, dorden. De
lichtgroene aardbei-bedden, akker aan akker, omrasterd van
prachtkleur verglinsterende hagenwanden, als ingesloten tuinen,
dampten uitgestrekt, met warrelende witte bebloeseming. Overal op
de akkers rond de werkers, vlekten kleuren in ’t sappige groen, rood,
wit en hoog glansgeel gespikkeld van bloemen en bloesem, licht-blij
daverend in ’t zonnegevonk.—

Vijandige oom Hassel stond ’n greppel verder met z’n zoons,

zwaargebouwde kerels blauwkielen, bedrijvig wroetend in de aarde.
Ouë Gerrit kromde met den rug naar z’n broer toe, dol jaloersch,
zwellend van gift op al wat oom Hassel had en deed, glunderig
loerend naar z’n akkers, die met sla en aardbeien voor waren in
groei. Ook frischte al ’t diep-groen sier-loof van wortelen bij ’m op.

Dat maakte Gerrit helsch. Hij wou ’t zijn kerels wel wat uit den grond
zien trekken, zoodat ’t gauw, heel gauw ver boven teelt van z’n broer
uit zou staan.—Toch was ie blij dat bij hèm ten minste ’n hoek
rhabarber al hoog in stengel en blad bloeide, prachtig jong, vlak voor
den neus van z’n broer, waar die op kijken moest, terwijl bij dièn de
rhabarber, laag in ’t blad, kwijnde.—Telkens loerde Gerrit stilletjes en
voorzichtig, om te zien, glunderig of broer Hassel niet naar z’n
rhabarber keek.… En telkens ook keek z’n broer naar hem, of Gerrit
niet naar zijn aarbeien en wortels loenschte. Dan stootten ze op
elkaar in met hun loer, keken ze weer tegelijk, strak voor hun uit, met
woedende gezichten, omdat geen van de twee wou [300]laten zien,
dàt er haat, jaloerschheid tusschen hen was, ze iets om elkander
gaven.

Oom Hassel stond te schoffelen, groote magere vent, in gelig

werkhemd.—

Drie kerels, buiten z’n zoons had ie al in dienst voor rooien en

wieden.—

Z’n oudste Willem, keek uit naar de rooiers, die hurkend, diepe
geulen slagwielden in ’t zand, met hun knieën. Gretig graaiden hun
handen in den stuifgrond, in zware rukkende, klauwige scheuren de
aarde omwoelend, om de bollen met wortelfijn draadnet er uit te
graven.—Een rooier zong dronkemansliedje, onder het wroetend
uitstuiven van den heeten zandgrond, in klauwigen grabbel. Piet
Hesse, naast ’m, klokte gretig koue koffie uit z’n kruik, naar binnen.

—Hesse, wèrk! nijdigde Willem bazig.… dá’ lange suipe van jou kost
geld.…

—Nou seg!.… aa’s je me nou! verontwaardigde in woestdriftigen kijk

daggelder terug. Maa’g ik nou nie suipe?.…

—En jai kerel, jai skreeuwt de heule buurt op ’n klus.… ikke sou
main stroatje d’rais dichtknaipe ’n uurtje.… is dâ singe?!.…

Nijdig had Willem Hassel z’n bazig praatje uitgeschamperd,

negeerend ’t brutaal kijken van Piet Hesse.—Kalm geweerde ie z’n
schoffel op schouder, liep ie heen en weer, en stil-bedrukt keken de
andere werkers òp naar de blinkige staalstreep van z’n schoffelmes.
Angstige, kruiperige valschheid zat er in hun plotselinge stilte. Niet
één van de groote kerels, die iets tegen durfde zeggen, of ze