Aleksandar also told us an interesting story about his tour in Greece . Yes it’s true, Macedonian officers were sent to NATO bases in Greece . This particular place was in central Greek occupied Macedonia and the project was run by a non Greek commanding officer from Western Europe . Knowing the situation between Macedonians and Greeks this officer made sure Aleksandar was not bullied by his Greek counterparts and frequently asked Aleksandar if everything was okay. He shouldn’t have worried about Aleksandar because he is an impressively fearless big man. “The thing that intimidated the Greeks the most was my name ‘Aleksandar’,” said Aleksandar. “I wore my flag and symbols on my sleeves openly and with pride inside the base and out on the streets,” said Aleksandar. One day he went to this restaurant by himself and was approached by the oldest of the three owners and brothers and asked in English where he was from. Aleksandar naturally told him that he was from the Republic of Macedonia and that he was Macedonian and spoke the Macedonian language. The next time Aleksandar came to the same restaurant with his colleagues from all over Europe he was always served first, which they found odd considering how Greeks treat Macedonians. Aleksandar brushed it off by saying that he was a regular customer there. Another time when Aleksandar was alone at a table and there were no others nearby, the same owner came to Aleksandar’s table and spoke to him in Macedonian, which was no surprise to Aleksandar because he knew many Macedonians lived in that city. What was surprising however was how quickly this man changed to speaking English when another person approached the table.
