A lesson in history

Times were hard, dark, formidable… It had been many years since the last rays of freedom had shone through the land. There had always been hardships and disasters but none had yet paralyzed society to such an extent.

Most people stayed low-key – quiet, obedient, unresisting … following orders without challenging any illogical actions, without having any second thoughts. Their mind already considering being subjugated the new normal, the ordinary thing. These people had learned to live with the yoke; their everyday life was planned in accordance with the orders given by the rulers, cheering at every little loosening of the strict rules, which was granted every now and then, and following cautiously every command out of fear that their last bits of freedoms would be taken away. In gloomy evenings they would whisper stories of the glorious past huddled by the dim light of the hearth – of all the great wins and achievements which now seemed only a dream, a breath, a murmur… If only someone could materialize out of nowhere and turn everything back to normal, back to its former glory. No, a magician would not do. It would have to be some mighty mythical hero – one like Achilles, or even better, God himself, but to be on the safe side accompanied by a party of ancient gods – Tangra and Perun, and anyone else who was available for the purpose… But a man, no, a human could not handle this all on his own..

Yet a handful of people had something else on their minds. They were not mighty heroes, nor gods. Merely humans, mortals… Coming from all walks of life and each with different strengths and weaknesses, they were united by one idea, by one hope – to give their fellow citizens their freedom back, to bring the good times, but this time around – make it better. People had already been through too much pain, too much sorrow… Some of these ‘merely humans’ had a quick mind and eloquent speech, going about planning and organizing; others were fighters, ready to jump ahead to defend all; then there were those who were well known and had a large social circle, who acted as ambassadors for the idea; a colourful palette of ordinary people – doctors, teachers, merchants, craftsmen, monks and priests... All of them had one thing in common – a heart full of courage, full of faith and hope, and full of love for all the others who were afraid to raise their voice. They had one dream – to see everyone united, all fighting together side by side for what naturally belonged to them, for all that was right. Indeed, they were supported in secret by some, but when action was required, the ones who would rise and stand by their side could be counted on the fingers of one hand. And the others? Well, most would simply vanish, choosing to hide among the sheep, to go back to being convenient and mute…

Then there was a third group of people – those who not only felt good in the current situation, but also benefited from it. They had made a deal with those on top and knew that as long as they did what they were told to do, they could continue their existence undisturbed, even guarded to some extent by the rulers. When someone from this third group of people came to know of a rebel who dared to challenge the rules in any way, they would either fight them openly or betray them to the masters; the more detrimental the outcome, the better. After all, from their point of view, the life of each of those stupid and disobedient plebeians didn’t matter anyway – there was no benefit from them whatsoever and they only made the rulers angry. If one could adjust and benefit from the situation, everyone should be just fine giving up on their principles, opinions and their free will, obeying willingly… Giving their body and their soul to the rulers…

“Yes, times were hard…” Yana’s thoughts were carried away by the wind as she was tracing the bloody trail of the setting sun down to the rocky peaks of the mighty Balkan mountain. How many more innocent people had to fall victims? And what if Petko, her beloved, was among them? They both knew that no one from the other countries across the world would come to help this godforsaken nation, not until they tried to save it themselves. The entire village had rejected them; they were trouble; dangerous, because they dared to dream and to speak of freedom. They had no other choice but to leave and seek the handful of people, those who had the courage and the heart. And now Petko was with them, fighting there in the mountain pass for freedom, for the homeland, for their unborn child…

It was already close to 5 centuries since Bulgaria had fallen… 5 centuries since all Bulgarian noble men and women were murdered or married into Ottoman families. 5 centuries… during which the “blood tax” was introduced with the empire forcefully taking boys from their families, changing their religion, raising them as janissaries in the Ottoman army and then sending them to quell riots in Bulgarian lands… 5 centuries during which beautiful Bulgarian maidens were forced to change their religion and marry into Ottoman families, with many of them choosing death over this fate. 5 centuries during which any riot, any attempt to free Bulgaria was brutally quelled and along with men thousands of innocent elders, women, even children and babies were slaughtered…

Yana shuddered. Hot tears were running down her cheeks and her eyes were gleaming with determination. Her heart was beating wildly with the baby raging underneath. Yes, they would raise him to become a rebel… they would teach him to value freedom and to dare to fight for it; to remember and tell generations to come about the inconvenient ones; about those who had the courage to think and act differently; about the ones, who had the heart to stand and fight the evil; about these who readily gave up their lives only to see their homeland and nation free.

History repeats itself, they say… Yet, Yana hoped from the bottom of her soul that whenever this happened, we would have already learned our lesson…

Yana and Petko are fictional characters inspired by historical records of the multiple rebellious movements to liberate Bulgaria over the nearly 500 years the country was under the rule of the Ottoman Empire. The tipping point was the April Uprising of 1876, which was brutally suppressed but yet managed to attract the attention of the Western countries and Russia. Liberation came 2 years later, in 1878, as a result of the Russo-Turkish War. Tens of thousands of Bulgarian volunteers joined the Russian troops and fought fearlessly with one purpose – freedom…

*Originally written in November 2021

**Photo by Valentin Valkov