The monument to the child refugees has its plaque back: for years it stood stripped bare, a few steps from Parliament

A mother with three small children, on the run. That is the relief on the monument to the child refugees from Aegean Macedonia in the "Woman Fighter" park, a few steps from Parliament. For years, that relief was simply gone. The monument stood without its plaque and without any proper marking, stripped bare by vandals.

Now the City of Skopje has reconstructed it and restored its original look. Mayor Orce Gjorgjievski says the restoration is part of returning the capital's monuments to their original state and preserving historical heritage for future generations.

28,000 interrupted childhoods

The monument was unveiled on 30 June 1988, the day the First World Gathering of Child Refugees began. The gathering ran until 4 July and brought together thousands of people who, as children, had been driven from their homes during the Greek Civil War of 1946 to 1949. According to historical records on the monument, some 28,000 children were involved, most of them Macedonians, scattered across the countries of Eastern Europe and overseas. Beneath the copper relief there was also a marble plaque marking the monument as a lasting memorial to an interrupted childhood and to the exodus.

The restoration comes alongside a full overhaul of the park: new marble paths replacing the old paving tiles, landscaping, restored street furniture, new benches and bins, plus the steps and the areas around the City Shopping Centre.

It is good that the plaque is back. But the uncomfortable question remains: how could a monument to one of the heaviest Macedonian traumas, in the city centre, right across from Parliament, stand damaged for years and only get its turn when the whole park was redone? The memory of 28,000 children should not have to wait for a park renovation. And who is going to make sure the relief doesn't disappear again?