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With
the exception of the Kanadski Glasnik (Canadian Herald),
which was first published on July 15, 1916 in Welland, Ontario and
lasted for one year, no Serbian newspapers were in existence until
the 1930s.
There
were various papers published outside Canada which were distributed
in Ontario but with few contributions from Canadian Serbs.
1
The
story of the Serbian press reflects the ideological streams within
the Serbian community itself. Ideological conflict among Serbians
started as soon as a large group from Hercegovina arrived in Canada
in May 1925, some of the group went to British Columbia and others
to Raymond, Alberta.
The
main division in the Serbian community was between socialists and
nationalists. It was necessary for the Serbian socialists to join
other Yugoslav groups in Canada (e.g., Croats, Slovenes, etc.) in
order to produce joint newspapers.
In
the early 1950s, a further split occurred when the nationalists
broke into two groups: pro-Yugoslav monarchists and pro-great Serbian
nationalists. These divisions exist to this day.
The
unfriendly relations between factions of the right and left in the
Serbian community may be seen throughout the pages of their respective
newspapers. The first group was considered by the other as reactionary,
and the second group was labelled socialist or even communist.
2
Kovac
(one of the Serbian nationalist newsmen) described the political
pecking order of the 1 930s in Glas Kanade (Voice of Canada):
"The Serbian Reds say that JKU (Jugoslovensko Kanadsko Udruzenje)
is pro-fascist, full of spies, although they well know it is not
so but wish conflict and to broaden the strife. The same group accusing
us of fascism is, even themselves, not daring to go openly into
the Communist-run organizations. . ."
SOCIALISTS
Elements
of the Serbian community in Canada have been socialist since the
1920s. In 1921 Bozo Vidas crossed the American border to solicit
subscriptions in Canada for the Chicago-based Radnicka Straza (Workers'
Sentry).
Vidas
was jailed in Montreal and deported to Yugoslavia. However, the
ideals of the workers' movement among Serbian immigrants in the
United States had already influenced some Serbian workers in Canada.
The
first immigrant workers' organization was formed through the initiative
of the Workers' (Communist) Party of Canada in Welland in 1924 and
personally organized by Tim Buck.
It
ceased to exist, however, when the workers left the city after completion
of the canal project. Between the two wars the government in Belgrade
closely watched the activities of Serbian and other Yugoslav immigrants
in Canada.
It
had clear-cut emigration laws, and the diplomatic consular personnel
tightly monitored any opposition, in print or otherwise, to the
government in Belgrade that developed among its emigrants in Canada.
The
diplomatic mission of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes
had petitioned the Canadian government to ban the pro-socialist
paper, Radnik (Worker), which replaced the earlier Radnicka
Straza both of which were mailed from Chicago.
Radnik
and later Iskra (Spark) as well as another socialist paper,
Naprijed (Advance) were finally banned because of pressure
from the Belgrade government. In Toronto, Montreal and Windsor in
1927, the first Yugoslav cultural clubs (Jugoslovensko Prosvetni
Klubovi) were organized.
The
open confrontation between pro-government and anti-government, between
socialists and conservatives led to the dissolution of these clubs.
The socialists who liked to be called "progressive," by 1935, had
developed their own Canadian identity participating in various labour-management
conflicts.
By
1930 the Canadian Labour Defence League (CLDL) had organized several
branches among Canada's ethnic groups, including the Yugoslavs (i.e.,
those in Vancouver). The CLDL sought to protect and defend those
labourers who were persecuted because of their active involvement
in the labour movement.
This
organization attracted a large number of Serbian workers who later
joined the strikers in various mining towns, such as the Noranda
conflict of 1934. In order to carry out the labour movement's objectives,
the Serbian socialists in Canada had to develop their own effective
means of communication. So they created their own newspapers. In
1931 Toma Cacic, a Croat, published Borba (Struggle) on behalf
of all progressives from Yugoslavia.
Later
Cacic was jailed with seven other members of the Communist Party
of Canada and deported to Yugoslavia. In spite of many difficulties,
Borba was published (1,800 copies) until 1936. Serbian progressives
launched their own paper, Pravda (Justice), and Borba
was phased out.
When
Hitler attacked Poland in 1939, Pravda sent a letter to the prime
minister of Canada pledging Serbian support in Canada's anti-fascist
struggle. But this did not help the cause of the progressives. Both
Pravda and the Croatian Slovodna Misao (Free Thought) were
banned in 1940.
On
the other hand, Mackenzie King's government favoured the Serbian
nationalists led by Boza Markovic and the newspaper Glas Kanade
in Toronto.
Today
's Nase Novine (Our Paper) is a continuation of those earlier
socialist papers in Canada, and especially Jedinstvo (Unity),
which was founded by the national organization of the Council of
Canadian South Slavs.
The
Third Convention of the League of Canadian Serbs, held in Toronto
on May 28, 1948, agreed to phase out its newspaper Srpski Glasnik
(Serbian Herald) in favour of joining with the League of Canadian
Croats and the League of Canadian Slovenes in the Council of Canadian
South Slavs to support its proposed newspaper Jedinstvo.
On
June 15, 1948 the first edition of Jedinstvo appeared and
was distributed to thousands of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (the
former readership of the discontinued papers, Srpski Glasnik,
Croatian Novosti and Slovenian Edinost). The first
issue of Jedinstvo had eight pages, and subsequent issues were printed
twice a week on four pages.
SHIELD
SOCIETIES
Early
in the immigration, Canadian Serbs who believed they could contribute
to the national cause of the independent Serbian state were invited
to join a Serbian shield society in Canada. The name, Serbian Shield
Society, dates back to 1908.
It
was in Belgrade that the dramatist Branislav Nusic proposed the
formulation of a society to be called National Defence, which would
protect and promote Serbian interests in the annexed provinces of
Bosnia and Hercogovina that were taken by Austro-Hungary on October
6, 1908. This was a popular movement and the society spread rapidly.
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The
first such society in Canada was organized in Alberta in 1915 and
was named Sloga (Unity). In 1916 branches were organized
in Toronto and the Niagara region.
In
Glas Kanadskih Srba (Voice of Canadian Serbs), on April 22,
1976, Bozidar Markovic tells the story of how the First Congress
of Srpska Narodna Odbrana (Serbian shield society) was held in Welland,
Ontario in December 1916.
The
president-elect was Rev. Kokuljevic, and the vice-president was
Gajo Vasiljevic. The main society organizer was an ex-diplomat from
Montenegro, then editor of the first Kanadski Glasnik, Micun Pavicevic.
From 1934-44 Glas Kanade represented one strand of Serbian
national feeling in Canada.
It
regularly carried arguments for the maintenance of the status quo
in the old country and supported the policies of the royalist government
after the tragic death of King Alexander in France in 1933.
The
first editorial of Glas stated the newspaper's mission and
its role within the Serbian community in Canada: "To keep the highest
Serbian national pride among its readers."
Glas
was a strong defender of certain Serbian ideals and faith, at times
inconsistent with its policy towards the federated state of Yugoslavia.
On
the one hand, Glas would support the royal government and
the newly-created Yugoslav state, and on the other hand, it frowned
on any pro-Yugoslav, as opposed to Serbian, movement in Canada.
Some
Serbs saw Glas as trying to impose political orthodoxy on
other Serbian groups. The conflict still exists among Serbs today,
but a tendency towards more open acceptance of each other has been
demonstrated recently by groups (e.g., attending some of each other's
festivities and celebrations).
The
arrival of a postwar wave of Serbian refugees ( 1947-50) marked
the beginning of a further breakdown in communication within the
community.
A
struggle for control of the churches and eventual proclamations
of a break with the old country prompted the split. The two groups,
old and new immigrants, had very little in common.
The
older immigrants had come chiefly as manual labourers of peasant
background. The newer group included a larger spectrum of occupations:
former government ministers in Yugoslavia and its constituent provinces
(Banovine), soldiers, officers and various intellectuals. These
people felt a sense of status dislocation and suffered considerably
because of it when they came to Canada.
It
was natural that they would seek to create their own organizations,
such as a new Serbian shield society, Srpska Narodna Odbrana, Society
Njegos and the Serbian Brothers' Help, Inc.3
The
role of both Serbian shield societies is to perpetuate Serbian national
feeling, to gather Serbs together for various occasions - Serbian
National Days, the Eparchial Day, the Draza Michailovic Day, etc.
The Serbian shield society of Hamilton is an outspoken critic of
the present form of government in Yugoslavia and does not maintain
any contacts with the old country.
To
mobilize their supporters for various social events, each Narodna
Odbrana has its own weekly newspaper. Peter Bulat publishes Glas
Kanadskih Srba in Windsor; M. Bajcetic is the founder and publisher
of the Kanadski Srbobran (Canadian Srbobran) in Hamilton
- the paper of the Odbrana formed there in the 1950s.
It
is not possible to enumerate here all of the activities of the Serbian
shield societies, it will suffice to say that their role for Serbians
should be recognized not only as political organizations, but also
as fraternal, humanistic and even philanthropic.
They
are very influential in their religious communities and are instrumental
in building and maintaining community projects for both the elderly
and the young Serbians.
Shield
societies sponsor their own radio programs to propagate their ideological
views and objectives. Annual conventions usually deal with their
activities in Canada, but often include a reaffirmation of an anti-Yugoslav
government stance.
At
present then, Canadian Serbs continue to read one or other of the
two types of newspapers: those politically right of centre and those
left of centre.
The
first group consists of the newspapers published by the two Serbian
shield societies in Canada and a monthly, Bratstvo, which
a Moslem of Serbian background (A. Konjhodzic) has been publishing
since the l950s.
The
left of centre paper Nase Novine of Toronto, carrying on
the traditions of the progressives, reaches over 2,000 readers in
Canada and the United States. It is edited by a Serb, Vladislav
Gacic, but serves other Yugoslav groups, among which the largest
part of the readership is Croatian and Serbian.
All
these papers - Glas Kanadskih Srba, Kanadski Srbobran
and Nase Novine - are more than ideological tribunes; their
literary, social and historical content contribute to the survival
of Serbian identity in Canada.
NOTES
1.
As early as 1907 several newspapers were regularly mailed to Serbs
in Canada from the United States. Among the most prominent were:
Narodni Glasnik (People's Herald), Radnicka Straza (Workers' Sentry)
and Americki Srbobran (American Srbobran).
Radnicka
Straza was the socialist newspaper of the Yugoslav Socialist League
originally started by the Yugoslav Political Club of the United
States. See Luka Markovic, Borba Iseljenistva za Novu Jugoslaviju
(Belgrade: Izdavacki Centar Komunist, 1975), pp. 64-73; Maksim Bijelic,
"Sjecanja, Uspomene, Osvrti," Nase Novine (18 October 1975), p.
4; Katarina Kostic, "Secanje Koste Trklje," Nase Novine (27 October
1976), p. 6; Olga Markovic, Doseljavanje Srba, I Njihova Aktivnost
(Windsor, Ont.: Avala, 1965), p. 114.
2.
Savo Kovac, "Kuda Lutas," Glas Kanade (24 January 1935); "Ko je
Kriv," Glas Kanade (15 August 1935); and "Zar Nam Jos Nije Jasno,"
Glas Kanade (19 January 1939).
3.
Milutin Bajcetic of Hamilton was instrumental in organizing the
second Serbian shield society in Canada. Serbian Historical and
Cultural Njegos was formed in 1956.
Its
main office is in Chicago with several branches and members in Canada.
It publishes Glasnik, a bi-annual publication in Serbian. For an
historical summary of the Serbian Brothers' Help, Inc., see: The
Tenth Anniversary of Serbian Brothers Help Inc. (Windsor, Ontario:
Avala, n.d.); V.A. Tomovic, "Serbian Brothers' Help, Inc.," Polyphony
2, no. I (Toronto: Multicultural History Society of Ontario, 1979),
p. 41; and, Parvila Dobrotvornog Undruzenja Srpska Bratska Pomoc
(Chicago, n.d.), p. 5.
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