OPSIRINO

The village of Opsirino was forcibly made to change its name by the Greek government to Etnikon. It is about 12 kilometres northwest of Lerin on the ridge of Baba Mountain at 21 degrees 22 minutes longitude and 40 degrees 52 minutes latitude, and 900 metres above sea level. Its area is about 4 square kilometres.

The village borders to the northeast with the village Sveta Petka, to the southeast with the village Bitusha, and to the southwest it borders the village Rakovo. The river Mala Reka runs through the village and divides it in two.

Before the start of the Greek Civil War about 380 residents who were of Macedonian background lived in the village. They were employed in agriculture and raising livestock.

In the period 1946-49, the residents took little part in the organization of NOF and the armed forces of DAG. There were only about 15 active fighters and 4 gave their lives.

They were:

1. Kostovska Malinka
2. Petrevski Iljo
3. Tsvetkovski Efto
4. Tsimerkov Atanas

Of the fallen young fighters, there were 3 men and 1 woman.

After the Greek Civil War and emigration from and forced settlement to the village, the number of residents fell significantly. The 1991 Greek census recorded that there were 95 residents in the village.

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