Nr. 4 - New York - Maj 2015 - $2.

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LAMBROS BALTSIOTIS:

HAJREDIN ISUFI:

The Cham Albanians

of Northern Greece

Gjuha dhe identiteti am

prball shtetit dhe klerit grek

faqe 2 - 5

Parga

This paper focuses on the hypothesis that the

expulsion of Muslim Chams from Western Epirus
during the later part of 1944 and ... faqe 20 - 23

SEVDAI KASTRATI:

Nj tregim i panjohur
i Faik Konics

Tregimi Mendimet e Filopimin Trukuleskut filloi

t botohet pr her t par n vazhdime n gazetn
Dielli t Bostonit m 17 gusht ...
faqe 16 - 17

SHKLZEN RAA:

Disa aspekte studimore

mbi Sulin dhe suljott faqe 6 - 11

Kshtjella e Sulit

BLERINA SADIKU:

The Fundamental Rights of the Albanian Population of Chameria

in Front of Greek Municipal Law and International Law 19131926
Preveza

faqe 12 - 15

Maj 2015, Nr. 4

Gjuha dhe identiteti am

prball shtetit dhe klerit grek

Pamja nga Vola (Sivota)

Hajredin ISUFI

Gjuha
amrishtja ruan nj ndr t folmet
periferike t toskrishtes jugore,
nj gjendje t hershme t gjuhs
shqipe. Ajo bn pjes n t folmen
periferike t toskrishtes jugore.
amrishtja sht pjes e pandar e
truallit gjuhsor kompakt t shqipes,
q ruan akoma deri n ditt tona,
format origjinale t grupeve kl,
gl. (klumsht, klish, kleshe, klaj,
gluh, glisht, gluh, i glat, glemb,
etj). amrishtja, si nj nga t folmet
e gjuhs shqipe, sht mbizotruese

n t gjith hapsirn ame dhe ruan

dshmi me vler pr autoktonin e
shqiptarve n viset e amris. Kt
dukuri absolute e kan vrejtur dhe
kan qen t detyruar ta pranojn
edhe kategoria e atyre studiuesve,
q nuk kan qen dashamirs t
shqiptarve. Kshtu p.sh. Pukvili
shkruan n fillim t shekullit XIX:
Si sht e mundur t jet shuar raca
greke n Thesproti dhe Kaoni, ku
shqiptart shihen q jan vendas.
(Burimi: Pouqueville, Voyage, vll.
2, f.103. Pukvili n kt rast flet pr
shqiptart jo vetm muhamedan,
por edhe t krishter: Banort e
fshatrave n t djatht t Thjamit
q kam numruar nga Sarkovica,
shkruan ai, jan shqiptar t krishter
t gjuhs ame. (Po aty).

Marko Boari, kapedani

i Sulit, filloi t msonte
greqisht n vitin 1809 n
Korfuz dhe aty hartoi edhe
nj fjalor greqisht-shqip.
Dshmi t
historianve
N vitin 1880, n kohn e Lidhjes
Shqiptare t Prizrenit, studiuesi anglez

Valentino Chirol (ajrll), bri nj

vizit t gjat npr fshatrat e qytetet
e amris. N veprn e tij ai ka
prshkruar edhe mbresat q i kishte
ln e folmja e amrishtes. Ai lidhur
me kt shkruan: N hapsirn e
amris, q shtrihet nprmjet detit
Jon e lumit Kalama, nga njra an dhe
ujrave t Vuvos nga ana tjetr, e q
formojn nj trekndsh t brendshm,
sht nj gjuh e pastr shqipe.
(Burimi: Valentine Chirol, Twixt
Greek and Turk, or Jottings during a
journey through Thessaly, Macedonia
and Epirus, in the Autumn of 1880,
London MDCCC, LXXXI). Po ky
autor vijon m tej t tregoj se banort
e ktij vendi jan puro am, nj emr
q rrjedh thjesht nga emrtimi i
vjetr i lumit Kalama - the Thiames -

Maj 2015, Nr. 4

prej nga vjen prejardhja e fisit shqiptar
t amve, q sht nj nndarje e
Toskris. Ata jan vendosur ktu q
n koh q smbahen mend. (Po aty).
Njoftimeve t pasura q prmban vepra
e ajrllit, u shtohen edhe pohimet e
gjeografit greko-epiriot A. Psalidha.*
N Gjeografin e vet t shkruar n
erekun e par t shekulit XIX, ai e
konsideron Epirin deri n gjirin e Arts
(Ambrakis) nj tok shqiptare, ku flitej
gjuha shqipe. (Burimi: A. Psalidha, n:
Geographia Albanias kai Epireou,
Janin 1964, f.49.). Po sjellim shembuj
t tjer: Historiani rumun, Kostandin
Burileano, i shoqruar nga profesori
italian, Antonio Baldaci, n vitin
1906 bn nj udhtim npr viset e
amris dhe arritn deri n periferi t
fshatrave t Janins. Qllimi i rumunit
n kt udhtim ishte studimor. Ai
hulumtonte se sa ishte e pranishme n
hapsirn ame elementi i popullsis
baritore vllahe. Burileano mendonte se
n munges t burimeve dokumentare,
do t siguronte informacion rreth
objektil t tems s tij nga kontaktet
me banort vendas am. Kjo e
shtyu studiuesin rumun q t kalonte
bashk me profesorin italian fshat m
fshat e stan m stan. Ata ndryshe nga
parashikimet e tyre, hasn n vshtirsi
serioze n komunikimin me banort
vendas, qofshin kta mysliman apo
t krishter. Dy t huajt nuk arrinin t
komunikonin as n gjuhn greke, as n
gjuhn rumune e as n gjuhn italiane.
do banor am, t cilit i flitej n njrn
nga kto gjuh, ngrinte supet, rrudhte
buzt dhe nuk jepte asnj prgjigje. T
huajt mbetn t shtangur prball ksaj
dukurie. Kt befasi, q Burileano vuri
re n amri, e shprehu me kto fjal
n veprn e tij: Mbeta memec se nuk
gjeta asnj njeri t fliste gjuh tjetr,
ve shqipes. (Burimi i cituar m lart).
Autori rumun e ka vizituar pr qllime
studimi kt krahin, prandaj njoftimet
e tij duhen konsideruar t sakta.
Historiant grek
pr amrin
Edhe Enciklopedia e madhe greke
pohon se banort e amris flasin
shqip, por me nj shqipe q ka nj
dialekt t veant. Nj ide t njjt pr t
folmen shqip t popullsis s amris,
ka edhe historiani grek Jani Kordhato,
n veprn e tij disavllimshe. Ai, kur
bn fjal pr t folmen e suliotve
t krishter, thot: Suliott ishin
t krishter nga raca e amve dhe
nuk e dinin fare greqishten. Ata, kur
donin t kmbenin korrespondenc
me Ali Pashn dhe me parin helene,
u drejtoheshin shkruesve q dinin t
shkruanin e ta lexonin greqishten. Dhe
pr ta ilustruar mendimin e vet, autori
shkruan: Marko Boari, kapedani i
Sulit, filloi t msonte greqisht n vitin
1809 n Korfuz dhe aty hartoi edhe nj

Sulit. N vijim autori sjell t dhna

statistikore pr Epirin, prfshir ktu
edhe amrin, e sipas tij, popullsia e
Epirit nuk i kalonte 50.000 banor dhe
se popullsia myslimane shqiptare n
amri, sipas tij, n vitin 1920 ishte
21.000 banor q flisnin gjuhn shqipe,
si dhe 4200 mysliman n periferi t
Janins e t Prevezs, q gjuh amtare
kishin greqishten.
Autori i ktyre pohimeve, q na
i servir si fakte, me sa duket nuk i
njeh bashkkombasit e tij grek, q
jan marr me studime n kt fush
e q jan m realist, si n problemin
e statistikave t popullsis shqiptare,
ashtu edhe n shtrirjen e t folmes s
gjuhs shqipe n at krahin. Njeri
prej tyre, P. Aravantinos n veprn e
tij (P. Aravantinos, Chronographia
tes Epiroi, tom. 11) na sjell njoftime
t hollsishme pr strukturn etnike
dhe fetare t popullsis s vilajetit
t Janins, ku bnte pjes edhe Epiri
historik. Ktu jan renditur t gjitha
vendbanimet e vilajetit t Janins t
ndara n kaza, fshat ose qytet, numri
i shtpive, fen e banorve dhe gjuhn
q flitej prej tyre.
Pavdeksia e gjuhs
n kng

Vajza ame nga Gjinikajt n Marglli (2014)

Ata ndryshe nga parashikimet e tyre, hasn n vshtirsi

serioze n komunikimin me banort vendas, qofshin kta
mysliman apo t krishter. Dy t huajt nuk arrinin t
komunikonin as n gjuhn greke, as n gjuhn rumune e as
n gjuhn italiane. do banor am, t cilit i flitej n njrn
nga kto gjuh, ngrinte supet, rrudhte buzt dhe nuk jepte
asnj prgjigje. T huajt mbetn t shtangur prball ksaj
dukurie. Kt befasi, q Burileano vuri re n amri, e
shprehu me kto fjal n veprn e tij: Mbeta memec se nuk
gjeta asnj njeri t fliste gjuh tjetr, ve shqipes
fjalor greqisht-shqip. (Burimi: Jani
Kordhatos, Historia e Greqis, vll.9, f.
405). N lidhje me ato q shqyrtuam m
sipr, e shohim me vend t prmendim
sa pr ilustrim edhe disa burime t
tjera historike: P. A. Sallabanda ka
shkruar: Burrat e par t Sulit ishin
rac shqiptare. Udhtari francez,
Zhak Puzhad ve n dukje: Suliott
flasin vetm shqip. Shqipja sht gjuha
e tyre dhe ata e quajn veten shqiptar.
Edhe Mendelson Bartoldi, pohon:
Suliott jan pasardhs t krishter

nga kombsia ame. (Burimi: P.

A. Psalidha, To Souli, vep. e prm.,
Athin, 1880, f. 411). Paradoksal, krejt
i pavrtet, sht pohimi i studiuesit
grek Lambros Baliiotis se suliott na
paskan qen greqishtfols. Madje ky
autor t folmen shqipe n amri e
kufizon nga Konispoli n Filat, vazhdon
deri n qytetin e Paramithis, e shtrin
at n t gjith pjesn e brendshme
t amris, duke prjashtuar nga
e folmja e shqipes grekofont
historik t Pargs dhe grekofont e

Deri n ditt tona n More dhe n

Greqin e Veriut sht ruajtur nj kng
shqipe, ku midis t tjerash thuhet:
Kjo gluha arbrishte/ sht gluh
trimrishte/ E flit Navarko Miauli/
Boari dhe gjith Suli.
Dhe pr ta prfunduar shtjen e t
folurit t gjuhs shqipe nga shqiptart
n Epir, prfshir edhe amrin, po
sjellim nj dshmi t kryeministrit
grek Venizellosi. Ai duke qen kryetari
i delegacionit grek n Konferencn
e Paqes n Paris n vitin 1919, nn
presionin e fort t rretheve patriotike
shqiptare dhe t delegacionit shqiptar,
me dashje ose pa dashje, u detyrua t
deklaronte m 24 shkurt 1919 prpara
Kryetarit t Konferencs s Paqes se n
qeverin e prkohshme q ai pat krijuar
n Selanik, ishin gjenerali Danglis
dhe admirali Kunderjoti, q t dy me
origjin shqiptare. E m pas deklaroi se
Kunderjoti prdorte gjuhn shqipe kur
shkonte tek e ma, sepse kjo flet vetm
shqip. (Burimi: A. Puto, shtja
shqiptare n aktet ndrkombtare pas
Lufts I Botrore, Vll. III,

Redaksia
Kryeredaktor: Kristo Sotiri
Zvends-kryeredaktor: Ilir Ademaj
Redaktor: Endri Merxhushi
Art Design: Thoma Nasi
ChameriaOrganization@gmail.com
Adress: PO BOX 452 Addison, IL 60101

Maj 2015, Nr. 4

Pamje nga Kastri, Gumenic

Tiran, 2001, f. 143).

Konkluzioni q del nga kjo deklarat
e kryeministrit grek, nuk krkon shum
komente pr t treguar sesa pa baza
jan prpjekjet e qarqeve shoviniste
greke, pr ti konsideruar ortodokst
shqiptar helen.
Sulmi grek mbi
gjuhn shqipe

Qeveria greke bri shum prpjekje

pr t penguar gjuhn e shkolln
shqipe n amri. Prpjekjet e rretheve
patriotike ame pr t hapur klube
patriotike dhe shkolla shqipe, qeveria
greke i pa si nj rrezik serioz, q i
kanosej Greqis nga ana e shqiptarve.
Qarqet shoviniste greke n kt koh,
deklaronin hapur se pr shkrimin e
gjuhs shqipe duhej prdorur alfabeti
i greqishtes, q kishte shkruar veprat
Homeri i madh. Reaksioni grek
shkonte edhe m tej, duke deklaruar
se shqipja nuk ishte tjetr vese nj
dialekt i gjuhs greke. (Burimi: Gazeta
Shqiptari nr. 49, dat 31 gusht 1899,
gazeta Drita, Sofje, nr. 38, dat 5
dhe 18 gusht 1904). Kleri ortodoks
grek mohonte krejtsisht kombin
shqiptar dhe gjuhn shqipe, duke
propaganduar se t gjith ortodokst
jan helen, se gjuha shqipe ssht

gjuh e Perndis, sht e mallkuar

nga Zoti. (Burimi: Gazeta Drita,
Sofje, nr. 15, gusht 1902). Athina,
ashtu si kishte vepruar n shek. XIX
kundr gjuhs shqipe tek arbrort n
Peloponez, n t gjith Salaminn, n
nj zon t Egrins si dhe tek shqiptart
q ishin n Lakoni, Vardhasi, n fushn
Elios etj, ndrmori nj sulm frontal
edhe kundr ortodoksve shqiptar, q
flisnin gjuhn amtare shqipe n amri
pr ti detyruar t flisnin greqisht dhe t
deklaroheshin helen. Qeveria greke,
n bashkpunim me Patriarkann e
Stambollit, n fshatrat ortodokse n
amri si dhe n fshatrat laramane
(t prziera), kishte filluar t hapte
shkolla greke qysh n vitin 1850. N
fshatin Grikohor, nj fshat i madh me
150 familje t prziera, myslimane e
t krishtera dhe ku n t dy besimet,
shkruan Zotos Mollossos, flitej vetm
gjuha shqipe, n erekun e fundit t
shekullit XIX, u hap nj shkoll greke,
e cila po i helenizonte ortodokst.
(Burimi: Z. Mollossos, Dhromologon,
Tom 4).
Qeveria mbyll
shkollat shqipe
u

Pas vitit 1881

prqendrua n

qeveria greke
nj veprimtari

propagandistike n gjirin e popullsis msimi n to i ortodoksve shqiptar,

shqiptare t Shqipris s Poshtme, e shtyu Athinn t dendsonte punn
q synonte n rradh t par t pr t minuar hapjen e shkollave
rrnjoste shqiptarizmin n at trev shqipe dhe pr t hapur kudo shkolla
dhe t mbillte urrejtjen dhe prarjen greke. Greqia krkonte me ngulm q
midis vet shqiptarve t krishter shkollat e saj t ndiqeshin n radh t
e mysliman. N pararoj t ksaj par nga vajzat, nnat e ardhshme, nga
veprimtarie vazhduan t qndrojn si t cilat do t varej shartimi i gjuhs
gjithmon kisha dhe shkolla greke, t greke tek elementi shqiptar ortodoks
cilave pushteti osman dhe vet sulltani i amris. N kt drejtim u shqua
i kishte siguruar status t veant.
veanrisht kleri grek, i cili u b
Edhe shtypi grek n
kt koh villte vrer
kundr shkolls shqipe.
Moikom ZEQO
Gazeta greke Ipiros,
n nj nga numrat e saj,
shkruante:
Epirott
q flasin pa prjashtim
gjuhn greke, nuk mund
Qafa e bots. Ktu sht Mali i Dhimbjes,
t lejojn futjen n
Shklqejn vettimat mbi refugjatt,
Duke nuhatur gjakun q pikon.
shkollat e tyre t gjuhs
Oi, oi. Plakat koklidhura,
shqipe me alfabetin
N ecje tundin duart.
shqiptar. Zyrtart e
Oi, oi. Lkunden n ritin e errave.
Athins e shihnin me
Oi, oi. Nj nuse e re ja, lindi nj fmij
shqetsim faktin, q si
N kaprcimin e Qafs s Bots,
shpreheshin ata: Grat
Si tia vem emrin?
dhe fmijt e fshatrave
Delet blegrinj thekshm,
ortodokse shqiptare n
Drama e tyre si e njerzve, nxitojn e pjellin n ecje qengja,
amri flisnin vetm
Lpijn gjakun e kripur t vetes.
shqip.
Frekuentimi
Horizontet fustanelln e Osman Taks prhapin
Me mijra pala.
i shkollave shqipe q
Qafa e Bots.
ishin hapur pas vitit
Jugu me oit elegjiake t errave.
1909 n shum qendra
Qielli i gjakosur nga plagt e rrufeve!
e fshatra ame, si dhe

QAFA E BOTS

Maj 2015, Nr. 4

zdhns m i besuar i politiks greke

pr helenizimin e trojeve shqiptare dhe
aneksimin m von t tyre. Kshtu,
p.sh. mitropoliti i Paramithis, Neofiti,
n nj raport zyrtar t dats 27 korrik
1909 mbi gjendjen e shkollave nn
juridiksionin e mitropolis s tij n
fshatrat e krishtera, ngulte kmb q
t mos drgoheshin msues shqipfols
n fshatrat e mitropolis s tij ku flitej
shqip, se ata nuk mund t kontribuonin
n msimin e gjuhs greke, si sht
qllimi i do shkolle. (Burimi: V.
Krapsites, I istoria tes Paramithias,
vep. f. 94).
Kleri grek
kundr amve
Mitropoliti Neofiti u angazhua me
zell t madh pr hapjen e arsimit grek
tek popullsia shqiptare n fshatrat
e Frarit, Paramithis, Marglliit,
veanrisht tek vajzat. Arsyen e ksaj
przgjedhjeje e shpjegon vet ai n nj
letr t dats 2 shtator 1909, kur sapo
qe emruar mitropolit, ku i porosiste
shqiptart e krishter t juridiksionit
t tij ti drgonin vajzat e tyre n
shkollat greke. N kt mnyr
kto vajza, q nesr do t jen nna,
do t kontribuojn q gjuha greke t
futet edhe n familje, sqaronte me

cinizm mitropoliti grek. (Burimi: V.

Krapsites, I istoria tes Paramithias,
vep. f. 94). Priftrinjt grek shkonin
npr fshatra ku flitej vetm gjuha
shqipe e u lexonin t krishterve
shqipfols liturgjin dhe lutjet
greqisht. Ortodokst, nn Patrikann
greke, konsideroheshin si pionier t
kulturs, ndrsa myslimant shqiptar
si turq t egr.
Feja nisi t mbjell prarje midis
dy komuniteteve. Misionar t ksaj
fushate u bn klerikt dhe kishat.
N amri midis myslimanve dhe
t krishterve synohej t krijohej
nj hendek i madh. Sharjet, fyerjet,
shpifjet nga ana e propagands greke
ishin poshtruese dhe shum prej tyre
popullarizoheshin e bheshin publike
n gazetat e botimet greke. Grekt
predikonin se myslimani sa koh
sht gjall, mban er turku dhe kur
vdes nuk kalbet n varrin e tij, por
ngjallet e bhet derr Ai i krishter
q merr grua nj myslimane, kisha i
mohon vajin q e ka kunguar prifti
gjat pagzimit dhe gruaja e martuar
me mysliman kudo q shkon gjat
gjith jets s saj, do t mbaj njolln
e turpit. (Burimi: V. Krapsites,
vepra e siprprmendur).
Kjo urrejtje patologjike kundr
shqiptarve e shtyu Athinn q t
koordinonte veprimet me xhonturqit
kundr shkolls e gjuhs shqipe dhe
Lvizjes Kombtare Shqiptare. do
prpjekje q bnin shqiptart pr hapje
shkollash e klubesh, pr sigurimin e
librave shqip, qarqet shoviniste greke
i propagandonin pran zyrtarve t
lart t vilajetit n Janin si prpjekje
t shqiptarve pr nj Shqipri t
Madhe, n t ciln do t prfshihej
krejt vilajeti i Janins deri n Prevez.
(Burimi: E.Nikollaidhu, Alvaniqi
qinisisto vilajeti Janinou qe i simvoli
telezmou stin 1`anaptiksi, tis (19081912), Janin 1964, faqe 25-26).
Kreu i lart grek n Janin villte vrer
kundr shqiptarve n prpjekjet e
tyre pr t realizuar ato t drejta q
i lejonte kushtetuta xhonturke e vitit
1908, duke i fryr do vit n vesh edhe
komiteteve xhonturke se shqiptart
kan pr qllim t shkputen nga
Perandoria Osmane. Mitropoliti grek
n Athin akuzat ndaj shqiptarve ia
bri prezent edhe Ports s Lart n
Stamboll. Ai pr ta bindur Portn
e Lart se ishte nj mik i saj besnik
dhe se do t luftonte do orvajtje q
do t dmtonte Perandorin Osmane,
i deklaroi Ports dhe Valiut t Janins
se ai do t mbante ann e Ports, duke
u bashkuar me xhonturqit kundr
shqiptarve. Si shihet, Athina dhe
Stambolli, u bn dy aleate kundr

Kryeministri
grek Venizellos
deklaronte m
24 shkurt 1919
prpara Kryetarit
t Konferencs s
Paqes se Kunderjoti
prdorte gjuhn
shqipe kur shkonte
tek e ma, sepse kjo
flet vetm shqip.
Lvizjes Kombtare Shqiptare. Kleri
grek, duke luftuar kundr shkolls
shqipe n amri, u mohonte
ortodoksve shqiptar kombsin, kur
dihej se n 90 pr qind e ortodoksve
t kazas s Filatit, Paramithis dhe
Marglliit flisnin shqip n familje.
Kisha dhe propaganda greke bnte
presion jo vetm q t mos shkonin
n shkoll shqipe, por t mos e flisnin
gjuhn shqipe as n shtpi dhe as n
rrug. Gazeta Zgjimi i Shqipris
njoftonte n editorialin e saj: N
Llakn e Sulit disa fshatra t krishtera,
q flisnin gjer dje gjuhn shqipe,
msojm se me nxitjen e kishs dhe
m shum t komiteteve t Megali
Ides, iu ndalua t flisnin gjuhn
shqipe. (Burimi: Gazeta Zgjimi i
Shqipris, Janin, nr. 69, dat 22
shkurt 1909)
Grekt nisin
spastrimin etnik
N vitet q pasuan, Athina nisi
ti intensifikoj veprimet e saj
pr pushtimin e amris me
forca ushtarake dhe prpjekjet pr
spastrimin etnik t shqiptarve nga
amria. Ndrkoh qeveria greke,
pr t shuar e zhdukur do gjurm t
etnis shqiptare n amri, mendoi
t ndryshoj toponimin e emrave t
fshatrave, nj pjes e mir e t cilve
shpjegohen me fjal t leksikut t
shqipes. Po prmendim disa prej
tyre si Gurrz, Vreshta, Ledhz,
Rrapz, Grika, Rrezanj, Grikohor,
Arpic, Arvenic, Mazerrek, Varfanj,
Lops, Gardhiq, Morfat, Spatharat,
Sharat, Nneshat. Fshatit Gurrz ia
ndryshuan emrin n Paleokastr e

Shnim i Zrit t amris: Udhprshkruesi amerikan Theodore Lyman q e ka

vizituar Janinn dhe Ali Pash Tepelenn m 1819, sht takuar n Janin, kryeqytetin
e Shqipris, si e quan Lyman me A. Psalidhn dhe thon se ai sht shqiptar.

sipr, fshatit Picar n Aetos, Koriqanit

n Ahllahvija, Skupics n Kestrin,
Lopsit n Asproklisi, Spatari n
Trikorfo, Galbaqit n Elaia, Dolanit
n Jeroplatanos, fshatit Vreshta n
Andelia, Salics n Llaka, Peshtani n
Kriovrisi, Smokovina n Sikohor, Kui
n Poliner-i, Arvenica n Argirotopos,
Nista n Faskomilia, Arpica n
Perdhika, Vola n Sivota, Rrapza n
Anthusa, Vrastova n Paleokastro,
Kurtesi n Mesovuni, Minina n
Nerajdha, Curila n Kalithea, Rezanji
n Shn Aji, Ledheza n Ladhohor,
Varfanji n Parapotam, Koshovica n
Shn Maria, Luarati n Katavothr
etj. etj.
Por prtej ktyre prpjekjeve duhet
thn se n amri si n t gjith
Shqiprin haset mbaresa at si pr
shembull Progonat, Dukat, Jorgocat,
Morfat, Luarat, Sharat, Neneshat,
Ninat, Markat, Spatharat e plot emra
t till. Gjuhtart kan arritur n
prfundimin se elementi fjalformues
at lidhet me prapshtesn ates, e
cila takohet n emra fisesh ilire si
Labeates Dockleates etj. Autoktonin
e shqiptarve n krahinn e amris
e shprehin edhe toponimet e shumta,
q jan me origjin shqiptare si p.sh.
Ledhza (fshat n Gumenic), Rrapza
(fshat n Parg). N fshatin Kastri t
Gumenics edhe sot e ksaj dite n
kujtesn e banorve ruhen toponimet:
Bregu, Gropa, Gura, Driza, Guri i
Glate, Shkalla e Manoles, Gropa e
Jorgaqit, Grava e Demit, Palo Vreshtat,
Lisi i Lorit, Prroi i Thell, Gropa e
Madhe, Bira e Vllahut..
N fshatin Shulash t Gumenics
po veojm disa toponime: Guri i
Bardh, Bota e Bardh, Gropa e Nasho
Ligorit, Burimet, Gropa e Flliqur,
Bregu i Angjelit, Mulliri i Fikut,
Shegza, Kodrza, Vidhet etj. Sado q
t prpiqet administrata lokale greke
pr ti zvendsuar emrat e fshatrave
me origjin shqiptare me emra greke,
banort autokton t amris i
kan transmetuar gjurmt e lashta t
autoktonis s tyre nga brezi n brez
deri n ditt tona. Kshtu p.sh. kur
pyet sot nj am dhjetvjear se nga je,
ai t prgjigjet menjher se jam nga
fshati Lops, ose nga Picari, ose nga
Vreshtat, ose nga Spatari. sht kjo
arsyeja q pavarsisht me emr t ri
sht pagzuar ky ose ai fshat shqiptar
n amri, brezi i dyt ose i tret,
q kan lindur n Shqipri, pa asnj
vshtirsi gjejn rrug e shtigje pr t
shkuar n fshatrat e tyre, t prkdhelin
me duar shtpit rrnoja, t kalojn
npr plantacionet me ullinj e livadhet,
t cilt i din me saktsin m t madhe
se ku jan dhe pasi kthehen n Shqipri,
u tregojn gjyshrve dhe gjysheve,
mbresat nga fshati i t parve. sht ky
mall i madh pr vendin e t parve, q
sa vjen e po shtohet tek brezat e rinj t
amve.

Maj 2015, Nr. 4

Disa aspekte studimore

Kshtjella e Sulit

Shklzen Raa

ruga pr n malet e
pakalueshme t Sulit, pra
aty ku dikur u ndrtua
epopeja e famshme e
valles s vdekjes t
suljotve, edhe pse n nj lartsi mbi
1200 metra mbi det, duket se nuk sht
vshtir pr tu gjetur. Mjafton do
kalimtar i rastit t ndjek me kujdes
rrugn kombtare, e cila lidh qytezn e
re joniane, Gumenicn me kryeqendrn
e
Greqis,
Athinn
nprmjet
Paramithis. Si baz orientimi pr t
marr rrugn e Sulit sht fshati Gliqi.
N pjesn lindore t ktij fshati gjendet
ura, nn t ciln kalon lumi Aheron, q
e ndan prefekturn e amris nga ajo
e Prevezs.
Nga cilido knd i Gliqis, me t
kthyer shikimin kah veriu, shtegu i
rrugs kombtare mund ta drgoj do
kalimtar nga rrugt gjarprore njra
pran tjetrs, t cilat s bashku marrin
pamjen e nj peizazhi t egr. Jo larg

Prej nga vjen emri Sul? Kur u popullua ai terren

shkmbor e i lart, gati i pakalueshm pr
shumknd? Mos vall suljott ishin vendas e m
pak t ardhur, apo n fund t fundit, para se t vinin
n Sul, kishin qen hert, madje shum hert, n
terrenet e amris pjellore?
nga aty jan shkallt e Xhavellajve,
m pas rrnja e lartsis s vendit t
quajtur edhe sot Qafa (Kiafa) dhe sipr
saj nj hapsir relativisht e madhe
mbishkrimi shkronjash t mdha, me
emrin Sul. sht pikrisht ky rajon,
me maja t larta e pamje t vrazhda,
q dikur ka bartur emrin Kasiopi.
Prndryshe, jan katr fshatra t Sulit:
Qafa, Avariku, Samoniva e Suli, sot
me fare pak shtpi banimi, t cilat
nprmjet gryks s Avarikut dhe
t dy kodrave: Qafs dhe Kungjisit,
mundsojn hyrjen n zonn e Sulit t
zhveshur nga gjelbrimi.
Historia e Sulit, q jo rrall sht
emruar prej ndonj anasi aty, si

Kaksuli, sht e shumanshme,

komplekse dhe me plot dilema pr
stdiuesit bashkkohor. Shumka
pr Sulin dhe suljott, t konsideruar
ndr banort m t hershm aty, nuk ka
marr prgjigje. Shum pyetje krkojn
prgjigje: Prej nga vjen emri Sul? Kur
u popullua ai terren shkmbor e i lart,
gati i pakalueshm pr shumknd?
Mos vall suljott ishin vendas e m pak
t ardhur, apo n fund t fundit, para se
t vinin n Sul, kishin qen hert, madje
shum hert, n terrenet e amris
pjellore? Padyshim q shum nga kto
pyetje e dilema do t ishin zgjedhur
sikur ndonj gjurmues ti kishte hyr
vjeljes s bazs dokumentare osmane,

venedikase apo ndonj thesari tjetr t

vlefshm n kt hapsir studimi.
Megjithat, tani pr tani, duke u
mbshtetur n ato pak shkrime, pr
kt vend malor e malsort e tij t
paprkulur, mbetemi t detyruar ti
referohemi bibliografis, relativisht t
pasur t historiografis evropiane e asaj
ballkanike, kryesisht greke. Autort e
shum artikujve e jo pak veprave q
shtrojn e trajtojn aspekte t ndryshme
studimore rreth Sulit e suljotve, dje
dhe sot u prballn e po prballn mes
dilemave t konsiderueshme, n funksion
t trajtimit sa m objektiv t fenomenit
historik e demografik t ktij rajoni t
amris dhe banorve t tij.
E mendoj t arsyeshme q kt artikull
ta nis nga shqyrtimi i pytjes s par, pr
t vn n pah reminishencn e krijimit
t Sulit, si rajon malor i populluar dendur
deri n fillimet e shek. XIX dhe m pas,
i zbrazur nga suljott. on jetn e vet n
kt vend t zhveshur aty-ktu ndonj i
moshuar, i cili e ka t vshtir t lr tokn
e Marko Boarit dhe ende sht krenar
pr bmat e paraardhsve t vet. Pr m
tepr, shum, nga suljott t prkujtojn
rrnjt e forta n viset shkmbore t
Sulit dhe nprmjet toponimis nuk e

Maj 2015, Nr. 4

mbi Sulin dhe suljott

kontestojn origjinn shqiptare t tyre.
N kt kontekst, si bn t ditur gjuhtari
arbror Petro Furiqi, toponimet si: Qafa,
Vira ose Bira, Breku i vetetimes (Bregu
i vettims), Gura, Dhembes (Dhmbs),
Kungje, Murga e Fereza, nuk kan si t
shpjegohen ndryshe, prvese nprmjet
gjuhs shqipe.
Sidoqoft, brenda qarkut kuptimor
t prejardhjes s toponimeve n kt
krahin malore, nj segment problemor
mbetet shtja e burimit t emrit Sul.
Fillimisht, nj shpjegim jo fort binds n
kt drejtim ofroi publicisti me prejardhje
nga Kora, Petridhi, i vendosur n
kryeqendrn e Greqis gjat gjysms
s dyt t shek. XIX. I emocionuar m
tepr pas besueshmris efektive t
burimve narrative, ai prkujtoi legjendn
e banorve t Gardhiqit,
lart Paramithis, pas
ndjekjeve t egra t
pushtuesit otoman
dhe t agait, t
njohur me emrin
Suli.
H pr h, e
konsideroj
pak
t
besueshm
qndrimin
e
Petridhit
dhe
m
duket m
i kapshm
mendimi
i

Marko Boari, 1840

Furiqit. Ky i fundit i mbetet besnik

qndrimit se Sul me prapashtesn i do t
thot trung i drurit a lisit apo n instancn
e fundit shtyll. Sipas Furiqit, Sul-i (shul)
sht i njohur si emrvend dhe sot sht
i prhapur edhe tek arbrort e Kullurit
(Salamins). Po ashtu si toponim, ka
shtrirje t gjer n rrethin e Janins, t
Prevezs, t Maratons afr Athins dhe
n katr fshatra t Mores. Sido q t
jet, kjo sht nj shtje e gjer studimi
ndrdisiplinor, pr ka do t bhet fjal
pas procedimit t disa qasjeve t tjera
problemore, n kt fush studimi.
Suli e suljott njihen pak n burimet
relevante t kohs, por n literaturn
ekzistuese kan nj prhapje t gjer
prezantimi. Nga baza e shkruar dhe
e botuar, elemente t rndsishme
informimi pr nj analiz studimi
jasht kuadrit botues ballkanik
vihen re dukshm te veprat e
udhprshkruesve evropian.
N kt kuptim, vlera t
pamohueshme, pavarsisht
mangsive t mundshme,
reflektojn
materialet
informative, veanrisht
t Pukvilit (Pouqueville)
e t Likut (Leake).
Tek materialet e Etonit,
Qiampolinit (Ciampolini),
Hobhausit
(Hobhouse),
Doduelit (Dodwel), kjo gj
reflektohet m pak.
Kur bhet fjal pr
aktivitetin editorial t
historiografis
greke,
rruga m on tek njri
ndr dshmitart e afrt
t
historis s
S u l i t
e

Ndrkaq, si pjes e patjetrsueshme e etnis shqiptare,

suljott prezantohen aty-ktu edhe me ngjyrime t errta,
n veprimet e jets s tyre t prditshme. T msuar
me jetn luftarake, ata prbuznin punn e bujkut ose
n instancn e fundit nuk u nnshtrohen as rusve.
Duke vjedhur dhe grabitur bagtin e fshatrave prreth
Korfuzit, ata refuzojn ti kthehen zellit pr paqe sepse
asgj tjetr nuk njohin, prve se t pastrojn armt dhe
t kndojn me kitar n shqipet heroizmin e tyre.
banorve t tij, greku Pervos. Ai ishte
i pari q u njoh nga afr me suljott
pikrisht n Sul, pas vitit 1803 te Shtat
Ishujt e m tej n luftrtat e vitit 1822,
q suljott zhvilluan kundr reparteve
ushtarake osmane. Pr nj autenticitet
t prafrt me Perevosin dallohet edhe
Lambridhis, ndrsa Aravantinoi, autori
i librit dy vllimsh mbi Epirin, v n
dukje detaje mbi Sulin, me gjas duke u
mbshtetur n referencat e Perevosit dhe
krejtsisht pak, n hulumtimet vetjake.
Ushqej mendimin se kontributi i epirotit
Lambridhis sht m i kapshm edhe se
kontributi i themeluesit t historiografis
moderne
greke,
Paparigopullosit.
Lambridhis ofron nj material t pasur,
mbi t gjitha n planin hulumtues t
historis, at t topografis e t strukturs
sociale t Sulit, aq sa pr shumka
plotson dhe korrigjon t dhnat e
dshmitarit e biografit, Pervos.
Po t shoshitet bagazhi i shkrimeve
n kt vij studimi, ktu e shum koh
m par, vihet re prpjekja e nj varg
autorsh drejt pasqyrimit t rolit t
fiseve suljote, brenda harkut kohor t
viteve 1788-1825. Boshti intepretues
ka si piknisje dshmit gojore t vjela
nga pasardhsit e familjeve t mdha
n Sul dhe t bartura prej tyre, brez
pas brezi. Por n tr kt kompleks
burimesh tregimtare, t gjith kan
nj mangsi kolektive: deficitin e
vrtetsis mbi popullimin e Sulit dhe
forcn e dshmis s qndrueshme
mbi gjenezn e federats s fiseve
suljote, si tipar thelbsor i organizimit
t tyre fisnor.
Sido q t jet, do ti kthehesha
paraprakisht, pak a shum n gjersi
e thellsi, prpjekjes pr t ofruar nj
paraqitje studimesh t deritanishme

rreth prejardhjes etnike t suljotve

dhe kronologjis t pranis s tyre n
Sul. N kt kontekst, aty-ktu ndonj
shkrimtar i historis, si Kuconikas
rrfen se suljot jan banor t hershm
lart lumit Aheron, ndoshta q nga
gjysma e dyt e shek. XV. Po ashtu,
bashkvendsi i tij, Ath. Gudhas, n
munges provash t drejtprdrejta
shtrngohet t shfaq mendimin se,
pas vdekjes s Gjergj KastriotitSknderbeut, grupe shqiptarsh t
krishter ortodoks nga terri mesjetar
diku rreth 200 persona, kryesisht t
farefisit militarist t Boarenjve e atij
Xhavella, pas qndrimit t shkurtr
n zonat fushore t Epirit, zun vend
n Sul. Sipas ndonj prkrahsi nga t
tjert, n fakt po ruanin krishterimin
ortodoks dhe karakterin luftarak.
N kt pik mendimi qndron edhe
Hr. Hristovasilis, i cili mbshtet n
traditn gojore mbi bazn tregimtare
t s cils, pasardhsit e suljotve ishin
fortifikata e fundit e Sknderbeut, pas
vdekjes s t cilit, ata zbritn drejt jugut,
duke gjetur strehim n malet e Suli.
T tjer autor grek, si J. Kordhatos,
theksojn se suljott ishin shqiptar t
krishter nga amria, ndrsa Novas e
Dh. T. Boari i japin dor pikpamjes se
gjeneza e tyre ishte drejtprsdrejti nga
Shqipria, mbase nga pjesa qendrore e
saj dhe Delvina. Historiant evropian,
si Bertholdi e Finley, jan t njzshm
n prfundimin se suljott kishin qen
pasardhsit e shqiptarve t krishter
ortodoks, nga dega e amve.
Nisur nga kjo hipotez, ka t ngjar q
pas vdekjes s Heroit Kombtar, arbrit
mesjatar Gjergj Kastriotit-Sknderbeut,
grupe t mdha shqiptarsh t rrezikuar
nga islamizimi si dhe nga

Maj 2015, Nr. 4

lufta pr mbijetes n viset

posht Shkumbinit, t kishin zn
vend prkohsisht n tokat pjellore t
amris. M von, me synimin pr
t ruajtur traditn e jets patriarkale,
pra ligjet e maleve shqiptare, t part e
suljotve marrin rrugn e ngritjes npr
qafn e maleve t Sulit. N kt kuptim
supozimi, autor shkrimesh nga fusha
e studimeve suljote, para s gjithash,
kujtojn se ikjen masive t popullats
s krishter drejt masivit malor t Sulit,
e ndihmoi dukshm ndrydhja e egr e
pushtetit osman, me eksponent t tyre,
si ishin ifligart e Gardhiqit.
Mirpo, t gjitha kto mendime
mbesin hipoteza jo pak her ato
qndrojn mbi shtyllat e burimeve
tregimtare. Madje kjo vlen, edhe pr
dokumentet e shkruara, ato t shek.
XIX, ku reflektohet pretendimi binds
rreth themelimit t vendbanimeve
suljote. Nuk prjashtohet nga ky rrfim
edhe vepra e Perevosit, prndryshe
burimit baz pr historin e Sulit. N
botimin e par dhe t dyt t historis s
tij, fryt i nj pune angazhuese m tepr
n terren, ky biograf fillet e themelimit
t katr vendbanimeve suljote i
identifikon aty kah mesi i shek. XVII,
ndrsa n botimin e tret kthehet prapa
n koh njqind vjet. N kt rrafsh
gjykimi, do t ishte fare e besueshme
kjo, porse dyshimi pr vertetsin e
teoris s tij mbetet evidente sepse
Perevosi, n botimin e fundit nuk
i referohet asnj elementi t ri.
Rrjedhimisht, prcaktimi kronologjik
pr themelimin e katr vendbanimeve
t Sulit sht i vetkuptueshm, se
mbshtet n traditn gojore, domethn
n kujtimet e tregimet e suljotve t
moshuar, t cilt autori i njohu nga
afr, n kaprcyell t shek. XVIII.
N prputhje me rrfimet e t
moshuarve suljot, n at rajon malor
shtegtuan dhe zun vend, n numr m
t madh, blegtort e fshatrave t afrta,
rrafshnaltave dhe viseve fushore,
pas marrveshjes ndrmjet tyre, pra
ndrmjet blegtorve t krishter t
fshatrave fushore e rrafshnaltave, jo
larg Sulit. S bashku me familjet e
bagtit e veta, ata u larguan n nj
vend, ku ishin n dijeni se prmbushte
kushtet pr ekzistenc, duke ju
shmangur kshtu trysnive nga banort
fqinj t islamizuar. Mbshtetur n kt
rrfim, duket se, familjeve t para t
blegtorve q ju drejtuan Sulit, n
intervale t ndryshme kohore do tu
bashkohen edhe familje t tjera nga
disa fshatra, derisa numri i tyre n kt
zon malore, arriti rreth 100 sosh.
Duke shfletuar literaturn vihet re
se, afr biografit Perevos sht edhe
shkrimtari tjetr i historis, Lambridhis,
veprat e t cilve, konsiderohen si
dy burimet m t rndsishme pr t
kaluarn e ktij rajoni malor, sipr
Paramithis. Dallimi ndrmjet tyre
qndron vetn n mendimin e t
parit se, suljott jan prziereje e nj

Luftetar suliot n Korfuz, nga Louis Dupr (Paris 1825).

klani t vjetr blegtorsh shqiptar,

t vendosur aty, duke i dhn edhe
emrin zons, me at t albanofonve e
grekofonve t krishter, t cilt zun
vend n Sul n fillim t shek. XVII,
si pasoj e shmangies nga veprimet
arbitrare osmane dhe hakmarrjeve
farefisnore. Gjurm identike n kt
pik interpretimi, gjejm edhe te P.
e Sp. Arvantinoi si dhe shumica e
udhprshkruesve t huaj.
Natyrshm, pr nj shtje t gjer
e komplekse, nuk kan munguar deri
m sot, edhe devijime pak a shum
diametralisht t kundrta, lidhur
me krijimin e kompleksit t katr
fshatrave t Sulit. Kshtu, pa vn n
dukje vendin e kohn e sakt, Gudhas
e sheh krijimin e ktij kompleksi t
urbanizuar nga nj pjes ushtarake
e shqiptarve ortodoks, ithtar t
Sknderbeut. Petridhi, popullimin

e ksaj zone e trajton si nism t

banorve t fshatit Sulan nga Dhivri
i Delvins, pr t marr rrugn e
mrgimit pas ushtrimit t dhuns nga
pushteti lokal otoman. Po sipas tij, me
t mbrritur n kt masiv malor mbi
rrafshin e amris, kta ardhacak,
i vun toks s tyre t re emrin Sul-i,
emr t cilin e mban edhe sot.
sht me interes q n vzhgimet e
mtejshme pr kt shtje, t vihet
n spikam edhe nj qndrim tjetr, i
cili mund t anashkalohet n kuadrin
e studimeve pr Sulin e suljott. Bhet
fjal pr teorin e autorit t librit
historik mbi arbrort (arvanitasit), K.
Biris. Sipas tij n Dibrn e gegve t
Shqipris Verilindore, n Mesjet ka
ekzistuar nj vendbanim me element t
pastr grek, element t cilt ai i v n
nj korrelacion identifikimi me banort
e Dhivrit t Delvins. Mendimin e tij

Roli q kishte gruaja n ndrmjetsimin dhe zhdukjen

e hasmrive, ishte nj fenomen i rrall, porse pr
komunitetin suljot fare i zakonshm. Pervos kujton
se gruaja suljote mund ta kryente at rol, nga shkaku
i ndrgjegjes s burrave t Sulit, q i konsideronin
ato si qenie, para t cilave ishte e turpshme dhe
shpirtvoglsi, brja e rezistencs. Megjithat, motivi
i vrtet, q i bnte grat t ndrhynin n konflikte
burrash, qndronte pikrisht n faktin se ato mund t
evitonin rrezikun e akteve t vrasjeve.

rreth prejardhjes s suljotve nga Dibra,

ai e mbshtet n nj karakteristik, q
konsiston n qethjen e tamthit e t
pjess s prparme t kafks. Mirpo,
ky qndrim i Birit, vshtir se mund t
jet i kapshm kur kihet parasysh fakti,
se kjo dukuri e qethjes kishte prhapje
t gjer tek malsort shqiptar edhe
n Shqiprin t Veriut, me ka ky
fenomen do t ishte i veant, duke
reflektuar prejardhjen e suljotve nga
Dibra. Po ashtu, nuk jam n dijeni se
ndonj vendbanim i Dibrs t ket
pasur grek mesjetar. Ka t ngjar q
qyteti me rrethin, sipas dokumenteve
historike kishte t bnte pranin e
shqiptarve t ritit greko-bizantin. Po
ashtu, nga baza dokumentare osmane e
shek. XVI e regjistrimit kadastral pr
Sanxhakun e Dukagjinit, bhet e ditur
se n rajonin e Dibrs identifikohet
nj vendbanim, me emrin Shullan. Ky
emrvend, pra Shullan-i, i cili gjendet
edhe n rrethin e Delvins, sipas K.
Kristoforidhit identifikohet si vend me
hije, hijersi.
Nisur nga sa m sipr, dilemat
rreth viteve e vendit nga zun vend
suljott n Sul, jan m se evidente.
Nuk dihet saktsisht, as kronologjia e
as rajoni natyrs fluide t tyre sepse
materiali i prezantuar i Perevosit
nga gurra popullore, po aq edhe baza
toponomastike e shkrimtarve t tjer
t historis, jan larg vnies kapak t
problemit t shtruar. Vshtirsia rrjedh
nga fakti se lvizja e gjer e banorve
t fshatrave rreth Kardhiqit n drejtim
t Sulit, fenomen t cilin Perevos e
vendos me gjas n shek. XVII, do

Maj 2015, Nr. 4

t kishte ln ndonj gjurm kujtese,
sidomos n kushtet kur shum fshatra
atkoh ishin t islamizuara, por jo
gjithmon t braktisura.
Sido q t jet, masivi malor i prbr
nga t katr vendbanime: Suli, Qafa,
Samoniva dhe Avariko, ridel n skenn
e historis, n gjysmn e dyt t shek.
XVIII, duke identifikuar krejt kt
rajon me veantit e veta q t tjert
posht tyre, nuk i kishin. Q ather,
ato vendbanime njihen me emrin,
katr fshatrat e mdha, duke u shtrir
gjer e gjat ans lindore t masivit
malor t Sulit dhe q pr banor t
par aty, identifikohen vet suljott.
Po n shek. XVIII, ky masiv malor del
i njohur edhe me emrin Kakosuli dhe
banort e tij kakosuljott, emrtim ky,
q bartet n kngt popullore dhe n
historiografin e mvonshme.
Sa i prket daljes n sken t emrit
Sul-i n shek. XVIII, Perevosi pohon
se nuk ndeshm n asnj burim t
shkruar rreth emrit, kronologjis dhe
as pr malet e Sulit. Rrjedhimisht,
kjo sjell dilema edhe mbi prejardhjen e
banorve t vendosur sipr Paramithis
s amris, q shpeshher n
fillet e shek. XIX duket se i kalojn
dimensionet e arsyes shkencore,
duke shkelur h pr h n frymn
e romantizmit, pr epokn e art
t lashtsis. Duket se, mangsia e
provave bindse, por q gjithashtu, m
pastaj, nxit kmbnguljen pr t gjetur
t vrtetn mbi etimologjin e gjuhn e
folur t banorve t Sulit.
Ndr t part, q mori guximin drejt
hulumtimeve n kt drejtim, ishte
gjuhtari Furiqi (o), i cili
n hulumtimet do t mbshtet n ato
pak shkrime t shek. XIX, e m tej
te prshtypjet e udhprshkruesve, si
dhe n sfondin e kundvshtrimeve t
studiuesve m t vjetr dhe t atyre
bashkkohor. Mbshtetur n studimet
e deriathershme, ai do t shkruante sa
vijon: Sipas mendimit ton zanafilla e
fjals Sul-i duhet rikrkuar parimisht
n gjuhn e popullit, pra n faktin se
cili ishte ai q zuri vendin n ato male.
Mbase, askush nuk mund t vr n
dyshim faktin se banort e par n ato
lartsira heroike ishin shqiptar. Po
ashtu nuk duhet prgnjeshtruar fakti
pr krkimin e rrnjs t fjals [Suli]
n gjuhn shqipe.
Nisur nga nj kundrim m arsyeshm
vlersimi sot, mendoj se gjykimi i
Furiqit, mund t jet m afr realitetit.
Por, n kt drejtim, sht fare e
mundshme shfaqja e ndonj pikpamje
ndryshe rreth prejardhjes s toponimit
Sul-i. T reflektoj m qart ktu: Mos
n rastin konkret ndoshta bhet fjal
pr nj emr njeriu dhe q rrjedhimisht
shpreh relacion pronsie e vend krahine
apo Sul-i, n nj variant tjetr dshmie
m t fort ka fuqin e t vrtets, e cila
ka t bj me nj emr topografik dhe
jo pr karakteristika gjeomorfologjike
t ktij thepi malor?

Dhimitr Boari, djali Marko Boarit

N kuadr bredhjesh dhe dilemash,

Perevos, ishte i pari, q prmendi
traditn gojore t ktij rajoni malor,
duke prkujtuar se baza onomastike
e ktij emrvendi vinte nga nj emr
personi, dikur pron e nj otomani
aty afr, i njohur me emrin Suli. E
para, gjithnj sipas mendimit t ktij
biografi, ky pushtues aziatik kishte
cenuar skajmrisht lirin e mbijetess
s suljotve, ndrsa kta t fundit, duke
muar mbi t gjitha lirin, braktisn
vatrn e par t tyre dhe zun vend
n Sul. Ka mundsi q Pervos t
mbshtetet n rrfimet me ngjyrime
prej nj miti, pr t hedhur m pastaj
xhevahirin se suljott ishin ata, q
vendstrehimit t ri i dhan emrin e
ndjeksit t tyre.
Duket se Lambridhis, n fushn
e identifikimit t ksaj shtje t
ndrlikuar studimore, sht m realist
dhe m i qart. Kompleksin e katr
fshatrave, me nj onomastik t
prbashkt, ai e konsideron si prodhim
q rrjedh prej udhheqsit t tarafit t
nj brezi migrues, pra t nj udhheqsi
ushtrak a klani amsh, i njohur
si Sul-i, prej nga, n prputhje me
observacionet e tij, malet e thepisura
sipr veriut t Paramithis u thirrn me
po at emr. Mendimit t Lambridhit
m von do ti japin dorn, aty-ktu,
edhe ndonj studiues i historiografis
zyrtare greke t shekullit t kaluar, si
Pulos dhe Amandos, t cilt ndajn
mendimin e prbashkt se Sul-i sht

toponim n rasn gjinore, i ktij emri

t prvem, q n instancn e fundit
rrjedh nga emr personi si Saul.
Pr rrjedhoj, kta dhe disa autor
t tjer shkrimesh historike, do t
shfaqin mendime diametralisht t
kundrta me at t Furiqit, i cili sht
ithtar i qndrimit se Sul-i prezanton
emr topografik, q dshmon tiparet
morfologjike t vendit. Diku pran
tij, qndron Petridhi, i cili edhe pse
pranon toponimin si identifikim
topografik, prmend fshatin Sulana, si
vend t origjins, prej nga nisi lvizja e
grupit migrues t suljotve drejt Sulit.
Sidoqoft, kjo hipotez lypset marr me
rezerv, nse bhet fjal realisht pr nj
terren t emrtuar nga konfiguracioni
i vendit. sht i njohur fakti, se asnj
nga katr vendbanimet me emr t
prbashkt Suli, nuk gjendet n majat e
larta malore. Pra, ato nuk identifikohen
me tipare gjeomorfologjike t terrenit,
sepse jan t vendosura n nj lartsi
relativisht t vogl, deri n 600 metra,
tek pjest ansore t vargmalit, t shtrira
nga ana lindore e tyre. Vendbanimi
Suli sht i dukshm vetm nga kraht
e Samonivs e t Qafs dhe q vet
ka dalje optike, gjithashtu n drejtim
t ktyre dy vendbanimeve. Pra, Suli
nuk gjendet n pozit t dukshme, q
t mund ti arsyetonte karakteristikat e
pikvrojtimit, n drejtim t hapsirs
mbikqyrse.
Nga ky kndvshtrim, grupe
shqiptarsh fliud, duke u nisur nga

aspekti vrojtues i terrenit, do ti

jepnin vendstrehimit t ri Sul-i n
qafn e malit, pra kah lartsit, t cilat
prmbajn formn e shtylls si dhe
prparsit e pamjes. Rrjedhimisht,
ka mundsi q ata t ishin prcaktuar
tu japin pjesve t qafs s largsive
t Sulit, emrat: Kungji, Bir, Vreke
vetetime, Qafa (Kiafa) si dhe majat e
vargmalit n pjest ansore, ku gjenden
vendbanimet, Vuqi e Flamburo.
Ka t ngjar, kshtu q emri Sul
nuk ka prejardhje nga karakteristikat
gjeomorfologjike t terrenit malor. Nse
shtrohet me kujdes trendet e pranis
s shqiptarve n Epir prgjithsisht,
krijohet prshtypja se ata lvizin e zn
vend n Mesjet, n shek. XIV e tutje,
ndoshta edhe m hert, t organizuar
n grupe t mdha farefisnie gjaku, n
form klanesh a fisesh dhe q secili
nga ato identifikoheshin me emrin
e t parit t fisit, pra t themeluesit
dhe udhheqsi, t tyre. T till
kishte mjaft, si: Shpatajt, Loshajt
e Mazrekajt. Pikrisht mbi bazat e
atyre patronimeve, emrtohen edhe
emrvendet, ku ata zun vend n nj
rajon t caktuar. N kt drejtim, vihen
re dy shembuj: pik qndrimet gjat
shtegtimeve t grupeve migruese prej
shqiptarsh mesjetar t Mazrekajve
adaptuan emrat e themeluesve t fisit,
si Mazrek (greqisht Mazaraqi) n
Kurenda dhe Mazrek n amri.
N favor t ithtarve, t cilt i japin
dor hipotezs se Suli identifikon
emrin e personit a vendin, pra jo at
gjeomorfologjik, dshmon kalendari
n dorshkrim i Foto Xhavells, i
shkruar ndrmjet vitit 1792 dhe fillimit
t vitit kalendarik 1793. Sa her q
njri ndr figurat e dalluara t ksaj
pjese t historis prmend Sulin, e
shnon n rasn dhanore
, pra n Sul. Po n kt burim, n
fjalin Viti tragjik, kur sundimtari ose
pashai i Janins, Aliu, thuri intrign
kundr banorve t Sulit, emri aty
prmendet n trajtn gjinore njjs, si
, d.m.th., t Sulit. Tutje, me
po kt emr, Suli prezantohet edhe n
kngn popullore: E morn Sulin, e
morn. Ndrkoh q disa vendbanime
me emrin Suli, n baz t regjistrimit t
administrats venedikase t vitit 1700,
figurojn n Korint, n Patra dhe n
Moren Veriperndimore.
Mbase, e gjith kjo reflekton nj t
vrtet nga e kaluara e arbrit mesjetar:
Shqiptart e ksaj epoke formojn
vendbanime, duke u vn emrin e t
parve t fisit, si sht rasti n rajone
t prmendura m lart, natyrshm
edhe n Epir e n Atik. Pikrisht ky
fenomen sht element substancial
vetm pr pasardhsit e tyre. N kt
kuptim, terreni afr Sulit ose edhe vet
Suli duhej t ket qen vendqndrim i
prkohshm i ndonji grupi shqiptarsh
nomad q ishin fliud, duke krkuar
kushte m t favorshme pr mbijetes
diku tjetr. Ky model lvizjesh

10

shtegtuese, sjell njkohsisht

edhe bartjen e toponimeve, nga njri
vend n tjetrin, ka sipas medievistit
gjerman, Georg Shtadtmyller (G.
Stadtmller) sht nj prov e fort,
pr historin e ngulimeve t grupeve
migruese.
Nisur nga emrvendet e pranishme
t gurrs shqipe, vjen prfundimi i
pakontestueshm se suljott ishin
shqiptar t krishter t besimit ortodoks.
Nse kjo del zymt tek Pervos, tek
autort e tjer, prfshir edhe ata grek,
apo ndr burimet e shkruara e gojore,
prejardhje e tyre shqiptare sht m
se evidente. Kshtu, Lambridhis sht
mjaft kategorik rreth ksaj shtjeje.
Ai kmbngul tek fakti se suljott
jan nj przierje e ngulimeve t para
t shqiptarve dhe e nj grupi greksh
aty afr, diku nga shek. XVII, si pasoj
e akteve t dhunshme t otomanve,
duke zn vend kshtu, n Sul. Pran
mendimit t tij qndrojn edhe disa
shkrimtar tjer grek t historis suljote
si: P. Aravantinoi, Sp. Aravantinoi,
Paparigopullos, Ap. Vakalopullos,
etj. Kt mendim e mbshtesin
edhe udhprshkruesit e
diplomatt evropian t
akredituar n oborrin e
Ali Pash Tepelens
n Janin si: Pukvili,
Liku dhe Holland.
N favor t s vrtets
rreth origjins shqiptare
t suljotve, dshmon edhe
muza popullore. Kshtu,
n nj frymzim poetik,
q himnizon zbarkimin
e reparteve ushtarake nn
drejtimin e rusve te Shtat
ishujt e detit Jon, m von nn
administrimin francez, suljott
dhe disa kapedan himarjot
prbjn
kompanit
ushtarake shqiptare. N vitin
1807, suljott ishin n ball
t betejs n Tenedin ndrsa
nga ushtarakt e Napolonit
trajtohen pr barts t
regjimentit
shqiptar.
Pr kta t fundit, suljott
ishin refugjat, q quhen
arvanit ose albanesi.
Ajo sht me interes dhe
pr ka e konsideroj faktor
gjykimi t arsyeshm e me
pesh t posame, sht e
vrteta e pakontestueshme
pr prejardhjen e tyre
shqiptare, e cila gjen
mbshtetje t fuqishme edhe n bazn
jo t pakt t shkruar burimore greke.
Ndrkaq, si pjes e patjetrsueshme e
etnis shqiptare, suljott prezantohen
aty-ktu edhe me ngjyrime t errta, n
veprimet e jets s tyre t prditshme.
Sa i prket organizimit shoqror t
suljotve, literatura historike dhe baza
sado e pakt burimore e shkruar, ln
prshtypjen se ata ishin t organizuar

Maj 2015, Nr. 4

n fara, fise, klane a familje t mdha.
Ka t ngjar q kjo form e organizmit
fisnor t ket qen identike me grupet
migruese t shqiptarve, ku burimet e
shkuara mesjetare t fillimit t shek.
XIV, i karakterizojn si fise, t cilat
nuk njohin pushtetin e mbretit, pra q
jan . Rrjedhimisht, gati
pes shekuj m von, ata do t cilsohen
si mjedis anarkik jasht kontrollit
t pushtetit qendror, i veant vetm
pr organizmin shoqror t grupeve
blegtorale, me tipare shtegtimi.
Sidoqoft, duke analizuar rrjedhat
historike t strukturs shoqrore t
suljotve, duket
se ata jan
t organizuar
sikurse
shqiptart e

rajoneve malore t Shqipris Veriore.

Kshtu, gjat viteve 1720-1740,
fshatrat e Sulit tashm ishin formsuar
krejtsisht,
duke
ndrtuar
aty
vendbanime t qndrueshme, ndrsa
banort e ksaj pjese t amris
u ishin prkushtuar blegtoris dhe
organizmit t jets patriarkale.
Q ather, ndoshta edhe m hert,
katr fshatrat e mdha t ktij rajoni
t zhveshur e shkmbor n amri
ndahen n farefise ose familje t mdha.
Sipas Pervos-it, n vendbanimet e
Sulit mbijetonin 450 familje me 22
farefise, ndr t cilat t njohur ishin:
Boarenjt,
Xhavellajt,
Drakajt,
Danglijat, Buzajt, Seatt, Nikajt,
Papajant, Shahinajt dhe Kalogjeratt.
Qafa n kt organizim dhe struktur
shoqrore t suljotve kishte 4 fise me
60 familje, ndr t cilat dalloheshin
farat: Zerva dhe Nikaj. S bashku me
farefiset e Avarikut e t Samonivs,
ato prej kohsh do t prbnin nj
potenc lufte dhe hera-hers n
kushtet e mbijetess, element i

pashmangshm
plakitjesh
t
organizuara, n pronat jasht
komunitetit t tyre.
N brthamn e ktij organizimi,
emri i suljotve lakohet si nj element
mobilizimi n planin militarist pr
meshkujt prej moshs 16 deri n at
70 vjeare. Ndrkaq, shtja e fryms
dhe e moralit rezistues shkoi aq larg,
sa n sistemin e kultivimit t artit t
lufts do t futej edhe gruaja. Ajo,
n rast gjendjeje lufte brenda Sulit,
kryente
funksionin
e
furnizimit,
pra
kishte rolin e
krahut ndihms,
madje edhe t
sektorit t rregullt
t
s h r b i m i t
ushtarak.
Megjithat, si bjn t
ditur Perevos e Lambridhis,
nj
varg
kompetencash
qndronin n pushtetin e
udhheqsit, i zgjedhur
nga kshilli i fars a i fist.
Rreth funksionimt t ktij
kshilli, ky i dyti i referohet
nj t dhne t trthort, sipas
s cils do fyerje ndaj individit
konsiderohej sulm ndaj atdheut, pr
ka n raste t tilla, udhheqsi ftonte
kshillin dhe merrte masa ndshkuese,
ndrsa vendimi i ktij organi ishte fryt
i autoritetit t pakontestueshm t tij.
Vendimmarrs ishte po ashtu edhe
roli i tij n rrethanat kritike pr
sigurin, kompaktsin dhe
nderin e farefist. Nisur
nga ky unitet, burimet

dhe literatura n fillet e gjysms s

par t shek. XVIII informojn pr
nj realitet ekzistues. Suljott kishin
arritur tashm t formonin federatn
ose konfederatn e fiseve t Sulit. Pr
m tepr, ata shenjzojn vijn e kuqe,
e cila prkufizonte pushtetin e tyre, me
qytet: Filipiadha-Carkovic-ParamithiMarglli-Parg.
Duke udhhequr jetn e izoluar nga
t tjert, pra larg rrymave t ndryshme
t kulturs s shek. XVIII, madje edhe
m von, ata do ti prmbahen vijs
s dispozitave t s drejts s tyre
zakonore. N kt kuptim, te malet e
zhveshura t Sulit sundoi praktika e
hakmarrjes si nj fenomen, q njihej n
jetn patriarkale t fiseve n Shqiprin
e Veriut. N Fjalorin shqip-greqisht t
Marko Boarit, prmendet fjala hasm,
q ka kuptimin e armiqsis dhe t
armikut si dhe fjala hake (hak), q do
t thot, hakmarrje, marr hakun, term
ky q prdoret n gjuhn shqipe, por i
huazuar nga turqishtja. Ndrkaq, n po
kt thesar t muar pr leksikografin
shqiptaro-greke, e shkruar nga dora e
vet Marko Boarit, figuron termi
gjak, q ka kuptimin e borxhit
t hakmarrjes t nj individi, n
praktikn zakonore t Sulit. Duke ju
prmbajtur ktij kriteri zakonor, n fillet
si dhe rrjedhn e mtejshme t konfliktit
merrnin pjes prkrahsit e palve t
hasmuara, pra krejt pjestart farefisnor
t vijs patriarkale. Kjo ndodhte se
pjesmarrja e farefisit n grindjet
personale t nj antari t tij trejtohej si
nj obligim i tr sojit. Nse konflikti
rezultonte me vrasje, ather pasonin
vrasjet e ndrsjella ndrmjet familjeve t
mdha n hasmri.
Roli
q
kishte
gruaja
n
ndrmjetsimin dhe zhdukjen e
hasmrive, ishte nj fenomen i rrall,
porse pr komunitetin suljot fare i
zakonshm. Pervos kujton se gruaja
suljote mund ta kryente at rol, nga
shkaku i ndrgjegjes s burrave t
Sulit, q i konsideronin ato si qenie,
para t cilave ishte e turpshme dhe
shpirtvoglsi, brja e rezistencs.
Megjithat, motivi i vrtet, q i
bnte grat t ndrhynin n konflikte
burrash, qndronte pikrisht n faktin
se ato mund t evitonin rrezikun
e akteve t vrasjeve. Po sipas,
Perevosit, suljott u nnshtroheshin
nj ligji, q sanksiononte vrasjen
e nj gruaje, t barabart me nj
numr t konsiderushm burrash t
farefistit t vrassit, pra t barabart
me numrin e fmijve t nj nne.
Roli ndrmjetsues i grave nuk ishte
gjithnj i suksesshm. Sigurisht
q konfliktet e familjeve t mdha
suljote, duke shfaqur probleme t
theksuara n brthamn e komunitetit
t tyre, shpeshher manifestoheshin
me vrazhdsi t veant. N kt
kuptim, literatura historike v n
dukje lvizje farefisesh ose degsh

11

Maj 2015, Nr. 4

t tyre n fshatrat fqinje, si pasoj e
rrezikut dhe friks nga hakmarrja e
pashmangshme.
Struktura ekonomike e suljotve ishte
n prputhje me nivelin e zhvillimit
shoqror t tyre. Krahasuar strukturn
e fshtarave fqinje, ajo ishte kryesisht
nj struktur e vonuar. Biografi Pervos
kujton se suljott jan laik n fushn
e njohurive pr artin dhe tregtin dhe
se fusha e veprimit t prditshm t
tyre sht blegtoria. Pasardhsi i
tij pr studime suljote, Lambridhis
sht m radikal n vlersime pr
kta malsor me origjin shqiptare,
duke shtuar se T vetmen veprimtari
n prditshmrin e tyre, ata kan
blegtorin dhe plakitjen. sht
e drejta, suljott merreshin me punt
agrare vetm nse ndrmjet farefiseve
ekzistonte konflikti, pr ka ata
detyroheshin t lviznin dhe t zinin
vend n vise fushore.
N aspektin gjuhsor, mirfilli
dihej se suljott e masivit malor ishin
pasardhsit e shqiptarve nomad, t
cil prej kohsh prbnin nj potenc
t fuqishme politiko-ushtrake n Epir.
Ashtu t mbyllur n rajonin malor
sipr amris, ata flitnin shqip, duke
udhhequr pr shum koh jet t
izoluar, ashtu t heshtur e pa u dgjuar
nga t tjert. Ishin, aty-ktu t rrethuar
nga grekofon, t shtrir n rrafshnalta
dhe n viset fushore. Koloneli i
artileris britanike, Lik (Leak), ishte
kategorik kur nnvizonte se Suljott
nuk ishin grek, por shqiptar t
krishter. N shtpit e tyre, ata flitnin
gjuhn shqipe edhe pse t gjith burrat
e Sulit e shum nga grat e tyre kan
komunikuar edhe n gjuhn greke.
Pr t par gjuhn e folur t suljotve
shrben Fjalori shqip-greqisht i Marko
Boarit, i shkruar prej tij n Korfuz n
vitin 1809, si duket me krkesn e
konsullit francez n Janin, Pukvil. N
prputhje me botuesin dhe komentuesin
e tekstit, Johalas, vihet n dukje se pjesa
shqipe e fjalorit i prket dialektit tosk
t Shqipris s Jugut. Ai prmban mjaft
elemente gjuhsore arkaike, t cilat sot
korrespondojn me shqipen e folur t
arbreshve t Italis. Pr m tepr, ky
autor konsideron se shum elemente t
s folmes shqipe t nndialektit am, si
ata t fshatit Kanelaqi dhe posarisht
t fshatit Rrapza (sot Anthusa) m s
pakti zn vend, n leksikun e Fjalorit
shqip-greqisht t Marko Boarit.
Megjithat, disa konkluzione, si
ai se, Marko Boari bn gabime
sintaksore m tepr n shqip e m pak
n greqisht apo se nndialekti am
nuk sht shqipja e folur n fjalorin
e tij, duhet marr me shum rezerv.
Mbase, nuk duhet harruar fakti se
Fjalori u shkrua n vitin e largt
1809, pra pikrisht ather kur sa
kishte filluar me ritme t ngadalshme
procesi i ndrgjegjsimit kombtar
tek popujt ballkanik, n shumka i
dalluar, prej atij t shek. XVI-XVII.

Edward Lear, Suli (1849)

ALI PODRIMJA
(1942-2012)

AMI QIELL
KA ABEN
Ai q zbret tatpjet udhs
sht ami
Diellin krkon para se t fundoset
n pikn e lotit t Janins
N Maj t Sulit ai q ngjitet
sht djali i amit
Mos ia trembni ndrrn
Ka koh q e krkon Dodonn
Ku qiell ka shkabn
(Mali i Robit, 2011)

Po ashtu, n kt kontekst, duhet

pasur parasysh edhe niveli arsimor i
Marko Boarit rreth sajimit t Fjalorit,
jo vetm t pjess shqipe, por edhe t
asaj greke, po aq sa edhe mungesn e
nj alfabeti t veant t shqipes si dhe
prkthimin e fondit leksikor t shqipes
me alfabetin grek. Rrjedhimisht, kur
zihet ngoje vet prdorimi i fjalve t
shqipes me alfabetin grek, kjo dukuri
qe e pranishme te shqiptart e krishter
ortodoks, edhe tutje Kallamasit.
Nisur nga sa m sipr, n amri
si dhe n rajonin e gjer t Epirit,
korrespondenca e shkruar ndrmjet
shqipfolsve bhej drejtprsdrejti n
greqisht, gjuh t ciln, me gjas e flitnin
nj numr i madh banorsh, ndrkoh
q n kmbime zyrtare, ata shfrytzonin
sekretart grek. Kshtu, n greqishte
bhej edhe korrospondenca e bejlerve
am me Ali Pash Tepelenn. Po n
kt gjuh, bejleri i njohur i amris,

Hasan apari i drejtohej n dy

dokumente, Foto Xhavells.
Sidoqoft, niveli i njohjes s shqipes
po aq sa edhe i greqishtes, jo vetm i
Marko Boarit, por edhe i suljotve
t tjer t dgjuar, nuk ishte n at
shkall t knaqshme, sipas t gjitha
paragjykimeve objektive, nga shkaku i
mungess s arsimimit t tyre. Kshtu,
n fjalorin e kryeheroit t Sulit vihet
re mangsia e pranis s strukturs
gjuhsore n shqip dhe greqisht. Po
ashtu edhe mungesa e prvojs n t
shkruar, sa e tij aq edhe antarve t
tjer t farefisit Boari, t cilt duhet
ta ken ndihmuar gjat prpilimit t
fjalorit shqip-greqisht, sht e dukshme.
Niveli i ult arsimor i suljotve
ishte pasoj e mungess s shkollave
n Sul si dhe e fuqis s madhe
vendim-marrse, pra larg koherencs
me botn e qytetruar, duke qen
kshtu t varur nga strukturat e
organizuara arkaike t tyre. Ata patn
pr shum koh prioritetin tjetr t
prditshmris jetsore, q bazohej
n nj arsimim t kundrt: at t
prvetsimit t artit luftarak, pra t

prdorimit t arms, duke e bartur

prvojn e ksaj veprimtarie nga
njri brez n tjetrin. Pr kt arsye,
nuk ishte e rastit q suljott vijojn
jetn nga kujtimet ende t freskta t
rezistencs e t lufts edhe pas rnies
s Kungjit, fortifikats s fundit t
tyre, n dhjetorin e vitit 1803.
Kjo mendsi mbijetoi edhe ather
kur ata gzonin statusin e shtetasve
t huaj n Korfuz e n Shtat Ishujt e
Jonit, nn mbikqyrjen e administrats
ruse, franceze dhe angleze. Ashtu t
mbyllur n lvozhgn e tyre t jets
patriarkale, suljott mbetn edhe atje
jasht sistemit arsimor, t paktn
pjesrisht, deri n mesin e viteve
30-t t shek. XIX. Deri ather, ata
prkujtuan me mall jetn patriarkale t
paraardhsve t tyre, doket e zakonet,
pa anashkaluar edhe gjuhn e folur
ndryshe nga t tjert. Suljott ishin ata,
t cilt e kujtonin dhe e respektonin
t kalurn, t ciln e identifikonin
me ligjet e maleve shqiptare dhe e
riprodhonin jo rrall n legjenda t
bukura rrfimi, rreth historis t nj
pjese t Epirit malor.

Shnim i Zrit t amris: Prpos botimit t par m 1803 dhe t dyt 1815 dhe
t tret m 1856 n greqishte, vepra e Pervosit sht botuar n italisht dhe n anglisht.
Shih PERRHAIBOS, CHRISTOPHOROS: History of Suli and Parga, containing their
chronology and their wars, particularly those with Ali Pasha, Prince of Greece. Written
originally in modern Greek by , [or rather ,
, a numerical cipher for X and translated
into English from the Italian of C. Gherardini [together with his preface and notes].
[With a plate.] A. Constable & Co.: Edinburgh, 1823, pp. xvi. 248.
T msuar me jetn luftarake, ata prbuznin punn e bujkut ose n instancn e
fundit nuk u nnshtrohen as rusve. Duke vjedhur dhe grabitur bagtin e fshatrave
prreth Korfuzit, ata refuzojn ti kthehen zellit pr paqe sepse asgj tjetr nuk njohin,
prve se t pastrojn armt dhe t kndojn me kitar n shqipet heroizmin e tyre.
Kungji: sipas Lambridhit do t thot gardh i vogl, kurse pr Likun kodr; Bir:
sipas Lambridhit sht fjal e amrishtes q shqiptohet ber; Vreke vettime: sipas
Lambridhit dhe gjuhtarit arbror Furiqit, q do t thot shtyll e vettims; Vuqi: sipas
Furiqit ka kuptimin e nj bime n gjuhn shqipe dhe Flamburo sipas Lambridhit sht
toponim i shqipes, q do t thot flamur.

12

Maj 2015, Nr. 4

The fundamental rights of the

in front of greek municipal law

View of Paramithia, Chameria, now in Greece

Blerina SADIKU

he
Conference
of
Ambassadors in London
in 1913 recognized the
independence of Albania,
but almost half of its
territory, which was predominantly
inhabited by Albanians, remained
outside the borders of the new state.
Chameria was one of these regions.
It was divided between Greece and
Albania after the finalization of the
latters borders with the Protocol of

Florence in 1925. The major part of

Chameria had been annexed by Greece
since the Conference of Ambassadors in
London in 1913. The toponym of this
region derives from the river Thyamis,
which is the name from antiquity for
the Kalama River, and also from the
Turkish word am, which means pine
tree in English. This toponym was used
during the Ottoman five centuries.
Albanians inhabiting the region of
Chameria found themselves between
Greek municipal law and international
law. Due to the fact that the nation-states
were a new concept for the international
arena, this situation created a certain
global turmoil. De jure, international
and municipal laws tented to protect
the fundamental human rights and
the rights of minorities as well, but de
facto it was very difficult to establish
peaceful coexistence between ethnicities
inhabiting the newly created nationstates. On the other hand, the international
arena was essentially seeking only a
superficial stability within these new
political entities through the use of the
instruments guaranteed by international
law. Soon, the creation of these types of
states in the Balkans further accentuated
the issue of coexistence between various

Eqerem bej Vlora wrote in

his memoires that Rauf
Fico, one of the delegates,
kneeled in front of the
Italian secretary of foreign
ministry, begging him to
save Chameria.
ethnicities. Greece sought to Hellenize
its states territory, while, on the other
side, Albanians included in the new
borders of Greece were forced to obey
this assimilation process despite the fact
that their Albanian national identity had
been preserved through centuries. After
the annexation of this region by Greece,
its population was reduced (Colonna di
Cesaro 1922, 75; Tsitselikis 2012, 76).
This fact conveys the consequences
of the pressure that was exerted on the
population for the achievement of the
highest possible degree of assimilation
policies.

Later on, it was considerably difficult

for the Albanians of Chameria to
continue preserving their national
identity due to official and unofficial
pressure. Greece aimed to achieve its
objectives through the collaboration of
the irregular military and clergy, as it
occurred in the massacre of Selan Creek
soon after the annexation of the region.
In March 1913, seventy-two men
from Chameria were massacred in
the Creek of Selan. Persecutions,
before and after this period, were
revealed to the public and condemned
not only by the Albanians inhabiting
the region of Chameria but also by
the representatives of the Albanian
government and other patriots as
well as several representatives of
the international community, like
diplomats and travelers. Albanians
constantly sought help from the
international political community,
but the latters intervention was
superficial in various circumstances,
as it was revealed, during the decades,
that the protection of this populations
basic rights was never fully achieved
in the long run. In 1913, after the
International Commission of Control
aimed to establish the borders between

Maj 2015, Nr. 4

13

albanian population of chameria

and international law 19131926
Greece and Albania, as the finalization
of the conclusions of the Conference
of Ambassadors, the autochthonous
As the borders of Albania were not established until
population suffered persecutions like
1926, the population of north Greece, which had been for
arrests and forced transfer that had
many centuries predominantly inhabited by Albanians,
the aim to prevent this population
from interfering with the work of
was in the middle of turmoil that characterized Albania
the commission (Isufi 2007, 203;
and Greeces relations of that period.
Elsie et al. 2013, 1012). In May
1913, the Albanian governments
representatives Mr. Mehmet Konitza
During these operations, however,
and Philip Nogga sent a letter to Sir to include under its rule the so-called
Edward Grey, who was at the time the Epirus region. In 1914, the Greek army the rights of the population of the
secretary of state at the Foreign Office infiltrated the Albanian borders aiming invaded territories were infringed in
and also the president of the Conference at the establishment of an Autonomous different ways. Various testimonies,
of Ambassadors in London in 1913. Republic of Northern Epirus. Arrests such as the letter reported in Elsie et
In this letter they condemned the and massacres of the population of these al. documentary book on Chameria
Greek authorities actions on forcing territories were quite usual. Greece from a British delegate of the
the Albanian population to accept the was one of the states that signed but did International Control Commission,
annexation of their land by the Greek not ratify the Convention of Hague of Mr. Harry Lamb, sent to Sir Edward
state, and those who opposed it were 1907 regarding the laws and customs Grey in 1914, show that the Greek
suppressed by all means: arrests, of war. Legally, Greece was not bound army infiltrated the southern border
forced transfer from their properties, by this convention, and informally of Albania while massacring the
the confiscation of the latter, massacres the protection of individuals rights population by burning and violating
and disappearances (Elsie et al. 2013, before the states interests was quite them and their properties and leaving
1012). In June 1913, the government inconceivable. Despite the fact that a deserted land with a terrified
of Ismail Qemali sent a delegation this convention was considered as population (Harry Lamb Report to Sir
to Rome and Vienna to ask for help having a weak impact, its content has Edward Grey 15 July 1914).
Authors of the early 1900s paid
and save the territories whose fate a contemporary perspective as it states
the
importance
of
non-infringement
of
attention
to the controversy regarding
was being decided at the Conference
of Ambassadors in London 191213. the rights of individuals not involved in the content of international law
of the time and its effectiveness.
Eqerem bej Vlora, mentioned in war procedures.
Xhufi and Isufis article on the Violent
Annexation of Chameria by Greece
and the Albanian Efforts to protect
it, wrote in his memoires that Rauf
Fico, one of the delegates, kneeled
in front of the Italian secretary of
foreign ministry, begging him to save
Chameria (Eqerem bej Vlora 1973).
During this time, the international
system was very fragile, and this can
also be deduced from the fact that the
Great War exploded soon after the
Balkan Wars. Therefore, international
and municipal laws, not only of Greece
but also of all the states, existed only
de jure, without major effects in reality.
After the Treaty of London, the Treaty of
Bucharest and the Protocol of Florence
in 1913 and 1925, only few of the
Chameria regions villages remained
within the Albanian state. Following
the Protocol of Florence in 1913,
Greece complained about the inclusion
of the so-called Northern Epirus into
the Albanian state. It continued to claim
the autonomy of this region before and
after the signing of the Protocol of
Corfu in 1914. During this time, the
local population was the first to suffer
Preveza, Chameria, now Greece
the suppression of Greeces persistence

Tsitselikis mentions in his book the

opinion of two professors Tenekides
and Seferiades on the effectiveness
of international law during the first
decades of the 1900s based on bilateral
and multilateral treaties that had
been implemented (Tenekides 1926;
Seferiades 1928). They analyzed the
effectiveness of international law
from an impressive contemporary
point of view by noticing the
infringement of human rights due to
war procedures, stating that human
rights had been considerably violated
as the consequence of international
relations patterns that had not shown
proper attention to the treatment of
various populations (Tenekides 1926;
Seferiades 1928).
After the end of the Balkan Wars,
the Treaty of London, the work of the
International Commission of Control,
Chameria was in an irreversible state,
i.e. as the Protocol of Florence in
1925 would shown later, its major part
remained definitely under Greeces
control. In the second half of 1913,
Greece signed a peace treaty with the
Ottoman Empire, after the weakening
of the latter at the end of the Balkan
Wars, in order to regulate the issues
of the respective minorities

14

Maj 2015, Nr. 4

inhabiting
Greece
and
Turkey. The territory of the Balkans
had been de jure under Ottoman
jurisdiction, while the territory
inhabited predominantly by Albanians
was considered as an Ottoman
concession and later the population of
this territory was treated as Turkish.
In this treaty, the two signatories were
bound by the principle of reciprocity
on the treatment of the respective
populations,
but
the
Turkish
population in Greece was considered
in this way on religious basis,
therefore, the Muslim population
was considered as Turkish. The two
countries (Greece and the Ottoman
Empire) had to respect the civil,
political and economic rights of these
populations, but in reality this was
almost inapplicable. As the borders
of Albania were not established
until 1926, the population of north
Greece, which had been for many
centuries predominantly inhabited
by Albanians, was in the middle of
turmoil that characterized Albania and
Greeces relations of that period.
In the peace treaty between Greece and
the Ottoman Empire, the fundamental
rights of the Muslim population were
sanctioned, especially through Article
6, referring to the property rights and
Article 11, referring to the civil and
political rights. They had the liberty
to fully enjoy their cultural, economic
and political rights. Apart from
few issues/restrictions for Greece
on public property management
claimed by Ottoman authorities,
other types of rights, as fundamental
rights, were accepted by the Greek
part also in the third protocol of
this treaty, where these restrictions
are conveyed. However, for what
regards the Albanian population, the
treaty concludes that instructions in
schools should be in Turkish, and the
Greek language is obligatory (Treaty
of Athens 1913). This statement
disregards the nationality of the
inhabitants of the Ottoman Empires
ceded territories; in this case, the
Albanian nationality of the population
inhabiting these territories, which are
included nowadays in the northern
Greek border. Anyway, Greece did
not respect this agreement, since it
aimed to expand its state territory
towards the north of Albania as well,
and the engagement of the irregular
military in this situation prevented
the autochthonous population to
enjoy their fundamental human rights.
Soon after the territorial expansionist
aims, Greece engaged in the so-called
agrarian reform, which was a further
denial of economic rights. The laws
that were implemented in this regard
never could properly compensate the
population for the land that was taken
from them.
On the other hand, Greece and Turkey

The land of Chameria was used for the settlement of

the Greek population coming from Turkey, while the
Albanian population of Chameria was continuously
under pressure and masses of people from this
region were obliged to flee towards Turkey. Many
of them were obliged to declare the willingness
of this transfer. In this situation, the position of
the autochthonous landowners was considerably
damaged and their life was made quite.
agreed to exchange their respective
minorities by the adoption of the
Treaty of Lausanne, but the migration
of the respective populations from
one country to the other was carried
out several years before this treaty
and also continued few years after
it. The Greek-Orthodox minority of
Turkey had to be exchanged with the
Muslim population of Greece, which
essentially was not Turkish.
The Greek state was based on
Article 17 of its Constitution of
1911 to formulate the laws of the
agrarian reform applied on large
property ownerships. Most Albanians
of Chameria were large landowners.
According to Law no. 232 of 1917 of
the agrarian reform, the owners of land
from the new territory of the Greek
state could not make any transactions
with their private properties. However,
there were other laws to complete the
agrarian reform as those of 1919,
1922, 1924 that aimed at a certain
indemnity for the taken properties, but
it never represented a real value of the
taken properties from the landowners.
The land of Chameria was used for
the settlement of the Greek population
coming from Turkey, while the
Albanian population of Chameria
was continuously under pressure
and masses of people from this
region were obliged to flee towards

Turkey. Many of them were obliged

to declare the willingness of this
transfer. In this situation, the position
of the autochthonous landowners was
considerably damaged and their life
was made quite.
Regarding the economic rights,
according to an author from 1926, this
period of the agrarian reform in Greece
can be considered as the one when
land was forcibly expropriated from
the legitimate owner (Evelipidis 1926,
14). In 1917, Law no. 232 aimed at
distributing land to poor farmers so they
could cultivate it and provide a stable
economy for their families, but this
was achieved through expropriating
land from the owners of the largest
properties. The territories of New
Greece did not have the permission
for any transaction of private property
(Efimeris tis Kivernisesos, arithmou
232, 1917). According to Evelipidis, it
was difficult to apply this decree law,
therefore, with Law no. 2052, in 1919,
some formalities of the previous land
law were changed with the aim to limit,
through decentralization, the land that
remained to the owners (1926, 18;
Efimeris tis kiverniseos, arithmos fillou
6, 1919). In 1920, according to Law no.
2521, poorer farmers had to work on
land and give a part of the products to
the owners, but this was not applied
until 1922, when Law no. 2921 was

implemented (Efimeris tis kiverniseos,

arithmos fillou 128, 1922; Evelipidis
1926, 18). In 1923 and 1924, further
decree laws aimed at putting justice
in the previous laws were formulated
and
implemented.
These
laws
sought to compensate owners for the
expropriated land in a small amount
and limit the largest land properties to
medium ones (Efimeris tis kiverniseos,
arithmos fillou 324, 1924).
Despite these laws, and the decree
law on December 1925, the population
of Chameria suffered these changes
because Cham Albanians were the
owners of large land properties and
other agricultural ownerships and were
obliged to coexist in a community
with Greek refugees; their lives were
made quite difficult since they had to
give up most of their private property
to this populations needs.
Regarding the issues raised in the process
of exchange of populations, especially
Muslim Chams were forced, through local
and national decrees, to leave everything
behind and were transported by sea to
Turkey. Cham Albanians, due to their
religion, were misunderstood as Turks,
and consequently they were obliged to
leave all their properties in Chameria and
be involved in the process of (population
transfer to Turkey (Margaritis 2009,
119). This was one of the many denials
of the fundamental human rights of this
population, since they were treated as
objects for the fulfillment of Greeces
duties in the international arena, in this
case, regarding the bilateral agreement
with Turkey.
On the other side, international laws
intended to respect minority rights
through several treaties, like the Treaty
of Svres. However, this treatys
aim was mainly to maintain a stable
international community from several
ethnic groups of nation-states to a
wider area and not properly to focus
on the real needs of national minorities
of nation-states, since, apart from few
declarations of recognition, it did not
bring many changes for the interest
The Albanians of Chameria could
not enjoy neither their cultural rights.

Bibliography
Primary sources

Evelipidis, C. 1926. La reforme agraire en Grece. Athens: Phd.diss.

AQSH. Koleksion Dokumentesh. Folder 1004. P. 3

Online database of Greek Parliament et.gr Efimeris tis
Kiverniseos. Arithmos fillou 232. 1917
Efimeris tis Kiverniseos. Arithmos fillou 6. 1919
Efimeris tis Kiverniseos. Arithmos fillou 128. 1922
Efimeris tis Kiverniseos. Arithmos fillou 324. 1924

Isufi, H. 2007. amria - Nprmjet Kronikave t Kohs 19021940. Tirana: Pegi.

Secondary sources
Colonna di Cesaro, G. A. 1922. LItalia nellAlbania Meridionale.
Note e Documenti (1917-1918). Foli1gno: F. Campitelli.
Eqerem bej Vlora. 1973. Lebenserinnerungen. Band II (19121925): 19 quoted in Isufi Hajredin and Xhufi Pllumb. 1997.
Aneksimi i dhunshm i amris nga Greqia dhe Lufta e
Shqiptarve pr Mbrojtjen e saj. Studime Historike-Separat. No.
1-4. Akademia e Shkencave e Shqipris. Instituti i Historis: 17.

Letter from Mehmed Konitza and Philippe Nogga to Sir Edward

Grey 1913. In The Cham Albanians of Greece. A Documentary
History, edited by Robert Elsie, Bejtullah Destani and Rudina
Jasini, 1012. London: I.B. Tauris, The Centre for Albanian
Studies.
Letter from Harry Lamb to Sir Edward Grey. 1914. in The Cham
Albanians of Greece. A Documentary History, edited by Robert
Elsie, Bejtullah Destani and Rudina Jasini. London: I.B.Tauris,
The Centre for Albanian Studies: 17.
Margaritis, J. Bashkpatriot t padshiruar T dhna mbi
shkatrrimin e minoriteteve t Greqis. Translated into Albanian
in 2009 by Maklena Nika. Tirana: Bota Shqiptare.

15

Maj 2015, Nr. 4

They found themselves in difficulty to
express their national identity because
Greece was implementing assimilation
policies in order to Hellenize its
nation-state. The clergy played a
considerable role in marginalizing the
Muslim community of Albanians of
Chameria, discriminating them several
times. This population neither could
have their national schools. In this
regard, the Albanian state had a weak
role; most of the time it pleased the
Greek state with the opening of Greek
schools in Albania, while Greece
put many obstacles to the opening of
Albanian schools in Greece, despite
its commitment under the League
of Nations to provide subsidies for
Albanian schools. Pupils were often
humiliated and, therefore were obliged
to leave education in Albanian and to
embrace that 198 The Fundamental
Rights of the Albanian Population of
Chameria one in Greek as the better
one. Essentially, these were parts of
assimilation policies of the Greek state.
Considering the pressure made on the
Albanians of Chameria for what regards
their basic human rights, it was quite
impossible to imagine the affirmation
of their political rights in the Greek
parliament and the local government
as well. Chams never had their
representatives in the Greek parliament,
while in the local government there
was a tendency to discriminate against
the Muslim population in terms of their
participation in public life (AQSH fold
1004, 3).
However, during 1926, the Greek
state recognized and respected, in the
short run, the fundamental rights of
the Albanian population in Chameria
at the League of Nations through
a declaration of its representative
Dendramis. One the other hand,
Albanian representatives at the League
of Nations constantly sought their
populations fundamental rights in
Greece, even though their state had
a weak position in the international
arena. Neither the treaties on
minorities rights nor the declarations
of the Great Powers leaders, like the
declarations of President Wilson to
promote peace through his ideology
known as Wilsonianism, could stop
the rise of nationalism in the Balkans.
The consequent clashes were due to
the difficult co-existence of different
ethnicities. In the end, it was not the type
of policy that determined the respect of
the others fundamental rights during
the first years of the twentieth century.
It was simply the willingness of a
certain state to do so, and the Greek
state, since the beginning, had been
determined in its assimilation aims and
the Hellenization of its state territory
through ethnic cleansing policies.
Blerina Sadiku is the author of The
emergence of the Cham issue (1820-1943

George Gordon BAYRON

(1788-1824)

Tamburxhiu
Tamburxhi! Tamburxhi! thirrja jote ushton;
U ngjall trimave shpresn; pr luft na fton
Gjith djemt e malsis i thrret anemban
Himariott, Ilirt, Suliott zeshkan,
E kush sht aq trim sa Sulioti zeshkan,
Me fustane t bardh e t zi tallagan?
Ja le tufn shqiponjs e bishs e zbret
Posht fushs me sulm si rrkeja n det.
T bijt e Himars q sfalin as mikun,
Si mundet ta ln t gjall armikun?
Si smarkan dot gjak me pushkat besnike,
Ka shenj m t bukur se zemra armike?
Maqedoni drgon bijt e tij fitimtar
Len gjahun n pyll n gjak pr t lar
Mandilet e kuqe, ti skuqin m shum
N gjakun e lufts q rjedh posi lum.
Kusart e Pargs i ka deti shok;
I zn rob frngjt, i zbresin n tok,
I shpien n burg, atje t kuptojn
Se jan vargonjt e sa rnd rndojn.
T dobtit blejn, u duhen parat;
Fitoj, do gzim q dua, me shpat;
Prej sms rrmbej t bijn truphedhur,
Mar nusen e re, me flokt e derdhur.
E dua fytyrn e bukur si lule.
Q shpirtin ma deh me kng e pekule,
Pa silljani lirn prej ods s vet
E kngs tia thot pr vdekjen e tet.
Kujtoni Prevezn, n dor kur shtim,
Armiqt vajtuan por ne brohorim;

Shtpira q dogjm, e plak q ndam Zengjint i therrm, t bukrat si ngam.

Ne frikn se njohim, se njohim mshirn,
Kto nuk i njeh kush lufton pr Vezirin;
Q kur leu Profeti, ska par Gjysmhna
Nj trim kaq t madh sa Ali Tepelena.
I biri Myftari drejt Tuns po nget,
Gjaurt leshverdh ta din i pret;
Kur turren Delinjt mbi lumin me gjak,
T gjall Moskovit i kthehen fort pak!
Silihtar! zhveshe kordhn e t Parit ton;
Tamburxhi, kushtrimi ne shpresn na shton;
Ju male, q shihni si zbresin n zall,
Ja kthehemi munds, ja nuk vim gjall.
E shqiproi nga anglishtja Sknder Luarasi

MENDIMET E LORD BAJRONIT PR GREKT

nj letr q i shkruante Henry Drury m 3

maj 1810 ndr t tjera thoshte me t tallur:
I dua grekt, t cilt jan zuzar t plqyshm,
me t gjith t ligat e turqve, por pa trimrin
e ktyre. [I like the Greeks, who are plausible
rascals, - with all the Turkish vices, without their
courage.]
M 1823 shkruante: M e keqja pun e grekve
sht q jan (pr t prdorur nj fjal t trash

por e vetmja q ka pr t qlluar t vrtetn)

gnjeshtar aq t mallkuar; kurr, qkur Eva
rronte n parajs, ssht shfaqur kush aq i
pazoti t thot t vrtetn se sa grekt. [The
worst of them is that (to use a coarse but the
only expression that will not fall short of the
truth) they are such damned liars; there never
was such an incapacity for veracity shown since
Eve lived in Paradise.]

16

Maj 2015, Nr. 4

Sevdai KASTRATI

regimi
Mendimet
e
Filopimin Trukuleskut filloi
t botohet pr her t par
n vazhdime n gazetn
Dielli t Bostonit m 17 gusht, 24
gusht dhe 14 shtator 1934. Tregimi
u botua me pseudonimin Haju.
Redaktori i Diellit n nj shnim
bn me dije se nj shqiptar i njohur,
mik i Vatrs, ka pr t botuar, nga koha
n koh, n shtyllat e Diellit, nj sr
fantazirash letrare prmbi ca dukje t
Shqipris s sotme dhe Haju n
shqip-kuco-vllahisht sht pr ay.
Pr prcaktimin e sakt q tregimi
i takon Konics na kan ardhur n
ndihm toponimi Shkalla e Tujanit
dhe H-ja. T parn e ndeshim
te romani i paprfunduar Dr.
Gjlpra zbulon rrnjt e drams s
Mamurrasit n tre raste: n fillim
t romanit Jasht Tirans, mi nj
kodr pran Shkalls s Tujanit,
dhe n dy raste t tjera Nj tok
n udh t Drrsit, dhe nj tjatr
jasht Tirans n nj bregore nga
ana e Shkalls s Tujanit, ose
Zulfikr Ag, tha Ibn-el-Kelbi, e
dini meselen q na pruni sot kt.
Zotni doktori dishrn me bl at pes
dit ar q kini nga udha e Shkalls
s Tujanit. H e ndeshim n dy
raste kur Faik Konics i shkruajn
Loni P. Peristeri nga Marlboro i
Massachusetts-it dhe Koli J. Dallto
nga Younstown i Ohoio-s. Letrn
e Peristerit ai boton m 12 dhjetor
1925 tek rubrika Shtylla e Faik
Konics n gazetn Dielli: Nj i
qojtur Loni P. Peristeris m shkruan
nga Marlboro-i i Massachusettsit: ne hje hatdhetar, iq dore nga
dijallezite... Jep demicien. Konica

I
Kafeneja Madhshtore Boulevard
Saint Michel ish vndi ku mbldheshin
t gjith njrzit me rnds n Tiran.
Ora ish nj a pes pas dreke. Kafeneja
Madhshtore e palar, e shtruar me
mobilla t shmtara dhe t vjetrara e
t ldhura, e mbuluar si prej nj mjgulle
t ndyr nga qenefi gjysm i hapur dhe
kurr i zbrazur e i spastruar ish plot
gjalls dhe jet. Kt kuvndojin, atj
krcisjin zaret n tavll, m tutje qeshjin;
dhe prmi tr zhurmn, dgjohej zri i
mbreht i shrbnjsve q po porositjin
t pira. Menjher u-b nj pushm i
prgjthshm. Dikush pshpriti: Vjen
Zoti Filopimn Trukulesku!
I zoti i kafenes, Barbajanesku, u-sul
prpara dhe me nj t prulur tha,
Misartht, Dmnule Filopimn! edh
fshiu nj tryez. Njeriu i ardhur ish i

Nj tregim i panjohur i Faik Konics

MENDIMET
E FILOPIMIN
TRUKULESKUT

gjat, i mbushur nga trupi, me fytyr t

verdh, mllzat e fqeve t hdhura.
Nxori kapellon edh u-dukn flok t
zeza e t rrdhura. Nj shrbnjs i mori
kapellon dhe bastunin, edh Filopimin
Trukulesku u-ul. Nga shum tryeza t
tjera u-afruan njers t a prshndoshin
me nderm, se Zoti Trukulesku ish i
fuqishm, nj nga dritat e Shqipris s
re. Nga nj fjal e tij varrej fati i shum
njrsve. Zoti Trukulesku i priti t gjith

me nj kryelarts mbrnjse dhe me nj

njohje t shkurtr, se e kish mndjen n
dy njers t huaj q kishin ardhur me
t. Kt ishin dy gazetar, njri Inglz,
tjatri Amerikn. Dukej se q t tre kishin
patur nj bisedm t gjat, i cili dhe
po vazhdonte. Po, thosh Trukulesku,
Shqipria sht vnt i paqyetruar, i
ndyr, i vogl, pa rnds, pa histor, pa
t pritme. Shqiptart jan t poshtr. Po
pak-nga-pak do t ndrohen t gjitha.

i prgjigjet: Hun hhjam hazr

t eq dor, si m hhjep hhurdhr
Qir Peristeris, hhi cili hhe do hhaq
shum Vatrn sa arn q s hhsht
hhas hhantar hhi Vatrs. Po hhjam
gati me nj shart vetm: q Qir
Peristeris t m hhjap zotimin me
t shkrojtur se ka pr t nxn cilat
fjal marin h n gjuhn shqipe, cilat
jo. Letrn e dyt e boton po aty
m 10 nntor 1925 duke shtuar se
ca njerz i kan shpallur luft zrit
h. Humba, hngra, hodha, bhen
Umba, ngra, odha, kurse Ura, elbi,
ara bhen Hura, helbi, hara. Konica
n prfundim thot se zri h sht
shenja masonike me ann e secils
shqiptari njeh shqiptarin.
Nj veori t till e kam vrejtur
n Gjirokastr n vitet 90: zrit h
i kishin shpallur luft ca fshatra t
Tepelens hiku pr iku, herdhi pr
erdhi dhe kshtu me radh.
N vitet 30 n gazetn Dielli
botohen nj sr shkrimesh prmbi
kuco-vlleht (obant) duke i
akuzuar pr armiqsi ndaj shtetit
shqiptar. Fan S. Noli mendonte
ndryshe Vlleht e Shqipris jan
aq t pak dhe aq t shtypur sa
sht nj shaka t thuhet se kan
lojtur at roll nefast q u ngarkon
Dielli.
Tregimi Mendimet e Filopimin
Trukuleskut u botua dymbdhjet
vjet pas tregimit Nj ambasad e
Zulluve n Paris dhe dhjet vjet
pas romanit Dr. Gjlpra zbulon
rrnjt e drams s Mamurrasit, por
mbeti i panjohur pr lexuesit dhe
studiuesit e Konics, sepse u botua
me pseudonim. M posht po japim
tekstin e plot t tregimit:

M ndjeni, pyeti njri nga gazetart

t habitur, ju vet Shqiptr jini? Zoti
Trukulesku qeshi. Pllria msi! jam
m Shqiptr se do Shqiptr tjatr. Po
m plqn e vrteta. Shqipria s sht gj
fare, n Shqiptart jemi t liq e t egr.
Po me ndihmn e ca miqve, si Rumania,
do t vemi mbar.
T dy gazetart u-ngritn dhe marn
leje. There is something strange about
this fellow, pshpriti njri. Let us
go to that delightful Albanian inn TE
SHKALLA E TUJANIT and talk it over,
tha tjatri; edh dalln q t dy.
N kt e sipr, nj njer i veshur me nj
far uniforme j u-afrua Zotit Trukulesku
me nj zarf t math n dor, edh j a
dorzj me fjalt: Zoti Filopimn, kju
hsh nj shkrm gaj Kryeministru.
Hsh rezervt. Zoti Trukulesku e
hapi t a kndoj. Shrbnjsi Aristoteli
ndodhej prapa fronit, dhe unji kokn t

17

Maj 2015, Nr. 4

kndoj bashk me Zotin Trukulesku.
Pastj u-largua dhe vajti nga fron n fron
duke thn, sht rezervt! e duke
pshpritur sicilitdo ca fjal n vesh. M
n funt u-afrua pran tezgs ku ndodhej
nj megaphone, nj z-madhonjs nga
Amerika, edh e mori n dor.

II
Johanica Celingesku kish arrir dy
vjet m par nga Amerika n Shqipr
me qllimin t hap nj shoe-shine pr
t fshir kpuct e Tirans me mnyrn
e bukur q i ka hie nj kryeqyteti. Kish
prur prv vrcave dhe frneve
t prhshme, edh nj megaphone
pr t thirrur shknjsit. Se Jehonica
Celingesku ish bootblack i mbaruar.
Kish punuar tre vjet n shoe-shine-in
e Jim Smith-it n Conny Island, pran
New York-ut, nj llustraxhihane me
klqm dhe me fam, t ciln i zoti,
strnip i vrtet i Barnum-it, e quante
me emrin gjmonjs The Conny Island
Academy of Applied Science. Jim Smith-i
mburej se n Akadem t tij kpuct
shrheshin me diturin ekspertsh q
dijin cilst e do soj lkure edh diljin
andj t prsrtura posi trupi i nj njeriu
me lngat del i spastruar dhe i ngjallur
nga Spitali i nj Universiteti t mir.
Dhe si gjith Amerikant e kthiellt, Jim
Smith-i ish zmrbardh: sillej mir me
puntort e tij, t cilt i quante nxns,
students; dhe n funt tre vjetsh, posa
tregojin zots dhe kujds n msimet,
u jipte nj dipllom Doktori t Diturive
Praktike. Nj t till dipllom kish
fituar me kryelarts edh Johanica, t
cilin ktj e tutje do t a qajm Doktr
Celingesku.
Me t arrir n Tiran, e para vizit e
Doktr Celingeskut q pr Filopimn
Trukuleskun, t cilit i kish prur edh
nj dhurat. Dmnule Filopimn,
hardha t hy faq nderimet he mia. Hy
lutem t pranoni kt dhuratk t vogl.
Hun dshrj t ap nj dyqank n
Tiran, hedh tr shpresn t ime he
kam tek hyve. Me kt fjal e paraqiti
veten e tij Doktr Celingesku; edh
duke par pritjen e plqyer t Filopimn
Trukuleskut, j u-ngroh zmra dhe
nxori nga xhepi nj zarf ku ish palosur
diplloma. Zoti Filopimn e mori dhe e
kndj:
THE CONNY ISLAND ACADEMY OF
APPLIED SCIENCE
NEW YORK STATE
This is to certify that Johannitza
Tselingescu, born at Moschopolis, Albania,
in 1902, has been granted, after extensive
studies and severe examinations, the
degree of Doctor of Applied Science.
Specialization: The care of leather.
Conny Island, N. Y., the 30th of June, in
the year 1931 of Our Lord.
Dick Brown
John Smith
Dean
President
(Kt Vula e Akademis)

Bilal Xhaferi
(1935-1986)

Nat ame
Ndali apin kopeja e ulqve
N errsirn e thinjur me flok bore.
Ndali apin pran staneve t heshtura
Kopeja e egr e pyjeve ame.
Sdgjohen t lehura, sdgjohen blegrima,
Nuk duken m zjarret ku dremitin obent.
Vetm deti rreh bregdetin me dallg pa pushuar,
Vetm hna porsi dele e ndar nga kopeja
Npr shtigjet e reve baret e vetmuar.
Ndali apin kopeja e ulqve
Dhe prgjon e uritur n errsirn thinjoshe.
Ku ini ju oben me gunat e bardha?
Ku i kini delet q blegrinin kullotave?
Ku i kini qiprat, ku kmbort si kmbana?
Ku i kini qent e staneve q ulurinin si luan?
Murrot, balot, gudot armiqt tan t vjetr?
Ku jan q tu tregojn me atallet e hekurt
Se si n shesh t lufts luftohet pr jetn?
Hesht n errsir amria shkrettir,
Vetm dallga rreh parreshtur shkmbenjt kryeulur
Dhe jehona e saj e gjer npr natn joniane
Przihet me ulurimen e ulqve t uritur.

Filopimn Trukuleskut i ndritn

syt. Th se do t hapsh nj dyqn?
Bizrika! Miku im Johanic, ti flet si
i mndur. Me nj dipllom si kjo,
un munt t aj pr ty nj udh t
bukur. Shqipria ka nevoj pr ditur
dhe pr talnt. Ti j i pamuar. Do t
shkoj me kt dipllom t madhe q
kt ast te nj mik i fuqishm, edh
nesr do t emrohesh nn-prefkt
n qark t Jug-Lindjes. sht nj
pik me rnds, se atj hyn malli nga
Maqedhonia n Shqipr. Mmdheu
yn i dashur, Shqipria, ka nevoj pr
njers me ndienjn e detyrs, t cilt
kan syt t hpura pr kontraband.
Kt Filopimn Trukulesku pushj
nj minut, shikj Doktorin e Conny
Island-it n sy, afrj pak fronin, dhe
vazhdj duke ulur zrin: Natyrsht,
vll Johanic, miqsia sht miqs,
dhe detyra s ka nevoj t jet e ashpr.
Nga nonj her, munt t vij nonj deng
pr nonj mik t on: S prish pun sikur
t mbyllen syt. Kuptove? Doktor
Celingesku nnqeshi: Dmnule
Filopimn, tha hun do t jem haj
m besniku njer tek hyve. Detyra
hime hsh dhe do t jet t u knq
hyve. Vll Johanic, puna sht e
mbaruar! tha Filopimn Trukulesku,
dhe u-ndam.
T nsrmen flett kishin emrimin
e Zotit Doktr Johanica Celingeskut si
nn-prefkt, me lvdata pr diturin,
pr zotsin, pr drejtsn e tij, edh
pr mundimet e tij pr mmn Shqipr.
Celingesku i shiti fronet dhe vurcat, edh
megaphone-in j a fali Barbajaneskut, i
cili me nj kryelarts t madhe e vuri
n tezg. Kt megaphone mori n dor
Aristoteli.

III
Zotrnj! tha Aristoteli duke
pshtetur buzt n vrn e megaphoneit, letra e fsheht, ose rezervt n
shqipen e re, faq se u-b nj prpjekje
n kuf t Srbis, po puna u-ndreq para
se t mahiset. Filopimn Trukulesku
u-hoth m kmb. Aristotl!
briti, mos u-prishe mntsh? kush t
dha guximin t nxjersh n shesh t
fshehtat e Guverns? Barbajanesku,
pa eja kt: Nuk m thua, jan kt
turpe? Barbajanesku u-krus me nj
dukje ltse: Domnule Filopimn,
m vjen shum keq. Haristotl, mblith
plakat hedh hu-porr ktj! N huduksh prap kt, bizrika! hun jam
haj q do t thyej kockat. Aristoteli
u-largua pa folur, shkoj n magjr, me
Barbajaneskun pas.
Kafeneja Madhshtore Boulevard
Saint-Michel pushj n heshtje: t
gjith prisjin se do t ngjiste. Pak
m von u-kthye Brabajanesku edh
di i pshpriti n vesh Filopimn
Trukuleskut, i cili u-ngrt, dhe q t dy
hyn brnda. Dmnule Filopimn,
zuri t thot Barbajanesku, hu thirra
t hurdhroni kt se ka ngjar nj gj
he tmerrshme. Haristoteli hsh nj
njer haq hi poshtr sa nuk besoet.
M tha njqnt he nj t shara. M
thirri qerat obn; hu-mburr se
haj hi ka syt pura hedh hi ka
kuptuar gjith punt t ona; tha se jemi
ajdut hedh kontrabandier, spiun
hedh tradhtor, njers harmq
t vndit q hi ththihim gjakun
Shqipris hedh hi ngulhim thikn
n kurrz. Kur hi thash hun se, N

qnke haq patrit sa thuha, ps hi

faq me megafn gjrat rezervt t
Guverns, haj m tha se s ka gj t
fsht n Tiran, se qeratnj obant
jan tellal t paguhar pr t nxjer
t gjitha n pazr, se t fshetat duet
t mbaen n zyrat dhe jo t drgoen
n kafenet, hedh shtoj se haj duke
prapur shkrimin rezervt deshi t
jap nj msm si me t tallur. Tha
hedh shum t tjera. N nj fjal,
Dmnule Filopimn, haj hi poshtr
na ka prgjuar si harmk q hsh,
hedh kam frik se do na bj dm.
Filopimn Trukuleskut i ndritn
syt. E shikj Barbajaneskun me
zmrim: Fajin m t math e ke ti,
Barbajanesku! Hun, Dmnule
Filopimn? Da, ti, dobitkule! Pse
mer Shqiptar n shrbm tnt? M
ndjehni, Dmnule Filopimn, po hyve
veht m kini porositur t mos arrj se
kt hi thon Shqipr hedh duet pr
sy-he-faqe nga donjer t hi jap pun
hedh donj Shqiptari. Porosin
t ime, Barbajanesku, e kuptove
shtrmber. T porosita, dobitkule, t i
japsh pun nonj Shqiptari t fjetur,
jo nj dhlpre. Po ku t i njsh,
Dmnule Filopimn? Hat, mmalor!
duken t gjith budallnj hedh t
bindur kur krkojn pun; pastj, kur
vjen okazinea, he eqin maskn hedh
bet haj q hu-b sot.
Filopimn Trukulesku u-ngrit dhe nisi
t shtit an mb an t ods, i dalldisur
n mendime. Qndrj m n funt dhe j
u-kthye Barbajaneskut: Dgj. Shko
mer-e me t mir Aristotelin edh sill-e
kt se dua t i flas.
Barbajanesku e gjeti Aristotelin
n magjr, t shtruar prpara nj
shishe konjaku. Trajaske klea
Dobrobntsilor! briti Aristoteli me t
par Barbajaneskun. I zoti i Kafenes
Madhshtore fshehu hidhrimin dhe
nnqeshi: Djali him, Haristotl,
t kam dashur kurdoer. Gaj muha
s ke par donj t keqe. Po ti, pa
mar n sy has miqsin has vrsn
t ime, tallesh me muha. Ke punuhar
dy vjet n Ruman hedh ke msuhar
ca fjal t cilat hi prdr hedh kur
nuk he do okazinea. Trajske klea
Dorobntsilor hsh sikur t thuhash
Roft hudha he Drrsit!; s ka donj
kuptm fare. M plqen tingllimi i
fjals, obn, pa le t jt pa kuptm:
sht si nj e krisur topi. Pastj,
djali him, vazhdj Barbajanesku pa
vn re t thnat e Aristotelit, kush t
dha leje t pish konjk? M plasi
shpirti, obn, desha nj t pir, dhe
zgjodha m t mirn; s jam i marr t
pi cujkn a rakin q e bn ti vet pr
t helmuar botn. Le t hi lm
shakat tan, djali him Haristotl. Dgj.
Zoti Trukulesku t lutet t vish me muha
se ka nj fjal me tyn. M lutet?
nnqeshi Aristoteli; M lutet! Haha, m duket sikur Shqipria zuri t
fitoj. Hajd t shkojm t shohim se
dshrn njeriu i math.

18

Maj 2015, Nr. 4

Eda DERHEMI

shulli grek Hidra n juglindje t

Peloponezit ka nj histori t gjat shkruar
me gjuhn, zakonet dhe bmat bmat e
arbrorve, nj histori pr t ciln krenohen
fort hidriott dhe grekt prgjithsisht.
Por n versionin zyrtar, historia e Hidrs ka fshir
trsisht gjithka arbrore n ishull, prfshir
edhe vet emrin arbror. Tani sht nj ishull grek
veantia e t cilit, ve bukuris dhe shtpive t
bardha si nuse zamani, karakteristike pr shum
ishuj grek, jan mushkat q presin kokulura n
molin e ishullit t marrin turistt npr shtpit me
qera n rrugt e ngushta q qarkojn fshatin duke
iu ngjitur drejt malit. Veantia etnike e ishullit
sht fshir: askush nuk mund t gjej gjurm
t dukshme t rrnjve jetgjata e komplekse t
arbrorve aty.
Nga vizitat e vjetve t fundit n Greqi, kam
vn re se njerzia n mas njeh vetm versionin
zyrtar; nj version alternativ i historis i fyen dhe i
bn njerzit agresiv. E kam hasur thn nga njerz
t shtresave e hapsirave pa lidhje se Shqipria
pushtoi Vorioepirin, pa zn me goj iden q
grekt rrjedhin direkt nga Sokrati dhe kan po at
ADN si ai. Shumica, si kudo, do t besoj at q e
lviz sa m pak ose asfare gjendjen e tanishme t
njohjes q kan. Grmimi, dyshimi dhe prmbysja
e dijes, ende jan lodra t rrezikshme si n
Mesjet. Ndrtimi i krenaris kombtare, si n
plot vende t tjera, kryhet nprmjet ndrtimit t
miteve t thjeshta e t fuqishme (sado pak realiste
qofshin) q pastaj konsumohen nga njerzit.
N Ballkan jan t pakta forcat intelektuale q
synojn dekonstruktimin e mitit dhe ndritimin e t
vrtetave historike dhe shkaqeve t tyre. Greqia,
ashtu si Serbia, Shqipria etj., sbjn prjashtim.
Shum e kufizuar sht n Ballkan edhe larmia e
llogarive historike t shum autorve dhe shkollave
q do ta bnte ndoshta redundant intelektualin
vetkritik aq t nevojshm ndr ne. Ndaj e vrteta
e vuajtur, ktu sht edhe m e rreckosur se
tjetrkund. Vdekja e shumllojshmris etnike
dhe gjuhsore t popullsive t ndryshme n
territorin e Greqis lidhet pikrisht me krijimin
e miteve t tilla agresive dominante q shfarosin
gjithka jogreke si t ult e t turpshme, mite q
prvetsohen e fuqizohen nga minoriteti aq sa
nga grupet dominante. Hidra sht nj rast tipik
i ksaj shfarosjeje me dshirn e vet grupeve
etnike ose grupeve q rastsisht harrojn gjuhn
dhe t shkuarn e vet. Historia e Hidrs sht n
fakt histori e doktoruar, dhe mosprmendja e
qllimshme e shum fakteve e bn at histori t
rreme.
Zbres nga anija n molin modest t Hidrs
mbushur me kafene e restorante plot turist, q
servirin nj sallat t vogl me domate pr 9.5
Euro. Pa dyshim nuk kaloj pa vn re mushkat

HIDRA, ARBRORT
DHE DOKTORIMI
I HISTORIS
e gomert q m duken t mbl e t vuajtur
nn sain e diellit. Para se t shkoj n Muzeun
historik t Hidrs, bj nj shtitje npr rrugt
me dredha q i ngjiten fshatit. Bukur, pastr dhe
vap, por asgjkundi nuk ka shenj t shqipes s
arbrorve; as kur fshatart pleq flasin me njritjetrin, as npr emra rrugsh e sheshesh, as
npr emra kafenesh e restorantesh. Shoh buste
t heronjve ishullar t revolucionit grek, dhe e
di q shumica jan arbror, por kjo as thuhet e
as nnkuptohet.
Kur hyj n Muzeun historik drejtohem pr nga
biletaria. Dy vllezr rreth t njzetave punojn
pr mirmbajtjen e muzeut, japin sqarime dhe

presin biletat. Jan t msuar e t sjellshm.

Pasi pres biletn u them se jam aq e gzuar q
gjej nj muze historik t kuruar nga Ministria
e Edukimit dhe shtjeve fetare t Greqis, n
nj qytez kaq t vogl. Shtova se jam e sigurt
q do gjej plot materiale pr punn q po bj pr
arbrort, historin dhe gjuhn e tyre. Fshati
nuk m dha asnj shpres se do gjeja dika; ndaj
mund t msoj ktu me bollk at q se gjeta
n rrugt e fshatit- shtova. Njri nga vllezrit,
ai m energjiku e me sy m t qeshur, m tha:
Po n muze, n fakt ska gj pr arbrort
ndoshta edhe kahm nuk besoj se ka gj.
Tani ishte radha ime ta humbja pr pak. Edhe
aq e papritur nuk m erdhi, por nuk e mbaja dot
gojn q t mos pyesja. Po a nuk sht Hidra
nj fshat arbror? Si spaska gj pr arbrort
n nj muze historik t Hidrs? Ti je prej
ktu? Ka arbror sot n Hidr? Jo, sot nuk
kaPo, un jam nga Hidra. Je arbror?, e
pyeta. Po n origjin ashtu jemi gati t gjith
ktu. A ka njerz q ende e flasin, pleq a
plaka shum t vjetr. Jo. Nuk besoj se ka
ngelur njeri- vazhdoi vllai i qeshur, ndrsa
vllai tjetr rrinte ngrysur. Po ti a di ndonj
fjal n arbrishte? Gjuha ka jetuar deri para
pak dekadash ktu jam e sigurt q ka ln
gjurm.
Djali pa nga i vllai dhe m tha
Un di ca por vllai im di m shum. Ka
ca fjal t veanta q ne i prdorim vetm n
kt ishull kur nuk duam q t kuptohemi.
E dim q ato vijn nga arbrishtja. Por
vllai merrte pjes pak ose aspak n bised.
Ather u dhash nj cop letr dhe u thash
t m shkruanin n nj list gjith sa dinin a
mbanin mend, ndrsa un vizitoja muzeun. Do
ta merrja listn n dalje.

19

Maj 2015, Nr. 4

N muze
Muzeu m bhet shtpi pr ato pak or. Ka
pak dhoma, pes a gjasht gjithsej n strukturn
e nj godine t pasur tradicionale dy-katshe
(muzeu ideal sipas meje), si dhe korridoret q
gjithashtu mbajn dokumente dhe piktura, skica
e foto. Pjesa e arkivave, q n fakt i jep emrin
muzeut, nuk sht e publikuar, por historia e
Hidrs n dy shekujt e fundit sht qendrore
dhe e vizualizuar disafish me foto, piktura, skica
dhe ndonj dokument. Nuk ka vizitor grek;
ka vetm europian perndimor: francez e
anglez kryesisht. E di q kam nj lidhje m t
veant se vizitort e tjer me portretet q varen
npr muret e muzeut. Shumica e admiralve,
politikanve apo piktorve, si dhe grave t bukura
t pikturuara, kan mbiemra shqip, ndonjri me
nj s shtuar pas: rreth dhjet personazhe npr
muze mbajn emrin Kriezi, dhe jan nga admiral
e pronar anijesh heronj t Revolucionit Grek,
n artist, pasunar e politikan t pas-pavarsis.
Pastaj vijn krert e tjer: Kriemadhi, Kriekuqi
e Kriebardhi; pastaj, Zogu e Mavridera; plot
admiral nga dera e Kunduriotve, Kulluriotve
dhe Shahinve; pastaj parakalojn portretet e
anijeve me vela t familjeve arbrore dhe betejat
ku kto anije luftuan si kapiten e admiral q
ndrruan m pas fatin e Greqis sidomos nga
familjet Kundurioti (q mbanin emrin Zerva kur
ishin ende n Sul), Krieziu dhe Miauli (ky i fundit
nga fisi i Bokve apo Vokve t Eubeas q flisnin
shqip para e pas revolucionit grek, e q mbiemrin
Miauli e patn marr si nofk, e q mbushnin me
qindra ishullin e Hidrs). Portreti i Eleni Krieziut
pikturuar nga Nikolla Voko (Boko) hijeshon
dhomn me dritn e syve t but t Elenit. M
kujton shum Motrn Tone t Idromenos. Pastaj
vijn veshjet e grave e burrave hidriot, q kan
fokus t merituar n muze si veanrisht t bukura
e karakteristike. Nj plak e Hidrs sht pikturuar
n vaj me kostumin e vet, e m tej shfaqet edhe
kostumi i saj original dhuruar muzeut. Nj vitrin
e gjer e mbushur me fustanella, fustane t rnda
leshi t grave dhe shami karakteristike t Hidrs.
Pastaj shihen t tjera piktura q po ashtu theksojn
veantit e veshjeve grarishte dhe burrrishte
t hidriotve, si dhe veantit e tyre kulturore e
shpirtrore.
Muzeu sht i mbushur me emra e bma
heronjsh, vargje politikansh t menur e trimash
t artur, si dhe me dshmi kulturore e artistike q
lvdohen me patos t spikatur. Por emri arbror
e arbrishte nuk jan zn me goj as edhe nj
her t vetme n muze. E nis nga e para nga
kati prdhes deri tek dritarja e fundit n dhomn
gjysm boshe t katit q sheh mbi det nj pamje
prrallash, se mos m ka shptuar fjala pa vn
re. Jo! Etniciteti i ktyre njerzve q prndryshe
u sht numruar sasia e dhmbve n goj,
sht totalisht i munguar. Flitet pr veantit
e veshjeve, t trimrive, t profesioneve e t
pasionit q i hodhi n detra lufte, por nuk thuhet
gjkund se t gjith i prkisnin nj komuniteti a
katundi q sqe grek pr nga etniciteti, dhe se
q t gjith flisnin nj gjuh q nuk ishte greqisht.
Un nuk prisja t lidhnin kt grup me shqiptart
apo shqipen. Kt lloj naiviteti ka vjet q e kam

Muzeu i Hidrs

Shumica e admiralve, politikanve

apo piktorve, si dhe grave t
bukura t pikturuara, kan mbiemra
shqip, ndonjri me nj s shtuar
pas: rreth dhjet personazhe npr
muze mbajn emrin Kriezi, dhe jan
nga admiral e pronar anijesh
heronj t Revolucionit Grek, n
artist, pasunar e politikan t paspavarsis. Pastaj vijn krert e tjer:
Kriemadhi, Kriekuqi e Kriebardhi;
pastaj, Zogu e Mavridera; plot
admiral nga dera e Kunduriotve,
Kulluriotve dhe Shahinve
kaluar, sepse kam lexuar edhe studiues grek me
doktorata q kujdesen (padashje?) t mos lidhin
kurrsesi arbrort me shqip apo shqiptar.
Por prisja q s paku fjaln arbror ta gjeja n
do mur dhome ktu. Prmendja e origjins s
ktyre njerzve (origjin q ata e jetuan prgjat
gjith jets dhe q nuk ishte ve rrnj formale
historike) nuk sht e domosdoshme vetm ngaq
kur flet pr veantin e ishullarve, nuk mund
t harrosh pikrisht at far e bn kt ishull t
veant e t ndryshm nga t tjer. Por sht e
domosdoshme edhe sepse jemi n nj muze q
po tregon historin e ktyre njerzve nn tuteln
serioze e zyrtare t shtetit (Ministris s Arsimit
dhe shtjeve Fetare), histori e cila nuk mund
t tregohet kurr duke u fshehur etnicitetin dhe
gjuhn q flisnin.
N kt pik jam e mbushur me trishtim, dhe jo
vetm se sht e padrejt dhe e paramenduar ajo
q shoh edhe sikur t mos kish t bnte me nj
kombsi q un ndaj me gjysma-heronjt e muzeut
ose me historit e tyre politikisht t doktoruara;
jam e mbushur me trishtim se shoh sa pa shpres
jemi ende ne n Ballkan t shohim n sy historin
dhe njri-tjetrin: pa hile, pa t futme, pa urrejtje
t fjalsuara a t nivelit para-verbal. E shoh se

shtetet jo vetm nuk prijn me

shembull progresiv njerzit, por
u ushqejn vshtrime rrenacake
e armiqsore. E shoh se ajo
q duket n horizont sot nuk
sht e bukur, dhe pa dyshim
q furnizon me energji t reja
negative grupet super-patriotike
q, teksa tundin flamur festash,
shprndajn pluhur t hidhur
urrejtjeje pr tjetrin. ndrra
europiane e Ballkanit, si pr ata
q Pavarsin formale e fituan n
shek. XIX si pr ata q e fituan
n t XX, sht vrtet vetm
aq: nj ndrr, shpesh edhe e
keqprdorur.
N ikje
N t dal ndaloj rishtaz me dy vllezrit tek hyrja
e muzeut. M ftojn t hyj n studion e Muzeut. U
flas pr zhgnjimin n muze. U thash se eliminimi
i prmendjes s gjuhs dhe etnicitetit t fshatit nuk
sht i drejt, nuk sht shkencor, nuk sht as
human. M thon se ndoshta ngaq kuruesit jan
prqendruar tek historia mua ktu mu duk se
nuk kishte m kuptim t vazhdoja argumentimin.
U thash vetm se shtpia ku Muzeu u ndrtua n
fillim t ekzistencs s vet n 1918, iu dhurua shtetit
po nga nj arbror, Gjik Kuluri, pronar anijesh si
shum bashkfshatar t vet, sepse donte q historia
e katundit t vet me shqipfols si ai, t mos harrohej.
Por n fakt u harrua copa m qensore e saj. Me
njrin vlla mund t lidhesha e t bisedoja hapur,
tjetri m shihte vazhdimisht me nj lloj shemrie
t shurdht, dhe e dija q ky i dyti ishte Ballkani
i vjetr burrror, patriot e patriarkal q jeton ende
ndr plot 20-vjear. I pyeta nse mund t m jepnin
listn e fjalve arbrishte q ende prdoren n ishull.
E mora dhe nisa prap bisedn e leht dhe gazmore
me njrin vlla. Po prpiqej t m shpjegonte se
donin t thoshin shprehjet q ai i kish shkruar si
Hana mounou! dhe tjetrn si M bitha!. Jan
fjal t turpshme nuk ti them dot se duan t
thon- m tha pasi mi lexoi si i shqiptonin. Iu
prgjigja se un flas shqip dhe i kuptoj mir q t
dy shprehjet q prdoren ende n Shqipri. Pastaj
folm pr ca fjal q lidheshin me peshkimin dhe me
detin, dhe ca t tjera q si mora vesh. Njra q mu
duk simbolikisht me vend t mos e merrja m vesh,
kish kuptimin jemi t nj soji, jemi t ngjashm e
t pandar, dhe ishte: Tatsi, mitsi, kotsi! (shkruar
prej tij kshtu, por shqiptuar si taci, mici, koci).
Ndoshta do t thoshte tasi, mishi, kosi/koci n
kuptimin e ndarjes s ushqimeve baz t grupit apo
lidhur me mishin e kockn? Nga ishulli m mbeti
nj ndjesi e fort humbjeje fjalsh, historie, miqsie,
komunikimi, jete.
Shnim i Zrit t amris: - Sipas Hahn-it
(1854) n ishujt Hidra (Nidr), Specaj, Poro dhe
Salamina (Kulluri) shqiptart jan aq t paprzier
saq atje asnj grua nuk e kuptonte e as nuk
dinte ta fliste greqishten. T dyja kombsit,
thot ai, banojn ktu prej shekujsh, njra pran
tjetrs, por jan t veuara krejtsisht dhe nuk
bjn shkmbime martesash.

20

Maj 2015, Nr. 4

The Cham Albanians

Lambros BALTSIOTIS
Panteion University, Athens

his paper focuses on the hypothesis that the

expulsion of Muslim Chams from Western
Epirus during the later part of 1944 and
beginning of 1945 by the guerrilla forces
of EDES, resisting the Italo-German
occupation occurred, contrary to conventional wisdom,
not only as a result of the Chams collaboration with the
forces of occupation, but rather as an outcome of state
policy, a policy which was embedded in the prevailing
nationalistic ideology of the Interwar period.
We argue that following the earlier Greek-Turkish
and Greek-Bulgarian exchanges of populations,
the expulsion of Muslim Chams was part of a
policy of the Greek state to exercise its alleged
right to oust non-Greeks from its territory. Within
the parameters of this ideological framework,
legislatively and practically as well as domestically
and internationally, the visibility of the Muslim Chams
had to be lessened. The target was the minimization of
their physical presence through the reduction of their
numbers and the reduction of their distinctiveness as a
separate religious and linguistic group.
In what follows we will attempt to present evidence
of the growing hostility between the two religious
communities (Orthodox and Muslim) of this part of
Western Epirus which occurred independently of their
linguistic affinities. This growing hostility was tolerated
if not stirred by the Greek state itself. The Government
and the state bureaucracy utilized an instigative approach
to increase hatred between the communities in order to
successfully attain the aforementioned aims.
Subsequently we trace the methods that the Greek
governmental and public administrative bodies used in
order to eradicate the presence and surviving evidence
of the Muslim Chams in the area. There were two
additional factors which facilitated the execution of
these policies: the greater freedom of action the state
felt with the imposition of a state of emergency in
Greece starting from the period of expulsion up until
the early 1950s as well as the activities of the deep
state as a powerful actor up until the fall of the Colonels
dictatorship in 1974.

View of Paramitha, 1942

View of Parga, Chameria, now in Greece

1. The land and the people

During the beginning of the 20th Century, the
northwestern part of the Greek region of Epirus
was mostly populated by an Albanian-speaking
population, known under the ethnonyme Chams
[am, am (singular)in Albanian, (), ()
in Greek]. The Chams are a distinct ethno-cultural
group which consisted of two integral religious groups:
Orthodox Christians and Sunni Muslims. This group
lived in a geographically wide area, expanding to the
north of what is today the Preveza prefecture, the western
part of which is known as Fanari [Frar in Albanian],
covering the western part of what is today the prefecture
of Thesprotia, and including a relatively small part of
the region which today constitutes Albanian territory.
These Albanian speaking areas were known under the
name Chameria [amri in Albanian, () or
() in Greek]. With the exception of the short
lived sanjak of Readiye, which was founded in 1910,
this region never constituted a distinct administrative
division under Ottoman rule. It was annexed to
Greece in the latter half of 1912, when the Ottoman
Empire was retreating from a large part of the Balkan
Peninsula as a result of the Empires defeat in the First
Balkan War. This was also the period when Albanian
independence was declared.
Applying linguistic principles, the whole area
constituted an Albanian speaking enclave, isolated
at least in strict geographical terms, with a continuum
of Albanian language in todays Albania and adjoining
areas, i.e, Kosovo and the Republic of Macedonia. In the
north-eastern part of that area, east to the city of Filati
within Greek territory, a Greek speaking area began
growing and expanding eastwards to todays Albanian
territory and up to the coast of Albania.
According to an official document 3,676 Greek

speaking and 30,726 Albanian speaking Muslims

were living in the sandjak of Readiye. For the Preveza
sanjak the same document provides a figure of 2,610
Greek-speaking Muslims. Based on this document it
seems that more than 32,000 Muslims, plus 900 Muslim
Gypsies, were unofficially recorded as living in that area
annexed to Greece. An additional 12,640 Albanianspeaking Greeks were also reported to inhabit the area.
These figures were relatively overstated with regards
to the Muslim population and underestimated with
regards to the Albanian speaking Christians. According
to a document based on the 1920 census, after the flight
of Muslim emigrants in 1913-1914, the number of the
Muslims residing in Epirus fell to 26,000 persons.4 In
1936, while some of the families had already migrated
to Turkey and Albania, the Albanian Consul at Janina
(Yanya in Turkish), counting the Muslim population
village by village, established the population of
Chameria at 23,048 persons. 5
The Albanian speaking area was quite compact and
well-marked by the local geography, as the Greek
speaking communities were settled at the eastern
mountainous areas. Chameria and Prevezaniko were
also symbolically distinguished as the land where the
Arvanits6 lived. We can rather confidently argue that
Muslim and Christian Chams of the plains made up
a distinct ethno-economic group.7 However, there
was a particular pattern in the settlements of religious
groups inside the area of Chameria annexed to Greece:
most Muslim villages were located at the center of
the area, while the large majority of the Christian
Orthodox Albanian speaking villages were to the south
and the east of the area. 8
Although the langue-vehiculaire of the area was
Albanian, a much higher status was attributed to the
Greek language, even among the Muslims themselves.

Maj 2015, Nr. 4

of Northern Greece
Thus, during the late Ottoman era, besides the official
Ottoman Turkish, Greek functioned as a second,
semi-official language, accepted by the Ottoman
Administration. This characteristic can be followed
partly from public documents of the era.
2. The situation prior to annexation
During the late 19th century, with the development of
the Albanian national movement, the city of Janina (the
administrative center of the sanjak and the vilayet), and,
to a lesser extent, Preveza in the south and the town
of Filati in the north all played an important role
in promoting the expansion of Albanian nationalistic
activities among Muslims. On the other hand, with the
exception of certain elites and prominent families, there
is no evidence that Albanian nationalist ideology had
gained strong support from the local Muslim population:
the pro-Albanian Leagues [Bashkimi] were quite weak
in Chameria, while the Albanian language schools,
which appeared after the Young Turk revolution,
hardly attracted any attention, despite the fact that they
were established by pro-Albanian elites in the small
towns of the area. 9
The Albanian-speaking, Orthodox population did not
share the national ideas of their Muslim neighbors and
remained Greek-oriented, identifying themselves as
Greeks. 10 Consequently, following the annexation of
the area by Greece they identified themselves with the
Greek state and, concomitantly, with the Greek nation.
But the fact that this Christian population was in close
contact with Muslims, spoke the same language and
was in geographical proximity to Albania proper was a
source of constant anxiety for the Greek state. The state
perception was that this partly monolingual Christian
population, some of whom were ignorant of the Greek
language, could easily be recruited to the ranks of
Albanian nationalists. As a local writer puts it, the
opening of Albanian language schools in 1909, and the
consequent spreading of propaganda, constituted a very
dangerous mixture for Christians living in the area.
The same assessment had already been expressed on an
official level by the Greek Consul at Janina in 1912.
Yet this situation was not a novelty. Prior to this period,
Chameria was already a nuisance both for the Greek state
and the Christians of Epirus who identified themselves
as Greeks. As the less ambitious Greek irredentists
target in 1912 was to include all the areas up to a line
including Kor-Gjirokastr-Himar within the frontiers
of the expanded Greek state, aim was to obscure the
fact that the Christian, or even the Muslim population,
didnt speak Greek but Albanian. 11 Concealing the
existence of the Albanian language appeared as a
concept as soon as the possibility of Greek expansion
into Epirus appeared. Dimitrios Hassiotis, a historian
and politician who supported Greek claims, writes in
1887 that in the whole of the Chameria region, only in
Paramithia do some of the inhabitants understand the
Albanian language for commercial reasons (authors
emphasis). The initial distortion of facts was followed
by an effort to account for the allegedly occasional
use of Albanian. This appeal to hope is not only
applied to the distortion of the linguistic reality of the
area as perceived by non-natives, but is extended to a
wider spectrum of facts and evaluations. An example of
the way this appeal to hope was accepted as reality is
that Greek officers in the interwar period truly believe

that Italy and Albanian propaganda are to blame for

the reactions of the Muslims in Chameria and not Greek
policies implemented in the area.
The fact that the Christian communities within the
territory which was claimed by Greece from the mid19th century until the year 1946, known after 1913
as Northern Epirus 12, spoke Albanian, Greek and
Aromanian (Vlach), was dealt with by the adoption
of two different policies by Greek state institutions. The
first policy was to take measures to hide the language(s)
the population spoke, as we have seen in the case of
Southern Epirus. The second was to put forth the
argument that the language used by the population had
no relation to their national affiliation. To this effect the
state provided striking examples of Albanian speaking
individuals (from southern Greece or the Souliots)
who were leading figures in the Greek state. As we will
discuss below, under the prevalent ideology in Greece
at the time every Orthodox Christian was considered
Greek, and conversely after 1913, when the territory
which from then onwards was called Northern Epirus
in Greece was ceded to Albania, every Muslim of that
area was considered Albanian.
The existence of a region (Chameria) whose population
was roughly half Muslim and almost entirely Albanian
speaking was considered a serious problem for the Greek
state, which had to be confronted both practically and
discursively. Every pro-Albanian movement in these
areas had to be eliminated by all means. 13
3. The pre-1923 period
As soon as Greece annexed the lands of todays
Greek Macedonia and Epirus in 1913, and Western
Thrace in 1920, the state had to deal with the existence
of a large Muslim population within its new territories.
This population spoke a variety of languages and had
a diverse social background, ranging from rich chiftlik
[iftlik in Turkish] landowners to a large number
of landless workers, who cultivated the land in the
chiftliks, as well as small farm-owners. The Balkan
Wars, and Turkeys ensuing hostile policy towards
its Greek-orthodox [Romioi] Christian populations,
who demanded recognition of their national identity
and declared their inclusion in the Greek nation, also
affected the situation of Greeces Muslim population.
The newly annexed lands were known, in Greek legal
texts and in political discourse, as the Nes Chors [
], literally New Territories. After the annexation
of these territories by Greece as a consequence of the
Balkan Wars, a rather large number of Muslims who
lived in these lands emigrated to Turkey, especially in
the course of 1914. However, some of these people soon
returned. Simultaneously, new legislation provided for
the imposition of restrictions on the property rights of

Albanian-speaking population, known

under the ethnonyme Chams [am,
am (singular)in Albanian, (),
()in Greek]. The Chams are a
distinct ethno-cultural group which
consisted of two integral religious groups:
Orthodox Christians and Sunni Muslims.

21

View of Paramithia by George de la Poer Beresford, 1855.

the Muslim population inhabiting the New Territories.

As a result, the Muslim population felt uncertain about
its future, partly because of the newly implemented
legislation and partly due to the general political
atmosphere that was prevalentat the time. 14
Today there is sufficient archival evidence to
support the position that, although the enforcement
of the aforementioned legislation also affected the
Muslims of Epirus, 15 the Central Greek Government
had issued specific guidelines that allowed for better
treatment of the Muslims that were of Albanian origin
in the New Territories. As a result, in certain instances
the laws were not implemented in a strict fashion or in
an absolutely consistent manner.
In Chameria there were numerous chiftliks and
bastaines 16 which belonged to Muslim landowners
17 known as beys. Although in Balkan and western
historiography beyshave in general been portrayed
as religious, conservative and somewhat slothful
oriental figures, numerous beys of Chameria, and other
Albanian speaking areas, did not correspond to this
stereotype. They had internalized at least some western
ideas, such as womens rights, participation in higher
education, etc. At the beginning of the 20th century these
beys were oscillating between the discovery of their
own (Albanian) nationalism and the safety provided
by belonging to the Ottoman Empire. By acting as
Ottoman elites, these notables had achieved high ranks
as officers of the Sublime Porte. Furthermore, there
were individual beys, largely from the southern areas
of Chameria, who remained cemaat [cemaat-i slami]
oriented, even after the areas annexation to Greece.
Besides beys, it seems that the majority of the
Muslim population consisted of middle sized estate
owners. The land they owned varied in size, fertility
and production. Although there is no sufficient written
proof to support the idea, its almost certain that
families owning very small parcels of land, or just a
few small fields and a small number of sheep, were
not an exception and were also present in villages. 18
Although Muslim Chams were not eager to fight on
the side of the Ottoman army during the Balkan Wars,
they were nevertheless treated by the Greek army as
de facto enemies, while local Christians were enlisted
in the Greek forces. For example, a few days after the
occupation of the area of Chameria by the Greek Army,
72 or 78 Muslim notables were executed by a Greek
irregular military unit in the religiously mixed town of
Paramithia, evidently accused of being traitors. During
the Balkan War, in late 1912, when Muslim Chams
were fighting on the side of the Ottoman Army, and
Christian Chams on that of the Greek Army,

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Maj 2015, Nr. 4

The existence of a region (Chameria)

whose population was roughly half
Muslim and almost entirely Albanian
speaking was considered a serious
problem for the Greek state, which
had to be confronted both practically
and discursively. Every pro-Albanian
movement in these areas had to be
eliminated by all means.

several local conflicts emerged. 19 While

there is no Greek source describing the behavior of the
Greek army against the Muslim population after they
seized the area, there are several relevant descriptions
in Albanian sources. There are only indirect (but clear)
references to atrocities committed by the Greek army. It
should be noted that in the spirit of the times, offensive
acts such as defilement of mosques and, obviously,
looting, would most certainly have taken place. 20
At the same time, a freeze was imposed by the Greek
state on the sale of land. Local Christians, some of
them landless farmers working at the chiftliks,
were impatient to improve their financial and social
condition under the new Christian authority. From the
very beginning of the areas annexation it appears that
issues related to real estate and vakf property, as well
as demands for raises in income, were being advanced.
According to a law passed in 1914, the occupation of
abandoned plots owned by Muslims was permitted, and
from 1917 onwards this regulation was enforced even
retroactively. The sale of land by Muslims was also
forbidden from the period starting from 1913 until 1920,
although it seems that the prohibition was not strictly
applied throughout this period.
The behavior of the Greek Army, in conjunction with
the legislation implemented at the time, deeply affected
the Muslims and confirmed the first serious fissure
between the Christian communities and the Greek
State on one side, and the Muslim communities on the
other. Tensions between Muslims and Christians in the
area began in the late 19th century when the Christian
element gradually improved its financial and social
status. 21 Soon after 1912-1913 it had a major ally
to fulfill its ambition: the Greek state. Nonetheless,
there is no strong evidence that mass migration
towards Turkey occurred after the annexation of the
area by the Greek State, not even in the year 1914,
unlike most areas in Greek Macedonia where this was
evidently the case. Despite this it is certain that there
were several individuals, families and extended families
that migrated to Turkey or Albania after 1913, although
there is scant evidence for these individual cases. The
evidence provided by secondary sources suggests that
emigrants were mostly from Paramithi and the southern
region. 22 It is also recorded that during the period of
1915-1916 there was a remarkable outflow of migrants
to the United States. These people were departing,
almost exclusively, from Filat and the nearby villages.
Furthermore we would argue that a second clash
between the two sides occurred during the short
invasion of the Italian army of the area in the spring of
1917. Although this occupation never really attracted
the attention of researchers, there is evidence from
the HAMFA proving that Muslim Chams received
the Italian Army as their liberator. This was not only

due to the fact that at that time Italy had claimed

protection over Albania and was supporting Albanian
interests, but mainly because Muslim Chams were
persuaded that the annexation of the area to Greece
was something that could be reversed, thus recovering
the higher social and financial status they previously
enjoyed. The mass enlisting of Muslims of Margllii
(Margariti) to the Italian army, in an area where the
pro-Albanian movement was quite weak, if not totally
absent, illustrates the haphazard way in which the local
population dealt with this issue.
In the year 1919 the livelihood of the Muslim
communities had been drastically reduced, putting
them in a state of misery as described by the
Greek Authorities. This situation persisted despite
the fact that violence against Muslims and the
infringements upon their properties seemed to have
gradually decreased, albeit temporarily.
In the same period, when the Muslim Chams were
still considered by Greek politicians to be Muslim rather
than Albanian, theories that they were of Greek origin
were sporadically reintroduced into public discourse: for
example in a contemporary article they were described
as Epirots converted to Islam who speak a dialect
differing from Albanian and of greater affinity to Greek.
The question of the Greek origin of Muslim Chams
was a weapon to be used for many purposes. For
instance, the theory of a possible common GreekAlbanian, Pelasgic (or even Illyrian) origin- very popular
among Greeks and Albanians during late 19th and early
20th century- was initially used as an argument to
pursue expansionist Greek claims in Albanian-speaking
territories. This discourse of Greek or common origin
of the Muslim Albanian Chams was directed to the
Muslim community itself as well as international
observers, Greek politicians and Greek officials of the
local administration. 23 N. I. Anaghnostopoulos, the
author of this article, was a well-known agronomist/
scientist of the Interwar period, closely associated with
the Agrarian Bank [ ]. Written during
the debate on the exchangeability of the Muslim Chams,
his essay defends their right to remain in Greece and calls
for a softer policy approach towards them. It appears that
the only way to persuade the state to let them continue to
live in the area was to base his argument on an assumed
common origin with the Greeks.
4. The period 1923-1928
The Greco-Turkish exchange of populations and the
way it was implemented in the area was, we argue, a
determining factor in the rift amongst the population. In
fact the exchange seems to have gradually led Muslims
to veer towards Albania in search of protection, and in
general, led to the creation of stronger links between the
Albanian state and the Muslim population of Chameria.
Albanian nationalism at the hands of Muslim villagers
and elites was turned into a useful tool for exerting
pressure on Greek state nationalistic demands such as
the creation of Albanian schools first appeared after
the mid-1920s. Albania was gradually viewed by the
community as a kin-state.
The compulsory exchange of populations between

A few days after the occupation of the area

of Chameria by the Greek Army, 72 or 78
Chams notables were executed by a Greek
irregular military unit in the religiously
mixed town of Paramithia, evidently
accused of being traitors.

Notes: - Survivors of the genocide who now

reside in the United States visiting Cham Orthodox
Albanians of Parga. The Chams of Parga still
speak Albanian among themselves. They greeted
Cham visitors from the USA and expressed
longing and sorrow for the relatives whose
parents were best friends before being expelled
to Albania in 1944. With tears in their eyes, they
share nostalgic moments of their childhood in
Paramithia and Parga. Unbeknownst to them the
chauvinistic genocide of the Greek Army would
separate thousands of Albanian families for over
half a century and impose a border north of Filat
near Konispol. - The Voice of Chameria

Greece and Turkey was based on the criterion of

religion as foreseen under the Lausanne Convention.
More specifically, the exchange was based on
classifying people according to the notion of millet,
and/or of genos, [ in Greek] the latter being
the way in which the concept was conveyed into
Greek national ideology. The adoption of the criterion
of religion was suitable for both countries, as it freed
them from concerns relating to ambiguous terms such
as national consciousness, which was difficult to
prove, and from the language criterion, which would
have challenged the Greek and Turkish nation-building
process and national claims.
It must be remembered that during this period no other
Balkan state or nationalist movement was eager to claim
the loyalty or allegiance of the Slav, Greek, Aromanian
and Romani speaking Muslims of Macedonia, some of
whom had already migrated to Turkey. This however
was not the case for the Albanian and Greek speaking
Muslims of Epirus. 24 The Albanian state, supported
by Italian politics, opposed the exchange of the
(Muslim) Albanian population of Greece, declaring that
this population was Albanian and not Turkish. Finally,
in 1926, that is three years after the negotiations

23

Maj 2015, Nr. 4

and the diplomatic bargaining had ended, the Muslim for the Muslims of Chameria, the populations were not the
population of Chameria was classified as being of real holders of their properties.
Albanian origin [ in Greek] and was
The presence of a population considered hostile to
exempted from the population exchange, thereby surpassing national interests near the frontier caused anxiety to
the religion criterion. 25 However, the intense diplomatic Greek officials which was exacerbated by a militaristic
rally regarding the fate of the relevant populations, as was perception of security and territory. The central Greek
well described by Greek sources of that time, had a much state was eager to push the hostile population to migrate
darker and more obscure dimension. The unwavering to Turkey. To that end it utilized harassment tactics which
determination of the Greek state to include the Muslims were carried out by local paramilitary groups. This was
of Chameria in the exchange of populations, alongside a practice that was well known and had been adopted as
policies that were implemented in the field and forced upon early as the period of the Balkan Wars.30 In other cases
the local population, which were in turn augmented by it just forced people to leave the country, after handing
the determination of local officers and the local Christian down ultimatums.31
For instance, as late as February 1925, the General
population, led to extreme effects on the ground.
Some of the measures and regulations that were Administration of Epirus undertook the task of carrying
imposed during this period were common for all large out a special operation with the purpose of persuading
estate owners. For example the 1920 regulation, regarding them to leave the country. Two years earlier, Greek
the return of a percentage of crops to the landless farmers, refugees from Asia Minor had been settled in the area.
applied to all large landowners. However some others These newcomers were used as a tool for applying more
affected Muslims only. According to the Decree of pressure against Muslims for them to decide to leave
February 13th of 1923, the expropriation of (real estate) Greece. The newcomers took advantage of the land
property was permitted for landless farmers and refugees expropriations, and settled in the houses of Muslims.
as a measure of retribution. On October 2nd of 1923, These actions were in accordance with legal provisions
the General Administration (Governorate) of Epiros applicable to the whole territory of Greece. 32 It is highly
announced, once again, restrictions on the sale and the probable, therefore, that some Muslims, pressed by the
legislation relating to expropriation and the presence of
renting of Muslims properties. 26
Furthermore, numerous land expropriations had taken refugees who presented a threat to them, sold their estates
place under the banner of agrarian reform. They affected and remained landless. 332 The restrictions imposed on
the totality of landowners,
the right to sell, rent or even
cultivate land, due to the
most of who were to be found
in the
New Territories.
consideration of Muslims
It is quite characteristic that it was in
as
exchangeable,
Amongst them were many
1880, when the British Valentine Chirol
gradually led to the
Muslims. Nonetheless, it
visited the Christian Albanian village
was not only the landowners
financial devastation of
the Muslim population.
of chiftliks who lost their
of Tourkopalouko (today Kypseli, at the
property. Several Muslim
In addition, it appears
northwest part of the Preveza prefecture),
that there was one more
farmers who owned a few
that his confidence for his Greek friends specific local group whose
stremmata 27of land were,
in Janina was first shaken. He was
interests clashed directly
illegally, included in the
expropriations. A striking
surprised that no one in the village spoke with those of Muslims:
The
Greek
speaking
example of this is the case of
or understood any other language than
mountainous population.
the Paramithia-Siametia
Albanian although his friends had assured These were mainly stockexpropriation.
In
this
me that south [of the river] Kalamas there breeding
herdsmen,
case, the local Committee,
without fertile land, who
responsible for deciding
were no Albanian communities
had been seeking in vain
which lands were to be
an improvement of their
expropriated,
determined
that the whole town of Paramithia would be expropriated, financial position for some time. From their perspective,
including the gardens. 28 Only houses were exempt. Other Chams were in possession of land which did not really
cases include villages which had mixed population or they belong to them, as they were not part of the nation.
were situated at the edge of the Muslim inhabited area, like
Thus, in the eyes of the Administration and the Greek
Petrovitsa and Dragoumi.
population of the area, the prospect of the Chams
ost serious violations of the law and the relevant remaining in Greece was a misfortune that had to be
procedures regarding the expropriations of lands occurred reversed. 34 This perception would obviously guide
with regard to the issue of a. the non-restitution of 300 their actions for a long time to come, until the final act
stremmata to the owners of former chiftliks, b. the false of the drama was played out.
classification of specific land possessions as bastaina - even
There is no evidence suggesting that the Muslim
though they were actually chiftliks -, c. the expropriations population was strongly opposed to the idea of migrating
of small scale lands which were classified as chiftliks and d. to Turkey. Although no one was willing to leave his/
the extreme delays, which lasted up to several years, in the her land indefinitely, several sources indicate that as a
issuing of decisions for compensations regarding the land destination Turkey was far more appealing than Albania.
that had already been expropriated. These compensations This was also due to the poor economic situation in the
were for discreasfullylaw amounts or token payments vis- latter which was well-known to the people in the area.
-vis the value of the land. It seems that in some cases it This phenomenon of warm regard towards migration
was more opportune to declare oneself as having Albanian to Turkey by the Muslims was widely used by Greek
nationality rather than Greek since in that way it would nationalist historians in order to prove the Turkish
perhaps be possible to salvage some property, such as consciousness of the population. This notion also
ones houses. The comparison of figures on expropriations confused Greek politicians and diplomats of the time
that took place in Epirus as opposed to other areas is who, insisting on this assertion, failed to comprehend that
enlightening since it shows large discrepancies in terms of the population had gradually been nationalized, thus
the number of expropriations that were carried out. 29 Even constituting a de facto Albanian national minority.
until the early 30s, when the tablis (non-exchangeable
individual) certificates were issued by the Greek Authorities
This article is to be continued in the following issue

Notes
Its worth mentioning that the Greek speaking Muslim communities, which were the majority
population at Janina and Paramithia, and of substantial numbers in Parga and probably Preveza,
shared the same route of identity construction, with no evident differentiation between them and their
Albanian speaking co-habitants. These last mentioned Muslim communities were in some cases
bilingual in Greek and Albanian (see the specific chapter La question de la langue dans quelques
villes et bourgades de lpire, in Lambros Baltsiotis, Lalbanophonie dans ltat grec. Expansion et
dclin des parlers albanais, diplme de lEHESS, Paris, 2002, pp. 305-312).

In certain sources Chameria includes the Greek-speaking area to the east of the city of Filati and
does not include the Albanian speaking area of Fanari, named alternatively Prevezaniko. The official
name of the area north of the Acheron River is Chameria in all Greek state documents for the whole
Interwar period.

This registration is based on the Ottoman 1908 census, by doubling the numbers as only males

were counted at 1908. It seems that the language figures are estimations made by Greek officials. This
figure does not include more than 4500 inhabitants of the Muslim villages of the Konispol area of the
kaza of Filati annexed to Albania.
4
Historical Archive of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (HAMFA), Athens, 1923, file 6.7. After this document
the number of Muslims was estimated as following: a) at the Prefecture of Janina: 2,300 Greek
speaking, 700 Turkish speaking and 16,500 Albanian speaking b) At the Prefecture of Preveza: 900
Greek speaking, 300 Turkish speaking, 5,300 Albanian speaking and 100 Romani speaking. According
to various estimations the Muslim population of the town of Janina did not exceed 2,200 persons,
while a reasonable estimation for the rest of the prefecture, excluding the area that later formed the
prefecture of Thesprotia and the town of Parga, would lie between 10 to 15 hundred persons.
5
See Kaliopi Naska (ed.), Dokumente pr amrin (1912-1939), Drejtoria e Prgjithshme e Arkivave,
Tirana, 1999, pp. 682-685. The Consul mentions that around six hundred persons should be added
to the numbers for the Filati region, as his records are not accurate for this area. He also notes that
seven hundred people from this area had migrated to Turkey. He assumes a maximum of 25 to 28,000
Muslim Chams residing in the area.
6
Until the Interwar period Arvanitis (plural Arvanits) was the term used by Greek speakers to describe
an Albanian speaker regardless of his/hers religious background. In official language of that time the
term Alvanos was used instead. The term Arvanitis coined for an Albanian speaker independently of
religion and citizenship survives until today in Epirus (see Lambros Baltsiotis and Lonidas Embirikos,
De la formation dun ethnonyme. Le terme Arvanitis et son evolution dans ltat hellnique, in G.
Grivaud-S. Petmezas (eds.), Byzantina et Moderna, Alexandreia, Athens, 2006, pp. 417-448.
7
See L. Baltsiotis, Lalbanophonie, op. cit., p. 29, where one can also find examples of the ethnic
division between the Greek speaking and Albanian speaking Christian population, even at Fanari.
8
The western limit of the area is the Ionian/Adriatic coast. For a detailed enumeration of the Albanian
speaking settlements of the area and their religious identity, see ibid, pp. 272-311, 393-397, 422-428
et Annexes pp. 552-594.
9
For a description of the Leagues and the educational initiatives in Chameria, Preveza and Janina,
see Leonidas Embirikos, Histoire de la langue albanaise en Grce de la cration de ltat hellnique
jusqu nos jours, Diplme de lEHESS, Paris 2002, pp. 117-120 and E. Nikolaidou,, op. cit., passim).
10
We consider as the following reasons to have led to the near complete absence of proAlbanian feelings amongst the Orthodox population of the area: a. the non- existence of an Albanian
speaking Christian elite, made up of both landowners and merchants. In any case, a welleducated orthodox coming from the orthodox Albanian speaking community can hardly be located
in Chameria b. A rather large percentage of the Christian population consisted of landless farmers and
small scale land owners who lived in comparatively small villages. c. The larger settlements were
Greek-speaking or Greek-speaking oriented independently of the religion of the inhabitants d.
The hegemony of the Greek language held over both religious groups in the greater -area, from
Janina to Kor and from Preveza to Prmet, (see L. Baltsiotis, , S. Seferiadis &
D. Papadimitriou (eds.), Athens, 2011 (in press)).
11
It is quite characteristic that it was in 1880, when the British Valentine Chirol visited the Christian
Albanian village of Tourkopalouko (today Kypseli, at the northwest part of the Preveza prefecture),
that his confidence for his Greek friends in Janina was first shaken. He was surprised that no one in
the village spoke or understood any other language than Albanian although his friends had assured
me that south [of the river] Kalamas there were no Albanian communities (V. Chirol, Twixt Greek and
Turk, or Jottings during a journey through Thessaly, Macedonia and Epirus, in the Autumn of 1880,
Blackwoods Edinbrurgh Magazine, n. 785, March 1881, p. 313).
12
Under the term Northern Epirus is recognized, in Greek irredentist, nationalistic bibliography and
public discourse, the area of todays Albania that includes Kor, Gjirokastr and Himar.
13
For example, the impartial, otherwise known by Greeks as moderate president of the Albanian
Club of Janina was assassinated in the summer of 1912, probably after an order of the pro-Greek
League Ipirotiki Etairia (see L. Embirikos, op. cit., p. 162).
14
For instance the Muslims in Epirus were temporarily not permitted to freely move in the
area (HAMFA, 1920, 151.4, The Staff of the Army to the Governor General of Epirus, 30.06.1919).
15
We mention for example, the restrictions for Muslim landowners to sell or hire their land after
1917, see Konstandinos Tsitselikis, Old and New Islam in Greece. Legal and Political aspects, (under
publication), especially the chapter: Property Rights on Real Estate Belonging to Muslims.
16
Bastaina is a kind of large scale property on which the farmer, although not owning the land, has
more rights compared to a chiftlik farmer: The right of cultivation can be sold or inherited and the farmer
cannot be evicted from the land he cultivates.
17
Despite the myth that Chameria had only chiftliks, comparisons with other areas show that Epirus in
general had the same percentage of chiftlik distribution with that of Macedonia and lower than that of
Thessaly (see Kostas Vergopoulos, , , Athens 1975, p. 136).
18
According to a 1936 document, at the Muslim village of Lopsi there are 170 families. More than one
hundred of them prosper as they own land at the Chameria plain, the rest of them being poor and
driven to desperation , The Local Authorities Inspector [attached at the General Governance of Epirus],
Janina 30.07.1936, HAMFA, 1936, 21.1. At the document it is underlined that at the neighboring village
of Kosk 150 persons left to Turkey during 1926-1927, reducing the current (at 1936) population to 450.
One can suppose that the emigrants were coming from the poor families, although further research
should be undertaken.
19
We must add that some of the volunteer units who were fighting on the side of the Greek
Army, were coming from the area. This factor, most probably contributed to the increase of
armed clashes. For a more detailed narration of the fighting and the battles that occurred in
the area during late 1912, the use of local population and the burning of villages by both sides
see K. D. Sterghiopoulos, (.-. 1912), Athens, 1968.
20
Two written examples that come to us from the Greek side can illustrate the point. At his diary, a
Greek officer describes his sadness when he visited a mosque outside the city of Arta, at the Imaret
settling, and found it defiled by Greek soldiers (see, Lindia Tricha (ed.),
. 1912-1913, ...., Athens 1993, p. 75. We should mention that no
battle or resistance to the Greek Army took place in the Imaret area.
21
For the financial and social changes at the area during the last decades before the annexation of the
area to Greece see Yannis Sarras, 1500-1950, Athens,
1985, passim. As the author puts it regarding the arrogant behaviour of Christians against Muslims
Muslims had restricted their reactions to Christians, in a self-defence mode, they were reacting only
in the case that an offence against them was taking place (ibid, p. 227). The gap created during late
19th century between religious denominations of the Ottoman Empire is described in N. Clayer, Aux
origins, op. cit., pp. 540-549.
22
Its quite indicative that already by 1920 inhabitants of Marglli (Margariti) could be found serving
in the Albanian Army (HAMFA, 1920/155.1, The 2/24 company (based at Margariti) to V
Military Area Headquarters, doc. dated the 26th of May 1920). For the fact that persons originating from
Chameria were serving i the Albanian army or were employees at the Albanian public services,
see various documents at HAMFA, 1921.10.1. Most of them were coming from the area of Marglli
(Margariti), where a lot of Muslims were landless farmers.
23
For the use of the Illyrian argument, in other words the common ancestors of both the Albanians
and the Greeks in front of the League of Nations by the Greek Charg dAffaires in order to reconstruct
the criteria of origin, see League of Nations, Official Journal, Feb. 1925, Annex 717, p. 247.
24
The Albanian claims on the Albanian speaking population of the areas of Kastoria [Kostur in
Albanian] and Florina [Follorin in Albanian] did not ensure the non -inclusion of this Albanian speaking
Muslim population in the Greco-Turkish exchange of populations. Nevertheless, these claims and
related struggles were far from leading to any major bilateral or international debate.
25
According to a basically common legal process, a few hundred more individuals, Muslims, living
mostly in urban centers declared themselves to be of Albanian origin and some others
obtained Albanian nationality and thus avoided their inclusion in the exchange process. On the other
hand the (Muslim) population of Preveza, and the majority of that of Janina and of the small towns
of Konica, Parga and Poghoniani (ex-Voshtina), were considered Turks by origin and were
included in the exchange of the populations.
26
See Ioannis Nikolaidis, , vol. VII, Yanina 1993, p. 104. These heavy
restrictions were legally covering all Muslims, but they didnt affect those who were part of the exchange
of populations as they left the country. For instance the prohibition of selling up to half of the gathering
plot was quite hard for the farmers.
27
One stremma is 1,000 square meters, roughly one fourth of an acre.
28
The term garden we referred to what in Greek used to be called baxs [from Turkish bahe] or
kpos, an area usually adjoining the house, not larger than a few square meters were seasonal plants
and groceries were being cultivated for domestic consumption.
29
Until 1928 2,000,000 stremmata of large real estate of arable and non-arable land had been
expropriated in Epirus out of 1,450,000 stremmata of arable land. The corresponding numbers
are 2,550,000 and 8,760,000 stremmata for Macedonia and 2,730,000 and 4,000,000 stremmata
for Thessaly (see G. Kretsi, From Land holding to Landlessness. The Relationship between the
Property and Legal Status of the Cham Muslim Albanians, JGKS 5, 2003, pp. 125-138).
30
It must be underlined though that there is little evidence to support that this was the result of a
general, organized plan, but rather one among many other tactics followed by central and local officilas.
For several reports of this indirect enforcement to leave Greece for Turkey see the 1922-1925 (and
1926) documents at Kaliopi Naska (ed.),, op. cit. and Ibrahim Hoxha, Viset kombtare shqiptare n
shtetin grek, Hasan Tahsini,Tirana 2000, passim (critical).
31
For example, that was the case with some families in Parga (interview with Mr H., zmir 2007). 60
HAMFA, 1925, f. /68/.
32
The great majority of the refugees were resettled when it was decided that the Muslim population
would not be exchanged.
33
See Giorgos Margaritis, : -.
, , Athens 2005, pp. 141-142.
34
For the sake of [Greek] national interests they should have been exchanged a long time ago, writes
the Commander of the Corfu Garrison in his monthly report the 4th of October 1924 (HAMFA, 1924,
A/2/14). At that time Corfu was closely related with the opposite coast, that is, Chameria and
the Albanian ports.

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Maj 2015, Nr. 4

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