ALBANIA BEGINS IMPORTANT CENSUS

GREEK MINORTIY LEADERS ENCOURAGE EVERYONE TO STAND UP AND BE COUNTED



The Greek minority in Albania has flourished in an area referred to as Northern Epirus to the Greeks for hundreds of years. For a brief period in 1914 to 1918, the Autonomous Republic of Northern Epirus (Greek: Αυτόνομος Δημοκρατία της Βορείου Ηπείρου, Aftónomos Dimokratía tis Voreíou Ipeírou) was a short-lived, self-governing entity founded on February 28, 1914, in the aftermath of the Balkan Wars, by the Greeks living in southern Albania (Northern Epirotes).

For the next thirty years, the area of Northern Epirus was occupied back and forth between the Greek Army and Albania, finally being returned to Albania after World War II. The Greek community faced heavy discrimination during the Communist years of Albania, forcing all Greek language schools, newspapers and Greek Orthodox Churches to close.

After 1991, the Greek minority began to slowly see changes towards the perception of which the Albanian government viewed them; with dozens of churches reopening and the establishment of a network of Greek schools.

The exact figure of the population of the Greek minority has always been hotly contested, as the Albanian government fears that true numbers might be substantially higher than have been previously stated. Members of the Greek minority, including members of the Greek Vlach community are encouraging all citizens of Greek descent to declare their ethnicity, despite bullying and aggressive behavior in some towns against people trying to do so. Some authorities are threatening fines of up to $1,000 if individuals declare an ethnicity that is different than on their family records - a system that excluded thousands of people from declaring Greek as their ethnicity in the past.

We hope that the census happens according to international law and does not exclude Greeks or any minorities residing in Albania.




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