Chams and the Independence

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On the verge of the 100th anniversary of independence, the Institution of Studies for Chameria has held a scientific conference regarding the efforts and the contribution of the Cham people for Albania’s independence.

The well known historian, Professor Pellumb Xhufi, valued the contribution of the Cham community and brought new documents about them.

“Many people are talking about the role of Chameria and its patriots in Albania’s independence. There are documents that illustrate the history of a land about which we don’t know much even today. In fact, the documents that I displayed show that the Chams, despite the religious differences during from the 15th to the 18th century, have lived together in perfect harmony, have married among each other convinced that they belong to the same nation, and this is very clear”, Xhufi declared.

The Historian Beqir Meta mentioned the efforts of the Greek State to hamper the education of the Cham people.

“In fact, the Greek government has always tried to discourage the Cham population from developing their own identity, national awareness and education. The Cham population and the Albanian states have always confronted them for the Cham’s rights and freedoms, and Greece has always denied them through two arguments: the first argument was that surpassingly this population was not clear about its identity, and the second argument is that this area had no schools even in the period of the ottoman occupation. The Greek government tried to stop the Albanian government from sending the case to legal channels and they reached their goal by promising a mutual agreement with the Albanians. After the Albanian government implemented its obligations, the Greek government failed to implement them once again”, Meta declared.

In this conference they referred to historians such as Bashkim Kucuku, Ledia Dushku and Hajredin Isufi, who have studied the history of the Cham people for years.