Albanians in Turkey

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Not to be confused with Albanians.
Albanians in Turkey
Türkiye'deki Arnavutlar
Total population
(5.000,000 to 7,000,000 [1][2][3])
Regions with significant populations
Marmara Region
Languages
Albanian, Turkish
Religion
Islam, Irreligious

Albanians in Turkey are ethnic Albanian citizens and denizens of Turkey. A 2008 report from the Turkish National Security Council (MGK) says that approximately 1.3 million people of Albanian ancestry live in Turkey, and more than 500,000 recognize their ancestry, language and culture. According to the other sources there are up to 5 million Albanians in Turkey.[1][4] They consist mostly of Kosovar/Macedonian and Tosk Cham Albanians fleeing from Serbian and Greek persecution after the beginning of the Balkan Wars, but also some Albanians from Montenegro and Albania proper.

The Turkish-Albanian Brotherhood Culture and Solidarity Association aims to preserve Albanian culture and traditions by hosting cultural nights and folklore festivals. This organization based in Bayrampaşa (Istanbul) has three branches located in Küçükçekmece and in the provinces of Ankara and Bursa. It also provides Albanian language classes throughout the year and organizes celebrations to commemorate the independence of Albania.

Numbers

In the census of 1965, 12,832 Turkish citizens spoke Albanian as first language, which is only 0.04% of the population. These people were mostly living in Bursa (0.3%), Sakarya (0.2%), Tokat (0.2%) and Istanbul (0.2%). Another 390,613 spoke Albanian as second language.

According to a 2011 survey, 0.2% in Turkey, roughly one hundred and fifty thousand people, identify themselves Albanian;[5] while according to one source, Turkey has about five million citizens of full or partial Albanian descent.[2] According to a Milliyet article, there are over 1.3 million Albanians in Turkey. The article says that more than half of these people are Turkified, while some 500 thousands retain their Albanian identity.[3] Some sources put the number at 3-4 million Albanians in Turkey.[6] According to other sources there are 5-6 million Albanians in Turkey.[2]

Emigration History

Albania was the last nation in southeastern Europe to claim independence from the Ottoman Empire, on 28 November 1912. The first wave of the Albanian diaspora left for Turkey during the Greco-Turkish population exchange of 1923. They have populated the areas of Erenköy and Kartal in Istanbul,[7] as well as a number of towns in the area of Bursa, especially Mudanya.[8] After the Second World War, others settled in Izmir, Gemlik and Aydin.[9]

Many Albanians emigrated to Turkey between 1950 and 1970. In that period, Islam in Yugoslavia was repressed, and both Albanians and Muslim Slavs were encouraged to declare themselves Turkish and emigrate to Turkey. In the 1990s, Turkey received a wave of Kosovan refugees, fleeing from conflict. Today, the number of ethnic Albanians in Turkey is estimated to be between 1,300,000 and 6,000,000.[1][10] 500,000 of them still having a strong Albanian identity.[10]

Chams in Turkey

Muslim Chams in Turkey form the second largest community of Chams, after Albania.[11] This community was established after the two World Wars. After the First World War, Chams were forced to leave for Turkey during the population exchange,[7][12][13] and another migration wave followed after the Second World War, when a minority of the Chams expelled from Greece chose Turkey over Albania because of their anti-communist sentiments.[9]

The exact number of Muslim Chams in Turkey is unknown, but various estimates conclude that they number between 80,000 and 100,000,[9] from a total population of 1.3 to 6 million Albanians that live in Turkey. The Chameria Human Rights Association declares that most of them have been linguistically assimilated, although they maintain Albanian consciousness and regional Cham traditions.[14] A considerable number of Chams in Turkey have changed their surnames to Cam or Cami, which in Turkish means pine, in order to preserve their origin.[9] They are organized within the "Albanian-Turkish Brotherhood Association" (Albanian: Shoqëria e Vllazërisë Shqiptaro-Turke, Turkish: Türk-Arnavut Kardeşliği Derneği), which fights for the rights of Albanians.[9]

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 http://sablon.sdu.edu.tr/dergi/sosbilder/dosyalar/27/OS_16.pdf
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  4. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  5. ↑ Genar - Araştırma Danışmanlık Eğitim
  6. ↑ http://www.todayszaman.com/national_albanians-in-turkey-celebrate-their-cultural-heritage_254383.html
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  8. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 9.3 9.4 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  11. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  12. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  13. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
  14. ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.

tr:Arnavutlar#Türkiye

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