Albanian Gypsies


Figure 1.--A HBC reader who visited Albania in 2012 met these boys. I took this photo the first morning I was in Albania. It was Sunday, and the tour guide and I went first into the foothills of the mountains north and east of Tirana. The destination was Kruja, site of the castle of Albania's national hero, Skanderbeg, a museum dedicated to him, and an open air bazaar. As we arrived in the narrow streets of the old city, the guide/driver let me out while he looked for a parking place. I got my first glimpses of old world Albania, and while enjoying the view heard a drum beat not far away. Maybe we were in time for a festival or a parade. The parade turned out to be these two boys, making their way down the main street to the bazaar. As they approached, I waved and reached into my pocket for a tip. The drummer looked at the coins and picked out the ones he wanted, gave me a thumbs up, and off they went. I waved again when I saw them in the distance at the bazaar, and they waved back. The guide and I walked toward the bazaar, and the inspiration for a photo arrived when I saw this two-boy parade again. They posed, somewhat, as you see, and ... there's no such thing as a free photo... they wanted another tip. As I tipped them, either their mother or one of the boy's mother gave them that look only mothers can give, and returned some coins to me! I'm not sure, but I thought they may be people Romany.

Gypsies arrived in Greece during the Byzantine period We know that there were Gysies in Constantinople (mid-11th century). They presumably reached the rest of Greece and the southern Balkans (includng Albania) at about this time or shortly after. The Ottoman Turks expanded their empire from Anatolia to the Balkans (14th century). They crossed the Bosporus (1352) and destroyed a Serbian Army at the Balle of Kosovo Polje (1389). The Mongols detracted the Ottomans for a time. Tamerlane attacked Anatolia from the east (1402). He killed the Turkish Sultan, and set off a civil war. The Albanians were a relatively easy target for the Ottomans They were divided into small independent fiefdioms often at war with each other. The Ottomans gradually moved north conquering the Anbanians (1385-1449). Under Ottoman rule, the Kosovar and Albanian Gysies were commonly seen as Egyptians and called Hashkalija which in Turkish became the word for Gypsey. Some believe that the reference to Egyptian stemmed from Indians who had joined Alexander the Great's army as blacksmiths and camp followers. They somehow traveled to Egypt after his death, presumably attaching themselves to Ptomolley's army. This would make them the first group of Gypsey's toreach the West. Some Yugoslav historians believe that these Gypsies referred to as Egyptians came to Kosovo and Albania with an Arab army that laid siege to Dubrovnik long before the Ottoman era (9th century). Another term used for Gypsey was Maxhupi. Linguistic experts debate as to wehther this is a Turkish or Albanian term. These may represent different groups of gysies, but that is not yet clear. DNA studies may provide some insights. We have no infrmatioon the situation during World War I, indpendendence and Italian occupation. The Germans occuopied Albania during World War II (1943). There were few Jews in Albania. We are not sure to what extent the Germans y targeted the Gypseys which were another target of their geniocidal racial policies. Albania was seized by Communist guerillas at the end of World War II (1945). It became a reclusive Communist state during the Cold war. We are not entirely sure how Gypsies were treated by the Ciommunist regime, but as everyome was assigned a job they seemed to have faired fairly well, at least in relative terms. Essentially in Communist Alabania, everyone beyond the rling elite was poor, but the basic necesities were provided by the state. During the the Communist era, Gypsies were commonly divided into two groups, Roma and Hashkalija (Egyptian). Since the fall of Communism (1990), conditions have significantly deteriorated. One source describes the conditions for Gypsies declining from relative well being to extreme poverty. [DeSoto] Factors involve include poor education and low skill levels, discrimination, and the collapse of state-owned industrial and agricultural enterprises run without any consideration of profitability. Gypsies in Albania today face wide-spread unemployment, increasingly illiteracy , and deteriorating health, basic infrastructure, and housing situations. Since independenc, Gypsies in Albania have been divuded into three groups: Roma, Hashkalija, and Egyptian. We are not sure how the diiferences are drawn, but it appears to be internal differences within the Gyopsey comminity. The situation in neigboring Kosovo seem even worse with attacks on Gypsies by ethnic Albanians (Kosovars) reportedly very common.

Sources







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Created: 12:40 AM 6/16/2012
Last updated: 12:40 AM 6/16/2012