Why are minorities associated with Greece decreasing relative to other minorities?

2024-06-28 21:43:00, Opinione Mero Baze

Why are minorities associated with Greece decreasing relative to other

Mero Baze

One of the most surprising data of the Census is the one related to the ethnic minorities in Albania. The data show that Greeks – 23,485 people, Egyptians – 12,400 people, Roma – 9,800 people, Bulgarians – 7,100 people, Bosnians – 3,000 people, Macedonians (North Macedonia) – 2,281 people, Armenians – 2,500 people.

The figures show a drastic drop in the figures for the Greek minority present in the country and the Armenian minority, while there are relatively high figures for the presence of the Bulgarian, Macedonian and Bosnian minorities.

The reduction of minorities has gone in the opposite direction to the fact that Albania has the most advanced legislation for ethnic minorities, expanding the map of their recognition like no other country in the region.

But are we really so homogeneous and do we really have so few minorities?

First of all, we should not confuse when we interpret that it is about present people and not about Albanian citizens of foreign ethnic origin.

The fact that the Greek and Armenian minorities have suffered strong wrinkles has to do with their proximity to Greece, and their absorption by immigration to Greece, which not only the Greek minority but also a part of the Armenian minority calls their homeland. This has made them integrate in Greece and there will be less and less growth in the future.

Beyond the noise of nationalists from both countries as Greek and Albanian, the Greek minority in Albania is one of the most harmonized populations with the Albanians and a minority that has high authority in Albanian society as it has produced a large part of the society's intellectuals Albanian.

The Greek minority in Albania has been part of the elite of Albanian society and has supplied it with well-known names in art, science, culture, politics, education, etc.

Their reduction due to the opening of borders is a phenomenon that has affected Albanian society and not an ethnically specific phenomenon.

The same can be said about the Armenian minority, which, due to the economic superiority of Greece in relation to Albania and Romania, has been declared more Greek minority than Armenian in years, due to the facilities it has to integrate in Greece.

This more clearly explains the phenomenon of why minorities associated with Greece are shrinking and minorities associated with other Balkan countries are resisting.

The Bosnian, Bulgarian or so-called Macedonian minorities have relatively high numbers, or rather, they have a much easier decline, even the Greek and Armenian ones, since their real "homeland" is Albania, since the homeland they identify with is no longer better than Albania. I have not known anyone who is considered a Bulgarian minority who wants to flee to Bulgaria, a Bosnian minority who wants to flee to Bosnia or others in North Macedonia. Albania is simply better for them than what they call "motherland".

And the minorities associated with Greece are of course favored by Greece's economic superiority and the opportunities that are available to them as an EU country.

This explains why today in Albania we know very few personalities of science, culture or art from the Greek minority after Greece took them and Fredi Beleri remained their most prominent figure, of course the plumber who has disassembled more weapons than all the sinks life.

So no big drama happened. Just as the EU countries took 400,000 Albanians from us, so did the minorities associated with an EU country. These other minorities have "Europe" in Albania.