By Prof.as. Dr. Hasan Bello
Memorie.a/ From March 1944 to August 1945, Southern Albania was filled with Cham refugees, who flocked to the interior of the mother country’s territory, to escape the Greek massacres. Thousands of inhabitants of all ages, on whom one of the most savage ethnic cleansings was being carried out, in the hope that they would find support in the Albanian state, had no other choice. But what was the attitude of the communist regime and Enver Hoxha towards the Cham refugees?
Communist propaganda has trumpeted and boasted of the help that the communist government and its leader have given to the Chams. In fact, the help has been very limited. This, not only because of the economic possibilities of those years.
But, because in the leading circles of the political leadership of the CPSU, there was a belief that the Cham population was under the influence of reaction. By this they meant the patriotic feelings and the contribution of the Cham nationalists, who had maintained a distanced position towards the communist movement.
The vast majority of the Cham population found support among the inhabitants of Konispol, Shales and the surrounding villages, later spreading to all the cities of Albania. According to the documentation, 95% of them suffered from housing and the most minimal living conditions. This was due to the negligence of the state administration, which is claimed by the Cham Anti-Fascist Councils.
While the British mission in Tirana reported to its superiors in London that; Cham refugees were scattered in the poorest parts and in the peripheral areas of Albanian cities. According to the British, the Albanian administration was fully aware of their situation, but it had no desire to provide them with the necessary assistance. The report emphasizes that the Albanian state had done very little, to say nothing, for the Cham refugees!
An extremely large amount of assistance during this period, in support of this population that was forcibly displaced from its lands by the genocidal policy of the Greek state, was provided by UNRRA (United Nations Relief and Reconstruction Administration), which allocated 1,450,000 dollars.
A considerable amount for the time. While from the Albanian state, only a limited number of refugees were given 250 gr. of bread per day. A completely insufficient amount.
As a result of these conditions, lack of shelter and hunger, 2,755 people died within a few months, almost half or more than the number of over 5,000 Chams massacred by the Greeks.
This was not enough, but the communist regime, starting in 1947, created an investigative commission for the crimes committed by the “collaborators” of the Italian and German occupiers in Chameria. This campaign had two goals: to eliminate nationalist elements, allegedly in the name of collaboration with the Nazi-fascist occupiers, and to exert pressure on those people who did not submit to the political instrumentalization by the communist regime.
State bodies began to collect statements from some of the Cham immigrants, against the other, to supposedly prove their collaboration with the Germans. Based on these depositions, innocent people were hit and a process of ideological differentiation took place, which sowed discord.
This anti-national policy had a political background, which had its roots in the cooperation and secret negotiations of the communist regime and Enver Hoxha, with the Greek Communist Party and the parties involved in the civil conflict in Greece. According to the agreement agreed upon between the above parties, the Albanian state was to mobilize 3000-4000 Cham refugees.
But despite the commitment of the administration and party mechanisms, the Chams proved to be far-sighted. They refused to become parties to the civil war that had erupted in Greece. According to State Security reports, they declared that; “we do not trust the Greeks”, “we can only fight with the flag of the Albanian Army”, etc.
After many attempts, only 130 people were able to mobilize. This failure was accompanied by persecution and anti-Albanian propaganda, allegedly for the “disloyalty of the Chams”. (In fact, the communists proved to be disloyal, who for 45 years massacred not only Albanians, but also each other, using monstrous, inhumane methods and staged judicial processes).
Another unprecedented act was the decision of the communist government in the spring of 1953 to change the citizenship of the Chams, without taking into account their views and wishes. This was done secretly and without being officially announced.
Even contrary to the suggestions of the Legal Bureau of the People’s Assembly, which reported to the Council of Ministers that the removal of Greek citizenship was contrary to public international law. Even today, this decision has serious consequences for the perspective of the legal solution of the Cham issue.
During the communist regime, Chams and Kosovars were the two main categories in the focus of the police and State Security, as persons suspected of being against the regime and of being a high social danger.
No minister or high-level leader was allowed to come from these regions, for which the Albanian state did not raise its voice in any international forum for 45 years. Unfortunately, the silence continues! Memorie.al
