Serbo-Montenegrins in Albania
| Total population | |
|---|---|
|
260 (2011 census) c. 2,000 (Helsinki Committee for Human Rights) c. 30,000 (Serbo-Montenegrin organizations) |
|
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Shkodër County | |
| Languages | |
| Albanian and Serbian | |
| Religion | |
| Orthodox Christianity, Sunni Islam |
The Serb-Montenegrin community in Albania is estimated to number ca. 2,000 to 30,000 people. In the latest census (2011), citizens had the option to declare as "Montenegrins" (366 did so). The population is concentrated in the region of Vraka. The community is bilingual and by majority adhere to Eastern Orthodoxy, while a minority professes Islam. Most of the community arrived in Albania during the Zogist period and between 1938 and 1948.
The community is commonly known as Serbs-Montenegrins (Srbi-crnogorci), "Serbs" (Srbi) or "Montenegrins" (Crnogorci). It has also been called the Serbo-Montenegrin minority (by the Council of Europe) or simply Serbo-Montenegrins.
According to the Serbian Ministry of Diaspora in 2009, the most vulnerable minority of Europe were the Serbs in Albania, who since Communist Albania have not had their right to the use of the Serbian language or the religious orientation (Serbian Orthodox). During the rule of Enver Hoxha, they were forced to change names but have not been able to reclaim them.
The community lives largely on trade with Montenegro.
In the late 19th and 20th century, of the 600-700 people of the Orthodox faith, some 500-600 were Serbo-Montenegrins living in the city of Shkodër. The area of Vraka had a population of 600-700 Orthodox Slavophones.
During the first World War occupying Austro-Hungarian forces conducted a census (1916-1918) of parts of Albania they held. Of the area corresponding to the contemporary wider Shkodër region, settlements that listed Slavophone populations with them had the following ethnic and religious demographics:
Linguists Klaus Steinke and Xhelal Ylli consider the overall census results to be first instance of reliable information on the number of households and inhabitants as well as the ethnic and religious composition of these places. Both linguists however note that the data for Boriç and Rrash-Kullaj are somewhat unclear as the inhabitants are referred to there as both Albanians and Orthodox.
According to the 1928 population census, there were ca. 65,000 Serbs and Montenegrins in Albania, forming around 8% of Albania's total population and the largest of its minorities.
In the Albanian census of 1989, there was no accurate data about the minority population of Vraka. The scholar Slobodan Šćepanović for 1991 cited demographics of the Vraka area. Omaraj had 79 households, 67 were Orthodox Montenegrin and 11 Albanian; Gril 85 households, 76 Orthodox Montenegrin and 9 Albanian; Boriç i Vogël 75 households, 67 Orthodox Montenegrin and 8 Albanian; Boriç i Madh had 112 families, 86 Muslim Podgoriçani, 6 Orthodox Montenegrin and 20 Albanian families. The official statistics of the Albanian government (early 1990s) placed the Montenegrin community at 100, as some Albanian government officials stated that those numbers were accurate due to 700 of them leaving Albania during the democratisation process. The Association of Montenegrins (AM), a social-cultural organisation founded in Vraka claimed some 1,000 members that represented the interests of a community of 2,500 people located in Shkodër and the surrounding area. AM during that time urged the Albanian government to recognise the Montenegrin and Serb communities in Albania and allow certain linguistic, education, cultural and other rights. In 1999 the Helsinki Committee for Human rights in Albania conducted surveys of the Shkoder region and estimated that there were some 1800-2000 Serbian-speakers in the area. In 2000, the Albanian Helsinki Committee estimated that there were ca. 2,000 "Serb–Montenegrin" people in Albania.
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