Serbs in Albania
| Total population | |
|---|---|
| c. 30,000 (est.) | |
| 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. 30,000 people. In the latest census (2011), boycotted by the national minorities, 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.
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 2000, the Albanian Helsinki Committee estimated that there were ca. 2,000 "Serb–Montenegrin" people in Albania. The Morača-Rozafa Association had 4,000 members in 2009, while President Pavle Brajović claimed a number closer to 30,000. The 2011 census in Albania was boycotted by the national minorities. According to the Assembly for the Diaspora, the Serb minority in Albania number ca. 30,000 people.
In Shkodër County, the Vraka region is where most of the community live:
According to a 2003 paper, the Serb-Montenegrin community currently inhabited the following villages near Shkodër: Brodica, Bardoš, Griža, Vraka, Koplik, Puka, Vafa, Kamenica, Omara, Veliki Borič, Mali Borič, Gril, Raš, Stari Štoj, Novi Štoj, Dobrač, Golem, Mušan, Bušat, etc.
Smaller communities live outside northern Albania. Several hundred families live in Durrës and Tirana. There are also communities in Elbasan and Korça. In two villages of Fier, the inhabitants declare as Serbs of Islamic faith. In Fier, there are some 2,000 Serbs of Orthodox faith, living mostly in the settlements of Retli Bouša and Hamir.Shijak is inhabited by a community of Bosniaks who descend from families that fled Bosnia in 1885, heading for Turkey, but were settled in the villages of Koxhas and Borake.
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Wikipedia