Albanians in Greece

Albanians in Greece (Shqiptarët në Greqi; Αλβανοί στην Ελλάδα) are people of Albanian ethnicity or ancestry who live in or originate from areas within modern Greece. They are divided into distinct communities as a result of different waves of migration. Albanians first migrated into Greece during the late 13th century. The descendants of populations of Albanian origin who settled in Greece during the Middle Ages are the Arvanites, who have been fully assimilated into the Greek nation and self-identify as Greeks. Today, they still maintain their distinct subdialect of Tosk Albanian, known as Arvanitika, although it is endangered as the younger generations no longer speak it due to language attrition.

The Chams are an Albanian group from the coastal parts of Epirus, in northwestern Greece and the southernmost part of Albania. The Chams of Muslim faith were expelled from Epirus during World War II after large parts of their population collaborated with the Axis occupation forces. Greek Orthodox Albanian communities have been assimilated into the Greek nation.

Alongside these two groups, a large wave of economic migrants from Albania entered Greece after the fall of Communism (1991) and forms the largest expatriate community in the country. They form the largest migrant group in Greece. A portion of these immigrants avoid declaring as Albanian in order to avoid prejudices and exclusion. These Albanian newcomers may resort to self-assimilation tactics such as changing their Albanian name to Greek ones, and if they are Muslim, their religion from Islam to Orthodoxy. Through this, they hope to attain easier access to visas and naturalisation. After migration to Greece, most are baptized and integrated.

While Greece does not record ethnicity on censuses, Albanians form the largest non-Greek ethnic community and the top immigrant population in the country. As of 2019, Greece was the second top destination for Albanians, as movement to Greece constituted 35.3% of total Albanian immigration. Albanian immigrants are the largest immigrant community in Greece. In recent years many Albanian workers and their families have left Greece for other countries in Europe in search of better prospects. In 2022, the number of Albanian citizens in Greece with a valid residency permit was 291,868; down from 422,954 in 2021. , in total, there might have been more than 500,000 Albanian immigrants and their children who received Greek citizenship over the years.

Cham Albanians and Souliotes
Groups of Albanians are first recorded in Epirus during the high Middle Ages. Some of their descendants form the Cham Albanians, which formerly inhabited the coastal regions of Epirus, largely corresponding to Thesprotia. The Chams are primarily distinguished from other Albanian groups by their distinct dialect of Tosk Albanian, the Cham dialect, which is among the most conservative of the Albanian dialects. During the rule of the Ottoman Empire in Epirus, many Chams converted to Islam, while a minority remained Greek Orthodox.

The Souliotes were a distinct subgroup of Cham Albanians who lived in the Souli region, and were known for their role in the Greek War of Independence.

When Epirus joined Greece in 1913, following the Balkan Wars, Muslim Chams lost the privileged status they enjoyed during Ottoman rule and were subject to discrimination from time to time. During World War II, large parts of the Muslim Chams collaborated with the Axis occupation forces, committing atrocities against the local population. In 1944, when the Axis withdrew, many Muslim Chams fled to Albania or were forcibly expelled by the EDES resistance group. This event is known as the expulsion of Cham Albanians.

Southern Greece
The Arvanites are a population group in Greece who traditionally speak Arvanitika, a form of Tosk Albanian. They descended from Albanian settlers who migrated to Greece during the late Middle Ages and were the dominant population element of some regions in the south of Greece until the 19th century. Arvanites today self-identify as Greeks and have largely assimilated into mainstream Greek culture, and although they retain their Arvanitic dialect and cultural similarities with Albanians, they refuse national connections with them and do not consider themselves an ethnic minority. Albanian remained a "second language" in the Greek navy into the 20th century. Arvanitika is endangered due to language shift towards Greek and large-scale internal migration to the cities in recent decades. The Arvanites are not considered an ethnic minority within Greece.

Epirus
The victory of the Albanian tribes in the Battle of Achelous  left Epirus open to increasing Albanian migration. Albanian tribes soon conquered most of the region, except for Ioannina. Arta was captured in 1367 or shortly after, becoming the centre of the Despotate of Arta, which lasted until 1416.

Historically, aside from the Cham and Souliote settlements, Albanians have also formed communities in other areas of Epirus. Those Christian Albanians found in Epirus today identify with the Greek nation. A small community is located in the Ioannina regional unit, where they form a majority in two villages of the Konitsa district. Albanian communities also reside in the village of Plikati of Konitsa. Although they are sometimes called Arvanites, their dialects are closer to the Tosk Albanian group rather than Arvanitika.

Albanian communities historically have inhabited Konitsa, Delvinaki, Pogoniani, Gorgopotamos, Mousiotitsa, the villages of Agia, Ammoudia, Anthousa, Kanallaki and Narkissos, as well as the village of Kastri, which are located in the regional units of Ioannina, Preveza and Thesprotia, respectively. In the western Ioannina district, Albanian was concentrated in the region known as Tsarkovista (divided between modern Dodoni and Ziros). The Albanian-speaking area included Zermi, Krania, Papadates, Rousatsa, Derviziana, Mousiotitsa. In the mid 1800s Albanian was spoken in 33 out of 46 villages of Tsarkovista. In the late 19th century, the use of Albanian had decreased. Sirziana, Mousiotitsa, Derviziana and Zorista are described as being exclusively Albanian-speaking, while use of Albanian had stopped in Lippas, Toskesi, Gratsiana, Bariades, Kopanoi by 1888 according to contemporary Greek historian I. Labridis.

Over the centuries, some groups of Albanians also settled in various villages of Zagori. Most of the Albanian settlement in Zagori can be attributed to post-15th century settlement that resulted from labour gaps caused by the outward migration of locals, as well as movements of groups like the Souliotes. These Albanians (locally known as ) were considered 'immigrants'; they comprised the lowest social class in the region and lived at the outskirts of the villages without civil and property rights. They often worked as guards for the villages which had no military protection, and as workers in their fields. They intermarried into the communities of Zagori or were adopted by Zagorisian families and quickly became part of the local population. In the case of Tristeno, although no memories are preserved among the local population of any past Albanian presence, Albanian linguistic remnants in the local Greek speech suggest that they were the first settlers of the village; this would also explain the local Aromanian name of the village, which is Arbineshi Albanian village. Besides Tristeno, Albanians also settled in the villages of Aristi, Megalo Papingo, Anthrakitis, Asprangeloi, Kavallari, Kipi, Leptokarya, Monodendri, Tsepelovo, Vitsa, Vradeto and possibly Kapesovo. Local Albanian traces, with the exception of some toponyms, have disappeared; an extensive study of 3,546 toponyms in Zagori, found that 184 (5.19%) were mediated via the Albanian language.

In the city of Ioannina, a substantial minority of Albanian-speakers existed who spoke a dialect intermediate between Cham and Lab. However, during Ottoman era the Albanian minority in the kaza of Ioannina did not consist of native families but was limited to some Ottoman public servants.

Macedonia


The region of Macedonia also saw Albanian settlement. In the modern era only a small group of Christian, Albanian-speakers, speakers of a Northern Tosk Albanian dialect are still to be found in the villages of Drosopigi, Flampouro, Lechovo in Florina regional unit. During the Ottoman era however, the Albanian population of the region was more widespread. These communities were largely found in and around the cities of Florina and Kastoria. Muslim Albanians inhabited the city of Florina itself, along with the nearby villages of Pyli, Lefkonas, Laimos, Agios Germanos, Tropaiouchos, Kolchiki, Agios Vartholomaios, Kato Kleines, and Ano Kleines. On the other hand, Christian Orthodox Albanians resided in the villages of Kato Ydroussa, Ano Ydroussa and Tripotamos, with these communities utilizing Albanian at least until the 1990s.

In Kastoria, Albanians in the city itself as well as the surrounding village of Giannochorio were Christian Orthodox, whereas Muslim Albanians inhabited the villages of Pefkos, Niki, Koromilia, Dipotamia, and Komninades.

In the area of Grevena, the village of Syndendro was inhabited by a Muslim Albanian population.

Following the October 1913 looting of the Albanian village of Mandritsa, Albanians settled the villages of Amparkioi (later renamed Mandres in their honor) in the Kilkis regional unit, as well as the villages of Souroti and Zagliveri in the Thessaloniki regional unit.

Sporadic Albanian communities, Christian Orthodox by faith, have further settled in other areas of Macedonia, including the villages of Nea Petra, Kalochori and Paralimnoi in the Serres regional unit.

Those small Arvanite-speaking communities in Epirus and the Florina regional unit are identified as part of the Greek nation as well.

Thessaly
Thessaly was invaded after 1318 by the Albanian tribes of the Malakasioi, the Bua, and the Mazreku. Traces of the Malakasioi are evident in the settlement of Malakasi, which takes the name of the tribe.

Western Thrace
Another small group is to be found in northeastern Greece, in Greek Macedonia and Western Thrace along the border with Turkey, as a result of migration during the early 20th century. They speak the Northern Tosk subbranch of Tosk Albanian and are descendants of the Orthodox Albanian population of Eastern Thrace who were forced to migrate during the population exchange between Greece and Turkey in the 1920s. They are known in Greece as Arvanites, a name applied to all groups of Albanian origin in Greece, but which primarily refers to the southern dialectological group of Arbëreshë. The Albanian speakers of Western Thrace and Macedonia use the common Albanian self-appellation Shqiptar.

Albanian immigrants


After the fall of the communist government in Albania in 1990, a large number of economic immigrants from Albania arrived in Greece seeking employment. There are seven major types of migration and return between Albania and Greece. The return could be prepared, or abrupt and forced, or voluntary. And these types also have flavors of being by necessity, or by choice, or by opportunity. There is also the idea that return is a 'success', when one has migrated away, gained wealth, and now returned. Recent economic migrants from Albania are estimated to account for 60–65% of the total number of immigrants in the country. Systems of migration are established by way of a cumulative effect of previous migrations, in addition to current movements. According to the 2001 census, there were 443,550 Albanian immigrants in Greece. A special ID card for ethnic Greeks from Albania was issued in 2001 which was received by 189,000 individuals who resided in Greece at the time. For ethnic Greeks from Albania this measure was seen as treating them as "lower class citizens" as in order to obtain it their "Greekness" was examined in the form of a questionnaire. Another issue with the special ID card had to do with ethnic Albanians using fake documents which presented them as members of the Greek minority to obtain it. In 2008, the citizenship law change in Greece allowed for holders of special ID cards to obtain Greek citizenship and about 45,000 did so just in the first three years of its implementation. , the number of Albanian citizens who are holders of special IDs as homogeneis (Greek co-ethnics) has been reduced to 13,329.

In the 2011 census, 480,851 Albanian immigrants were recorded in Greece. Accounting for non-permanent or irregular migration which constitutes up to 30% of Albanian immigrants in Greece, other estimates put their number closer to 600,000-670,000 (~6% of the total population of Greece). Since the Greek economic crisis started in 2011, the total number of Albanians in Greece has fluctuated. According to a study of 2012 conducted in Albania it is estimated that around 18%-22% Albanian immigrants returned to Albania the last five years. As of 2019, Greece was the second top destination for Albanians, as movement to Greece constituted 35.3% of total Albanian immigration. Albanian immigrants are the largest immigrant community in Greece. In recent years many Albanian workers and their families have left Greece for other countries in Europe in search of better prospects. In 2022, the number of Albanian citizens in Greece with a valid residency permit was 291,868; down from 422,954 in 2021. , in total, there might have been more than 500,000 Albanian-born migrants and their children who received Greek citizenship over the years.

After the first generation of Albanian migrants settled in Greece, second-generation Albanians who were either born or raised in Greece began to attend compulsory education. In 2004-2005, there were ca. 100,000 Albanian students in the Greek school system and they constituted 72% of migrant pupils (2002-2003). By 2011-2012 students of Albanian origin made up 77.6% of migrant pupils in Greece.

Albanians have a long history of Hellenisation, assimilation and integration in Greece. Despite social and political problems experienced by the wave of immigration in the 1980s and 1990s, Albanians have integrated better in Greece than other non-Greeks. A portion of Albanian newcomers change their Albanian name to Greek ones and their religion, if they are not Christian, from Islam to Orthodoxy. Recent studies have shown that second generation immigrants have intricate, hybrid, circumstantial, and complex senses of identity. Which relate to feelings of acceptance or belonging. Even before emigration, some Albanians from the south of Albania adopt a Greek identity including name changes, adherence to the Orthodox faith, and other assimilation tactics in order to avoid prejudices against migrants in Greece. In this way, they hope to get valid visas and eventual naturalization in Greece.