Arbëresh Villages in Sicily

dpjaexp Says:

Jun 30, 2008 - I have deep admiration for the Greek people. I love Greek music, and have visited Greece, where I have family and friends. I'm repulsed by the Greek government's position on minority rights and its obsession with antigonizing Albanians. This has poisoned relations between Albanians and Greeks, who at the family and tribal level have coexisted since the dawn of time. Italy's Arbëreshë communities could serve as a model for places like Janina, Preveza, and Thiva. Brussels can and must help.

MolossianZagori Says:

Jun 30, 2008 - I appreciate the long statement. The Chams, I'm afraid, dug their own grave and they are not wanted back in Greece. As for the Arvanites, they are a linguistic minority. Nothing more. What makes them "Albanian"? They speak a blend of Greek, Latin, and Albanian. Arvanites were never suppressed. In their heart they are Hellenes. At the founding of the modern Hellenic state, the majority in Athens were Arvanites you say. Well, they are also LARGLEY responsible for Greeces foreign/domestic policies.

dpjaexp Says:

Jun 30, 2008 - On the contrary Molossian, discrimination against the Arvanites is well documented by the Greek Helsinki Monitor, and by EU institutions. There are no schools which teach Arvanitika, there are no publications in Arvanitika, and there is no radio or TV which broadcasts in Arvanitika. The scholarly works of Kostas Kazazis shed more light on the virulent, inhumane treatment that the Arvanites throughout Corinth and Attica were subjected to vis-à-vis their right to free speech and association.

dpjaexp Says:

Jun 30, 2008 - Muslim Çams were branded en-masse as Nazi collaborators, used as scapegoats and massacred or deported to Albania and Turkey. They were pawns in the Greek government's ethnic cleansing program in Epirus, and their homesteads and farms lie in ruins throughout northwestern Greece. Orthodox Çams were forced to stop speaking Albanian and a strict Hellenization policy was implemented from the Albanian border to the Gulf of Arta. Today, it is rare to find citizens in this area who openly speak it.

dpjaexp Says:

Jun 30, 2008 - Contrast this with what happened to Arbëreshë from their arrival in Italy 500 years ago to the present day. There are even road signs throughout southern Italy and Sicily written in the Albanian language.

dpjaexp Says:

Jun 30, 2008 - I can understand that Arvanites feel themselves to be Hellenes, Greek citizens 100% and I'm not saying that they're not, in the same way I would never say that the Arbëreshë are not Italians. After 500 years, they're as Italian as possible. The difference is, the Arbëreshë wholeheartedly acknowledge their Albanian roots and have cultivated their language and traditions for 500 years in Italy. The Greeks have pressured the Arvanites to forget their links to the Albanians, and their language.

dpjaexp Says:

Jun 30, 2008 - Moreover, the Greek government has done the unconscionable and used the Greek Orthodox Church as a tool to spread anti-Albanian sentiment throughout Greece, terrorizing its own Orthodox Albanian congregants with threats of excommunication if they dared use the Albanian language for worship. That kind of behavior is unthinkable in Arbëreshë areas of Italy, where both Greek and Albanian are used in the liturgy.

dpjaexp Says:

Jul 3, 2008 - No people is 'more holy' than another. It's who you are, how you treat others and what you do with your life which is imbued with holiness - or not. That's not the message in this video. This video is a celebration of the Arbëreshë. That it has caused such a firestorm of debate speaks volumes about the complexities of Albanian identity. It's insulting to Muslims, Buddhists, Hindus, agnostics or atheists to state that you're 'in' if you're Christian and 'out' if you're not.

dpjaexp Says:

Jul 3, 2008 - It's absurd to be told by Muslim and Catholic fellow Albanians that because of our Orthodoxy, (or even because there's Greek written on the icons in our churches) we're automatically sympathisers with Greek nationalist causes. Beautiful Arabic calligraphy adorns the interiors of Albanian mosques, and there are Latin inscriptions in many Catholic Churches. That doesn't make Muslim Albanians Arabs or Catholic Albanians Latins. Really, who needs enemies with friends like these fellow Albanians?

dpjaexp Says:

Jul 3, 2008 - YouTube is a democratic forum where everyone is welcome to voice their opinions. Some spread tolerance and understanding between peoples through restraint, rationality and thoughtful writing. Some work to undermine these contributors with extremism, hatred and xenophobic missives. In 2008, all of the peoples of the Balkan Peninsula need to come up with new ways to make the future brighter than the past. All of us need to work together to promote understanding and peace between one another.

lule500 Says:

Jul 10, 2008 - Very nice :) is it possible too find out the name of the last song on ur video please thanks

marrazz Says:

Jul 18, 2008 - *Calabrese

arnavuteagle Says:

Aug 21, 2008 - L' Italia rispetta la minoranza albanese dimostrando di essere un paese democratico.Invece gli arberesh della Grecia non hanno nessun diritto e non possono parlare la lingua dei loro antenati!

gos999999 Says:

Aug 27, 2008 - shqipetaret e italise kane qene me fat ,por te mjere arvantasit e greqise, rrofte vepra e aristidh koles. i helmuar nga te pabeset greker . lefter resulaj . milano itali.

velesian Says:

Sep 2, 2008 - lively friends Muslim catholic Albanian

Lumi1952 Says:

Sep 7, 2008 - A e din dikush Arbereshet a i kane shkollatne gjuhen arberishte ne Itali a jo?

ceniboy Says:

Sep 8, 2008 - Arbereshet e Hora e Arbereshevet (piana degli albanesi) kane skolla ne gluhen arberishte ne skolla elementare.

bukuroshi15 Says:

Sep 19, 2008 - pershendetje nga kosova jam e di qe ka shqiptar ne itali po kam deshir me pa naj shqiptar me shkru ne gjuhen shqipe se moti koh e kan rujt gjuhen juv koft hallall buka qe e hajn

courtneyrao Says:

Sep 27, 2008 - The Piana degli Albanesi is so beautiful, and the people have brought so much of their bright culture to Sicily. Sicily is so diverse, I love it.

lnx007 Says:

Oct 27, 2008 - o bizavo de meu amigo nasceu ai !! ;)

sulioti Says:

Nov 25, 2008 - te lumte vella ceniboy keshtu vazhdo se atdhetaret e flakt qe e duan atdheun e tyre me gjith shpirt nuk vdesin kurre.

RxAxF Says:

Nov 28, 2008 - CENIBOY ta falt zoti shpirtin me ket video.

sexiikiid Says:

Dec 8, 2008 - i dont speak italian but i got what u wanted to say...i guess we jst have to fight to get cameria back

adibesos Says:

Dec 8, 2008 - Arbereshet e Italis nuk herrojne nga vijne.Arvanitasit e Greqise e haruan nga vijne!Rrofte gjaku Arberore!!

gimo244 Says:

Dec 12, 2008 - viva albania kosava arbreshet top peopel in world evry wher they go we ar nr1