"Szpony Czarnego Orła" : europejska albanofobia - przesłanki i ewolucja zjawiska

"Szpony Czarnego Orła" : europejska albanofobia - przesłanki i ewolucja zjawiska

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"Szpony Czarnego Orła" : europejska albanofobia - przesłanki i ewolucja zjawiska

Bibliographic description

title:	"Szpony Czarnego Orła" : europejska albanofobia - przesłanki i ewolucja zjawiska
alternative title:	Black Eagle Claws : european albanophobia - reasons and evolution of the phenomenon
author:	Czekalski Tadeusz
editor:	Quirini-Popławska Danuta
book title:	Mare inclitum : oddziaływanie cywilizacji śródziemnomorskiej
date of publication :	2009
place of publication : name of publisher:	Kraków : Wydawnictwo Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego
pages:	385-392
ISBN:	978-83-233-2833-9
series:	Portolana. Studia Mediterranea, ISSN 1733-1293; vol. 4
notes:	Strona wydawcy: https://www.wuj.pl
language:	Polish
book language:	Polish
abstract in English:	The term albanophobia started to appear in the media at the end of the 20th century supplanting previously used expressions, which typically referred to "anti-Albanian prejudices" or to politicallyrooted biases against Greater Albania. The most typical albanophobic prejudices include the depiction of an average Albanian as a degenerate criminal. This misrepresentation can be associated with stereotyping, which dates back to the times of the Ottoman Empire. The newly coined term was meant not only to emphasise the complex nature of the issue, but also to clarify real and imaginary dangers associated with the wave of Albanian migrants pouring into Europe. Its role was to confront media-publicised information about Albanians. The countries which were most affected by the wave of Albanian mass migration were Greece and Italy, as they were most easily accessible for the migrants, who either illegally crossed the southern border of their country or attempted to reach Western countries by sea. Italian media portrayedAlbanians in a very stereotypical way usually referring to three defining concepts typically associated with Albania - backwardness, exoticism and isolation. Migrants’ desperate attempts at finding a job were increasingly interpreted as signs of amorality and unscrupulousness. Greek media were even more anti-Albanian blaming the migrants for the rise in crime rate and accusing them of attempting to "albanise" the northern part of the country. The anti-Albanian feeling started to diminish in 1997, when Albania suffered the Pyramid Crisis and its aftermath, which is commonly referred to as "the bloody spring of 1997". These tragic events made people look at Albanians in a different light - the stereotypical view of an Albanian migrant started to change as more and more people attempted to understand the reasons for the Albanian crisis. Albanophobia is more complex and multifaceted an issue in the countries where Albanian migration is considered a demographic threat. In the case of Greece the factor that generates phobias is a consistent decline in the indigenous Greek population and a steady increase in the total fertility rate within migrant families. The sense of imminent demographic threat is particularly discernible in Macedonia, where Albanians constitute the largest ethnic minority. Macedonians consider Albanian minority a threat to their national identity and treat its members as foreign. In their attempts at discrediting Albanian population Macedonians venture as far as to look for pseudoscientific justifications for the supposedly inherent foreigness and strangeness of Albanian civilization. They even try to question the existence of Albanian identity itself. Albanophobia started to be analysed as a social phenomenon as part of a study concerning the consequences of Balkan migrations and the adaptation processes of immigrants in new environments. Albanophobia is one of the most important and effective means of forcing immigrants to deny their true identity. The fear of disclosing their Albanian identity triggers a number of adaptive behaviour patterns, which include changing one’s first name and surname (or, at least, using their latinised or hellenised versions), socialising with indigenous population and imitating their manner.
conference:	Mare inclitum : oddziaływanie cywilizacji śródziemnomorskiej; 2008-11-28; 2008-11-29; Kraków; Polska; ; ; ;
affiliation:	Wydział Historyczny
type:	chapter
subtype:	conference proceedings