The phenomenon of changing Albanian surnames to Turkish for benefits in Prizren

2024-02-29 22:00:00, Denoncim CNA

This is noticed in young people or those who want to take a job in the state administration and in institutions such as the police. This happens, as the law favors the employment of national minorities in Kosovo.

During this year alone, 72 residents of Prizren have applied for a surname change. Surnames change from Gashi to Ga?, Mazreku - Mazrek, Bytyqi-Bütüc, Krasniqi - Krasnic, Thaqi - Tac, Kryeziu - Krüezi, Shala - ?ala, turning into a phenomenon in the last years.

This is also thanks to the simple procedure to change the surname in Kosovo. A request to the Prizren Administrative Unit is sufficient. After the verification that is done in the evidence of the penalty, the last name is changed from Albanian to Turkish.

The phenomenon of changing Albanian surnames to Turkish for benefits in Prizren

When asked about this phenomenon, the citizens of Prizren claim that this is done for political, religious interests or employment in the state administration. The majority condemn it as a phenomenon "A great damage done to the language, but also to the pure-Albanian surnames" say the people of Prizren.

The genesis of this phenomenon dates back to the period of the former Yugoslavia, where there was propaganda for the assimilation of the Albanian population, giving them the right to change their surnames, to switch from one nationality to another. In that period, Albanian surnames with a suffix "jaj" changed and turned into Yugoslav surnames. Something that is being repeated nowadays with the change of surnames from Albanian to Turkish.

The phenomenon of changing Albanian surnames to Turkish for benefits in Prizren

Fiksi was interested in this phenomenon with a connoisseur of history, the Master of Science of History Mr. Enver Batiu. According to him, this comes as a result of the economic-financial influence that Turkey currently has in Kosovo." They are trying to increase the number of Turkish participants in Prizren, providing young people with scholarships to study in the Turkish state," says Mr. Batiu. But he does not forget to mention the tradition that has existed over the years in Prizren, where Albanian was identified as the language of the villagers and Turkish as the language of the citizens.

According to the master of history, the phenomenon is repetitive, just as Serbia had done, with the aim of reducing the number of Albanians. Those who changed their surname and registered as Turkish or any other nationality, received benefits, a house or five hectares of land. In a census made by Montenegro in 1913 regarding the state of the population, there were no Turks in Prizren. However, many other nationalities were created by the Albanians themselves, a phenomenon which continues to be present even today./ tch

The phenomenon of changing Albanian surnames to Turkish for benefits in Prizren