Pregledni rad
https://doi.org/10.21857/ypn4oc8v19
Identity, Assimilation, Integration: the Albanians in the Bjelovar-Bilogora County
Dragutin Babić
; Institut za migracije i narodnosti, Zagreb, Hrvatska
Sažetak
Based on the empirical research (interviews) conducted in Bjelovar in 2017, the paper analyzes the standpoints of the Albanians in the Bjelovar-Bilogora County on their settlement and integration in both local community and Croatian society, as well as on the forms and success thereof. In the last three censuses conducted in the Bjelovar-Bilogora County (in 1991, 2001, and 2011), the share of the Albanians ranged between 0.4% and 0.6% in the total county population, their number having amounted to 608 (in 1991), 755 (in 2001), and 743 (in 2011). In the new and different socio-political and cultural environment, migrants mainly form minority populations, whereby their national identity is tested in various ways. As the Albanians are concerned, there exist certain specificities, which, despite making the integration in local communities complicated, have contributed to the cohesion within the group and the preservation of national identity. The strongest hinderances to assimilation are – in their case – primarily linguistic diversity, and secondly a set of traditional values and patriarchal patterns; together, they have led to a larger-scale closeness of this national community in relation to the majority of other communities of this kind. The objective of the conducted empirical research (semi-structured interviews) was to determine the standpoints of the members of Albanian national minority in the county, awareness of their national identity, problems of integration in the local community (and Croatian society), and their high level of organization with the aim of preventing assimilation and preserving their national specificities. Eight respondents – members of male population between 34 and 68 years of age – have been interviewed. The respondents were born in the following towns/settlements: Prizren, Đakovica, and Bobovac (Kosovo), and Pakrac (Croatia); whereas their places of residence are as follows: Drljanovac, Bjelovar, Velika Pisanica, and Predavac (in the Bjelovar-Bilogora County). The responds have shown that the Albanians have to the most part been successfully integrated in their places of residence and the economic segment of the Bjelovar-Bilogora County. Their settlement in Croatia has mostly been due to socio-economic reasons, with the aim of finding employment and advancing their own existence in comparison with the life they had had in their previous places of residence. The Albanians usually arrive in Croatia individually or as close families; this eventually results in chain migration – i.e. gradual arrival of members of wider families. The integration of the Albanians in the society has been made easier thanks to several specific professions they have mastered, such as bakers, pastry cooks and goldsmiths. The Albanians are in the Bjelovar-Bilogora County involved in both the cultural and the political spheres; a further major factor in preserving their national identity is education, manifested in this county by using the C model in the education of students – members of their national minority.
Ključne riječi
Albanian; assimilation; Bjelovar-Bilogora County; identity; integration
Hrčak ID:
218919
URI
Datum izdavanja:
10.4.2019.
Posjeta: 2.695 *