Josif Jovan Bageri (August 15, 1868 – June 15, 1915) was an

Albanian Albanian may refer to: *Pertaining to Albania in Southeast Europe; in particular: **Albanians, an ethnic group native to the Balkans **Albanian language **Albanian culture **Demographics of Albania, includes other ethnic groups within the country ...

rilindas The Albanian National Awakening ( or ), commonly known as the Albanian Renaissance or Albanian Revival, is a period throughout the 19th and 20th century of a cultural, political, and social movement in the Albanian history where the Albanian ...

, poet and teacher. He advocated for the education of Albanians in

Upper Reka Upper Reka (; ) is a geographic area and ethnographic subregion of the broader Reka region of western North Macedonia, including settlements within the upper left portion of the Municipality of Mavrovo and Rostuša and of Gostivar Municipalit ...

Life

He was born into an Albanian-Orthodox family in Nistrovë in the region

Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...

(now

North Macedonia North Macedonia, officially the Republic of North Macedonia, is a landlocked country in Southeast Europe. It shares land borders with Greece to the south, Albania to the west, Bulgaria to the east, Kosovo to the northwest and Serbia to the n ...

). In his 1887, he migrated to

Sofia Sofia is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Bulgaria, largest city of Bulgaria. It is situated in the Sofia Valley at the foot of the Vitosha mountain, in the western part of the country. The city is built west of the Is ...

where he worked as a shoemaker and became involved with the Albanian national movement. Fjalori enciklopedik shqiptar (botimi i ri-2008), ASHSH, Tirana, fq. 151. In January 1893, he founded the cultural association Dëshira, which worked for the development of the

Albanian language Albanian (Endonym and exonym, endonym: , , or ) is an Indo-European languages, Indo-European language and the only surviving representative of the Albanoid, Albanoid branch, which belongs to the Paleo-Balkan languages, Paleo-Balkan group. It ...

and Albanian schools. His son Kristo, who also was involved in the Albanian national awaking, was murdered by the VMRO in 1906. In 1908, due to the changes in the Ottoman Empire, schools with Albanian language were established, and Bageri founded such a school in his native village. In the years 1909–1911, Bageri published a bilingual magazine ''Shqypeja e Shqypenis'' in Sofia, which addressed political and educational issues. In November 1910, together with Kosta Trebicka, he organized a protest of the Albanian diaspora in Sofia against the crimes committed by the Turks in Kosovo. After the announcement of the

Albanian Declaration of Independence The Albanian Declaration of Independence (Albanian language, Albanian: ''Deklarata e Pavarësisë'') was the declaration of independence of Albania from the Ottoman Empire. Independent Albania was proclaimed in Vlorë on 28 November 1912. Six da ...

, Bageri came to

Durrës Durrës ( , ; sq-definite, Durrësi) is the List of cities and towns in Albania#List, second most populous city of the Albania, Republic of Albania and county seat, seat of Durrës County and Durrës Municipality. It is one of Albania's oldest ...

, where he published the weekly ''Ushtimi Krujës''. The magazine was published in the years 1913–1914 in Albanian and French . He died in Pristina, during a trip to Sofia.Denion Ndrenik
Manifestim për 100-vjetorin e vdekjes së rilindasit Josif Bageri nga Reka e Dibrës

Legacy

In North Macedonia, there is an association named after Bageri, which is engaged in the promotion of his works among Albanians living in this country. A street in

Peshkopi Peshkopi (; sq-definite, Peshkopia) is a town located in the mountainous regions of northeastern Albania, in Dibër County. It is the capital of both the county () and the district () of Dibër, and is the only county regional capital in Albania ...

and

Debar Debar ( ; , sq-definite, Dibra or Dibra e Madhe) is a city in the western part of North Macedonia, near the border with Albania, off the road from Struga to Gostivar. It is the seat of Debar Municipality. Debar has an ethnic Albanian majorit ...

bear Bageri's name, his bust is located in Debar and on one of the memorial bridges in Skopje.

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Bageri, Josif 1868 births 1915 deaths People from Kosovo vilayet People from Mavrovo and Rostuša Municipality Albanian male poets Albanian poets 19th-century Albanian educators Activists of the Albanian National Awakening Albanian-language writers