Qamil Izet Çami (January 4, 1875 – September 26, 1933) 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 and other rilindas from his area opened the first Albanian-language school of

Filiates Filiates (; ) is a town and a Communities and Municipalities of Greece, municipality in Thesprotia, Greece. It is located in the northernmost part of the regional unit, bordering western Ioannina (regional unit), Ioannina regional unit and southern ...

in 1908.

Life

Çami was born in

, then a town of the

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 ...

on January 4, 1875. His surname references his family are from

Çamëria Chameria (; , ''Tsamouriá'') is a term used today mostly by Albanians to refer to parts of the coastal region of Epirus in southern Albania and Greece, traditionally associated with the Albanian ethnic subgroup of the Chams.Elsie, Robert and Be ...

and are

Cham Albanians Cham Albanians or Chams (; , ), are a sub-group of Albanians who originally resided in the western part of the region of Epirus in southwestern Albania and northwestern Greece, an area known among Albanians as Chameria. The Chams have their ow ...

hence it being Çami. In his youth he became a member of the literary club of Albanian students of

Ioannina Ioannina ( ' ), often called Yannena ( ' ) within Greece, is the capital and largest city of the Ioannina (regional unit), Ioannina regional unit and of Epirus (region), Epirus, an Modern regions of Greece, administrative region in northwester ...

. After graduating in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

he was appointed minor prefect of

Sagiada Sagiada () is a village and a former municipality in Thesprotia, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Filiates, of which it is a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 87.803 km2. In ...

in 1905. In 1907 also starting working as a teacher in the Ottoman school of his town, Filiates and taught written

secretly. On August 25, 1908, along with other

opened the first Albanian-language school of Filiates and became its headmaster. The funds were provided by the people of Filiates, such as Musa Demi,

of the area and by other notable

Rasih Dino Rasih Dino (1865–1927 or 1928) was an Albanian politician, diplomat and a figure of the Albanian national movement of the early 20th century. Life Rasih Dino was born in 1865 in Preveza to the notable Dino family of the area. His father was ...

, son of Abedin Dino. During the

Balkan Wars The Balkan Wars were two conflicts that took place in the Balkans, Balkan states in 1912 and 1913. In the First Balkan War, the four Balkan states of Kingdom of Greece (Glücksburg), Greece, Kingdom of Serbia, Serbia, Kingdom of Montenegro, M ...

, he was imprisoned in

by the

Greek Greek may refer to: Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor of all kno ...

army. He managed to escape after 10 months and went to

Vlorë Vlorë ( ; ; sq-definite, Vlora) is the List of cities and towns in Albania, third most populous city of Albania and seat of Vlorë County and Vlorë Municipality. Located in southwestern Albania, Vlorë sprawls on the Bay of Vlorë and is surr ...

. In 1917 he was appointed director of education of south-eastern

Albania Albania ( ; or ), officially the Republic of Albania (), is a country in Southeast Europe. It is located in the Balkans, on the Adriatic Sea, Adriatic and Ionian Seas within the Mediterranean Sea, and shares land borders with Montenegro to ...

and was located in

Moscopole Moscopole or Voskopoja (; , with several other variants; ) is a village in Korçë County in southeastern Albania. During the 18th century, it was the cultural and commercial center of the Aromanians. At its peak, in the mid 18th century, it h ...

. In 1920 the

Italian army The Italian Army ( []) is the Army, land force branch of the Italian Armed Forces. The army's history dates back to the Italian unification in the 1850s and 1860s. The army fought in colonial engagements in China and Italo-Turkish War, Libya. It ...

imprisoned him in Sazan because he helped members of the Albanian independence movement. He was released from there after the end of the

Vlora War The Vlora War was a military conflict in the Vlorë region of Albania between the Kingdom of Italy and Albanian nationalists. Vlorë, occupied by Italy since 1914, was attacked four times by Albanian nationalists. While repelling the attacks, th ...

on August 4, 1920. In 1922, after the proposal of

Jani Minga Jani Minga (1 August 1872 – 7 May 1947) was a patriot Albanian teacher and a notable follower of the National Renaissance of Albania. He was one of the signatories of Albanian Declaration of Independence. Life Minga was born in Shënpjetër vi ...

to the Albanian government, Çami became prefect of

Konispol Konispol ( sq-definite, Konispoli) is the southernmost town in Albania. It sits one kilometer away from the Albanian-Greek border. The settlement is inhabited by Muslim Cham Albanians. Konispol is the modern centre of the Cham Albanian community ...

. From 1924 to 1927 he worked voluntarily as teacher of the Albanian language for the

Cham Albanian Cham Albanians or Chams (; , ), are a sub-group of Albanians who originally resided in the western part of the region of Epirus in southwestern Albania and northwestern Greece, an area known among Albanians as Chameria. The Chams have their ow ...

minority of

Thesprotia Thesprotia (; , ) is one of the regional units of Greece. It is part of the Epirus region. Its capital and largest town is Igoumenitsa. Thesprotia is named after the Thesprotians, an ancient Greek tribe that inhabited the region in antiquity. His ...

, Greece (

), in the area of

Paramythia Paramythia () is a town and a former municipality in Thesprotia, Epirus, Greece. Since the 2011 local government reform it is part of the municipality Souli, of which it is the seat and a municipal unit. The municipal unit has an area of 342.197 ...

. He died on September 26, 1933, in

Tirana Tirana ( , ; ) is the capital and List of cities and towns in Albania, largest city of Albania. It is located in the centre of the country, enclosed by mountains and hills, with Dajti rising to the east and a slight valley to the northwest ov ...

. His poems were published after his death. He is considered one of the poets of the later era of the

Albanian National Revival 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 p ...

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cami, Qamil 1875 births 1933 deaths People from Filiates Albanian male poets Albanian poets 20th-century Albanian educators Activists of the Albanian National Awakening Albanian-language writers