Jeroen Zandberg
The Cham are an Albanian speaking community who lived in a region what is now northwestern Greece and which was part of the Ottoman Empire for many centuries. They were driven out to Turkey and Albania in several waves during the time-period between 1913 and 1944 and were stripped of their citizenship. Their land, houses and other possessions were seized and nationalized through several laws in 1947, 1953 and 1959. The Cham have tried to reclaim their rights since that time and have been advocating for historical justice for decades. This book is about the Chameria advocacy campaign that started in 2017 and was aimed at getting the Cham issue on the international political agenda, mobilize the people and get historical justice for the Cham community. The Republic of Chameria was an advocacy vessel to mobilize the Cham and highlight the main problem that hinders the ability to solve the Cham issue, namely their exclusion from democracy, the Rule of Law, their territory and the opportunities to shape their own future. The advocacy campaign was aimed at bringing Chameria into Europe as a social and political entity that can offer the Cham community the opportunities they are now denied. The book consists of a selection of articles, press releases, speeches and photo’s that I made during my work with and for the Cham. Most of the activities took place between 2017 and 2019, although some activities go until May 2022.
