Babë Dud Karbunara

Babë Dud Karbunara (22 April 1842 – 19 December 1917), born Jorgji Karbunara was an Albanian teacher and politician. He was one of the signatories of the Albanian Declaration of Independence.^[1]

Babë Dud Karbunara
Born	Jorgji Karbunara (1842-04-22)22 April 1842 Berat, Albania, then Ottoman Empire
Died	19 December 1917(1917-12-19) (aged 75) Berat, Albania
Nationality	Albanian

Early life

His grandfather had moved from Trozhar near Tërpan to Berat, where his son Theodhor later worked as a gold work embroiderer. Babë Dud Karbunara, son of Theodhor, was born as Jorgji Karbunara on April 22, 1842, in the Kala neighborhood of Berat.^[2] He initially studied in Corfu and later continued his studies in Trieste.^[3]

Career

During the League of Prizren era he started an emigre branch of the organization in Corfu.^[4] Karbunara's activism primarily focused on the opening of Albanian-language schools in his native region, Berat.^[4] Karbunara's activity as a teacher of Albanian was banned in the 1890s and it led to his house being burnt by Ottoman agents on September 14, 1894.^[2] After the establishment of the 1908 constitution, along with other Rilindas of the city, he opened two Albanian-language schools in Berat.^[3] During the Albanian Revolt of 1912 he organized the assembly of Sinjë, where the rebel bands of southern Albania signed the memorandum of Sinjë, a list of demands regarding Albanian rights in the Ottoman state.^[3]

 

Monument in Berat

In November 1912, he participated as a delegate and signatory of Berat in the Assembly of Vlorë, in which the independence of Albania was declared and a national congress was formed. The deputies of the national congress also elected eighteen delegates of the assembly to form the Albanian Senate, of which Ajdin Draga was a member as a senator of Berat.^[5]
On June 30, 1914, he was attacked by pro-Ottoman Islamic rebels led by Essadist Musa Qazimi. He was brutally beaten after being questioned "Are you Albanian or Osman (Ottoman)?", and after answering "Albanian, just like you are".^[2]

Death

He died on December 19, 1917, and was buried in the cemetery of St. George's church of the city. The ceremony was held in Mangalem neighborhood church, with a huge participation of the town's population.^[2] Vatra's musical band came from Boston to pay respect to him at his grave.

Honours

In 1937, a bust of Karbunara by sculptor Dhimitër Çani was presented in Berat, while during the Communist era he was posthumously awarded the Mësues i Popullit (English: Teacher of the People) medal.^[2][3] Today, a high school in Berat keeps the name "Babë Dud Karbunara" in his honour.

References

1. "History of Albanian People" Albanian Academy of Science.ISBN 99927-1-623-1
2. Kraja, Abedin (2012). . Gazeta Shqiptare Online(Balkanweb) (in Albanian). Archived from the original on 4 February 2014. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
3. Papa, Viktor. . Telegraf (in Albanian). Archived from the original on 18 October 2012. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
4. Kotherja, Niko (December 1, 2010). . Shqip (in Albanian). Archived from the original on 4 January 2011. Retrieved 13 October 2012.
5. Schmidt-Neke, Michael (1987). Enstehung und Ausbau der Königsdiktatur in Albanien, 1912–1939 (in German). Oldenbourg Verlag. pp. 320–1. ISBN 9783486543216. Retrieved 13 October 2012.