In Berat, Jorgji Karbunara (Babë Dudë Karbunara), a patriot and activist of the National Renaissance movement, and Teacher of the People, passed away. He was born in the “Kala” neighborhood of Berat in 1842. He received his early education in his hometown. He continued his further studies in Corfu at a two-year teacher training school, and later in Trieste (Italy), where he completed his classical secondary school. He acquired a broad culture for the time, knowing several foreign languages, including Greek, Italian, French, and Latin. Upon returning to his homeland, he dedicated himself entirely to the national liberation cause. In the 1870s, he had meetings in Berat with Naim Frashëri, later with Kostandin Kristoforidhi and Hasan Tahsini. Jorgji Karbunara, along with Dhimitër Kolë, Gjergj Stefan, Mehmet Myftiu, etc., was among the founders of the Branch of the League of Prizren in Berat (June 22, 1878). Jorgji Karbunara worked for the spread of the teaching of the Albanian language and national ideas. For this purpose, he also used foreign schools in Berat and the surrounding villages. For his patriotic activity, he earned the respect of his fellow citizens, who called him “Babë” (Father). He was persecuted by the Ottoman authorities, who burned down his house in September 1894. Jorgji Karbunara was one of the initiators of the “Bashkimi” (“Unity”) society, founded in Berat on July 20, 1898. After the proclamation of the Constitution, with the support of other patriots and the people of Berat, on August 4, he opened two Albanian schools in Berat, the “Tregu” school, where Babë Dudë Karbunara and Sulo Resuli taught, and the “Muratçelapi” school, where Islam Vrioni and Kahreman Vrioni taught. Jorgji Karbunara was one of the founders of the “Bashkimi” club in Berat (1908), where he was elected vice-chairman, and one of the main organizers of the protest meeting held in Berat (February 28, 1910) to defend the Albanian alphabet against the introduction of the Arabic alphabet. He participated in the national movement that developed in Berat during the uprisings of the years 1911–1912. With his initiative, in 1911, the Branch of the Committee of Albanians for the Protection of National Rights was formed, which established connections with the committees operating in other cities and regions of Albania. He participated as a representative of the people of Berat in the National Assembly of Vlorë (1912), which declared the Independence of Albania, where he was elected a member of the Elders’ Council. During the uprising against Prince Wied in 1914, he was arrested and tortured by the rebels of Musa Qazimi. In 1937, on the 20th anniversary of his death, a bust was established in his honor by his fellow citizens. (In the photograph: Jorgji Karbunara, portrait)
Text: Albanian Encyclopedic Dictionary – Vol. 2, Albanian Academy of Sciences, “Kristalina-KH”, Tirana, 2008, pages 1123–1124.
Photo: © https://perpjekjashqiptare.com/portreti-i-mesuesit-te-kombit-jorgji-karbunara/
Graphic processing: AHCF
