Josif Bageri

Early life

Josif Bageri was born in Nistrovo in the Upper Reka region near Mavrovo and Rostuša Municipality, Republic of Macedonia, to an Orthodox family. As a young man he emigrated to Sofia where he found work as a cobbler and became interested in the Albanian nationalist movement.

Albanian National Awakening

In January 1893, Bageri was a founding member of the Deshira (The Desire) cultural society there, and was profoundly moved by a meeting with the dying Rilindja poet, Naim Frasheri in Istanbul in late 1899. Bageri recognised education as the key to the Albanian nationalist awakening and was active, particularly in the year 1905-1907, in promoting Albanian-language schools and learning. From May 1909 to 1911, he published a fortnightly Albanian-language newspaper in Sofia called Shqypeja e Shqypenis / Albanski orel (The Albanian Eagle), an organ for politics and knowledge.

Later life and death

After Albanian independence in 1912, Bageri moved to Durrës where he edited the national weekly Ushtimi i Krujës / L'Echo de Croya (The Kruja Echo), a four-page newspaper that appeared in Albanian and French from 1 November 1913 to 1914. He died in Pristina in 1916, apparently on a journey back to Sofia. Bageri was the author of poetry, prose, political articles, comments and polemics. He is remembered in particular for the anthology Kopësht Malsori (Highlander's Garden) in Sofia, 1910.

Legacy

Bageri is an important figure within the Orthodox Albanian community of Upper Reka, which has instituted an association in Bageri's name.

The "Shoqata Josif Bageri" organization, created by Branko Manojlovski and Branislav Sinadinovski, is named in his honor and centered in his town. The organization aims to follow Bageri's work in Albanian National Awakening for the regional Albanian Orthodox in Macedonia.