Sevasti Qiriazi

Sevasti Qiriazi (also known as Sevasti Kyrias-Dako), 1871 - 30 August 1949, was an Albanian patriot and pioneer of Albanian female education.

Sevasti Qiriazi
(Sevastia D. Kyrias)
Sevasti Qiriazi
Born1871
Manastir, Manastir Vilayet, Ottoman Empire
DiedAugust 30, 1949(1949-08-30) (aged 77–78)
Tirana, Albania
Home townMonastir, Ottoman Empire
(present-day Bitola, North Macedonia)
Relativessister of Gjerasim Qiriazi (1858–1894), Gjergj Qiriazi (1868–1912), and Parashqevi Qiriazi (1880–1970)[1]
Websiteaawomq.org
Signature

Biography

Sevasti was a member of the patriotic Qiriazi (Kyrias) family of Monastir, today's North Macedonia.[1][2] The Albanian writer and publisher Naim Frashëri arranged for Sevasti to study in Robert College in Constantinople to get her ready to play an active role in the education of Albanian women. She was the first Albanian woman to study in the American institution, which she finished in June 1891. Upon returning to Ottoman Albania, she contributed in the first reopening of the Albanian school in Korçë in 1891 together with her brother Gjerasim Qiriazi.[1]

The school was still known by the name of the Qiriazi (Kyrias) family, even after the First World War. Sevasti participated in the Congress of Manastir, assisting with the preparation of textbooks. She is said to have published a grammar for elementary schools (Bitola, 1912) and has edited a textbook on history. She moved to Romania and from there emigrated to the United States together with her husband, Christo Anastas Dako (1878-1941), a journalist, writer, and politician, and her sister Parashqevi, where she collaborated with the biweekly Morning Star (Albanian: Yll' i mëngjesit).[1] Christo Anastas Dako would soon open the first Albanian school in America.[3]

Sevasti returned to Albania in the early 1920s. She became one of the founders and directors of the female institution named "Kyrias" (as per family name) in Tiranë and Kamëz, in cooperation with her sister Parashqevi, and Dako.[4] She and her sister were imprisoned and deported in the Anhalteleger Dedinje camp near Belgrade by the pro-Nazi units led by Xhaferr Deva for their anti-fascist views during World War II.[4][5][6] They returned to Tirana after the war.

Because of Dako's affiliation with King Zog, and him serving as minister in one of Zog's cabinets, Dako's name was thrown in darkness during the communist regime after World War II.[7] His family was persecuted (including his sister in law Parashqevi) and two sons were arrested and imprisoned.[5] Tired of many endeavors of her life, and stroke from her son's death, Sevasti died in August 1949.

Legacy

Qiriazi sisters (Albanian: Motrat Qiriazi) are considered the "Mothers of Albanian education".[8] Many educational institutions in Albanian populated areas of Balkans bear their name. The Albanian-American Women Organization (AAWO) in New York City is named "Qiriazi Sisters" as well.[9]

March 7 is the official Teachers' Day in Albania, in remembrance of the Qiriazi family school opening of 1891.

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References
  1. Elsie, Robert (2010-03-19). Historical Dictionary of Albania. Scarecrow Press Inc. pp. 377–378. ISBN 978-0810861886.
  2. de Haan, Francisca; Daskalova Krasimira; Loutfi Anna (2006). A Biographical Dictionary of Women's Movements and Feminisms in Central, Eastern, and South Eastern Europe, 19th and 20th Centuries. Central European University Press. pp. 454–457. ISBN 9789637326394. Retrieved 2014-10-22.
  3. Rozi Theohari (2008-06-03), Festa e abetares ne shkollen shqipe te Bostonit [The Primer's Feast in Albanian school in Boston] (in Albanian), Boston: Ballikombit.org, retrieved 2014-10-22, Historikisht, shkolla e parë shqipe në Amerikë është hapur më 1908 në Netik të Massaçusetts, nga iniciatori dhe mësuesi Kristo Dako , ku ka dhënë mësim edhe patrioti e mësuesi i shqipes Petro Nini Luarasi.[Historically, the first Albanian school in US was opened in 1908 in Natick, MA, with teacher Kristo Dako as initiator, where even the Albanian teacher Petro Nini Luarasi taught...]
  4. Sabile Keçmezi-Basha, Parashqevi Qiriazi, diplomatja e vetme grua në Konferencën e Paqes në Paris [Parashqevi Qiriazi, the only woman diplomat in the Paris Peace Conference] (in Albanian), kosova-sot.info, retrieved 2014-10-22, Parashqevi Qiriazi, u kthye në atdhe më 1921, edhe më tej ajo ndoqi me interes dhe mbështeti zhvillimet politike në Shqipëri, pa pushuar së shkruari për çështjen kombëtare. Në ndërkohë u bë një nga themelueset dhe drejtueset kryesore të Institutit Femëror "Kyrias" në Tiranë e Kamëz (1922-1933), duke e shndërruar institucionin në një nga shkollat e mesme më serioze në Shqipëri. Për shkak të qëndrimit të saj antifashist, më 15 tetor 1943 u internua nga Gestapoja në kampin Anhalt (Banjicë). I mbijetoi vdekjes dhe pas mbarimit të luftës u kthye në atdhe. Më 17 dhjetor 1970, vdiq në Tiranë.
  5. Luarasi, Petro, Familja atdhetare Qiriazi dhe mjeshtri i madh i turpit (T.B.) (in Albanian), PrishtinaPress, archived from the original on February 1, 2014, Si rezultat i kësaj të motrat dhe familjet e tyre u bënë object përndjekjesh nga ana e regjimit. Dy djemtë e Sevastisë u burgosën si spiunë. Djali i vogël , Gjergji, duke mos u bërë dot ballë torturave, vrau veten më 1949. Pak më vonë vdiq edhe Sevastia, nga hidhërimi i thellë për humbjen e të birit.[As a result of this both sisters and their families became target of persecution from the regime. Both sons of Sevasti were imprisoned as "spies". The younger son, Gjergj, not resisting to the tortures, killed himself in 1949. Soon after Sevasti died, from the big despair of losing her son...]
  6. Luarasi, Skender (1980-12-14), "Parashqevi Qiriazi", Drita: 12
  7. Robert Elsie (2010-03-19). Historical Dictionary of Albania. Historical Dictionaries of Europe. 75 (II ed.). Scarecrow Press. pp. 97–98. ISBN 978-0810861886.
  8. "Nënat e kombit, historia e motrave Sevasti dhe Parashqevi Qiriazi" [Mothers of the nation: History of sisters Parashqevi and Sevasti Qiriazi] (in Albanian). "Bota Sot" Online. 2012-03-30.
  9. AAOMQ Official Site

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