Page 50 - Bulletin 12 2008

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The other population group in the province were Albanians. In the declining empire, there
were soldier-outlaws or brigands called klephts (similar to the Greek word for thief). There

were klephtic bands of all races. Greek klephts were used to great effect by the Greek
government during wars and even during the nominal peace time.

In 1912/13 the Christian nations of Greece, Serbia and Bulgaria, in a rare show of unity,
fought as allies against the Ottoman Empire. The result was great land gains for all of them

at the expense of the Ottomans. The land gains included the Southern part of Epirus, but not
Northern Epirus. As part of the treaty negotiations, the new state of Albania was formed.

The Greek-Albanian border was drawn on the other side of Sotira and so Sotira was now
part of Albania. (Fig. 2.22). My grandmother’s father and uncle were very involved in these

military ventures. So was John Costas, the Greek who had fought in the Boer war, who had

returned to Greece to participate in the hostilities.

It was around this tumultuous time, in 1913, that one of the earliest pictures of my

ancestors was taken. (Fig. 2.26). They were relatively well to do charcoal makers. More of
that later.

During the Great War Greece was divided about participating. The king wanted to remain

neutral while others wanted to join on the British-Serbian side. They remained neutral for
the first part of the war and during this time there was a backlash against Greeks in

Johannesburg, but this did not happen in Cape Town. Later there was a coup by the

supporters of the English and Greece entered the war on the British side. Greece occupied
Northern Epirus (including the village of my ancestors, Sotira). Post-war negotiations and

treaties resulted in Northern Epirus being returned to Albania in 1923.

After WW1 Greece continued its fight with the defeated Ottoman Empire. Greece made
initial gains but in the end was defeated by the new secular state of Turkey. As part of the