In the great voluntary Northern Epirus Struggle that the then Epirusians and later Northern Epirusians waged to gain justice after the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire, each fighter individually fought in their own way to support the struggle.
The Hierolochites in particular fought not only with weapons, but also with their personal stature against the envoys of the Great Powers, who a little later awarded a significant part of Epirus to the newly established Albanian state.
A remarkable incident took place in Dervitsani, dropoli, Argyrokastro. there, A Northern epirote hierolochite Discusses With an english envoy (member of The international Control Committee) The future of the struggle. The Following is the discussion as recorded In The Newspaper "Pyrsos boreiou epirou", In february 1980.
"- How many cartridges do you have?" asks the Englishman.
– What I have in my pockets, the Hierolochit answers.
– How much is it?
– Sixty.
– Is that all you have?
– I have forty in my accommodation.
– So, a hundred. Don't you have any more?
– No, Dervitsiotis responds.
– Will you fight with a hundred bullets? Is there a war with a hundred bullets? And if these are saved, what will you do?
– And why did we form the Government, my lord, other than to take care of what we will do when the 100 cartridges are saved? And the money that the Epirus people give, why do they give it for other than cartridges…
– So, do you have money?
– The Epirus people send every day.
– Have they sent a lot?
– As much as two or three million for the first installment. And they send it every day and for sixteen years we can keep the war going with an army of 50,000 on foot, my lord.
– But Bed (the Albanian ruler) will give you all the privileges and guarantees you want. Why are you so intransigent?
– If the French, my lord, gave you all kinds of privileges and took england away From you, what would you English people Think?
– That's another thing, the Englishman said nervously.
– It is more than similar, my lord. In the householder's house, the guest does not grant privileges, but the householder, if he wants, gives as much as he likes.
And we now in the Autonomous Continent have no other goal than to consider them all equal and free, to give them guarantees, privileges and whatever they want, but let us be the homeowners and not let them treat us as if we were tenants.
This is the essence, my lord, and for this and for no other purpose are rifles made. With this strength of soul, with the fervent faith that God will bless their just struggle, and with the conscience that they are performing a sacred duty to their country, they throw themselves into battle.
They know, of course, that the enemy is in numbers, weapons, and foreign aid, in a much better position than them. And yet, the Epirusians do not lose heart. Because they know something else, very important. That, when one fights for the sacred and loyal things of one's tribe, what counts more than material equipment and numerical strength, is the flame and endurance of the soul.
That is why they move forward decisively, bravely. As befits Greeks of every era, when their homeland calls them to defend its honor and freedom.”
The Chronograph
