By Adrian Luka
Memorie.al / Gjovalin Luka was born in Shkodër, on January 15, 1921, in a family with early wealthy civic roots and deep patriotic traditions, belonging to the early beginnings of the 14th century, continuing until the present day today’s XXI century. Our forefathers, unlike the generality of our people, and mainly those from Shkodra, were people passionately devoted to the field of trade, profit and passionate about those areas of life, which were really very advanced in contemporary life. Called “Zuan”, John de Luca – the earliest we have as a documented fact from the writings left behind by the Vatican and the Ottomans – appears in the records of 1430 as a merchant ship, which traded in Rodon…! In 1485, we have to mention as a historical fact, Anjeze de Luka from Shkodra…! The fact that it is written about her, shows that she must have been an important person in Shkodër.
In the writings found, it is said that; “… Anjeze de Luka was the widow with 7 children, of the noble man from Drishti, Prilep Suma…”! Surprisingly, Anjeza received “Pension Provision” from Venice…! From historical sources, it is written; “… she received this pension from the early 1480s until 1506…”! From what historical writings mentions Anjeze de Luka, where they state that: “… with other people from Shkodra, at a young age, from the Luka tribe, she immigrated to Italy…”! (Apparently, she has returned to Shkodra…).
This fact made you think very deeply about the advancement of the Italian human society, about the granting of pensions and the non-severance of the pension upon leaving Italy. Or, maybe here in history we have two Anjeze de Luka, each with their own special values, but confused in the events…! Among the Catholics of Shkodra, especially among the rich nobles, the inheritance of the parent’s name was a powerful custom from the distant past…!
Therefore, in our Luke tribe, the names: John, Zef, Kol, Angjelin, etc., would be repeated and repeated with the new generations that came after…! So in the 19th century in Shkodër, we are familiar with the epithet; “The Great Lukes”, the family of John Luke. So this is a new John Luke, not the one from the 1400s-1500s, a man with very progressive ideas. So, the young John Luka appears in history, as a wealthy noble from Shkodre…!
In his family, all the members were cultured people, having a good command of three languages: Albanian, Turkish and Italian. Jjon LUKA had three sons: Kola, Zefi and Nushi. Kola and Zefi managed to master Turkish and German very well, both in writing and singing. This, as they both worked as Commissioned Representatives of the Austrian Company “Llojd Triestino”, a company that carried out commercial relations in Istanbul and Izmir, Turkey.
It is interesting to mention the fact that Kola and Zefi both died in Turkey, respectively: Kola in Izmir and Zefi in Istanbul…! The third son, Nush Luka, first worked in Corfu, Greece…! Kola was married to Katrina, a daughter of Gjokej, who in the family tradition was called “Nana Loce”. Kola died young and left a three-year-old son, Angjelin Luka. Angjelini married the daughter of Ashikesh, wealthy Shkodre, and left behind two sons and three daughters: Kola e Ri, Gjovalini, Katrina, Matilda and Margarita.
So, Gjovalin Luka was the second son of Angjelin Luka, an industrialist from Shkodra, who would have very progressive ideas, not only for the development of the country, in general, but also for raising knowledge, the culture of civic education and the professional one of each Shkodran, in particular. Angelini, had graduated from the Jesuit school in Shkodër, with excellent results and since he was very active in trade with the outside world, he had a very good command of several European languages, which we are mentioning: Albanian, Italian, French, Turkish, German and, to some extent, Slavic languages.
This culture of his made his son, Gjovalin Luka, to be a very smart child in school and in life, with the ability to grasp and learn foreign languages…! His parents traveled Europe as a family, where not only for Gjovalin, but for all the children of Angjelin and Elisa Ashiku (Luka), learning a foreign language – especially Italian, French and Slavic – was already easy. With his growth and maturity, Gjovalin Luka was educated with the spirit and ideology of the social-democratic society of Shkodra…! Also, greatly influenced by the different ideas of the foreign world, having seen the world with his own eyes, ideas that also circulated in this Albanian society, Gjovalini came under the influence of some socialist principles, especially those of Austria-Hungary. Thus, later, he expanded his knowledge and embraced socialist and communist, European-Western ideas.
In 1936, even though he was only 15 years old, Gjovalini had managed to read a lot of communist literature…!
His studies in Bologna, Italy, connected Gjovalini to canals not so much different than the centuries-old family tradition…! The Great Lukes, although rich, fought for justice and social equality…! In 1937, it was Zef Malaj who founded the Communist Group of Shkodra, having colossal help from Vasil Shanto, Qemal Stafa, Gjovalin Luka, Tuk Jakova, Niko Xoxe, etc., whatever group it was, not only for an improvement of the living conditions of the popular masses, but also for the rights of representation of the left in the Albanian Parliament…! The activity of the Communist Group of Shkodra expanded with the departure of many tracts with an anti-Zogist spirit…!
So in 1938, Gjovalin was arrested by the regime of King Zog, for his anti-Zogist activity…, with the sole reason that: “The Communist Group of Shkodra, an organization where Gjovalin Luka was already a member, has rung the bells ‘ of the popular alarm, about a collaboration of King Zog, with the Italian fascists, informing the common people, that ‘Albania is threatened by the danger of an invasion of Italian fascism’…”!
Later, Gjovalin Luka will be expelled from all the schools of the Italian Kingdom and the Albanian ones…! At the beginning of 1939, he was arrested and imprisoned, along with many other progressives with communist ideas, in Mbreshtan, Berat. Later he was also imprisoned in Tirana prison. In the trial held in a cell of the Municipality of Tirana, against this progressive revolutionary intelligent class from Shkodra, Gjovalini (like all the other accused) maintained a correct attitude, remaining very loyal to the principles he had embraced as their own ideas.
In the prison cell, one of the founders of the Communist Group of Shkodra, Qemal Stafa, wrote about Gjovalin, including his poem “Shokut te Prangave”, a poem that was dedicated directly to Luka Gjovalin and no one else. So, not as we will later find it falsified, in this “History of Albania”, which is dedicated to Vasil Shanto, who had both his hands not only “not moist”, but also with calluses, of pickaxe and shovel…! So, during the fascist Italian occupation, Gjovalin LUKA was engaged in many anti-fascist activities…!
On November 8, 1941, after having made a great theoretical contribution, even with numerous communist materials, brought by him from abroad, Gjovalini was called to participate in the founding of the so-called Albanian Communist Party, a party which gathered all the organizations, the various communist groups and their lines, in one. But, unfortunately, Enver Hoxha told him and some other friends who were called like him directly, that they would make an organized guard throughout the night and would signal in cases of doubt, since the establishment of the Party would take place even with the presence theirs, dated November 9, 1944…!
Surprisingly, as the day dawned on November 9, all these “faithful guards” communicated the establishment of the Party, made that night of November 8…! The “guards” were praised for the very successful performance of their duties…! But, even though he was a little disaffected, (of course, disaffected, in the style of some Arab tribes), Gjovalini continued to love communist ideas…! Thus, he continues to re-organize and finance (from his father, Angelini’s) money, the illegal technique. Tracts of that time would be printed in this house, where today in Shkodër is the “Marubi Photo Library”…!
(Apparently the leaders of today’s totalitarian, pseudo-democratic and religious state want to repeat the distortions of history and the disappearance of communist activity in that Shkodra…!) Gjovalin Luka was very active in writing tracts, especially for the importance of supporting the War Anti-fascist; on the Albanian national issue; on the issue of establishing a democratic government; for the growth and material well-being of each family and for the development of progressive civic education cultures, etc., etc.
Gjovalin Luka was also one of the first communists of Shkodra, as a contributor and organizer of the war with weapons against the Italian fascist occupier. We simply mention here: the War of Rec, (or more precisely, of Doç, on October 2, 1942), a war which thus fulfilled not only a duty of national honor towards the interests of our nation, but also the obligations of our state in the international arena. Everything, at that time, was seen as a help of the Albanian people for Europe and the world, which were under the risk of violating the capitalist system and the further extension of Nazi-fascism in this continent and, perhaps, beyond…!
From all this activity, the government at that time sentenced Gjovalin two more times “to death”, in absentia, since he was already living the life of the mountain, being completely illegal…! Illegally, he met another member of the Communist Group of Shkodra, Marije Vasili, where, during that life of illegality, they got engaged… and then married. In November 1943, Gjovalini wrote very clearly and cleanly about his right to settle and the national reunification of the Albanian parts of Kosovo with Albania.
Then, in December 1944, in contrast to the philo-fascists of the so-called “Leading II of Prizren”, of those pan-Yugoslav-Titian communists who emigrated to the USA (to have the constant support of the U.S. Department of State. ), who were looking for a Balkan Federation, Gjovalin Luka, wrote quite openly and expressed himself without shyness; “… for a future Balkan Confederation, but with equal rights of independent peoples”.
After the liberation of the country from Nazi-fascism, on November 29, 1944, Gjovalin and Marije Luka will be appointed with many party and state duties of high responsibility in Shkodër. Gjovalini, in particular, began to stand out for his accuracy and precision in the field of the press, as a journalist, and in the field of literature and literary criticism. Therefore, he had many commendable writings, in the field of history and philosophical translations, and especially in those from the actuality of foreign literature, things that enabled him to hold high positions in this art sector.
In Shkodër, it was Gjovalin Luka who, with his personal initiative, together with the help of an Italian engineer, would set up Radio-Shkodra for the first time… (Today, they try to erase this merit of Gjovalin, by fabricating articles which contain all kinds of names, but not the name of the founder, Gjovalin Luka). Also, with his energetic intervention, several dozen young intellectuals were released from Shkodra prison, which in the end had not made such a serious mistake in breaking the state laws…!
In 1945, Gjovalin Luka moved to Tirana, (living in the “Block” of leaders) and shortly after, he was elected Chairman of the Albania-USSR Friendship Society (Union of Soviet Socialist Republics) and Editor-in-Chief of the ‘Friendship’ Magazine, a magazine that published agitation and propaganda articles about our relations with the B.R.S.S….! Together with others (Nako Spiro, Nexhmije Hoxha, Haxhi Lleshi, etc.) he participated in the delegations of our state, in other European countries and presented the colossal successes of Albania, in all spheres of life, taking the road development and exit from centuries-old backwardness.
Gjovalin Luka, reached the position of the member of the Presidium of the People’s Assembly, (after he was elected deputy of Shkodra in the People’s Assembly, in the first elections of December 2, 1946) and for the merits of the War, he was decorated with a number of medals accredited by the highest bodies of our State, such as: “Medal of Remembrance”, “Medal of Bravery”, “Order of the Flag” and “Partisan Star”. In the office of Agitation and Propaganda (called Agjit-Prop), Gjovalin Luka worked directly with Nexhmije Hoxha (Enver’s friend), whom he knew very well from Shkodër, as she had also been a member of the Group Communist of Shkodra.
During his very honest and tireless work in Tirana, for the smooth running of the socialist system, Gjovalin Luka attracted many intellectuals from Shkodra to our capital. Gjovalini was very energetic and intervened with kindness, so that many of them, really talented in art, education and high culture, went abroad and continued their higher studies…! Gjovalini himself, was a very revolutionary and very progressive man, with ideas for the rapid development of Albania and with a view of mutual relations cooperation, even with the capitalist countries of Europe, not only with those of the East, openly expressing his ideas, for a peaceful evolution within the European communist movement itself.
Therefore, his activity and writings: for peace; peaceful coexistence; the free competition of ideas in recognized economic systems; writings on disarmament; for a Europe without nuclear and thermo-nuclear weapons; for a Europe not divided into two halves; for the Detente process; for a European Collective Security Treaty, with the participation of the USA as an observer; for the peaceful and free vote reunification of Germany; his activity against the dictatorship and the Stalinist cult of the individual, etc., etc., attracted the great attention of international leaders, with the best and sincere wishes for him, from many European personalities.
In May 1955, Gjovalin Luka was the only person as a delegate and as president of the Albanian side, in a meeting between the Warsaw Pact and NATO, this meeting was held in Warsaw, Poland. On the part of Enver Hoxha, he was given the relevant instructions, where under any circumstances Gjovalini (if the word is correct), as a representative of our government, had to condemn American imperialism, in an uncompromising war against them…! But, considering that the whole atmosphere of that meeting was – from first to last – for peace and peaceful co-existence, when he got his right to speak, Gjovalini unequivocally supported him all the speakers, emphasizing that; “…Albania is also for good relations with every state of the globe and especially with those states that recognize the right of self-determination, in mutual relations…”!
So, after returning from Poland and a few days later, on June 18, 1955, after a rather fierce debate with Enver Hoxha and Rita Marko, in the presence of the stenographer Haxhi Kroi, Gjovali openly expressed his convictions and opinion to them of the elasticity we had to have as a Party, that complicated situation of that meeting of world superpowers. But it all did not end there for Gjovalin Luka. During this time, i.e. in 1956, he was forcibly sent to the Tirana Psychiatric Hospital, where he was forcibly given several injections, which did him no good at all…!
Numerous accusations about his work, cleanliness and honor as a communist, began to annoy his ears…! On December 31, 1956, on New Year’s Eve, and nearing midnight, Gjovalini was arrested, without any warning…! He was sent to Roskovec in Fier, under deportation measures…! There, in order to survive, he put you to work…! The much news, on Radio-Moscow and ‘Voice of America’, would mention the names of Albanian communists hit and targeted for hits…! And, after each name mentioned by these radio stations (described by senior government officials as; “enemies of the people and power”), each one was expected to be arrested, imprisoned or shot.
This depended on the fate and state of mind of the greatest man of the Albanian state, called by the children, “Uncle” and by the people of the popular rhapsody, “granite rock”, with “life, as our Kreshnik mountains”…! Therefore, Radio-Moska defended Gjovalin Luka, in his morals and character, and after a while he was arrested again and now he is locked up in the Psychiatric Hospital of Vlora, where, on that bed, he stayed for many months, so bound with handcuffs and iron chains, on his feet and hands…!
In this hospital, he was injected with dozens of injections containing quantities of infectious pus and hundreds of injections of chlorpromazine, which reduced him to a man with a swollen body and indescribable weakness. There are a total of 28 electric shocks applied to Gjovalin Luka, by the doctors of psychiatric hospitals in Tirana and Vlora, who even said, without a hint of shame, that “… everything we are doing to you is by order from above… “!
After these tortures, when Gjovalin Luka was considered “finished”, he was sent to the Island of Zvernec, where he stayed for several years in isolation…! Gjovalin and Marije Luka were released from exile in 1977…! And, after this release, the Luka family resettled in their beloved Shkodra. In 1979, a commission of apostates from Tirana asked Gjovalin Luka to write a biography of his life for them, with the excuse: “Next year, you will complete the documents for the right to pension…”!
According to those who came to our house, the government accepted some mistakes made against him and therefore Enver Hoxha himself ordered that; Gjovalin would be recognized, in the pension calculations, for all his attributes towards the nation, since the time of the War in the mountains, as a battalion commissar; of the life of those state posts in Shkodër and Tirana; some rights from those years of suffering exile and imprisonment, etc., etc,, etc…! So Gjovalin Luka, with full awareness, promised them that he would give you his correct biography. Therefore, he wrote a full 35 pages (on both sides), the required autobiography, reemphasizing with diplomacy, all the former flaws of the current system and those communists from Lapangoza, led by Enver Hoxha.
Without shaking your hand or eye at all, he submits his writing to those competent pension rights bodies (just as they instructed him)…! Unfortunately, on January 15, 1980, the day of his birth, Gjovalin Luka would feel unbearable hernia pain. The doctors who were called (surprisingly 4 of them), injected him with some kind of medicine, medicine which, after 3 hours, brought our father quite suddenly, in that most alarming state, for leaving his trusts with us…! And, after leaving them, he closed his eyes eternally…!
Among these, he was simply mentioning (apart from my side, since in communication with me, those were also his last words):
1)
2)…
3)
4)…
5)…
etc.
AND
99) Regardless of what he has done to us and to thousands of other families, Enver Hoxha truly remains a great leader. It is not at all easy to lead a people who have been very ignorant for centuries; a Bashibozuk and mercenary people; a people who kill you every moment behind your back, day and night, without crying at all, but on the contrary, they are very proud and boast that they showed bravery…!
100). “Adrian! I leave the trust to you Marije, this hero passed to the heroine. You, never separate your mother from yourself even if you go to the end of the world…”! (He could not even imagine at that time in 1980, the opening of the borders or my escape. So he correctly predicted my desire for my future family life, at the end of the world):
101). “Please, open this bottle of wine, which you are not able to open on my birthday, only when Enver Hoxha dies and rejoice with your soul, for his death, because only then will you be frees…! To make the disturbances I caused you, your lives, and halal. Stay strong…!
And this is more than true: that day of April 11, 1985, I was bathing in Shiroka, when a friend told me that early in the morning, Enver Hoxha had died…! I ran from Shiroka home and immediately with my brother and 3 other friends (Mehdi Fani, Gjovalin Celi and Gjeto Pepa), we drank the wine of my father’s bequest…! I was long…! They are full of events.
So, this was a very short summary of Gjovalin LUKA, a summary without many other episodes left (on purpose, on my part) out of this summary of his life, this life of this man with a heart great generous, who really fought with holy ideals, for the good of the people…! Memorie.al
