By Sokrat Shyti
Part fifty-two
Memorie.al Writer Sokrat Shyti is the “great unknown” who for several years has shown the tip of the iceberg of his literary creativity. I say this based on the small number of his books published in recent years and mainly the voluminous novel “Ghost Night” (Tirana 2014). The novels: “BEYOND MYSTERY”, “BETWEEN TEMPTATION AND THE Whirlwind”, “THE CORROSION OF NIGHTMARE”, “THE SHADOW OF SHAME AND DEATH”, “THE CHIEF COLONEL”, “THE BROKEN HOPES”, “THE CONTROVERSIES OF FATE” I, II, “SURVIVAL IN THE COW’S CABIN”, as well as other works, all novels, with 350 – 550 pages, are in manuscript form awaiting publication. The dreams and initial momentum of the young novelist, who returned from his studies abroad full of energy and love for art and literature, were cut short early on by the cruel blade of the communist dictatorship.
Who is Sokrat Shyti?
Returning from his studies at Moscow State University, immediately after the breakup of Albanian-Soviet relations in 1960, Sokrat Shyti works at Radio-difuzion (which was then located on Kavaja Street), in an editorial office with his journalist friends – Vangjel Lezho and Fadil Kokomani – both of whom were later arrested and later shot by the communist regime. In addition to radio, the 21-year-old Sokrat, if we imagine him, has passionate literary interests at the time. He writes his first novel “Madam Doctor” and is on the verge of publication, but… alas! Immediately after the arrest of his friends, as if to fill the cup, one of his painter brothers escapes abroad.
Socrates was arrested in September 1963, and in November of that year, he and his family were interned (with his mother and younger sister) in a place between Ardenica and Kolonja e Lushnja. For 27 years, the family lived in a cowshed with reeds, without windows, while Socrates was subjected to forced labor. During these 27 years, he was legally forced to appear three times a day, to the local governor. He had no right to move from the place of internment, he was deprived of any kind of document, etc. In these conditions, in the middle of a cowshed, he gave birth to and raised his children. It was precisely on this event, or rather an extremely long history of persecution, that he based his book “Survival in the Cowshed”!
Agron Tufa
Continued from the previous issue
EXCERPT FROM THE BOOK, “SURVIVAL IN THE COW SHED”
– “Have you lost trust in me, that you are giving me this reprimanding warning”?!.. asked the commissioner, offended, with the same look.
– “On the contrary, precisely because I value and respect you, I use this language that is close to you, comrade first captain”, – …added the second lieutenant with a smile.
– “Aman, don’t mention my rank to me, because cockroaches are crawling on my head! – the commissioner snapped at him in a harsh tone. I have been serving for two years for the rank of major, and I don’t understand why the commission doesn’t remember to give it to me! In my opinion, it is certainly a deliberate obstacle, specifically to show me that the nature of my service does not at all correspond to the rank of major officer. This attitude annoys me more than anything else. It’s almost as if I asked to deal with poultry, animals, shepherds and farmers”!…
– “Perhaps our bosses up in the ministry see in us only special abilities for the vital sector of the rear, and they entrusted us with this task…”- continued Commander Sula.
– “Perhaps, it is possible, – the commissioner admitted. – But you forgot to show me the treasure…”!?
– “You are very right, comrade commissioner, – said the second lieutenant, turning his gaze towards me, who was two steps away from them, and I listened attentively to their conversations, not mentioning my name. And when Commander Sula motioned for me to approach, I was overcome with feverish concerns, since the commissioner’s attitude at this very important moment would determine the further course of these two years, regardless of the second lieutenant’s commitment, who promised to make my service as easy as possible.
But the future will take on the dimensions of a convincing certainty, only if the commissioner gives his full approval to exercise the direction of the cultural activity of the department, (taking into account that the task of the writer is not entrusted to a declassed person).
At this very moment, a terrifying scream echoed, which shuddered me, as if it came from the depths of prehistory, so much so that I had the impression that around these foggy hills, the shadow of Polyphemus was circling in the form of a dove, with an equally terrifying appearance! My blood froze from surprise, and I began to hiccup! And I turned my head to where the scream came from: I shuddered when I saw that creature with bulging eyes, red hair and a big nose, bent like a hawk’s beak, dressed in a soldier’s uniform, exactly as the truck driver figuratively described it, a creature that was not born from a mother’s womb, but is a completely special species of the Red Sea!
– “Don’t be confused!” – the commissioner addressed me, to distract attention from there. – At first, we were also impressed by Nazif’s roar, which can be heard all the way to our Division Command, in Burrel, even though we are seven kilometers away”!
– “Should I line up with the others”?… I asked Commander Sula, so as not to put him in an awkward position in front of his superior.
– “Act as if you didn’t hear it at all” – the second lieutenant whispered to me.
– “You should know that no matter how powerfully the thunder of Captain Nazif roars, even if it surpasses a hundred screams and shouts, it still crumbles like a ball of sand before the colossal force of the party!” – the commissioner declared proudly, looking at me with the pride of Schweik. I am glad that you heard such a figurative literary definition, comrade commissioner!”
– “You didn’t expect it”?!…- added the commissioner with a triumphant look.
– “On the contrary, your expression, as a found and struck literary figure, precisely defines the confrontation of form with content, highlights the triumph of content,” – I said to him, convinced that this answer would delight him.
– “You are a great fool!” – said the commissioner, twirling his hat around the circumference of his head, without taking his gaze off my eyes.
– “Let me, comrade commissar; continue with the presentation of the treasure!” – the second lieutenant intervened, since the moment seemed most appropriate.
– “Of course, of course,” – he replied with a smile like Švejk. – The commissars of the People’s Army have as their main duty to discover and administer human treasures…” – he added boastfully.
– “Knowing that you do not believe in fate, since communists, as atheists, value only the ideals of the party, I call it a successful coincidence, the arrival of a journalist in our unit, to perform military service, who has worked at Radio Tirana and has rich experience”.
– “Of course, of course!” – the commissar emphasized quite pleased. – Bright minds belong first and foremost to the commissar, the leader of ideology. Isn’t that right, Commander Sula?”
– “That’s why I came straight to you, before the distribution of new recruits,” the second lieutenant added shrewdly.
– “I’ll tell you right now: despite the fact that the soldier-journalist is not organized as a party member or candidate, he is appointed by my order, as an assistant to the commissar! And this order is final. To make it a fait accompli. Call Nazif to appear here in a second, I’ll say two words to him”! – he addressed the second lieutenant in a commanding tone.
Commander Sula put his hands like a funnel in front of his mouth, and without moving from his place, he loudly conveyed the commissar’s order. The captain’s shrill scream stopped, as if he had been cut with an axe, and the surroundings began to breathe freely. Within a few seconds, the red-headed and squinty captain appeared with a military stride before the commissar, reporting according to the regulations:
– “I am giving the newly arrived recruits the main instructions of the internal regulations during the quarantine period”! – he said in his shrill voice.
– “How many times have I repeated it: I do not like reports in high tones, as if you were addressing a group of people, since I have good ears and I can hear very well! – the commissar warned him. – No. I have called you now on a very important matter. Take a good look at the face of this soldier next to me. This will be my assistant! Fix it well in your mind: he is excluded from all your training! Do you understand”?
– “As you order, comrade commissar”! – the captain shouted with respect and a ready attitude.
– |There is no need to tell my order to the head of the sector. We will do this ourselves, among ourselves. Otherwise I will call it a violation of military discipline, and I will take strict measures! – the commissar emphasized. – Now you can leave.”
– “What do you order!” shouted the captain, standing frozen in respect, and with a sudden turn, he walked with a long stride to where he had lined up the recruits.
– “This guy doesn’t know how to speak softly,” said the commissar. Did he do his military service here? I asked.
– “No, he was in an infantry unit,” replied Commander Sula. – “Where he served, everyone was amazed by his extraordinary zeal, how he fulfilled the assigned tasks. He never complained: I’m tired! Or said: I’ll rest a little and I’m leaving. In a second he would run to get there as soon as possible, even when he was loaded with fifty kilograms of equipment on his back”!
– “If he was so ready and punctual, why didn’t they send the career captain to an infantry unit, but assigned him here?” I asked the lieutenant.
– “Nobody knows this,” said Commander Sula with a sharp look, wanting to ambush my further curiosity. “Then, comrade commissar, what shall we do with the new soldier who will work with you as an assistant?” – he addressed the first captain, who was lost in thought.
– “You know, commander, that once I say something, I don’t take it back. Therefore, take care that all the necessary procedures are carried out. And after he is dressed in his new military uniform, accompany him to my office. I believe we have an understanding”?
– “Is there no need to talk to the colonel?” – asked the second lieutenant.
– “I repeat: once I say something, I never take it back!” – the commissar emphasized in a heated tone. – Thank you for finding my treasure! But to manage the treasure, I don’t need advice”!…- he added, walking away towards the office building.
– “From your last answer, it seems that he got tired of my interventions,” I said to the lieutenant. – Did I overdo it with a few questions about the captain?”
– “Even he doesn’t know. None of us in the department, even to this day, has any idea who assigned the captain to serve here, in our military agricultural farm, and he wasn’t sent for infantry training. According to a senior officer, in the rear of the division, it is said that the terrible captain was brought here specifically to blacken the life of the director, so that he would never laugh. Let me say this in advance:
The colonel came here from the ministry, demoted, as a form of punishment, after a friction he had with one of the deputy ministers of defense. This job does not belong to the rank of his education, considering that he completed his studies at one of the military academies in Moscow. Here is a coincidence, which will help a lot – added Commander Sula, with a promising look: – Because the Angel told me that, and you studied in Moscow. Really? – what do you propose to me? – I asked him with interest.
– “When you go to his office, since, in my opinion, he will definitely call you to see you and talk, I advise you that after introducing yourself militarily and greeting you, exchange something in Russian. The commissar will give the tease, when he informs him that he intends to take the Radio journalist on his staff. The colonel will definitely be interested in your card, and after reading it, he will ask for you”.
And so it happened: The commissar, without further ado, as soon as he went to the directorate building, knocked on the colonel’s office, asked permission to enter, and immediately expressed his request.
– “Where did you get this information so quickly?” – the colonel asked curiously.
– “Commander Sula gave it to me ready-made, who got it from the secretary of the Lushnja Military Branch”. – he replied.
– “First tell Chief Zisos to shut the fuck up, that red feather, because he’s driving us crazy! Let him deal with the new recruits inside the dormitory. Meanwhile, the journalist should show up here. You can go”! – ordered the desperate commissioner, who expected a quick approval of his request, considering that the director generally showed almost indifference to the new influx of new recruits, and almost did not deal with their distribution in the three sectors.
(But this case seemed completely different to the colonel from the others, so after the commissioner left, he began reading my file, to compare how the data written on the file matched the oral statements of the mediocre commissioner and commander Sula).
I had full confidence and hoped that Engjëlli had wisely reflected in the cards the most important part of my values, if he really knew something about the colonel’s hiding from the Deputy Minister of Defense, even though he was among the senior officers who had completed military studies with excellent results: by exiled to the NBU, just to receive a salary, you could call this relocation a military internment!
First of all, the director was impressed; why was a soldier raised from the Military Branch of Lushnja, and not Tirana! According to the logic of the facts reflected in the cards, legally this recruit is responsible for completing the six-month training to receive the title of reservist officer, and not soldier!
“Then there must be a mystery, not reflected in the file…,” the colonel muttered thoughtfully to himself. “One minute…” he added after a while. “First, it’s up to me to find out what family connection he has with the famous actor of the People’s Theater…”?! It was at this very moment that I knocked nervously on the director’s door and waited anxiously for the answer “come in”!
(Excluding the terribly terrible case of the criminal colonel, on the third floor of the Investigation Department, in Tirana, who punched me in the nose with his fist like a bear’s paw, and almost broke my jaw, the day he informed me of the escape to Greece of my middle brother, this was the first time I had talked peacefully with a major officer of this rank, who was looked down upon from above, and had been brought here for re-education, worse than being sent as the chairman of an agricultural cooperative to a village!).
– “Don’t try to appear as a soldier in front of me, since we are both in civilian clothes. You should keep this remark in mind, especially during the conversation. So sit down on the chair, free yourself from the snarl of subordination, and tell me what kind of tribal connection you have with the actor Ilia Shyti”? – he asked me with an inquiring look.
– “I am his younger brother”, – I answered, waiting quite anxiously for the continuation.
– “Now I am coming to my senses…” – said the colonel. – You are the unfortunate brother, who carried all the change on his back, after the escape of the painter, who worked in the Border Directorate of the Ministry of the Interior! I knew the short-tempered man, when I worked in the ministry. Now I understand why you are on the list of Lushnja recruits, who are performing compulsory military service in the NBU here, in the Burreli Congress.
I know and appreciate your family too. I will try to avoid the difficulties of this military unit as much as possible. On your part, I ask that you be very careful and prudent, because at every step you take, you will face harassment and eavesdropping. The commissioner expressed the request a few minutes ago to engage in cultural activities.
I did not answer him, without having a precise idea about you. I think that the place proposed by the commissioner suits you, because you have freedom and space to act, you can walk around different points, you also find time to meditate. I guess that the profession of journalist and the punishments lifted after your brother’s escape have certainly taught you to beware of arm-twisting. You must bear in mind that here, in the unit, you are more limited and conditioned than there, where you were sent with a sentence. You must especially be careful of the chief of the Security. Do not open up to anyone! Not even with Commander Sula, even though he was kind to you and ready to help.
In short: don’t even trust your shirt! Whenever they ask for your thoughts on our revolutionary life, you will only show optimism. Because you will often hear provocative questions: why in our unit, the soldiers are not equipped with real combat carbines, and they train with wooden rifles? You will always answer: The command, the party knows this. We are a military unit, holding a pickaxe in one hand and a rifle in the other.
You will also hear provocative questions about the conditions of sleeping, food, especially about the harsh behavior of the captain, who does not leave any insults unsaid. You will answer wisely: hardening in difficulties reduces and eases the real situation of the war, considering that we train in the conditions of a fierce imperialist-revisionist siege”. Memorie.al
To be continued in the next issue
