Memorie.al / “Is there any Albanian left alive to defend the honor of the Albanian?!” This was the cry for solidarity that ignited the Spaç Revolt. May 21, 2023, marks the 50th anniversary of the Anti-Communist Revolt in one of the most horrific prisons of Enver Hoxha’s communist regime: Spaç. A revolt that began on May 21, 1973, and lasted for three consecutive days.
In his book, “Live Only to Tell” (Rrno vetëm për me tregue), the great Albanian Franciscan At Zef Pllumi – who himself suffered in Enver Hoxha’s prisons, including Spaç – remembered the prison following the anti-communist uprising of the prisoners who opposed the Enverist regime:
“In the camp, I found many prisoners who had been brought there after the Spaç revolt. From them, I learned that Pal Zefi, Skënder Daja, Dervish Bejko, and Hajri Pashaj had been executed. The Spaç Revolt must be ranked in our national history alongside all slave revolts that sought freedom, even if they did not succeed in winning. These four martyrs were the first heroes who, after nearly ten years of captivity, awakened and ignited the ideal of freedom in this oppressed people, who had lost all hope due to the cultivation of servility toward the tyrant.”
The Spark of the Revolt
At Zef Pllumi continues the narrative, explaining how the revolt began according to the accounts of his comrades whom he met in prison:
“On May 21, Pal Zefi, a prisoner in a solitary cell, took advantage of the negligence of the guards who had left the door unlocked and stepped outside; he then entered the camp and climbed onto the terrace of the canteen, which served as a courtyard. Two guards noticed Pali’s violation of the regulations, entered the camp, climbed the terrace, and grabbed Pali by the arm, but he resisted. He refused to return to the cell under any circumstances. Then, the two guards began to beat him terribly in front of everyone. Pali let out the rallying cry: ‘Is there any Albanian left alive to defend the honor of the Albanian?!'”
Following that desperate call by Pal Zefi for freedom, democracy, and human dignity, At Zef Pllumi recalled the start of the anti-communist revolt 50 years ago:
“Paulin Vata and Pavllo Popa, both from the outskirts of Shkodra, stood up. They paralyzed the guards and took Pal Zefi under their protection. On that occasion, the anti-communist prisoners unfurled, on the prison terrace, the flag of Gjergj Kastrioti Skanderbeg without the communist star, singing and chanting slogans against the Enverist dictatorship. As can be imagined, the revolt was suppressed with violence and blood,” wrote At Zef Pllumi.
The tragic conclusion of the suppression was:
–4 prisoners sentenced to death by firing squad (Skënder Daja, Pal Zefi, Dervish Bejko, and Hajro Pashai).
–8 prisoners re-sentenced to an additional 25 years.
–70 others arrested and re-tried.
A Day of Memory and Reflection
Therefore, May 21, 2023 – the day of the anti-communist revolt in Spaç, the day of killings and terror – must certainly be a day of remembrance for everyone, but also a day of reflection for each individual. They were killed in defense of their human dignity – simple people who desired freedom and their basic human rights.
On this 50th anniversary, the entire Albanian society, the state, and the government should seriously reflect on the crimes of Enver Hoxha’s communist regime, the victims of the Spaç revolt, and thousands of other innocent victims across concentration camps throughout Albania for nearly half a century of communism. If you wish to be convinced of the fatal failures and barbaric crimes of communism among Albanians, go to Spaç, see for yourself, and reflect. But not only in Spaç.
A Call to the Nostalgic and International Supporters
To the modest nostalgics of Enver Hoxha’s communism and their international supporters – who still wish to convince us that life was not that bad under communism and that communism was on the right side of history – I call upon you: go and visit Spaç on this 50th anniversary. Before the Albanian Nation and the world, answer Pal Zefi’s cry: “Is there any Albanian left alive to defend the honor of the Albanian?!” Respond by taking concrete official measures that show there are still Albanians who defend that honor, even 50 years later!
It was there in Spaç – the site of crimes, abuses, and terrible suffering caused by Albanians against Albanians – where, for the first time, the communist star was removed from the national flag of Gjergj Kastrioti-Skanderbeg. There are many who say Albanians did not resist the criminal regime of Enver Hoxha. I do not believe it can be said that Albanians did not resist communism!
The revolts of Spaç and Qafë Bari prove otherwise, but there were others as well. Tens of thousands of individual revolts occurred during nearly half a century of communism, facing a criminal regime that, for a single word, sentenced innocent Albanians to dozens of prisons and labor camps just because they aspired to a different, free, democratic, and pro-Western Albania.
The Missing Closure
What has been missing in these three decades of “post-communism” is the true remembrance of these innocent victims by the entire Albanian political class, without exception, as other former European communist countries have done.
Regarding this 50th anniversary, at least two ceremonies have been announced:
- Survival participants and the “National Union for the Integration of Political Prisoners” will hold a ceremony at the Spaç extermination camp on May 21, 2023, under the care of President Bajram Begaj.
- The Democratic Party in Tirana announced a commemorative ceremony on May 19, 2023.
It is good that this bitter anniversary is remembered, but more must be done regarding the denunciation of communist crimes, in accordance with the decisions of former communist European nations, today Albania’s NATO allies. I have constantly expressed serious doubts about the commitment of Albanian authorities to face the communist past. Any progress made has often been the result of pressure from foreigners, especially the German and Swedish embassies in Tirana, rather than a desire from the “post-communist” political class.
The survivors of the Spaç Revolt, their families, and all of Albanian society expect the state to finally answer Pal Zefi’s rallying cry from 50 years ago with good will and action. The time has come for the “ideological Berlin Wall” between Albanians to be demolished once and for all. The doors of communist hell, like those of the Spaç camp, must never dare to open for Albanians again! Reconciliation and peace among Albanians! Memorie.al
