In the former prison of Spaç, where freedom and faith were suppressed for decades, the Mass celebrated by Monsignor Ernest Simoni Troshani once again became a moment of remembrance for the survivors of the communist hell.
Within the walls of Spaç, where hundreds of political prisoners once suffered, the memory of the survivors resurfaces through stories carrying pain, resistance, and faith in God. Three former inmates of this camp – Gjet Kadeli, Zenel Drangu, and Nikoll Prenga Tuci – recount their confrontations with the communist regime and the figure of Dom Ernest Simoni Troshani, who today returns to Spaç as a cardinal.
In the former prison of Spaç, where freedom and faith were suppressed for decades, the Mass celebrated by Monsignor Ernest Simoni Troshani once again became a moment of remembrance for the survivors of the communist hell.
Amidst the ruined walls, three former prisoners of this prison – Gjet Kadeli, Zenel Drangu, and Nikollë Prenga Tuci – bring back their stories, bound together by suffering, faith in God, and memories of the clergyman who today returns to Spaç as a cardinal.
Gjet Kadeli: “My faith never died out”
The Calvary of the Kadeli family began in 1949, following the killing of Bardhok Bibës. The family was first interned in the Tepelena camp and then lived for many years under the persecution of the communist regime.
Gjet Kadeli himself was arrested for the first time in 1962. After another sentence in 1972, he was sent to Spaç prison, where he became part of the well-known revolt of political prisoners.
“It was my idea to give the revolt a political character. We wanted to show the regime that we would not surrender,” Kadeli recalls.
Before Spaç, he had also spent 12 years in Burrel prison, while in Spaç he suffered for another year and a half. But, amidst isolation and violence, his faith remained unshaken.
“I have always been a believer in God,” he says.
One of the episodes he will never forget is linked precisely to faith. He used to greet his fellow villagers with the words: “Long lives Jesus Christ!” When someone asked him not to use those words anymore, Kadeli replied:
“The time will come when the bell tower of the Abbey of Oros will rise again, even higher than it was before.”
The words were immediately reported to the prison command and he ended up in the dungeon.
When he arrived in Spaç, on January 18, 1973, he found Dom Ernest Simoni Troshani there as well.
“It was just a small dungeon with one window. I went on a nine-day hunger strike and then they brought me out,” he recalls.
Zenel Drangu: “In SPAÇ there was hunger, but also religious harmony”
Zenel Drangu knows every corner of the Spaç prison. He arrived there at the beginning of 1973 and was released only at the end of 1989, after having spent about 17 years in prison, 15 of them precisely in Spaç.
He describes the inhumane living conditions.
“In one room, 54 people slept. Each had only about 60 centimeters of space to sleep in. It was a nightmare,” says Drangu.
Food rations were minimal.
“We only had a few grams of rice, sugar, and a few drops of oil. With that food, we had to work in the mine,” he says.
Today he expresses regret that the prison has been left to deteriorate.
“This is an Albanian holocaust. The political class has not been interested in preserving this place as evidence,” adds Drangu.
Drangu is today the chairman of the National Association of Former Political Prisoners and continues to guide Albanian and foreign visitors in Spaç.
Faith, he says, did not disappear even in prison.
“Yes, we believed in God. There was a rare religious harmony among the prisoners,” he says.
He speaks of Dom Ernest Simoni Troshani with special respect.
“The Cardinal who comes here today has been my close friend. I respected him when he was just a persecuted priest, not because he held high positions,” Drangu recounts.
Every year, he says, Troshani returns to Spaç to celebrate Mass in memory of the four shot during the revolt and all those who lost their lives in the prison.
Drangu recalls that many prisoners were sentenced solely because of their faith.
“Religion was forbidden by law and was considered agitation and propaganda,” he adds.
Dom Ernest Simoni was also initially sentenced to death, a sentence later commuted to 25 years in prison, after he had celebrated Mass for American President John F. Kennedy following his assassination.
“I tell this to American visitors as well. They are surprised and moved when they learn what happened in Albania,” says Drangu.
Nikolla Prenga (Tuci): “We celebrated religious holidays in secret”
Nikoll Prenga Tuci was sentenced to 28 years in prison, of which he served 24. He spent about ten years in Burrel, while the rest in various camps and prisons.
He first met Dom Ernest Simoni Troshani in the Elbasan camp, where the cement factory was being built.
“He was a very dignified man, wise, and kind to everyone. He enjoyed the respect of every prisoner,”says Prenga.
He also says that he never lost his faith.
“I have always been a believer,” he adds.
In 1967, when the regime closed the churches and mosques, he was in Shkodër. There, due to his family ties with Father Pjetër Tuci, he was identified by the Sigurimi (the secret police) and was later arrested.
But despite the ban on religion, the prisoners kept their religious traditions.
“We celebrated the holidays in secret. The Muslims knew when it was Christmas and they would congratulate us. We also congratulated them for Bajram (Eid),” says Prenga.
Sometimes they shared a candy or a cup of coffee that their families would bring them.
“When Easter, Christmas, or Bajram came, some good police officer would allow us to get wood for a fire or would turn a blind eye,” he recounts.
Although he recalls that there were good people among the police, he describes the communist regime as the bloodiest system that Albania has ever known.
In Spaç, the Mass of Monsignor Ernest Simoni Troshani is not just a religious rite. For the survivors, it is a return to the place where faith was put to its harshest test and where, despite torture, hunger, and isolation, many of them never gave up on God.
