By Filip Guraziu
Memorie.al / One of the new, “liberal” measures of the Albanian communist regime was the decree of the law (May 1990), that it no longer considered crossing the border illegally as national treason, but only as a legal violation. , which resulted in a few months in prison. Many Albanians in that period, encouraged by the new law, rushed to the border for a free life, away from communist terror.
Some of them arrived after crossing the border, some others didn’t, because at the border they faced betrayal, characteristic of communists, who, contrary to the law that had been decreed, used weapons against them, you were killed within a short time. 56 innocent Albanians!
The border killing of the 17-year-old Pëllumb Pëllumbi, in June 1990, aroused a youth anger so strong that it transformed the ceremony of his burial (June 16, 1990), – with the coffin of the deceased at his side, through the streets of Shkodra, – in a fierce anti-communist protest demonstration.
For the first time, after almost half a century of dictatorship, anti-communist slogans were raised publicly, with the black widow of the dictator at the center of them.
What really impressed us was the inaction of the State Security against the protesters on June 16! Something was changing…! A surprising change was the permission to go abroad; that had the opportunity after a ‘guarantee of hospitality in Italy’ (from relatives, friends, etc.), could get a visa from the Italian embassy.
Liberalization (by force) of the Albanian communist policy brought about the staging and encouragement of Albanians, super upset by the dictatorship and poverty, to visit foreign embassies and ask for political asylum. This happened on July 2, 1990.
The adventure ended successfully, because the European countries gave political asylum to all those who had entered the embassies, as well as arranged them with documents, houses and jobs in their countries.
Little by little, political prisoners began to be released, one of whom was Dom Simon Jubani (a friend of my family). On that occasion, we paid him a courtesy visit as a family, to congratulate him on his release from prison.
When we came out, he led us to the door of the courtyard, and said to us: “With God’s help, I hope that this year we will pray to the Kirshendellas in the Church.”
We were surprised, and we congratulated. When we parted from him, we talked among ourselves: “Poor Dom Simon, I have not come out of prison in a bad way, as a result of torture, with blows on the head”, but Dom Simon’s prophecy was fulfilled!
On November 4, 1990, Dom Simon Jubani held the first public prayer, after the ban on religion by the communists, at the Rrmaji Cemetery Chapel, which was repeated on November 11, while on November 16, the Muslim prayer was held at the Mosque of Lead.
You should remember and appreciate the fact that, in the above religious prayers, Catholics and Muslims participated together, which gives value to the Albanian nation!
On December 8, 1990, the Student Movement against the communist dictatorship broke out; this date marks the beginning of the period of political pluralism in Albania. The political change of the program of the communist party gained speed.
After three days, the establishment of the new Democratic Party (Partia Demokratike) was announced, and on December 13, 1990, the Shkodra youth, supported by the citizens, organized a violent demonstration in the streets of the city, in which shop windows were broken and were looted (inevitable occurrences in a poor country, like Albania, where a starving people survived).
I don’t remember why on that day, I was in Shkodër and not at work in the village, so I joined the demonstrators in the square in front of today’s City Hall building and witnessed the blowing up, with dynamite, of the neck of the monument of the communist dictator, Enver Hoxha.
After the monument was torn from the dynamite, the “gavroshat” of Shkodra pissed it off in front of our people, but before the action, the “polite” market, because they declared in a loud voice: “We invite our mothers and sisters to turn their backs on us”!
In those moments, super emotional, I can’t get it out of my mind, the action of a police officer (retired), who from the “strong psychic shock he experienced”, while experiencing the rape of his idol (the communist dictator), took out his revolver shot at the person who was placing the dynamite crown on the neck of the dictator’s bust!
Fortunately, the bullet didn’t hurt anyone, I was in position only 6 m away, and I saw everything!
He, the criminal Enverist, after shooting for murder, tried to leave quickly, but he did not get far, because a large group of people blocked his way. Terrified, because he risked public lynching, he entered the surroundings of the Agrarian Bank to escape.
The wild mob chased him back, calls for lynching continued for a long time, but the bank employees hid him and did not hand over the criminal. As time passed, and more gently, the situation gradually calmed down, and the crowd dispersed because, that day, they had another objective…! Memorie.al
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