By Caf Jonuz Çulaj
Memorie.al/ Since man has only one life, he tries to save it. For Mark Tomë e Reçit, of course life is precious, but if it is put in the service of the family, the tribe, the flag, the people it is a duty. He was born in Rec in 1897, in a noble and patriotic family and he received his education there, as he did not have the opportunity to go to school.
As a large house, she waited and escorted outstanding figures of the time, and Mark became acquainted with them all. Meet Kole Maçi e Hotit, Smajl Delinë e Lohes, Kanto Marashi e Shkrelit and many others, highlanders and citizens. He learned a lot from them. He was religious and patriotic. He listened intently to the sermons of the priests, especially on communism and what it represented.
He did not know how to write, but he knew well what was happening in Bolshevik Russia, or in Spain. It was thus fueled by anti-communist ideology. Bad luck wanted this seed to be planted in Albania and thanks to the Yugoslav help, and with the blessing of the great states, to triumph in our country.
The totalitarian regime was established in Albania, and Mark Toma knew well how the people would suffer since August 1943, he was sentenced to death by the headquarters of the partisan battalion “Perlat Rexhepi”, but he was not executed decision, because Mark Toma had great influence on the people, and consequently the partisans would be discredited.
But December 1944 came, when the war in Albania was over (or as the communists said, it was liberated), and a partisan brigade was deployed in Rec. The command of this brigade, based on the instructions given by the Regional Committee of the Communist Party of Shkodra, searches for and finds Mark Toma. After they caught him, they tied him up and took him to a villager’s house, where after numerous tortures, they informed the villagers to gather at four o’clock in the afternoon, in the center of the village, to execute that “criminal”.
Suddenly comes the order from Shkodra, that the partisan brigade urgently cross the border, and be put in pursuit of the Germans in the lands of Yugoslavia. In a hurry, Mark, half dead, was forgotten. The partisans left, Mark escaped, later he jokingly said: “I was punished by a slave, but not God”. But he did not end up here, after which he did not try, he faces the same challenges. On June 28, 1948, a group of police officers led by the heads of the State Security, attacked Malësia, and in particular Rec, and arrested 14 men, most nationalists.
Apparently, the lists were carefully crafted. These 14 men were arrested and among them Mark Toma. All were accused of: having formed the reactionary organization “Eagle with two heads”, which would organize an uprising, to overthrow the popular power. He, along with the other defendants, were held at the investigator for a year, where four of them remained to die from torture, while the others were released.
In 1950, Mark was declared a “kulak”, which meant that he would be isolated from his fellow villagers and all his wealth would be taken away. In the fall of 1958, three guests knocked on his door, it was Nderim Kupi, with his mother and sister. After dinner, Nderim asks Marku for help to take him with his family to Yugoslavia, because he was in great danger. For Mark, this was not easy, because failure ultimately ruined his life and that of his family.
There were two ways: to denounce the newcomer to the Internal Affairs Branch, and with this gesture he would approach the state and remove the name of “Kulak”, or violate the customs of the highlanders, the first of the family, where the highlander’s faith was the most precious thing? After midnight, Marku led the friends, passed Lohen, Shkreli and Kastrati, and entered Hot. They knocked on the house of Nikolle Dajani, a close friend of Nderim and a friend of Mark. He was ready to escort them to Yugoslavia. Si u tha u ba. The friends escaped, but the Security managed to find out. It was not long before the “Gaz 69” car that terrified people stopped at Mark’s house.
“In the name of the people, you are under arrest,” he declared and handcuffed her.
It was not the first time, Mark was already used to it and calmly and ironically addressed the police: “When you had time to ask the people, put the irons on me”?! He did not tolerate the investigators and said: “Ah, old fox, this time you will not escape.” Mark replied, “Oh, easy work, I have trouble with the judge of heaven, for those on earth are not a problem.”
Again, tortured and received the death penalty. They put him in solitary confinement and waited quietly for him to come and take him to be shot, always trusting in God. The amnesty happened on the occasion of Flag Day, and he took advantage, since he was over 60 years old, he was finally released. He lived another 30 years with confidence in democracy, which he enjoyed for only a short time. Died in 1991, honored by all. /Memorie.al
