Memorie.al / In the spring of 1964, an elderly woman – weary from years and losses – sat down to write a letter. It was neither a formal complaint nor an official request, but a final human attempt to be heard. Mediha Frashëri was 72 years old at the time. The widow of Professor Refat Frashëri and the mother of Vedat Frashëri – a martyr of the National Liberation War – she addressed Enver Hoxha not as a political figure, but as a parent, hoping that beyond power, a glimmer of mercy might still exist.
Homeless and sheltered for years in the house of the painter Sali Shijaku, she lived with her deaf-mute daughter, sharing a life of poverty and a silent, enduring pain. Meanwhile, her eldest daughter had been living in Istanbul for thirty years. The desire to see her one last time had become an existential necessity for her aching soul.
Her request to travel to Turkey was not immediately denied. In fact, it followed the institutional path of the time and was initially approved by the Ministry of Internal Affairs after the relevant background checks. The approval was even communicated to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, meaning the travel was officially authorized.
However, the process took a sharp turn when it was discovered that Mediha Frashëri had simultaneously sent a personal letter to the First Secretary of the Central Committee of the APL, Enver Hoxha. The fact that the Ministry had notified her of the approval before the First Secretary had given his final word was considered a procedural violation.
Despite acknowledging this “error,” the decision was not corrected in favor of the elderly woman. Instead, through the direct intervention of Enver Hoxha, the previously granted permit was annulled, turning a completed administrative process into an act of political and personal rejection. A mother’s request to see her daughter after 30 years was struck down simply because the dictator did not find it “reasonable.”
The Full Text of Mediha Frashëri’s Letter to Enver Hoxha
“Our dear son Enver,”
I, who am writing this letter to you, am the widow of Prof. Refat Frashëri, a patriot of the National Renaissance, and the mother of Vedat Frashëri, a martyr of the National Liberation War.
I am a 72-year-old woman named Mediha; I live with my unfortunate 36-year-old daughter, who is deaf and mute. We are deeply grateful to the Party for recognizing the patriotic merits of my husband and my only son, and we both receive their pensions; we live quite well, for the living have many needs.
However, what drives me, oh son, to come to you with this letter?
We have no home. For these past 7–8 years, the mother of Sali Shijaku has kept us out of friendship in a room in their house. We feel burdened that we have occupied someone else’s home. We have petitioned the Chairman of the Executive Committee to grant us a room and a kitchen in the many houses the state has built, but unfortunately, they do not listen to us at all. I am an old woman with one foot in the grave and the other above it; I only feel pity for this unfortunate daughter of mine.
Secondly, I have my eldest daughter who has lived in Istanbul for 30 years, as I am of Turkish descent. My daughter has invited us to Istanbul as guests, for we miss each other dearly. I made a request to the Ministry, and they informed me that I cannot go to Istanbul as a guest, unlike many others!
Why should I not be allowed to see my daughter and then return to Albania, to our homeland, where the bones of my good husband and my only son – who has scorched my soul – lie?
I, oh son, the most precious of all mothers, await your answer.
I embrace you with great love.
Tirana, March 29, 1964
Mediha Refat Frashëri
The Note of Haxhi Kroi (Personal Secretary to Enver Hoxha)
Note:
Mediha Frashëri, in her letter to Comrade Enver, requested intervention to travel as a tourist to Turkey to visit her daughter, whom she has not seen in 30 years. We forwarded this to the Ministry of Internal Affairs as the competent body. The Ministry responded that her request was approved and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was notified.
I spoke with Comrade Kadri Hazbiu, noting that since the citizen addressed the Secretary of the Central Committee, it was not right for her to receive an answer from the Ministry before Comrade Enver himself was informed and decided on the matter. Comrade Kadri agreed with the observation but stated that the woman had petitioned the internal organs earlier, and the investigation had concluded positively before they knew she had also addressed Comrade Enver.
December 21, 1964
Haxhi Kroi
Enver Hoxha’s Hand-Written Instruction (Annulment)
“They have granted it to her, but if they can, they should take it back, and I think it should not be granted; although I do not know what this woman is doing now?”/Memorie.al
Enver
