By Skënder Tufa
Part Two
Memorie.al / After the amnesty of 1982 and after the murder of Rexhep Geci, the situation worsened in Spaç prison, where the police began to tighten internal regime measures with schedules, food lines and the extension of the waiting time on the terrace for appeal. At the end of January 1983, we were informed that part of Spaç prison would be transferred. A new prison had been opened near the Munelle Mountain in Puka and laborers were needed for exploitation. The strong and problematic workers were included in the list that would be sent to the Puka mine. The transfer of about 200 prisoners was a great hardship for them, as they had to deliver blankets, sheets, mattresses and dishes, such as; bowl, spoon and gourd, you had to take your personal belongings from the warehouses and get them ready for inspection.
Continued from the previous issue
Recently, the Sigurimi operative, Miti, had frequent meetings with his people inside the prisoners. Word had come from them that something was being planned in this prison. In the May of flowers, in the May of spring freshness, the burden of the over-strained situation created by the force of the state, for predetermined purposes, would finally be broken! May 22, volcano of souls, echo of freedom, awakening of the indomitable? The revolt of those oppressed by the communist dictatorship bursts like that bud after the long winter and waters the land that we love so much with blood.
This blood wrote a brilliant anti-dictatorship page, which should be read clearly, because it is an epic that culminates. I think that this event of historical importance should be accompanied by the direct testimonies of the participants in it, to bring it as complete and closer to reality as possible. By collecting the pieces of facts expressed by the protagonists, a more complete vision can be created, which would resemble the restoration of a mosaic. I don’t know, but I still remember those moments when we left the cafeteria, Pjetër Luli’s crutches, in the hands of Bajram Vuthi, along with the crutches of Roland Tole and Llazi Koçi, pierced the air, a raised stool hit the door. The policemen who were in the cafeteria, no, no one touched them. The door was torn.
The lava rose, not to get dirty!
Tom Ndoja with bricks in his hand, which he pulled out in the alley in front of the technical office, running and shooting the police, followed by Sokol Sokoli, Martin Leka, Petrit Moriseni, Dush Martini, Lush Bushgjoka, Sokol Progri, Llazi Koçi, the bullet from the caracol near the main gate, hits Kostandin Gjordeni between the two kitchen windows. Roland Tole, Mirush Osmani, Skënder Tufa, Martin Leka, hold the wounded Kostandin Gjordeni, Gurali Beshi, takes a cigarette from Dush Martini’s bag and puts it in the wound.
– “The communists shot me, the criminals shot me. I don’t feel anything, it doesn’t hurt me,” he said. Hysen Tabaku, Lazër Shkëmbi, Ded Nimani, Nuredin Skrapari, Nikollë Prenga and Ramazan Spahiu, approach anxiously, the volley of automatic weapons crackles. A few steps away from the Technical Office, Haxhi Baxhinovski with the deputy commissioner, debates, retorts, raising voices, then the hat that fell to the ground at the feet of the convicts, spun as if warning of the end of its communist star, in the semicircle formed by Fatmir Lakasi, Agron Hoxha, Sali Gaca, Çajup Bejko, Xhemal Tota, Ahmet Tufa, Kol Shkëmbi, Anastas Dhamo, Xhemal Mustafarai. People with stones in their hands, the prison liberated. The water cans that I filled for emergencies, Sali Gaca cooked the hasuda, which is divided up in the kitchen, two bowls each. There were no more than 30 people there.
How did the revolt start…?!
That morning, like all other days, the wake-up call rang at six o’clock, at 6:30; the first shift entered the canteen to have breakfast, at 7:00, the first shift left for work, while the second shift entered the canteen to eat breakfast. It was rumored that harmful medications were being put in the food, at 7:30, the “unemployment” entered the canteen and, in the meantime, the third shift arrived, which had breakfast and went straight to sleep, the count was done in bed, they thought about the workforce, not the worker.
After finishing that disgusting liquid called soup, which I swallowed with hunger, I went out into the courtyard in front of the canteen and, at the large door located between the canteen and “Maune” (the “unemployment” dormitory), I saw two convicts and two policemen, who were asking them to go to work, Ndue Pisha and Ndrek Nikolli. Ndrek, a Lezghian who also had a brother in Spaç prison, was a fatherly man and didn’t spoil anyone’s fun. We had worked together for some time, in the gallery.
They had been brought to eat bread and to take them back to work. They had done two shifts, 16 hours of work in the mine, now they were asked to work another 8 hours!
– “Sir, we are tired and exhausted, we don’t have the energy to go to work, no, we don’t have the energy to work. We have two shifts to work” – Ndreka said, waving his hands up.
– “I have orders to come now”, – says the labor policeman, Fiqiri Çakalli, while the internal policeman had the door open and was waiting.
– “We can’t even stay here anymore, sir, we are taking a break and going out for the next shift”, – says Ndue Pisha.
This conversation lasted several minutes until it caught the eyes of the others, who began to gather around. It had become routine that those who did not fill the required wagons had to go out for two shifts, 16 hours without interruption, to fill them, no one asked how the work front was, only that the wagons were needed. The policemen took the two convicts to the Technical Office and told them; either to the gallery, or to the dungeon. Working 16 hours in the gallery and being shown the dungeon as punishment, this was not only inhumane, but also a provocation. No, wait, they had done two shifts, now they were asked to go out for the third shift!
Tom Ndoja came in and took the two convicts out of the hands of the police, saying: – “What are you looking for, these are people too, we have set the norm at 140 percent. Leave us alone, don’t bother us for nothing. For this reason, these people are not allowed to go out in the gallery. Tell the commandant, when we go to work, we will also fix the wagon that these two have not made. Even an animal has never been heard, to work 24 hours without a break”!
The police tried to stop them, but there were Sokol Sokoli, Sokol Progri and a group of 40-50 prisoners, tense from oppression and humiliation, which looked like a mass about to explode. The intervention of Toma, the Sokols and the presence of prisoners that increased around them, resolved this situation for the moment. The police left, the two prisoners Nduja and Ndreka, went without eating, to sleep, they were tired.
DALIP ZHABOLLI
“I was the protagonist of this work. That day the third shift came from work and, as always, a routine check was carried out. Two prisoners had not been able to do the norm. The police did not let them enter the dormitory, but told them to go and make the missing wagons, that are where the incident began”.
GOOD BOSSES
“May 22nd is the month we cannot forget. That day, as soon as the third shift finished eating, they went to sleep, some were naked, some were sucking on the end of a cigarette, it wasn’t long before the bellboy was heard calling a name, who had to go back to work, this one was in our room. Just then, the police came to take him away! – “I worked two shifts without a break, I can’t sleep once, I’m exhausted. I’ll work two more shifts!” – Said the convict – Nue Pisha – “The boss ordered it”! – said the policeman. Some convicts begged him to rest once, then work two more shifts: – “Tell the boss like that”! – They said. – “Okay”! – said the policeman, and went out.
Everyone lay down to sleep. When everyone had fallen asleep, some policemen and the boss came in. They say that if a good dog finds you asleep, it will stay by your head and guard you, but… These exhausted people, who had “fought” with the mountain all night, in the face of danger and who an hour ago had been greeted with the first shift: – “thank you for coming out safe”, – and they had told them: – “come out safe” – because the entrance was known, the exit was unknown, they were not considered human beings by this herd of abstract beings!
Into the room entered the chief with some policemen behind him. I was on leave that day, because I had broken a leg, I was lying down and reading “Les Miserables”, as soon as I saw them, I put the book under the blankets. They went straight to the bed of the one who was supposed to go to work recently, they played with his feet: -“Get up”! – They said to him – “I’m tired, man! I’m completely exhausted, I’m going to work the other two shifts”, – he said
– “Come on, don’t take too long! Don’t make a noise, the others are sleeping!” – They said, although the convict was pleading with them. – “I can’t, sir, let me rest because I’m tired”! – But the police pulled the blankets, the convict spoke louder, which woke the others up. – “What’s wrong, sir, why are you keeping us awake?” – Said Tom Ndoi – “We’ve worked all night, sir, let us sleep now”! – “Your friend is to blame”! – said the chief. – “What are you saying, sir, by God?! He was sleeping; he worked two shifts, where does he have the strength to make noise”?! The policeman grabbed him by the leg, to force him down, but he grabbed the bed.
Everyone begged the police to let him go, and to work two more shifts, but their prayers were not heard, the peace was broken. Some of the convicts sat down. After the wise words and prayers of some had no effect, Toma said to the boss: – “Now I’m going to sleep for a while and when we go to work, we’ll give our word, what Nuja has left behind, we’ll fill it. Now let us sleep”. Someone said something, but I don’t know who said it, because I didn’t look up. This insulting word aggravated the situation.
I heard Tom say: – “We are really convicts, but here we don’t have a prison regime, we are workers, not scumbags”! – said Tom Ndoja and they grabbed their roommate and took him away. The situation was aggravated, the policemen got ready to use force. The room was in the shape of an “L” – because half of it was wide, the door was not visible from where they were, one of the convicts closed the door of the room. The boss heard the creak of the door frame, smiled and immediately changed tactics. This was the most reasonable action he took at that moment.
– “Leave it, leave it! – he told the policemen – it was good that we came to an agreement, we don’t want to take it by force” – and turned from the door, the policemen followed him like lambs after their mother. The convicts lay down to sleep. Silence reigned outside. The second shift and the unemployed had been brought into the mess hall to have their deeds read. Half an hour later, the voice of the bellboy was heard: – “Everyone in line, in front of the mess hall, and the third shift too”! – He added.
They got up from their sleep and lined up in the narrow courtyard between the mess hall and the palace, where the convicts’ bedrooms were. The entire police force was present. After waiting for a long time on foot, under the menacing gazes of the policemen, the chief, the commander, the commissar and the deputy commissar and all the officers and non-commissioned officers arrived. After seeing that everything was ready, the chief ordered: – “Two for the mess hall”!
There were two policemen at the door counting us, and when the last one entered, the door was closed. With the convicts inside, there were also a couple of a three policemen to keep the peace. After a while the door opened and they said: – “Whoever hears the name, come out”! Initially, the names of some of the administration and members of the internal council were heard. As soon as they left, the door was closed.
After a few minutes, several more names were called, among them was the name of the person who had to go to work, and the door was closed again. The policemen with rubber batons in their hands, circulated with difficulty among the convicts, to keep the situation under control.
The voices of their comrades were heard outside, the police were beating them, the convicts demanded that the door be opened, the police inside, threatening them if they did not remain silent. Inside was a boy, who had broken his leg in the gallery, two convicts snatched his crutches, not to harm the police, but to protect themselves, if necessary. Finally, they tore down the door.
The exit of the enraged people was truly frightening! The beaten were covered in blood and this treachery made the situation even tenser. They fought, some convicts did their best to calm the situation, including Sandër Sokoli, but without success. The large number of police had no effect; they were forced to flee, without looking back.
The noise caused others to come out of the rooms and those who were being read to, to see what was happening, it was unclear what was happening there, a crowd of people, wearing three colors, green, black and prisoners’ clothing, sometimes one would disappear, sometimes the other would appear, the convicts in the fight were a few people who tried harder to calm the situation but also to defend themselves, this made the police leave. A man is a slave to his word and responsible if he doesn’t keep his promise.
Who should answer for this unnecessary incident? Of course, the innocent! Never the guilty! A policeman, who once, when there were ordinary convicts here, had been the chief, and who was remembered as the terrible one of the camp (Myzaferi), was just as terrible now that he was all-powerful in Fushë – Arrëz, they had announced him to come and use his authority, as once upon a time. He entered the encirclement, with that old-fashioned arrogance.
The insulting words he used further aggravated the situation, when he raised his hand towards the first person who was nearby, he received a strong punch from him and lay down on the ground. It didn’t take long, from the bend a column of covered military vehicles appeared. As soon as they stopped, crowds of police and soldiers seemed to “swell” from behind.
What were all these forces needed for? When were they notified and why? How did they come so quickly from Tirana? It was not necessary for things to get to this point. It seemed that it was no coincidence! The situation seemed to be going badly. The government was alarmed. Very soon, the camp was surrounded by three encirclements. The women of the villagers had been notified to leave, those with children in their arms, crying and cursing us, were climbing the mountain in terror.
Even the Volunteer Forces of the surrounding villages were called to “defend” Albania from the enemies. The small group of convicts was in the square above the silos. They were only 24 young men, who had nothing but their hands, they stood there, what were they to do?! All the muzzles of the guns, from every soldier who participated in the siege of the camp, were directed at these boys. The Republican Guard and the state sampists had landed there, as they said. But who would they fight?! After so long it seems absurd! Memorie.al
Continued next issue
