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The prison of Spaç as a means of oppression. COMMUNIST PERSECUTION IN THE ALBANIAN CONTEXT.

The communist dictatorship has affected a great part of the European countries in the second half of the XX century..

Fakts and figures. The effects were horrible in terms of lives lost, human rights violated and sufferance caused. During the Stalinist regime in SU more than 25,000,000 disappeared people. About 1,000,000 prisoners of war are thought to have died in Stalin's camps. Near Minsk, in the late 1980s, a cemetery with some 200,000 victims was discovered in the 20th century the lives of some 60,000,000 human has been consumed, making communism the most costly failure in history.

Consequences. Poverty Isolation Expropriation of the private property Repression of the right of speech Repression of the right to religious worship Imprisonment and forced labour for political reasons and constant exposure to propaganda ..

The same challenges. In spite of the differences in the degree of the persecution, all the countries involved, faced the same challenges in their struggle to build a normal democracy..

There are just a few of the characteristics of communist persecution that were universal for the European countries.

Albania. The communist persecution was particularly harsh in Albania. Having been grown up in those times as the son of a political prisoner, I could very well attest to that, but our time is not enough for lengthy descriptions. Nevertheless, we could take a look at some statistics to create an idea:.

Fact and figures. abstract. According to the Institute for Crime Studies of Communism Dictatorship: 34,135 Albanians have been jailed and sentenced for political reasons 59,009 Albanians were interned in concentration camps 7,022 of them have died 984 Albanians died in regime prisons 6,027 people were killed during the dictatorship 308 people have lost their mental abilities while in communist prisons.

Actual situation. Here we stand in 2019 almost 3 decades after the downfall of communism in Europe. What can be said about the way how we have dealt with the aftermath of communism? Again, having in mind the Albanian context, the situation is very far away from satisfying..

Ex - Prisoners. The persons who have survived communist persecution, have not been properly rehabilitated and integrated in the society. While a small part has received financial compensation, very little has been done to restore their dignity and pave the way to social reconciliation..

What to do?. In order to give to the survivors and the victims the respect that they deserve three steps are necessary:.

To preserve the memory of their sufferance and transmit their history correctly to the new generations through the education system. To preserve the places of sufferance such former prisons, forced labour camps and deportation sites and turn them into centres of commemoration, honouring and learning. To identify the perpetrators and have them prosecuted by the justice system..

There have been many places of sufferance (prisons, forced labor camps, deportation sites) used as instruments of oppression by the communist regime in Albania..

The prison/forced labour camp of Spaç. . .

The prison/forced labour camp of Qafe e Barit. Rezultate imazhesh p r qafe barit.

The prison of Burrel. Rezultate imazhesh p r burgi i burrelit.

Rezultate imazhesh p r burgu i tiranes. Rezultate imazhesh p r burgu i tiranes.

Rezultate imazhesh p r kampi i tepelenes. Rezultate imazhesh p r kampi i tepelenes.

Western-oriented intellectuals who were brave enough to denounce the communist doctrine The former members of the upper and middle classes who refused to give up their real estate and other assets. The clerics And families and relatives of the persons who attempted to flee the country illegally..

In spite of the great importance that they have both for the history of communist persecution in Albania and the aspect of honouring the victims, these places have been neglected during the last three decades. The majority of them have been reduced to unrecognizable ruins. There was absolutely nothing which would hint to an unknowing visitor about the tragedies that have taken place there..

The good news is that in the recent years, the civil society has become aware of the emergency of the situation and decided to take the matters in its own hands. There are many representatives of organizations that have done a really good work in the documentation of the communist past, in the education of the young people with that topic and in the rehabilitation of the places of sufferance..

abstract. . . The Justice and Peace Commission of Albania, in collaboration with and with the support Renovabis and Maximilian Kolbe Foundation, started in 2012 the project “Dealing with the Communist Past in Albania” to address all the issues which we mentioned so far. Our efforts and energy have been concentrated in the former prison of Spaç for the following reasons:.

Rezultate imazhesh p r successo. Some results. We are happy to share with you some of the results that we were able to achieve during these years:.

Physical preservation of the prison Guided visits with the students of the high schools Foundation of the association “Museum of the Prison of Spaç ” Installation of tables Organization of the Commemorative Ceremony May 21 st.

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