Children’s Testimonies
Spaç in the Eyes of Children is a collection of testimonies that brings back the memories of those who were once children and visited their fathers or relatives while they were serving their sentences in the Spaç prison camp.
The first testimonies were collected as part of the book “The Sun Rises in Spaç”. AIDSSH welcomes all those who visited Spaç as children and wish to contribute their memories to this page.
Belina Haxhiaj
The daughter of former political prisoner Hysen Haxhiaj. Belina recalls:
"My father was arrested when I was two and a half years old. When I was in kindergarten, I was told that my father was in the hospital because I was too young to understand the circumstances. My greatest surprise was that it was a hospital surrounded by soldiers. And every pressure of action, whisper, fear, anxiety, and the secretive walks in the dark streets with my mother made me realize that this hospital was actually a prison, and that I had to remain silent for as long as my father stayed there, for every visit or annual meeting with him."
Etleva Maraj
The niece of former political prisoner in Spaç, Agron Hoxha. Her uncle gave her name, and they first met in prison when she was about 7 years old. Etleva recalls:
“Through the tears of my mother and grandparents, I got to know my uncle. I cried a lot for my uncle, but I didn’t know why. When I met him among the barbed wire, I understood. The journey to Spaç was terrible. When I got tired, my mother and grandparents couldn’t carry me because their hands were full of food. I was shocked when I saw my uncle shaved and poorly dressed, completely different from the people I was used to seeing. I remember the policeman who didn’t let me hug my uncle before we left.”
Afërdita and Xhaferri
They were children when their father, Fadil Dushku, a former political prisoner, was in Spaç prison. Afërdita, who was older than her brother, retains memories of meeting their father.
“I remember many things in detail. When I wanted to kiss my father, I had to be lifted up in his arms by my mother or grandmother. The window was small, and our heads couldn’t fit to kiss each other. I remember the noise of the iron door hinges… Once my grandmother cried a lot and said, ‘You’ve lost weight.’ – ‘I have been sick,’ my father replied. Later, he sent us a letter saying it was made from a small place. We later understood that the ‘small place’ was the cell.”
Pranvera
The daughter of Ylli Alibali and the niece of Xhevat Alibali, two brothers who were former political prisoners, recalls meeting her uncle in Spaç prison:
“It was a cloudy day, and fine rain was falling. There was no traffic on the road, and occasionally a truck passed by, carrying minerals from the mine. A driver stopped and let us ride in his truck out of pity when he saw a woman with a small child, but he dropped us far from Spaç prison because he was forbidden to do otherwise. We walked on foot to the camp. I only remember the surrounding mountains and us walking along a tiring road, carrying bags of food in our arms.”
Kozeta Bushati
The daughter of former political prisoner Beqir Alija recalls:
“'For the first time, I saw my father after many years. My desire to see him was very strong. We waited a long time to meet him because he was in Spaç prison, and everything had to be thoroughly checked. I was very small and didn’t understand things. A tall man appeared before me, very tall, shaved bald, and he didn’t resemble the father I knew from photos. He approached me and hugged me, but he didn’t seem like my father. I was completely overwhelmed, and he kept talking, asking how my life was, and I hesitated to respond. That was how the first meeting went. When we went to Shkodër, my father wrote, ‘Why doesn’t Kozeta answer me or come closer?’ but I couldn’t tell him that the tall, thin man who approached me didn’t seem like my father. It was someone else, but not my father. In his old photos, he had been handsome, kind, loving, and that wasn’t him anymore.”
This excerpt is taken from the speech of Ms. Kozeta Bushati at the Scientific Symposium “Exploration and Development of the Oil Sector under the Control of the State Security,” organized by AIDSSH (July 2024).
