"Memory Alive in arts and multimedia" in Gjirokastra

Following its screenings on numerous occasions in the cities of Tirana, Shkoder and Berat, the "Memory of a Country that Forgot to Forget" documentary, directed by a group of young people and focusing on their knowledge of the Albanian dictatorship, was recently presented to the southern city of Albania, Gjirokastra. The event was greeted by executive director of IDMC, Mrs. Jonila Godole, and Mr. Jorgo Masha, representing the Association of the former politically persecuted in Gjirokastra.

To familiarize themselves with the human experience during dictatorship, students asked questions to Mrs. Arjeta Kokalari, the niece of dissident Musine Kokalari, and Mr. Gëzim Peshkëpia, a former political prisoner. Moderating the discussions was author Parid Teferiçi. The meeting in Gjirokaster generated strong debate regarding the figure of the dictator, Enver Hoxha, and his role during the totalitarian regime of Albania until 1990. The exchange highlighted the view that youth know very little about the past, and that society, family and school did not help them enough to shed light on this dark part of the history.

Later, the activity was followed by a visit to places of memory in Gjirokaster, such as the "Musine Kokalari" museum and the castle of Gjirokaster (the city's former prison). The Kokalari Museum has suffered major damage from fires and its administrator Arjeta Kokalari is hopeful it will be reconstructed soon and turned into a real museum of memory, strength and resistance against the harsh totalitarian regime in Albania, in respect of Musine Kokalari.

About the Guests

• Arjeta Kokalari is the niece of dissident Musine Kokalari, who was regarded as an opponent to the communist regime, sentenced to 20 years in prison and later exiled for 22 years in Rreshen, where she died in 1983.
• Gëzim Peshkëpia, born in Tirana in 1940, is a former political prisoner sentenced to 8 years for "agitation and propaganda in arts and culture". His father, Manush Peshkëpia, was shot without trial together with 21 other intellectuals in 1951 due to the bombing incident at the Soviet Embassy. In 1990, he escaped with his family in Soest, Germany. He is a supervising board member at the Institute for Studies of Communist Crimes and Consequences in Albania (ISKK).
• Parid Teferiçi, born in Kavaje in 1972, is an Albanian author and curator. From 1999‒2001, he served as head archivist at the library of the Don Calabria Institute in Rome, and in 2001 became curator of the visual arts section of the Cini Cultural Institute in Ferrara. His paintings have been exhibited in Italy. In 2005, he returned to Albania to run in the parliamentary elections as a candidate for the Republican Party in his native Kavaje. Mr. Teferiçi has published two volumes of poetry: Bërë me largësi ("Made from a Distance"), Tirana 1996, and Meqenëse sytë ("Since the Eyes"), Tirana 2003.