"Topography of Terror" in the North and Kosovo

1st Day, 5 July 2021

Study visits to Shishtavec and Kukes

This edition of IDMC's annual project "Topography of Terror", organized with students of political science, journalism, communication and social sciences began the journey with a visit to the border area of ​​Shishtavec, Kukes.

During the visit to Shishtavec, students and young participants had the opportunity to talk to Mr. Musa Kingji, a resident of the area, who told them that residents of border areas always attempted to cross the border, so they have been under surveillance of the border policemen.

One of the facts that most impressed the young people was the cooperation in the return of persons crossing the border between the border police of the dictatorial regime in Albania and the border police of Yugoslavia, two countries that had severed relations.

After the visit to Shishtavec, the young people found that in order to learn the story, they need to hear the stories of the witnesses who lived it.

Further, the visit focused on the former copper factory in Kukes built and operated during the communist regime. Very few people are aware of the ecological and economic catastrophes caused by factories and plants built during the communist period in Albania.

During the visit to the Former Copper Plant in Kukes, political scientist Adri Nurellari and residents of the area told the young people the dangerous consequences that these factories bring to the ecosystem, informing that in Albania there are 80 former industrial areas that endanger the lives of everyone from us.

During the study visit to Shishtavec and Kukes, the participants were accompanied by Mrs. Lavdie Nela, the wife of the poet Havzi Nela, who was sentenced by hanging by the regime in 1988.

She shared with the participants all the details of their escape to Yugoslavia, their capture by border police, their sentencing and ongoing surveillance.

Participants visited the statue of Havzi Nela in Kukes and the border crossing in Shishtavec, where the Nela couple tried to escape and had the opportunity to see photos, verses and letters that the poet Havzi Nela sent to his wife while she was serving her sentence.

2nd Day, 6 July 2021

Study visits to sites of memory in Kosovo and Tropoja

The focus of the IDMC study visit is not only to get to know and raise awareness of young people about the persecution during communism in the remote northern and border areas, but also to get to know the places of remembrance for Albanians in Kosovo.

On the second day of the study visit, participants also visited the Meja Memorial, erected to commemorate the victims of the Meja massacre, which is considered the largest massacre during the war in Kosovo, where on April 27, 1999 over 370 people were killed.

Further, during the second day of the study trip, political scientist Adri Nurellari gave a lecture on the creation of new cities in the 1960s by the communist regime.

Young people learned how people were forced to leave cities and their relatives to live in new industrial areas. Due to the paranoia of the communist regime, new cities were created near the border points to be mobilized in case of any possible attack.

The participants discussed on the similarities, current problems and the future of small towns created under communism such as Bajram Curri, Memaliaj, Kuçova, Ura Vajgurore, etc.

Visiting the border area in the village of Ceren in Tropoja and conversations with the former border police officer of the area, Mr. Bashkim Gocaj brought more data on the living of people in remote border areas, possible escapes, relations with the neighboring state etc.

3rd Day, 7 July 2021

Study visit and training in Valbona

After lectures and visits to sites of memory in Albania and Kosovo, the stop for the third day of the IDMC study trip was the Valbona Valley National Park. Young people were also able to talk to locals about Valbona's economic development, the change that has taken place since the fall of the communist regime and the history of persecution in the area.

Further, at the end of the visit, political scientist Adri Nurellari conducted a workshop dedicated to market economy and its misinterpretation during communism in Albania.

The negative propaganda of the communist regime against the market economy has created stereotypes and prejudices that are still present today.

During the discussion, the participants concluded that the concepts of market economy even today are not clear to many Albanians.