1. Foreword

The book of testimonies of the family members of the missing is the second in row in the AIDSSH, on the testimonies of the survivors. It is grounded on the experience of the first edition, the testimonies of the survivors of the former internment camp in Tepelena, a collection of testimonies, characters, photos and artefacts, which also influenced the opening of the public debate on the camp.

The volume you have in hand, is one of the outcomes of the AIDSSH-ICMP project “Raising public awareness on transitional justice and reconciliation: the disappeared under communism”, supported by the European Union and the Government of Switzerland, and is made possible after the immense work made by the Authority and partners, in response to the requests of the family members of the disappeared under communism, for the clarification of the fate of their relatives, the acquaintance with the circumstances of death, as well as the secret or unmarked burial places. Pursuant to the definition of law no. 45/2015, we have recorded their witnesses, collected personal materials, memories, objects, in addition to the files of the executed, with and without trial, to bring the story of those whose grave is still unknown today, in its all dimensions. Thus, this is the reason why this book is a collection of stories from south to north, from east to west, from the descendants of the signatories of the Independence Act, to those of the Albanian prime ministers, to those of simple and at the same time great people of dignity who are all still missing. The stories collected all over Albania, 30 years after the fall of the communism, are just as unique as similar. Family members testify about their loved ones, with the heavy burden of the many years of searching, with the anxiety of failure to find anything, with the need to tell the whole story and to make known even those little bits that everyone fears will be lost, besides the memory of loved ones who could not even lay a flower on their grave. Some of the persons interviewed passed away a few months after giving their witnesses to AIDSSH. Not rarely, it is one last word, but it is nonetheless their last will to turn back the disappeared to their families.

It is the voice that is upturned to be heard, it is the concrete challenge with the institutions and society, which owe them even for the long silence. Solzhenitsyn, at the Nobel Peace Prize ceremony, said: “The world, the mankind cannot exist in the face of two scales of values: we shall be torn apart by this disparity of rhythm, this disparity of vibrations. Same as a man with two hearts is not for this world, neither shall we be able to live side by side on one Earth”. Therefore, let us adopt a system of values, that of a civilized world, where human rights are guaranteed, because this would keep us more connected to each other. Let us be aware of and address the denied rights of the missing yesterday and their families today, distancing themselves from indoctrination, the stigma of class warfare and ideology, with an open heart and not underestimating any case.

A system of values

PhD Gentiana Sula Chairwoman of AIDSSH