This Monday, President Bajram Begaj honored the victims of internment under Albania’s communist regime in Lushnje, where he called for the preservation of historical memory as both a lesson and a responsibility to future generations.
On the occasion of the International Day of Remembrance for the Victims of Totalitarian Regimes, the Head of State laid a wreath at the Memorial to Political Persecution in Lushnje and visited the barracks of the Savër internment camp, considered one of the largest internment centers in Albania.
In the presence of former internees, former political prisoners and persecuted individuals, relatives of internment victims, researchers, and writers, the President of the Republic stated that preserving memory is an obligation for Albanian society, as it bears witness to the resilience and dignity of the men and women who challenged the regime and endured the system’s senseless injustices.
“What brings us together today is not merely a commemorative look back in time. Above all, it is an obligation to the present and a responsibility for the future, to our children and the generations to come, not to forget,” President Begaj said during his stop in Savër as part of a commemorative tour honoring the victims of communism.
Describing the internment camp as a place associated with some of the most painful and shameful memories of Albania’s modern history, President Begaj expressed his respect for the former politically persecuted individuals who lost opportunities, freedom, and property, but preserved the most essential element: their dignity. The President also emphasized that, alongside remembering the mothers, fathers, women, and children who endured internment, special gratitude should be extended to those who continue to keep their memory alive today.
In this context, the Head of State called for action and cooperation among institutions to fully document these stories and preserve the sites where former political prisoners and persecuted individuals suffered, so they can serve to educate younger generations.
“Time passes, and time waits for no one. The number of witnesses is declining, physical traces are deteriorating, and direct memory is becoming increasingly fragile.
That is why we must act: collect testimonies, preserve photographs, digitize documents, identify and protect the places of suffering, and make this history part of the education of younger generations. Memory needs not only anniversaries and ceremonies like this one, but also institutions that preserve it every day,” President Begaj said.
At the end of his speech, the President of the Republic assured former politically persecuted individuals that he would always support the cause of preserving and institutionalizing historical memory:
“As an institution and as an individual, I will support initiatives that help document the past, preserve memory, and educate younger generations, with a goal that I believe we all share: to raise awareness of the injustices of the past and to build Albania’s future as worthy members of the European family. The way we preserve memory today will show what kind of Albania we want to leave to future generations: a just, democratic, European Albania, but above all, a humane Albania that does not forget, that does not forget events such as those you experienced.”
President Begaj also visited the photographic exhibition “Dignity in the Face of Totalitarianism,” which documented life in internment. The commemorative ceremonies were attended by the Mayor of Lushnje, Eriselda Sefa, and the Chairwoman of the Authority for Information on Former State Security Documents, Gentiana Sula.
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