The tragedy of a family/ The escape for a better life that took the lives of 5 people from Shkodran

2023-08-18 18:55:00, Sociale CNA

The tragedy of a family/ The escape for a better life that took the lives of 5

Illustrative photo

There are many citizens who lost their lives during the communist regime in Albania just because they wanted to lead a better life.

The same thing happened to a family from Shkodra. Hamit Arif Myrtja, together with his wife and 3 children, started to cross the border by escaping through the lake of Shkodra.

Since the guard of the fishing company where he worked refused to let him escape, Myrtja shot him in the head with a stick and the guard died.

But fate was not on the side of the Shkodra family, as a heavy rain overturned the boat and the wife and 3 children lost their lives as a result.

Hamit Myrtja managed to cross the border, but the Yugoslav authorities handed him over to the Albanian authorities, who sentenced him to hanging on a rope.

The tragic story of this Shkodra family is told today by the historian Kastriot Dervishi, who has published a photo of the couple who lost their lives for a better life.

The tragedy of a family/ The escape for a better life that took the lives of 5

" The tragedy of a family

In the photo is Hamit Arif Myrtja from Shkodra (1944-1976) with his wife. The story of his family is very tragic. He worked in the fishing enterprise in Shkodër. The economic need made him seek escape through the lake of Shkodra.

On the evening of 31.8.1976, he came to the company with his wife and three children. He begged the guard of the enterprise to let him go because he was going to cross the border. The guard's objections caused them to fight and hit him on the head with a stick. The guard loses his life. 24.00 started, but unfortunately it started raining heavily and the boat overturned. The wife and the three small children die, while Hamit gets through. This was not enough, but on 7.10.1976 the Yugoslav authorities handed him over. He was accused based on articles 64, 73/1 and 76 of the Criminal Code. They sentenced him to death, hanging on a rope and confiscation of property. He was hanged on 26.12.1976. Extremely stressed, he asked to be killed face to face ", writes Dervishi./ CNA