The irony of the Albanian in the communist camp: "Meat, pasta, wheat bread... we are not in an internment camp, but at a wedding"!

By: Kastriot Dervishi

An internee in the infamous barbed wire camp of Tepelena has chosen an original way to express his protest against the living conditions in this camp, through an ironically written letter addressed to the dictator.

The internee does not complain, but "praises" the "good" conditions of this camp, that he lacked nothing there, that he was very well fed, that he was eating meat, tea, pasta, that he was dressing well, etc.

For all this, he writes that he now knew the party and the government well (an expression that is repeated several times). The letter of the internee, unlike others of this type, does not ask for anything, but only praises the good “conditions” of the camp, at a time when the situation in this camp was very difficult.

If the detainee wrote the situation in its true form, this action could be taken as agitation and could be punished. For this reason, this disguised form of revolt is among the rarest observed in the letters of the internees.

The Tepelena barbed wire camp (1949-1953) is one of the most notorious of its kind that operated in Albania from March 1945 to October 1953.

Camps of this type were isolated places, almost prisons, composed mostly of women, the elderly, and children. They were not forced labor camps, although in some cases internees were used for labor. Barbed wire camps were not designed with forced labor in mind.

Wood splitting, its transportation, isolated work in agriculture, roads, etc., are not features of a forced labor camp.

Labor camps designed for reclamation works, construction and later mining, such as those established in Jubë, Beden, Maliq, Shtyllas, the Peqin-Kavajë canal, Tërbuf, Tirana, Bulqizë, etc., were established at the workplace, have a different character and should not be confused with barbed wire camps.

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Tepelena, 30.3.1952

Dear commander Mr. Enver, the leader and the light of the Albanian people's eyes. I, the internee Fezo Dajlan Llënga from Koshnica village, Bozhigrad Locality, Korçë District, take the initiative to write to you regarding the following:

I was arrested by the State Security bodies on August 20, 1950 and without being interrogated I headed to the camp. Of course, I was guilty of the party and the government, but I will be grateful for my life to the party and the government because I was not good for my family, nor for the party and the government, because now I know the party.

What is the party, since I never drank tea at home, I ate meat three times a week.

But in the camp we have tea, meat, rice, pasta, wheat bread, clothes, shoes every day.

In addition to these, we are also rewarded with money according to our work.

The doctor comes to us (every) week. I say with full conviction that we are not in camp, but at a wedding.

We hear the outside camps calling for a piece of bread. Here it gives us an idea of ​​which party is which.

I just have to worry about my family, since I come from a poor background, I don't have any support.

I have a 70-year-old mother, a wife, and two sons, the eldest 4 years old.

Because I haven't had this food for myself.

When I am released, as soon as my party comrades in the village tell me which party it is, I will tell them, since I here in the camp knew very well which party it was, since I served in the national army on July 15, 1944 and was released on February 15, 1947, but I did not know well which party it was.

But in the camp I got to know the party, for the sake of the party and our beloved government, my heart wants to participate in the Mati River where the hydroelectric power plant will be built. I want to participate like all the Albanian people.

Long live the dear commander who took the Albanian people to war and today takes it for happiness.

Long live the glorious communist party!

Long live the great Stalin, the mast of peace in the world!

I remain and honors and obedience,

The interned Fezo Dajlan Llġenga