Visar Zhiti, writer, deputy, minister was born in Durrës. He grew up in Lushnje where he finished high school in 1970. Later, he started his higher studies in Shkodër for Albanian language and literature. After completing his studies at the Higher Pedagogical Institute in Shkodër, he began his career as a teacher in the city of Kukës. In 1973 he prepared the collection entitled: “Rapsodia e jetës së trëndafilave” (“The rhapsody of the life of roses”). It was the time of the Fourth Plenum of the Central Committee of the Labor Party where liberalism in art and culture was condemned. Zhiti’s father had previously had a conflict with the authorities, and the young poet suddenly became one of the political victims of the dictatorship; as the goal was to intimidate Albanian intellectuals. The manuscript of his summary mentioned above, which was submitted for publication to the “Naim Frashëri” publishing house, was considered as a creation with serious ideological errors and that distorted the socialist reality. He was arrested on November 8, 1979 in Kukës and sentenced to 13 years in prison. After the sentence, he was sent to the prison of Tirana and later transferred to the prison of Spaç and later to that of Qafë-Bari. He was released from prison on January 28, 1987. After his release from prison, deprived of all rights (the right to vote, the right to exercise a profession, the right to publish), he worked as a manual laborer in a factory producing bricks in Lushnje. After the fall of the communist dictatorship, he managed to go to Italy where he worked in Milan until 1992. Upon his return to Albania, he worked as a journalist, translator, but later he also got involved in politics. In 1996 he was elected a deputy of the Albanian Parliament, in 2013 he was appointed Minister of Culture. He has published several books in prose and poetry, such as: “Kujtesa e ajrit” (“Memory of the air”), “Hedh një kafkë te këmbët tuaja” (“Throw a skull at your feet”), “Rrugët e ferrit: Burgologji” (“The paths of hell: Prisonology”), “Koha e krisur” (“Cracked time”) etc. His literary works have been awarded national and international prizes. His work has been translated into other languages. (In the photo: Visar Zhiti)
Text: Encyclopedic dictionary of victims of communist terror – Vol. IX , “West Print”, Institute for the Study of Crimes and Consequences of Communism, Tirana, 2020, pages 248-249.
Photo: © https://tiranapost.al/english/art-dhe-kulture/namik-ajazi-dhe-visar-zhiti-bejne-film-historine-e-vertete-te-re
Graphic processing: AHCF
