In the village of Llugë, Podujeva, today the monumental statue of National Hero Afrim Zhitia was inaugurated, commemorating his sacrifice and historical role in Kosovo’s struggle for freedom.
Present at the inauguration ceremony was also the acting Prime Minister, Albin Kurti, who emphasized the importance of collective memory and institutional ways of preserving the history of the martyrs of freedom. In his speech, he said that the statue of Afrim Zhitia is a public work of art that monumentalizes his historical figure, but that the need for in-depth studies and scientific publications about the history of our heroes remains great.
“The renewed obelisk here today is now being joined by a sculpture as a monumental public work commemorating Afrim Zhitia, the son of this village of Llap, and the hero of Kosovo’s freedom… The statue of Afrim Zhitia here in Llugë monumentalizes his historical figure in a public work of art. But, for the entire cultural infrastructure of transmitting across generations the history of Afrim Zhitia, and Fahri Fazliu, as well as the history of Bahri Fazliu, Agron Rrahmani, the history of Zahir Pajaziti, Hakif Zejnullahu and other martyrs, their fellow fighters, to be complete, we need more in-depth studies, and more scientific publications. We need written works, because writing is the nature of history, where they belong as subjects and personalities. The martyrs are proof that the source of liberation and the decisive factor is the people themselves, from whom we come and to whom we must serve,” said Kurti.
The Mayor of Podujeva, Shpejtim Bulliqi, described this day as a special one for the municipality and commemorated Afrim Zhitia as more than just a name, but as an ideal and an example of Albanian resistance.
“Today, when we commemorate Afrim, we are not honoring just a name, but an ideal, a way of life, an example of Albanian resistance… This statue is a legacy reminding us not to forget history, not to allow lies to diminish sacrifice, to build a society where freedom, equality and justice are tangible values, in everyday life to educate our children with the values represented by Afrim and Fahri,” he said.
The Chairman of the Democratic Union for Integration, Ali Ahmeti, remembered Afrim Zhitia as the editor-in-chief of the herald of freedom and as the organizer who gave breath to the National Movement.
“Today the statue of Afrim Zhitia, the editor-in-chief of the herald of freedom, is being raised. Today the statue of Afrim Zhitia, the organizer and the first ideator who turned street resistance into reciprocal resistance, responding with force to the occupier, is being raised… Afrim Zhitia is the organizer who gave breath to our national movement and rightly so, the institutions of Kosovo have raised him as a national hero,” said Ahmeti.
The chairman of the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo, Ramush Haradinaj, emphasized the importance of Afrim Zhitia’s figure and his comrades-in-arms, who represented the generation of resistance against Tito’s and later Milosevic’s Yugoslav regimes.
“I want to highlight Afrim Zhitia, in this case this also applies to his comrade-in-arms of that day, because they belonged to a generation whose engagement was national, of resistance, of disobedience against former Yugoslavia, for separation from former Yugoslavia, in a way they were that western horizon of the Albanian movements, but Yugoslavia imprisoned them whenever it wanted. We had hundreds of thousands of Albanians imprisoned by Tito’s regime earlier, and then also by Milosevic’s. For us who were even younger than Afrim, the refusal to allow the practice to continue where whenever the occupier wanted, they could seize Albanians, shackle them—during the time they were imprisoned, it wasn’t only their own suffering, but also that of their families, their whole circle, not to mention other consequences. This act of resistance at an early time, in 1989, in a way accelerated what happened later in Prekaz, with the legendary commander, Adem Jashari, everything that followed, because there were other developments, but what followed led to Kosovo’s freedom,” said Haradinaj.
On behalf of the family, Sadete Zhitia described a long journey for Afrim’s return to his birthplace, calling it a symbolic and historic victory for Kosovo.
“It took a long, very long journey for Afrim to return here, to his home, to the place where his path to freedom began. This return, precisely now, feels like a victorious return, after difficult battles. History seems to have connected his coming with the unification of Mitrovica, with the extension of the law across all of Kosovo’s territory, with the strengthening of our army, today led by Bashkim Jashari, the son of uncle Rifat. Is this not a victory? Is this not a beautiful coincidence, not just symbolic, but proof of the continuity of their work that gave freedom its name with their blood. And this fact is a joy for each of us… Sometimes I also recall his words when he used to say, I live for freedom, if my work is not enough for us to be free, I will also give my life. Freedom is not a gift, it is a continuous and inevitable duty until every root that poisons it is removed. And Afrim dedicated himself to this duty with honor, he did not seek glory, nor a portrait in a statue, he fell for us, for you, for the person who walks free in this land, for the mothers and fathers so they would not fear their children being killed in their arms, for the sons and daughters so they would not live with bent backs. Do not remember Afrim and all the heroes only for their name, mission, engagement, struggle, for the freedom we enjoy is the fruit of their sacrifice,” she said.
Meanwhile, the ideator of the obelisk, Ismet Sylejmani, said that the life biography and work of the national hero Afrim Zhitia must be known by all.
