Donika Gërvalla honors the legacy of Ymer Elshani during a visit to the House Museum in Poklek, Drenas

Deputy Prime Minister and acting Minister of Justice Donika Gërvalla visited today the House Museum of writer Ymer Elshani in Poklek, Drenas, where she paid tribute to the life, work and sacrifice of one of the most prominent Albanian writers and intellectuals, who was killed together with most of his family by Serbian forces during the war in Kosovo.

Minister Gërvalla said that “the house museum of writer Ymer Elshani is the place that testifies that the history of our freedom-loving people is not written only with dates and events, but also with the lives and works of those who gave soul to the national conscience.”

She further stressed that genocidal regimes are not afraid only of weapons, but also of books, free thought, and of people who give spirit and awareness to a nation, as Ymer Elshani did.

“Serbia did not target only the lives of Albanians, but also our intellectuals, writers and creators. Therefore, the killing of him and his family during the war was part of Serbia’s genocidal policy, which aimed not only at the physical destruction of Albanians, but also at striking our thought, culture and collective memory. In Poklek, Drenas, he was killed by Serbian forces together with his wife, four sons, his mother and many other civilians,” Minister Gërvalla said.

Speaking about Elshani’s legacy, she said he was among the most important names in Albanian literature for children and young people, an author who through his work shaped entire generations with love for the Albanian language, culture and identity.

Gërvalla also expressed special thanks to Teuta Elshani, the writer’s daughter and the family’s only survivor, for her commitment to preserving the family legacy, making it possible for Ymer Elshani’s home to be turned into a museum and into a permanent testimony to the heavy price the people of Kosovo paid for freedom.

“And precisely, the memory of Ymer Elshani is the memory of the high price of our freedom and a permanent pledge to protect the Republic of Kosovo even more strongly and with dignity, with historical truth, built on sacrifice and on the blood of all those who fell for its freedom,” Minister Gërvalla said.