By Dr. Haim Reitan

A remarkable creative individuality

Shefki Hysa was born in Ersekë on July 20, 1957 in an intellectual family.
His father, Mazar, was a teacher for the minority vlleh at this time and followed their pastoral movement, passing the summer in "Gramoz" mountains in the region of Kolonje with Erseka as municipality, pending the winter so in Saranda, always concerned for the education of shepherds’ children. All his family lived in Shalës, Konispol. The mother of Shefki, Bahrieja followed up her husband in his movements taking care of the family.

Shefki belongs to an old patriot family settled in Konispol, Shales in the 18-th century, perhaps in the period of the Muslim influence in the region, since it is considered as one of the first seven founding families of Shales village, according to the popular memory. AS we can see, it was a rich family, who lived caring for livestock and agriculture, owns several timber, pasture and cropland, therefore they can be considered as real patriots and they were ready to be sacrificed to protect their homeland, La Patrie - Tchameri, from the separatory intentions of Greek invasion.

The grandfather of Shefki, the well-known patriot Shefki Hoxha (they were religious for generations and that’s why they were called "Hoxha"), is known as one of the founders of the first patriots’ clubs of Konispol, Filat, as a donor of the first schools in the Albanian region Çamëri (Konispol, Filat and Gumenicë), and as a tough critic of any power, such as Turkish and following the royal power of Zog The I-st .

In the early 20-s, Shefki Hoxha was famous as a democrat, a great adherent of Noli and his reformist government, regardless of the fact that its properties could be affected. This was one of the reasons why he was imprisoned by the regime of Zog I. The popular poet of the region sang: "Telegrams come and go, / gendarmes raise custody, / a rebellion was spoken for, / when the Tchameri King denied, / deny Ahmet his majesty. / In Shales took Shefki, / Konispol, Maze Hami / and also Xhafo Pandalejmoni "…

Shefki Hoxha fell ill in prison in Lezha and died in 1936, because of unbearable pain of imprisonment. The father of Shefki Hysa, Mazar, has been persecuted as anti-dictatorship, although their home in Shales was an important war support. In 1960 Mazar was fired from Education, because of his brother nationalist Sadedin, shot without trial by the Communists on November 13 of 1943 at the Partisan hospital of Theollogos.

So, their family was involved in the blind mechanism of the war classes, which seriously affected even Shefki, after the death of his father, Mazar, in 1976. Hysa Mazar, the father of Hysa Shefki, left this world with the bitter taste of this life. Shefki has managed to survive thanks to the genes inherited from the grandparents.

Shefki has begun his studies in the village of Shalës, Konispol. He started high school, with agricultural profile, in 1972 and completed in 1976 at Konispol, Tchamëri . (The communist regime of the period had obliged him to attend the agricultural school, because of his "bad" biography, as a family of rich and anti-communist origin and for the fact that his uncle, Sadedin, was shot for political reasons). After ten years of surviving efforts, in 1985, Shefki is able to have the right of studying literature at the University of Tirana. Thanks to the insistence of the well-known Albanian writer Dritëro Agolli, his position as Chairman of the Union of Artists and Writers of Albania, allowed him to give Shefki the right to follow his university studies and also in other occasions, as in the case when to poet Namik Mane was denied the right of publications, he did his best to help him.

In 1989 he was graduated in language and literature at the Faculty of History and Philology, at the University of Tirana. Meanwhile he continued to write and published his first stories.

So finally Shefki Hysa has been recognized and valued his talent for prose, characterized by a remarkable creative individuality as the critics expressed for his first lyrics, welcomed by the public and literary readers. "My dear teller, by strange comments and sensitive feelings; a writer always appreciated by me and others," so expressed Dritëro, enthusiastic for his literary future and he never would be disappointed.

During 1991-97 he worked as a journalist for the newspaper "Çamëria" and as chief editor for newspapers "Kombi" and "Dielli".

In the meantime he attended several specializations for journalism, publishing, public relations and international issues.

Since 1997, he continued working in the administration of the Parliament of Albania.

He founded and continues to run the Cultural Association "Bilal Xhaferri" and Publishing House "Bilal Xhaferri".

He is the Secretary of the Union of Writers and Artists of Albania.

Among his publications, he has "The bird and the devil," stories (1992), published by "Bilal Xhaferri" Publishing House.
" Peace Hostages" novel (1994), published by " Bilal Xhaferri" Publishing house"
"Dammed Paradise" novel (1997), published by "Bilal Xhaferri" Publishing House.
"Confessions of a thief," stories (1999), published by "Arbëria" Publishing House
"Tchameri Flavor" stories (2004), published by "Bilal Xhaferri" Publishing House, ISBN 99927-960-1-4
"False Miracles," stories (2005) publication of the "Bilal Xhaferri" publishing house, ISBN 99927-960-0-6
Editor of the novel "The Prostitute worthy of respect" (1992), writer Jean Paul Sartre.
Editor of the romance "Fatal Love" (1992), writer Alfred de Musset.
Editor of the romance "Bloody Love (Beyond distances)" (1992), writer Bilal Xhaferri.
Editor of the romance "Krasta Kraus (Berat ceded)" (1993), writer Bilal Xhaferri.
Editor of the novel "Invasion of the Vikings" (1993), writer Pjetër Arbnori.
Editor of the romance "La belle with the shadow" (1994), writer Pjetër Arbnori.
Editor of poetry volume "The vine of Tears" (1995), poet Namik Mane.
Editor of stories volume "One ordinary night " (2003), author Namik Mane.
Editor's of stories volume "White desert" (2007), writen by Jack London.
Editor's novel "We have traveled the World with our paws" (2007), writer Xhulia Xhekaj, and etc etc. Publications, and literary essays edited and created by him and other authors.

Since 1995 publishes and edits as chief editor the monthly magazine "Eagle’s Wing", a political, cultural, literary and social magazine, published first in 1971, in two languages, Albanian and in English, as organ of Tchame League in Chicago, the - US. Its first founder, editor and leader was Bilal Xhaferri, poet, prose-writer and a well-known dissident publicist, who was born on November 2, 1935 at Ninat, Konispol, and after an intense literary and publicist, died in exile (fleeing Albania in 1969 as anti-communist nationalist) on October 14, 1986 in Chicago, in the United States.

"The Eagle’s Wing" was a forum of free democratic thinking basically by anticommunist, anti -dictatorial and anti-enverists inclinations, which tended the union of all Albanian political forces in exile, the unification of thought, programs and their goals for a free Albania Pro-Western. The magazine dealt largely Albanian national issues, especially Tchame issues, the problem of Kosova, and other territories left outside the legitimate borders of Albania, and also the problems of the Albanian communities everywhere in the world and Diaspora. Bilal Xhaferri was able to publish 39 editions.

Since 1995 and after "Eagle’s Wing" has continued to be published in Tirana, as the official journal of the Cultural Association "Bilal Xhaferri" (The Cultural Community of Tchameri) founded and directed by journalist and well-known writer Shefki Hysa, who enabled the return of Bilal Xhaferri bones in Albania and to glorify the extraordinary values of this rare personality, persecuted and thrown into oblivion of the communist dictatorship in Albania.

Shefki Hysa, acting as editor and chief editor of the monthly magazine, with its contributions and those of his friends, was able to publish 80 editions and continues insisting to glorify this pedestal of free thinking, following Bilal Xhaferri’s ideals

His ideal: Tchameri and ethnic Albania.

Dr. Haim Reitan, Diplomat,
Honorary President
of the Diplomatic Mission
Peace and Prosperity