On July 16, 1972, from Shkodra, playwright Fadil Kraja wrote a letter to Ramiz Ali. It is not a harsh letter, nor an open protest. It is more a quiet and painful confession of a writer who feels that an unjust decision has been made against him, without being heard first.
The letter begins with the usual greeting of the time: “Dear Comrade Ramiz…” and immediately after that Kraja explains the reason why he is writing. He confesses that in recent days he had been troubled by unpleasant thoughts that, as he himself says, had upset his balance. The cause was a letter that arrived unexpectedly from the Ministry of Education and Culture, announcing that he was no longer a freelance writer.
The decision had surprised him. Not only because of its content, but because no one had informed him beforehand. Neither the ministry nor the Writers' Union.
"Suddenly, I received a letter from the Ministry of Education informing me that I was no longer a freelance writer... I was surprised, because no one had informed me of this before," he writes.
In Shkodra, he had also met playwright Llazar Siliqi to clarify the matter. According to him, several others had suffered the same fate, while their places had been taken by other people. Siliqi, as Kraja recounts, had opposed this decision, calling it hasty and premature.
But in the letter, Kraja doesn't just focus on the injustice he feels. He also tries to show his work, as if to prove that he hadn't been silent or worthless to culture.
He writes that during the last two years he had written five plays. Two of them were successfully staged by the “Migjeni” theater troupe, while the play “Toka e shokët e tij” had been performed previously. Another play was staged by the professional stage of Kukës, while another was taken from the professional theater of Durrës. Another play was planned for the “Migjeni” theater.
In addition to dramaturgy, he also remembers his work in print: stories, poems, poetry, critical and journalistic articles, as well as two published volumes.
"I have written five plays during this time... I have published stories, poems, poetry, critical and journalistic articles in the daily press. I also have two volumes in print," Kraja writes.
However, he admits that yield without quality is worthless. But at the same time, he raises a simple question: why had no one talked to him before?
He writes that no one from Tirana had come to Shkodra to see his works on stage and no one had asked him what his plans were for the future.
The decision, according to him, seemed hasty and insulting.
However, Kraja does not declare rebellion. He says that he will continue to work in education as before and that he will try to write again. But at the end of the letter, a sense of injustice is clearly felt.
He writes that he had begun studying French, reading regularly, and making new plans for work, when suddenly this letter arrived that changed everything.
"I'm sorry I 'ran out' on you. I thought a lot, I weighed myself a lot, but something in my heart tells me that you will understand me correctly...", he writes at the end.
The letter closes simply:
“Shkodra, 16/VII/1972
Respectfully
Fadil Kraja”
At first glance, it is just an administrative letter. But in reality, it is also a testament to a time when a writer, in order to protect his work and dignity, had to address the authorities with a quiet plea: to at least be heard.
