Berat Vexhi Buharaja, writer, translator, historian, “Teacher of the People”, passed away in Berat. He was born in the “Murat Çelepi” neighborhood of Berat, in 1920. He completed his primary education in his hometown. He continued his studies at the General Madrasa in Tirana, where he graduated in 1940. Right after graduation, at the age of 20, he was employed in the editorial office of the magazine “Islamic Culture” in Tirana. In 1944, he left Tirana, due to the difficult circumstances of the war, and stayed with his family in Berat. In 1947 he was arrested and sentenced to 8 years in prison, on the charge of propaganda against the communist government of Albania, but he was released by decree after serving 2 years and 2 months in prison. After being released from prison, in order to survive, he was forced to do harsh manual labour. In 1965, he was admitted to the Medieval History department at the Institute of History in Tirana, where he collected, translated into Albanian and transcribed about three hundred Turkish-Ottoman-Arabic inscriptions. Based on this material, he wrote the study ” Mbishkrimet turko-arabe në vendin tonë, si dëshmi historike” (Turkish-Arabic inscriptions in our country, as historical evidence). He has translated several materials from the period of the Albanian National Renaissance, such as the acts and memoranda of the Albanian League of Prizren, the manifesto “Ujanallem” (“To wake up”, 1899), drawn up by Dervish Hima, his correspondence with Dr. Ibrahim Temon (64 letters), which is included in the third volume (1900–1908) of the “Rilindja Kombëtare Shqiptare” (Albanian National Renaissance). In addition to historical documents, he also translated other scientific and literary works from Turkish and Persian, such as the scientific works of Hoxha Hasan Tahsini, the drama “Besa” by Sami Frashëri, the poetic collection “Tahajjulat/Dreams” (Pristina, 1972; Tirana, 2007, 2012), “Katër stinët (Four seasons) (Tirana, 1995, 2007) by Naim Frashëri, “Gjylistani and Bostani” by Saadi Shirazi (Tirana, 1960; Pristina, 1974; Tirana, 1988, 2003, 2007, 2008). In 1975, he was expelled from the Institute of History. On December 20, 1993, he was given the title “Teacher of the People” (posthumously), and on July 6, 1994, the library of the city of Berat was renamed the “Vexhi Buharaja” library. Similarily, the madrasah of the city bears his name today. (In the photo: Vexhi Buharaja)
Text: Encyclopedic dictionary of victims of communist terror – Vol. I , “West Print”, Institute for the Study of Crimes and Consequences of Communism, Tirana, 2012, page 206.
Photo: © https://kujto.al/
Graphic processing: AHCF
