Publisher's Synopsis
This is a powerful story from Albania, the world's first atheist country during the time of dictator Enver Hoxha.
The story shares about the suffering of the Albanian people during communism, and then focuses on the suffering,
patience, faith, and the survival of one noble family that the author had the opportunity to meet later in his life.
Burhan Al-Din Fili was born in Koplik, Albania, which at the time was under the Communist regime that strangled the country for decades. Young Burhan, however, refused to be cowed by an atheist regime. In 1976 he swam across Lake Shkodra, reaching former Yugoslavia where he was caught, jailed and interrogated. Later, he escaped to Italy where he lived in a refugee camp. In 1977 he moved to the United States, and in 1982 Fili went to Egypt where he studied Arabic and Islamic Studies at the renowned Al-Azhar University. After the collapse of Communism in 1991, he returned to Albania where he contributed to the democratic life of his people. When the regime of Milosevic viciously attacked Kosova in 1999, Fili joined Mercy USA, a humanitarian organization, in order to help the refugees there. To this day he contributes to helping the needy in different parts of the world. Fili is married and has four children.
