photographed at the Historical National Museum in Tirana

Born in 1980 and 1982, respectively, in the village of Gradishtë, Lushnjë, where their family lived in harsh conditions under internment, Ritvana and Lurian Mena’s lives were marked from the beginning as “children of an enemy.” Their grandfather and relatives were fiercely persecuted as regime opponents and nationalists – many were killed, imprisoned, or interned. The family’s home in Lurë, Pukë, known as the “Bajraktar’s Tower”, was burned and destroyed.

This family tragedy had a direct impact on Ritvana and Lurian’s lives. As children, they endured insults and discrimination both in school and in their daily lives. Brother and sister remained in internment until September 1990, when the Mena family left Gradishtë for Tirana, hoping to rebuild their lives in a new era and starting from scratch.

Ritvana pursued her studies in Tirana, while Lurian attended a military high school in Turkey before returning to Albania. Today, Ritvana works as an English teacher, and Lurian is a football instructor. Their childhood experiences during the internment are featured in the documentary “The Children of the Dictatorship.”