photographed in the Museum „Site of Witness and Memory“, Shkodra

Born on February 19, 1938, in Gzeq, Mirditë, Gjeto Vocaj and his family faced persecution under the communist regime. His mother’s family was interned in Tepelenë, and his grandfather was executed by the regime. Despite these hardships, Gjeto managed to complete higher education in mathematics and worked for several years as a teacher in Dukagjin, Shkodër.

In November 1962, an article he published in the newspaper Mësuesi titled “Njiheni dhe ju Nikën e vogël” (“You Too Should Get to Know Little Nika”) caught the attention of dictator Enver Hoxha. Following a meeting with Hoxha, Gjeto’s family background, which had been kept under wraps until then, became a target of the State Security (Sigurimi). Gjeto Vocaj was arrested on September 15, 1979, on charges of agitation and propaganda. On March 27, 1980, the Shkodër Court found him guilty and sentenced him to 7 years in prison, along with a 5-year deprivation of voting rights. He served his sentence in Spaç and Ballsh for 3 years, 1 month, and 1 day, until he was released under an amnesty on November 15, 1982. During his imprisonment, his family was interned in the village of Pistull. One year after his release, Gjeto himself was interned for 5 years in the village of Karmë, near Koman. Until the fall of the regime, Gjeto Vocaj worked in construction, agriculture, and other physically demanding jobs.

He passed away during the preparation of this exhibition, on January 10, 2025