The nephew of Rexhep Qosja, Valjet Qosja, has published a testament written by the distinguished academic 10 years ago, in which he requests that his funeral be held without ceremony. “Since I have lived and thought, for most of my life, expressing critical views toward rulers and their powers, I wish to be buried without any official presence,” the testament states.
The academic asks to be laid to rest without religious rituals and without any official attendance. “I want my funeral to be conducted only by my family,” it says, adding, “no speeches, no media, no flowers, near the grave of my wife, Shpresa.”
Full testament:
TO MY NEPHEW VALJET
WHO TOOK CARE OF MY LIFE AND FROM WHOM I ASK TO TAKE CARE OF MY BURIAL AS WELL
Since I have lived believing in scientific thought, in spiritual elevation, and in the social progress it makes possible, I wish to be buried without religious ritual.
Since I have lived and thought, for most of my life, expressing critical views toward rulers and their powers, I wish to be buried without any official presence.
I want my funeral to be carried out only by my family.
Since I have tried to live simply, I also wish to be buried simply: no speeches, no media, no flowers, near the grave of my wife Shpresa.
I die in peace. As I have dedicated my life, intellectual work, and political activity to the freedom, unity, and democratic well-being of the Albanian people, I can say that I owe nothing to Albania as a state, nor to Kosovo—neither to its present nor its future. If Kosovo owes something to me, that will be for future historians of Albanian literature, culture, and political thought to decide.
I do not think I die without any sins.
Since I grew up, lived, and worked in political and social conditions that, even after the liberation of Kosovo and the creation of its state, remained very harsh, I cannot say that my expressed disagreements were always free from judgments and evaluations harsher than they should have been. Nevertheless, I face my burial convinced that I have lived, created, and acted by doing good, by preaching goodness, and by spreading humanity.
I wrote these thoughts while conscious and of clear mind.
Your grandfather,
Valjet
Rexhep Qosja
(Signature)
Prishtina, April 30, 2016
