At the University of Tetova today was promoted the book “American Dream” – An extraordinary story of Beqir Potka, from communist hell to the promised land”. In the preface of this book it is stated that this publication tells the agony and revival of the protagonist, the youth experienced under the dictatorship, the moments of escape from the Hell of Europe, communist Albania, the most isolated country in the world until the fall of the Berlin wall, then the stay in the middle ground, in the Greek Purgatory of the camp with political fugitives from all European countries in Greece, and further the pilgrimage, but also the spiritual, physical and moral revival in the United States of America.
Dean of the Faculty of Philology, Prof. Dr. Berton Sulejmani, in his speech he stated that this book is not only the story of an individual, the living dead of Beqir Potka, who escaped at the time of shootings and barbed wire, but it is the testimony of thousands of lives that for the sake of freedom dared and defied the impossible. “This impressive story, with incomparable sacrifices in terms of the dimension of courage and faith, skillfully written by our writer and colleague, Eris Rusi, also includes the period when Beqir Potka first set foot on American soil, to whom it seemed as if he had passed through a dream the journey that in an unwavering moment says to himself: Beqir Potka, you are one of the only ones who survived the barbed wire, escaped from Albania as a living dead! Now is the time of the great truth: Build your life and live. It is also a special honor for the Faculty of Philology of the University of Tetova, which, in addition to the educational and scientific work it carries out in all three study cycles, the professional academic staff has supported and will support authors and writers”, said among other things the Dean of the Faculty of Philology, Prof. Dr. Berton Sulejmani.
Vice-Rector for International Relations, Prof. Dr. Salajdin Salihu said that the book “American Dream” speaks about the incomparable will of man against slavery. “It is a book about Beqir Potka, today a successful businessman in the United States, who distinguished the regime from the homeland. Because regimes are transitory, while the homeland is permanent. It is a book about “a boy from Lavdari, who carpeted the whole America”, who “did not suffocate the life that could have enlightened him”, as Sabato says. Nikolai Berdayev recognized three mental structures: master, slave and free man. Master and slave are not free and cannot live without each other. They are in permanent interdependence. The free man is like no one. He is neither a master (because he does not want to rule others) nor a slave (because he does not want to be ruled). Potka is one of the free people, who with his example proves that the road to the Olympus of success is a thorny road”, emphasized the Vice-Rector for International Relations, Prof. Dr. Saladin Salihu.
The author of the book, Eris Rusi, said that this book is an extraordinary historical description of Mr. Beqir Potka’s journey from communist hell to the American dream. “Mr. Potka’s life is a life that goes beyond the limits of the individual. He has proven that thanks to courage and a necessity to be reborn in a free land. Man can escape even from barbed wire, can escape from communist hell and live, free, embodying the ideal that can then be illustrations for the life of young people. Today’s event takes place in the wake of a series of other activities that we have organized for the presentation of the book. The book has a great breath because it manages to attract all those readers who not only relate to the journey and vicissitudes and successes of Mr. Potka, but also imagine that their life is a life which does not have to have limitations. This book has already been translated into English, it will be published also in the USA, where Mr. Potka exercises his professional activity, and I believe that a book which I will speak internationally will be a good proof to show that even foreign readers can be passionate about extraordinary stories like Mr. Potka,” said the author of the book, Eris Rusi.
The protagonist of this book, Beqir Potka, emphasized that it is a privilege to come to the University of Tetova, since all Albanian lands have supported the book “American Dream”, and he feels very satisfied that the University of Tetova invited him to come here. “I believe that this book will be very pious for students and for all Albanians that if you believe in God, you believe in yourself, neither electric wires nor bullets will stop you from becoming what you should become, and after that, after accomplishing something, you must serve the people, the society, so that we can be together for a better cause. The book inside has a very special story and it has received a very big echo and it has a motivation, it has the story of how four generations and two generations were tortured by the communist system and it had to be made a book, to show how a dead man who is being resurrected can achieve his goal and manage to write history so that people to be encouraged, to know that a dream always comes true if you believe in God and yourself”, said himself the protagonist of the book, Beqir Potka.
This book is not only the individual story of a man, but an illustration of the spirit that manages to challenge the impossible, seek the light and find the path of salvation, through perseverance and courage to challenge everything that comes forward as an obstacle.
