With tears in her eyes and a trembling chin, Najada Anamali finds it difficult to speak on the day of farewell to her husband, the martyr Arben Anamali. They spent two decades together and gave birth to two children, a 17-year-old son, who today holds her hand, and a daughter. Amidst the pain, Najada says that the moment she learned about the incident in the lake, she would never have believed that Arben had drowned...
"We found out from a colleague who worked with Arben. He told me on the phone, Ada, come to Shiroka, Arben had an accident, I thought he was killed (injured) not that he lost his life. He was in very good health, there were no problems, it never occurred to me that he drowned. He was good at his job. The pain is very great.... I never thought about it...!" says Najada Anamali.
"The pain is great for his mother who we have at home, for me, the son and the daughter ," Najada further says.
Najada will always remember her husband as a man with a big soul who did everything for others. That's what happened on Tuesday afternoon, when the captain of the ship "Buna" jumped into the lake to save not 2 but 7 tourists.
They had entered the lake to bathe and because of the wind, they risked drowning.
The captain had warned them of the danger, but the tourists did not listen. He did not leave them alone, he jumped into the lake, saved them, even removing the life jacket from his body.
"He also gave the vest to the tourists. There were 5-7 tourists in the water, the exact number is unknown... but for us it is a great pain. He made a sacrifice...", said Nadaja Anamali.
His nephew, Mirsad Isufi, asks that institutions not forget his sublime act:
"We hope he is not forgotten and respected as a hero. Let's help his children, wife and mother. His act... we have no words. Ishalla will never be forgotten..."
Arben Anamali was declared a Martyr of the Fatherland after the heroic act of sacrifice. The funeral ceremony was attended by family members, citizens of Shkodra and representatives of local and central government. Meanwhile, President Bajram Begaj sent a letter of condolence to the Anamali family.