FLASH
Shkruar nga Afrim Imaj
"When we were doing the military ceremony, a student, dressed in black, came crying and placed a large bunch of flowers on Qemal's grave. The Russian named Natasha, the daughter of a famous general who had been killed in Stalingrad, returned several times to the grave of her beloved and parted with us at the end, promising us that she would come there often, so as not to they let the flowers wither".
"Every commander can be proud of a pilot like Qemal Mertiri. The calmness, courage and persistence with which he subjects the aircraft to every action make him omnipotent for every maneuver with him in the air...". Then the Russian aviation colonel, Duvakin, commander of the "Maria Raskova" aviation school, put his hand on the shoulder of the Albanian pilot, Qemal Mertiri, and wished him success in the next flight. That's what happened on that October afternoon in 1951, when our friend took off into the sky and never came back."
With these two emotional moments from the airport of Kochenjevo in Novosibirsk, Siberia, I begin the memories of his friend, Flamur Micko, one of the veterans of the Albanian Aviation. Their friend, who was going to fly that day for the last time, had left behind the example of a talented and brave pilot, but also the biography of the protagonist who had lived the time with her momentum. Therefore, Qemal Mertiri, with his sudden death and the funeral ceremony in and abroad, would bring to Albania a mystery that years and generations would pass on to each other as such...
A life on the journey: Tragjas-Novi Pazar-Siberia
He started from Tragjas when he was still young, passed through Novi Pazar and rested eternally in Novisibisk, Siberia. In this journey, the boy from Vlora, who started after the war devoted himself to the profession of pilot, engraved in his character many things from the epic of partisan battles. The will, high stability and courageous reaction made Qemal Mërtir stand out among his friends in his efforts to acquire the unknowns of the air giant. "He sat in the cockpit of the plane from the ranks of the partisan brigades", claims Flamur Micko, who had the opportunity to be one of his comrades in the partisan units. Still young, Qemal Mertiri had become part of the anti-fascist movement. First in the homeland, and then further with the fighters of the Fifth Assault Brigade to conclude with the military incursion outside the borders of the country for the liberation of the territories of Kosovo, Sanjak and Novi Pazar. It was this mission that would make him a man ahead of time and make him known in a very wide circle of friends. The triumph of victory would bring him back for just a few days to his mother who was waiting for him longingly there, at the foot of the mountains of Labëria. Then, the anti-fascist of the first hours, would take the road again, this time to be educated. "Qemali, adds Micko, was in the first group of Albanian anti-fascists who opened the first military school in Albania". Skanderbeg's years would pass quickly, and he, with the excellent diploma, would continue his further studies, this time abroad, at the high school of aviation in Russia. In a few years, Qemal Martiri would graduate as a fighter pilot, at the "Maria Raskova" academy, thus being registered in the first group of Albanian pilots after the Second World War. The high indicators and the passing of further tests gave him the opportunity to continue his qualifying studies at the high school of combat aviation "Red Flag" in Siberia, for the acquisition of fighter-interceptor planes for the purpose of detecting and destroying enemy planes that will violated Albania's air sovereignty. "There were seven of us from Albania in this school, remembers Micko. Qemali did not stand out only among us, but in the entire student body. I remember the excellent evaluations given to him by the commissar of the school, Colonel Vollkoll, one of the famous aviators of Stalingrad, who often said that any commander would be proud of a pilot like Qemali. "Eagle of the mountains of eagles" greeted him with a special feeling every time he returned from difficult flights, where he performed high piloting figures. His name had gone beyond the school auditoriums. "The pilot from Albania who excels in flight", as the high school girls near the airport used to say, became a beloved figure for them too...
The Albanian who dared to realize "Ranvesman"
Qemal Mërtiri ishte shqiptari i parë që guxoi të realizonte ushtrimin “Ranvesman”. Më shumë se guxim, ishte aventurë e jashtëzakonshme. Sfida “Ranvesman” kishte marrë emrin e pilotit gjerman që kishte mundur ta bindte avionin në një fluturim spektakolar dhe mjaft të rrezikshëm. Aventurën e tij e kishin ndjekur më vonë pilotët më të mirë të ish-Bashkimit Sovjetik, po në mjaft raste risku kishte qenë tragjik. Dëshira për t’u ngjitur te “Ranvesmani”, më në fund kishte ndezur edhe fantazinë e aviatorit nga Shqipëria, që ishte vetëm 22 vjeç. Dhe, “piloti që hipte në kabinën e avionit si mbi shpinën e kalit të vendlindjes”, një pasdite tetori, teksa përfundonte fluturimin e radhës, do të provonte të sfidonte “Ranvesmanin”…
Flamur Micko, që e ka përjetuar nga afër fluturimin e rrallë, e sjell me detaje atë që ndodhi në aeroportin e Koçinjevos pasditen e 12 tetorit të vitit 1951: “Ato ditë vazhdonim stërvitjen për t’u aftësuar në përdorimin luftarak të aviacionit dhe realizimin e ushtrimeve të pilotazhit të lartë. Ishte kjo një detyrë që realizohej në repartet e aviacionit, por meqenëse në vendin tonë akoma nuk ishin krijuar ato, me mirëkuptimin e autoriteteve përkatëse, do ta zhvillonim në shkollën “Flamur i Kuq”, sipas një programi special. Përvetësimi i tij nënkuptonte zgjidhje detyrash luftarake në ajër. Vazhduam disa ditë me fluturime intensive ku përpunonim ushtrime e figura komplekse, që kanë të bëjnë me cilësitë e pilotazhit të lartë. Kështu ndodhi edhe pasditen e 12 tetorit. Qemal Mërtiri ishte planizuar për fluturim me avionin JAK-9V në turin e dytë, që fillonte aty nga ora 16. U ngit në ajër, zgjidhi detyrat e dhëna në lartësinë mbi 3000 metra dhe teksa po kthehej, i kërkoi udhëheqësit të fluturimit, major Duvakinit, të kalonte në figurën Ranvesman. Pas hezitimit të këtij të fundit, do të vazhdonte këmbëngulja e Qemalit. Dhe aty për aty avioni ndërroi kurs, mori lartësi dhe filloi “vallen” Ranvensman. Pak çaste doli në pikiadë, u ngjit sërish, bëri palosjen 180 gradë dhe atëherë kur do të ulej, humbi nga kontrolli duke u futur në katastrofë ajrore, siç i themi ne pilotët. Në çast aeroportin e mbuloi heshtja. Tashmë, avioni dhe piloti, të bërë një trup i vetëm, ishin futur në thellësitë e tokës. Vrapuam për aty. Gjithçka kishte marrë fund. Ata të dy që vetëm pak momente më parë “loznin” Ranvesmanin në ajër, pushonin pa jetë në tokë. Aeroporti. Gjithçka ishte bërë shkrumb e hi. Mblodhëm çfarë gjetëm nga trupi i Qemalit dhe u kthyem me lot në sy në akademi. Heshtjen e dhimbjes provoi ta thyente i pari gjenerali. “Mbahuni vëllezër, na tha. Ju humbët një nga shokët më të mirë dhe ne një nga krenaritë e shkollës. Bashkë do ta kujtojmë gjithmonë Qemalin, pilotin trim dhe njeriun e guximit të jashtëzakonshëm. “Ranvesmani” shqiptar do të jetë gjithmonë i pranishëm në auditorët tanë në tokë dhe në qiell…”
Natasha, rusja që çonte lule te varri i Qemalit
Qemal Mërtiri would be escorted to his last apartment the next day, October 13. The commemorative procession made up of hundreds and hundreds of students and residents of the city would pay their respects and funeral tributes. On the lifeless body of the killed pilot, the school's commander, General Dushtini, would speak first. In his speech, what he often said about the pilot from Albania would be heard. "Today we follow one of the best pilots of the "Red Flag" school. Today we say goodbye to the aviator who worked hard and was exceptionally brave in the air. Qemal Mertiri was the aviator who rode in the cockpit as if on the back of his native horse and felt confident and powerful in every maneuver. Farewell our immortal friend! Farewell to the Albanian "Ranvesmani"!..."
While he fully recorded the pain of the moments of separation with his friend, Flamur Micko, who had the opportunity to give a farewell speech at that ceremony, also remembers another detail, related to the name of a Russian girl. "When we continued the military ceremony, a student, dressed in black, occasionally arranged the many flowers on Qemali's grave and wept and wept bitterly. The Russian named Natasha would return several times to her lover's grave and part with us at the end, promising us that she would come there often, so as not to let the flowers wither. In just a short time she had won the heart of our friend and felt doubly shocked when she remembered that her two dearest people "had a death in the air". Natasha was the only daughter of the commander of the famous "YLL-2" aircraft squadron, who was killed in the battles of Stalingrad during a duel in the air. She was one of the few Russian girls who managed to communicate in Albanian as well..."/ Pamphlet
Lini një Përgjigje