8For over three-hundred years, the Qafa
family name has been synonymous with
fighting for Albanian independence.
Since the 1600's, Qafa men have lost their
lives and taken lives fighting against the
Ottoman Turks, the Yugoslavian Serbs,
and the communists. Simon Qafa tells
the story of Pjeter Cup Qafa, his father
who was known as the legend of the
mountains for his role as one of the most
important freedom fighters of his day.
Simon's life is chronicled here with a roller
coaster journey from his childhood in
Albania and Kosovo, the seminary in Rome,
prison in New York, and as a family man
and active advocate against communi