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Today, ten years since the death of Sokol Olldash, the incomparable friend, the talented journalist, the charismatic politician and the charming poet

2023-11-20 16:36:00, Aktualitet CNA

Today, ten years since the death of Sokol Olldash, the incomparable friend, the

Sokol Olldashi

It has been 10 years since that fateful night, with storm and deep night, night that came with death and was covered with a dense cloud of mystery. The journalist, deputy and former minister of the Democratic Party, Sokol Olldashi, had died in an alleged accident. He, the good friend of so many people, the talented journalist, he, the powerful voice of the democrats, the minister who became the terror of criminal groups, the fine poet, Sokol Olldashi was no more.

The terrible news filled the Albanian reality that evening before and after midnight, with sorrow, tears, news, hypotheses and theories, which lasted until the morning, to continue for days and months, without being able to shed a clear light and to give convincing arguments about the real reason for this sensational death.

I met Sokol Olldash for the first time at the headquarters of the Democratic Party, on the evening of December 23, 1997, I from the newspaper "55", with Agron Bala from "Radio Kontakt", Astrit Patoz from the newspaper "Rilindja Demokratike" and he of the newspaper "Albania".

I have tragically followed his loss on the ghastly evening of November 20 in the newspaper "Koha Jonë". It was late, late in the evening, with the rest of the staff putting the finishing touches on the next day's issue. It was raining endlessly when the publisher Nikoll Lesi arrived in the editorial office.

It rarely came when almost everything was over. Something had definitely happened. We held our breath.

Sokol Olldashi is dead, he said with trembling lips and tears in his eyes! He said that and entered his office.

His words fell like an explosion and silence in the newspaper premises. It was a long night. Chronicle reporters took and gave information wherever there was information, everywhere there was something about this sudden and tragic event.

Something unusual had happened, something shocking, Sokol Olldashi, the journalist and one of the most vocal activists of the Democratic Party, had died.

What was telegraphically said and which I never believed was that on November 20, 2013, Sokol Olldashi died after a serious car accident in Kërrabë. The accident happened in the evening, the cause of the accident was the wetness of the road and the high speed at which Olldashi was traveling. His car, due to the high speed and steep turn, lost control, falling 20 meters down into the abyss, killing him instantly.

And yet, after that long night and such senseless haste, Sokol Olldashi, the charming journalist and consistent politician, the good colleague and friend with the cigarette on his lips, the one you could trust in everything he said and did, because he was a human potential filled with great purpose and a powerful voice in that time of eerie silence.

He, the friend and colleague, Sokol Olldashi would no longer be, as he will remain an irreplaceable absence in DP and in the journalists' premises, when his voice and kindness left incandescent traces.

Whatever was said and done, he, the Falcon, would not be able to return. His death remained a mystery, as much as the senseless rush to find him an eternal resting place. Even today, after 10 years, the index finger has remained pointed towards someone or something, without being able to become a witness for the last fateful night of a life that was dedicated to journalism, politics, and poetry.

Eternity is deserved for your soul, friend and incomparable colleague, Sokol Olldashi!