The Qafa family name has been synonymous with fighting for Albanian independence for over three hundred years.
Since the 1600s, 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 communism.
DECEMBER 5, 1977
DETROIT, MICHIGAN
In a very modest home on Dane Street, a middle-class Detroit neighborhood, Pjeter and Liza Qafa raised their three sons and three daughters the best they could. The Albanian couple wanted their children to become Americans in every sense of the word and embrace the American way of life.
The Qafa family had immigrated to the United States to escape the suffocating, pathetic scourge of a life under communism in Albania.
Pjeter and Liza taught their children respect for the old Albanian ways of family devotion and the rules of the Kanun of Leke Dukagjini, devotion to the Roman Catholic Church, loyalty to their new adopted country, and a fervent disdain for communist rule. The Kanun, a compilation of northern Albanian traditional customary laws codified from oral history by a medieval prince, was a large part of the family's way of life.
It was the communist Albanian government that forced the Qafa family to flee the country which owned, or at least to attempt to own their very hearts and souls. ...
Romano, Louis: - Born in The Bronx, NY in 1950, Romano began his literary career in 2010 at age 60 after writing urban poetry since 18. He authored two poetry books, "Anxiety's Nest" and "Anxiety's Cure," which garnered a great response. He later penned a mob novel, "Fish Farm," followed by an award-winning screenplay and another mobster book, "BESA." Romano's recurring characters gained a dedicated readership. "GAME OF PAWNS" came out in 2016 and was a Pulitzer Prize contender, followed by "EXCLUSION: THE FIGHT FOR CHINATOWN" in 2018.In 2012, he launched the Vic Gonnella Series, featuring Detective Vic Gonnella and Raquel Ruiz, starting with "INTERCESSION," an Amazon Best Seller. The series includes "JUSTIFIED," "YOU THINK I'M DEAD," "THE BUTCHER OF PUNTA CANA," "THE PIPELINE: Terror for New York," and "SHANDA," with "THE SURGEON" in progress.Romano also authored a Teen/YA/Family series called "ZIP CODE," targeted at middle to high school students. His Heritage Collection Series began with "CARUSI: THE SHAME OF SICILY," followed by a collection of short stories titled "Things I Want to Tell You BEFORE I DROP DEAD."In the True Crime genre, he wrote "John Alite: Mafia International" and the Amazon Best Seller "BORN IN THE LIFE" about mobster Gene Borrello. He added a novella, "IN THEIR FOOTSTEPS: QAFA FAMILY 300 YEARS OF WAR," to the Heritage Collection Series in 2023.His latest work, co-authored with John Gjocaj in 2023, is "ON THE SIDE OF THE ROAD," along with "BESA" and "INTERCESSION," which are script-ready. For 2024, he has a new release titled "TRUST AND BETRAYAL: THE LEVIT FERNANDINI STORY," a True Crime book.Romano resides in Northern New Jersey.
