Ali Geci
Ali Geci is a veteran of the Kosovo War in 1998, serving under the Kosovo Liberation Army (UÇK).
Life
Family
Ali Ramë Geci is the son of Ramë Geci, from the village of Lluka e Poshtme, Deçan. Geci comes from a well-respected family who is known for fighting in various previous wars, generation after generation.
Ali Geci had two notable brothers: Tahir Geci, who was imprisoned by Yugoslavia in 1983 with a 12-year sentence, and Elez Geci, who also served in the Kosovo War and was martyred, having his statue, along with that of Maxhun Berisha, placed at the entrance of the village.[1]
Ali Geci's father, Ramë Geci, was the son of Tahir Selim Geci, an Albanian national fighter against Montenegrin forces, brother of Lan Selim Geci, also an Albanian national fighter, sons of Selim Syla. Selim Syla was the son of Sylë Aliu, son of Ali Dema, who is the progenitor of this branch of the Gecaj family in Llukë, and who the family's kulla, built around the 1890s, was named after.[2] Ali Dema was the son of Demë Mehmeti, of Mehmet Uka, of Ukë Geci, son of Geci, who was a Catholic living in northern Albania, around the region of Shkodër.[3]
The Kulla of Ali Dema was historically significant as well, hosting many important historical figures, such as Isa Boletini, Hasan Prishtina, Bajram Curri, Ramë Binaku, Demë Ali Pozhari, Isuf Bardhoshi, and more.[4]
The Gecaj family in Lluka e Poshtme is very large and has split into various brotherhoods. For a brief period in the later 1900s, there existed a blood feud between two of the brotherhoods, which was resolved shortly after via forgiveness.
The Gecaj of this village are of the Alshiqa branch of the Berisha tribe, and are thus unrelated to the Gecaj of Llaushë, Skënderaj, which includes Gani Geci, Xhevahir Geci, Halit Geci, and other notable figures.
Other related families to the Gecaj are, according to Avdyl Hoxha, Dera e Dervish Danës in Gjakovë, Mjeku/Mjekiq of Graboc i Epërme and Shipitullë in Obiliq, and the Dajak of Rakinicë.[5]
UÇK
Ali Geci joined the rebel army together with his brother, Elez Geci, who was martyred during the war. Both Ali and Elez were part of the 131st Brigade "Jusuf Gërvalla".[6][7] Both Ali and Elez joined the war at the start, and Ali fought alongside Elez, who became the Deputy Commander for Morale, and later Commander of the brigade's 2nd Battalion.[8]
References
- ↑ "Ali R. Geci: Një natë lufte në truallin tim". Radio Kosova e Lirë.
- ↑ "Dr.sc. Bekim Vishaj: Kulla e Ali (Demë) Gecit objekt me vlera historike dhe kulturore". Radio Kosova e Lirë.
- ↑ Hoxha, Avdyl. 12 Fiset Shqiptare Sipas Kanunit Te Leke Dukagjinit. ISBN 9789951771030. Search this book on
- ↑ "Dr.sc. Bekim Vishaj: Kulla e Ali (Demë) Gecit objekt me vlera historike dhe kulturore". Radio Kosova e Lirë.
- ↑ Hoxha, Avdyl. 12 fiset shqiptare sipas kanunit të lekë dukagjinit. ISBN 9789951771030. Search this book on
- ↑ "Elez Ramë Geci (11.2.1951 – 28.3.1999)". Radio Kosova e Lirë.
- ↑ "Ali R. Geci: Një natë lufte në truallin tim". Radio Kosova e Lirë.
- ↑ "Elez Ramë Geci (11.2.1951 – 28.3.1999)". Radio Kosova e Lirë.
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