For 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 communism