Family Of Ali & Nadia Kazazi

Our grandfather sheltered refugees from the war in Yugoslavia in 1913. Our father was illiterate, and very kind-hearted. He was a baker.

This is the neighborhood in Tirana where we lived and sheltered the Solomon family. It was a very friendly neighborhood in Tirana and everyone, including the children, knew we were sheltering a Jewish family. We gave the family Muslim names. Matilda and Memo played with us in the inner courtyard. The father and mother were terror stricken, but when there were searches our Jewish guests were able to hide by scrambling through connecting doorways to other homes. Those were dangerous times.

For six months in 1943, we sheltered the Solomon family -- David and Esther Solomon and their children, Matilda and Memo. We now know that Memo's real name was Mori Amarilio Solomon. Esther was a dressmaker. She sewed gold into her dress as a potential source of survival.

Memo became a teacher of music in Beersheba, Israel. He now lives in Jerusalem. Matilda is a businesswoman in Israel.

Our parents were not very religious, but they believed in the Koran and Besa. Without the Koran there is no Besa. Without Besa there is no Koran. For the heart there is no color of skin. No man or woman can forget God.