The non-governmental organisations Centre for Civic Education (CCE), the Antifascists of Cetinje and UL Info have submitted an initiative to the Municipality of Ulcinj, the Municipal Assembly of Ulcinj and the Council for Proposing the Names of Settlements, Streets, Squares and Institutions to have a street in Ulcinj named after Rizo Šurla, an Ulcinj photographer, a participant in the National Liberation Struggle (NLS), an actor and the best-known member of the Afro-Ulcinj community.
Rizo Šurla (also known as Rizo Harapi) was born in 1922 in Ulcinj, into an Afro-Albanian family. His father, Saidi, was a direct descendant of the first Africans who lived in Ulcinj. In his youth, Rizo Šurla took up boxing and worked in the hospitality sector in Dubrovnik, while he learned the craft of photography in Belgrade. During the Second World War, he joined the Partisan movement and enlisted for the Srem Front. He was wounded during the National Liberation Struggle (NLS). After the war, he returned to Ulcinj, where he opened the first photo shop, “Pinješ”, in 1952 and for a long time was the town’s only photographer. He is also remembered for his role in the 1976 TV drama Jagoš and Uglješa. He was one of the symbols of Pristan and the Bojana River – a fisherman, a football enthusiast and a bohemian. He died in Ulcinj in 2003. He was among the last members of families of African origin in this town.
A well-known anecdote from the Second World War concerns officer Mitar Bakić, who, together with a group of officers of the National Liberation Army, led by General Peko Dаpčević, toured the units on the Srem Front, including the Montenegrin brigades. When he noticed, among the fighters, a black man in a Partisan uniform, he asked him who he was, and he replied that he was from Ulcinj.
The Afro-Ulcinj community had existed since the 16th century, as Ulcinj was a maritime and pirate port, and enslaved people were sold at what was then the Slave Square. In the 19th century, members of this community gained their freedom and began the process of integration into the local environment, making Ulcinj a unique example of an intercultural town on the Adriatic. When Montenegro was recognised at the Berlin Congress in 1878, around a hundred people of African origin lived in Ulcinj.
The mural of Rizo Šurla was painted in 2021 on the staircase leading to the former “Galeb” Hotel in Ulcinj, alongside other prominent figures from Ulcinj’s history, thereby, in a way, already paying tribute to him.
We recall that the Municipality of Ulcinj was the first municipality in Montenegro to adopt the Charter on Social Cohesion,“demonstrating a commitment to building a more open and more cohesive society, founded on equality and respect”, as stated at the time.
We consider that naming a street after the most prominent Ulcinj native of African origin, whose community has for centuries been a distinctive feature of this town and has contributed to its development, would represent a strong symbolic act of recognition, particularly given that Ulcinj has no streets named after them, although there are a number of localities whose names refer to this community.
CCE, the Antifascists of Cetinje and UL Info consider that Rizo Šurla, in accordance with the Law on Memorials, meets the criteria for a distinguished person, given his contribution to the community, culture and the fight against fascism.
Interculturalism and the nurturing of diversity are among the fundamental values of Montenegro that we should take pride in. By naming a street after Rizo Šurla, institutional preservation of the memory of his life and work would be ensured, as would the memory of the contribution of the Afro-Ulcinj community, so that new generations, too, have the opportunity to learn about them.
Centre for Civic Education (CCE)
Antifascists of Cetinje
UL Info