Vesel Veseli lived with his wife Fatima in Kruja, a mountain village in Albania. In 1943 his son Refik asked him to take in his Jewish friend and colleague Moshe Mandil and his family. He hoped to protect Mandil, his wife Gabriela, and their children Gavra and Irena from persecution by the German occupiers. Vesel Veseli agreed and went to Tirana with three donkeys to bring the Mandil family to Kruja via remote mountain paths. Later, Vesel’s oldest son Hamid asked his parents to hide another three persecuted Jews: Joseph Ben-Josef, his wife Ruzhica, and his sister Finiza. Vesel once again agreed. The Mandils and the Ben-Josefs lived in the Veselis’ house for nine months until Albania was liberated and they could return home. In 1987 Vesel Veseli, his wife Fatima, and their son Sohn Refik were the first Albanians to be honored as Righteous Among the Nations for their help.