In an interview for the show “Me Zemër të Hapur,” Zenel Mata, Bleona Mata’s grandfather, spoke about his granddaughter’s disappearance 16 years ago.
Të lidhura
None found
He recounted details from the day of the disappearance, while denying that there had been any conflicts.
Mata says that on 22 May, the day Bleona disappeared, he was mowing near the house and had seen the girl playing in the village.
After the report of her disappearance, according to him, village residents and authorities mobilized for searches, while he says that for about two weeks searches were also carried out in mountainous areas, without result.
He says his suspicions are connected to a family in Vlora, but during the interview he does not present evidence to support this suspicion.
The grandfather also mentions testimony about a car from Vlora that, according to information he had received, was seen moving at speed from Zapoti toward Kukës.
He also says that his wife had seen a person with long hair leaving in the direction of the mountain.
“A car from Vlora passed at speed from Zapoti toward Kukës. I asked those who had seen it; they testify that they saw two covered women in the car. The workers in the fields told this. My wife was at home and saw a man from behind; he went after the girls up into the mountain, with long hair, and he must have been masked,” he said.
He says he has contact with his former daughter-in-law Bukuria and no contact even with his son, while he communicates with his grandson very rarely.
Regarding Bleona’s fate, the grandfather says he continues to believe that she is alive.
INTERVIEW
Anila Ahmataj: Hello, Mr. Zenel!
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): Hello!
Anila Ahmataj: How are you? How are you doing?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): Fine, fine, I mean.
Anila Ahmataj: Sorry to bother you. Mr. Zenel, I called you because I wanted to ask you a little about the recent developments, about the testimonies that have been given on television, regarding Bleona Mata…
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): Ah…
Anila Ahmataj: And we would also like to hear your version, because your family is often mentioned during the interviews that her mother gives in the media.
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): Yes… Yes… Yes, what is it?
Anila Ahmataj: Now, what is your opinion on all those statements given in television studios, where you are automatically included through her testimony?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): There is no problem from our side. God willing, she will be found! If anyone gives any news, yes…
Anila Ahmataj: Do you believe she will be found?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): Of course we believe. Because we have no problems with anyone, and the girl is still…
Anila Ahmataj: And you yourself, Mr. Zenel, what do you remember from May 22?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): What do I remember? Everything, the dark day.
Anila Ahmataj: Why?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): It was a black day for us.
Anila Ahmataj: What do you recall?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): What do I recall? Now a lot of time has passed, a lot of time has passed…
Anila Ahmataj: And where were you that day, do you remember? Where were you that day?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): That day I was mowing near the house.
Anila Ahmataj: What happened next?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): I was watching the girl playing here in the middle of the village…
Anila Ahmataj: Yes…
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): Then the girl called and said: “Has Bleona come home?” And we checked around the village, the whole village mobilized, everyone, almost the commune, and we went out to search in the mountain.
Anila Ahmataj: Yes…
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): And we searched for two weeks… and we found nothing.
Anila Ahmataj: Your wife has given testimony; did she see a car that day?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): From what I was told somewhat, a car from Vlora passed at speed toward Kukës. They had seen two women, they were in the car, but they were covered, she says, “with headscarves.”
Anila Ahmataj: Who says this?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): Those who had been working, those workers in the fields.
Anila Ahmataj: And your wife, your spouse?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): The wife was also at home. She saw a man, she says, going after the girls toward the mountain, with long hair, masked.
Anila Ahmataj: And that day, your daughter, Bleona’s aunt, was she with Bleona?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): That day she was, she was up with the cows.
Anila Ahmataj: Alone without Bleona?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): No, Bleona was playing here in the middle of the village.
Anila Ahmataj: And she herself, your daughter, Bleona’s aunt, what does she tell about the event or about that day?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): What can she say… Bleona came, she says, with those other girls, with Qamile… She was eating cherries, she says, and she gave her bread, she says, to eat. At that moment, she says, she looked at the cows, because they had gone far away. And she set off, she says, to bring the cows back. When she came back, she didn’t find Bleona.
Anila Ahmataj: I understand. And you yourself, Mr. Zenel, have you had any conflict of the feud type with your neighbors?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): No, no, no, no, no, no, no.
Anila Ahmataj: With the neighbors, with the people around?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): No, no, we haven’t had any. We haven’t had any at all.
Anila Ahmataj: And at that time, what were your thoughts about Bleona’s disappearance? What did you think yourself?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): What can I say now? She was kidnapped. Someone took her…
Anila Ahmataj: Because in some testimonies Bukuria says that you have had conflicts with your neighbors.
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): No, listen! Yes. Conflicts with those where, with those, we are almost one clan.
Anila Ahmataj: Have you ever had a conflict with them?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): No, no, we have never had a conflict! On the contrary, we have always had weddings, exchanging brides together.
Anila Ahmataj: And your son, how were his relations with Bukuria?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): Zamir has always been abroad. Not in Macedonia, not here. She was at home. What can I say now? I haven’t been interested in those problems. They were fine, they were not bad.
Anila Ahmataj: I understand. And has your son himself ever shown interest in Bleona?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): No, no, no, no! Since Bleona went missing, he has had no connection with her, nor with any family.
Anila Ahmataj: So you don’t talk, you have no communication with your son?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): No, no!
Anila Ahmataj: And why has this cooling happened?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): That’s exactly the whole story. The girl disappeared… Bukuria left…
Anila Ahmataj: I understand. And why did they separate, why did they divorce?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): How do I know now, the girl went missing, Bukuria left, they separated.
Anila Ahmataj: And your relationship with Bukuria, how is it?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): It was good, well good, I don’t have anything like that, it was good. Me, on the contrary, I stayed with Bukuria, I went there to search for her, everywhere.
Anila Ahmataj: Yes, I know. And do you have communication with your grandson?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): With the grandson, rarely; I go to Kukës now. When I go to Kukës, then I meet him, yes.
Anila Ahmataj: And how does he behave toward you?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): Well, rarely, he is good, he behaves well, yes…
Anila Ahmataj: What do you suspect, Mr. Zenel, and what do you think about this matter? What is, that is to say, your opinion or your hope?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): My hope is that she is found, that Bleona will be found.
Anila Ahmataj: So you think Bleona is alive?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): She will be alive, alive, she must be. Do you hear? I always suspect, always, this family from Vlora.
Anila Ahmataj: Why?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): Because she had two daughters, he had. The first daughter married a soldier here. And she, since she apparently had no children, as it is said, went to Germany or… who knows where… She must have taken her.
Anila Ahmataj: And after all this noise that was made with the Vlora family, have you had any contact from these family members?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): No, no, because they are in Vlora. They have not moved here at all.
Anila Ahmataj: Have they ever called you to ask what this testimony is, why do you accuse us?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no! They have… no connection at all. The accusation was only that the car was from Vlora and…
Anila Ahmataj: Yes. So you… you are telling me that you suspect this family in Vlora?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): Of course! There is no other. My mind always goes there, to that witness.
Anila Ahmataj: And why does Bukuria, in some form, accuse you directly as a family?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): Well, how do I know now? Those are her thoughts… I had very good relations with her, we respected her, she respected us, she was very respectful.
Anila Ahmataj: Because according to her testimony, the accusations fall on you, your wife, your son…
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): Well, what can I say now? She is right now, because the girl went missing. My daughter was there, but when she came back she did not find Bleona at all.
Anila Ahmataj: And has your daughter had any communication with this Vlora family?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): Well, we were cousins, man! They used to come… she had no connection, she was small, yes… They used to come here, we always went there.
Anila Ahmataj: Has Qamile cooperated?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): No, no! Qamile is young. She has been troubled with a foolish accusation now.
Anila Ahmataj: I understand. When did you last speak with Bleona’s mother, with Bukuria?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): How do I know? I’ve forgotten now… because I’ve also lost her number.
Anila Ahmataj: How many years has it been since you haven’t spoken to each other?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): That’s how it is. He blocked me or whatever he did, I don’t have her number now…
Anila Ahmataj: And why don’t you ever try to call your son?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): Well, I don’t have the number, man! He doesn’t even answer me on the phone, nothing. I don’t even have conversation with him.
Anila Ahmataj: And through your grandson, have you never tried to get in touch with Bukuria?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): But he doesn’t answer the phone either.
Anila Ahmataj: Have you… has it been a long time since you spoke with your grandson?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): It has been a long time, a very long time. It may be two or three years.
Anila Ahmataj: I understand, that is a lot. What do you want to say to your son, so what is your message you convey to your son?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): For Zamir?
Anila Ahmataj: Yes, for Zamir.
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): Well, if he is listening, but I don’t think so. He doesn’t have a phone.
Anila Ahmataj: If he is listening… If he is listening, what would you say to him?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): To take an interest in us!
Anila Ahmataj: Has he married, has he built a life? How many children does he have?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): Yes, he has a daughter.
Anila Ahmataj: He has a daughter.
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): Yes.
Anila Ahmataj: What is the girl’s name?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): Anxhela.
Anila Ahmataj: All right. What would you say to Bukuria if she is also listening, because she will certainly hear this interview?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): If she is listening, she should call me because I don’t have her number, I’ve lost it… That’s how it is… and we can talk, no problem. I respect her exactly like my own daughter, her too.
Anila Ahmataj: And for Bleona, your granddaughter, what would you say?
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): What can a person say… I am very sad about her. If she is listening… even if she may not be listening, but if she hears me, she should let at least one family member know… from Bukuria or from these, that “I am alive and I am here.”
Anila Ahmataj: I understand. Thank you very much, Mr. Zenel!
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): No problem, and I thank you very much for the respect and interest you have!
Anila Ahmataj: Thank you! All the best!
Zenel Mata (Bleona’s grandfather): All the best!
