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"The rafts of death"/ What happened to the 32 sons of Maqellara and the painful story of a mother

2023-01-11 21:44:19Aktualitet SHKRUAR NGA REDAKSIA VOX
"The rafts of death"/ What happened to the 32 sons of Maqellara and
What happened to the 32 sons of Maqellara

Hundreds of Albanians have lost their lives at sea, in desperate attempts by dinghies towards the so-called promised land. Some events have marked the lives of all Albanians.

In this Wednesday's episode, Inside Story has brought new details from the investigation file that still raise many questions about the tragedy. The investigation will also bring the event of the disappearance of 32 young boys from Dibra in 1996, suspected of having disappeared at sea.

The family members still refuse to remove them from civil status, raising many doubts about the true fate of the young boys of Maqellara.

The painful story, the son disappeared 27 years ago, the mother still keeps the costume

Shahije Beca, from Maqellara, has kept this costume fanatically since 1996. The time when her son Fatosi, only 25 years old, boarded the boat to go to Italy. But it never arrived.

"Two vans with boys, 32 boys have left for Vlora for a living and my son with them. They had no documents, no phone, they only had ragged clothes with them, there were very few old loots with them", said Shahije Beça.

In that vessel were 29 divers and 3 boatmen, of whom nothing is known since March 9, 1996. The family members have no news of them, no sign of whether their fate ended in the waters of Otranto or not.

Shahije Beça, 82 years old from the village of Vojnike, has been waiting for an answer for her son for 27 years. She quietly celebrates her missing son's birthdays and refuses to consider any tragic scenarios.

"I celebrate it sometimes, I celebrate it a lot", said Shahije Beça.

Little or nothing has been said about what is known as the Maqellara Tragedy. The young men, aged 18 to 35, were last seen by family members in the vans that transported them to Vlora on the morning of March 9, 1996. According to reports, they boarded the boat that evening and since then nothing has happened to them.

Gjurim Maksuti from Vojnikë village in Maqellare, in this boat were the two 18-year-old sons of the sample. Their mother, passed away without ever learning the truth about the boys.

"It's been 26 years today without receiving any news. Together with them are 32 people from Dibra, and at that time they left Vlora by boat, got on it and since that day we have no news from them", said Gjurim Maksuti.

But what happened on this mysterious journey?

What is known is the fact that the boat was bought new and arrived in Vlora the same day from Italy. Qemal Veizi, the brother of the owner of the boat, has undertaken to drive the vehicle.

In the morning, when the boat did not return, the boatman's brothers began to worry. They immediately contacted their people in Italy, who told them that no boat had arrived. They contacted the Guadia di Finanza if they had caught any boats during that night, but again received a negative response. Then they went out in search themselves, with a trawler they owned, but could find no sign.

The only house that has opened the doors of the mortuary and has a grave where his son cries is the family of Sulejman Qoku, from the village of Kllopçisht in Maqellara. His body was found in Italy two days later, and it is suspected that he was in the boat with the other Dibrans.

"He used to go to Sula's grave and say: O Sula, you know where my son is, tell me where my son is. He was dead, but from the pain", said Gjurim Durici.

What happened to the 32 sons of Maqellara? The deputy of Dibra confesses what the Italians told him

Agron Qoku, at that time the deputy of Dibra, followed this event step by step. He had lost his cousin Suleiman.

"I was in the assembly when I found out about the event, there was an announcement that the corpse of Sulejman Qokun, my cousin, was found in Vlora. It was a stormy day, I learned that there were 32 people, I went to Italy again with an Interpol officer and his brother, where they identified the corpse of Sulejman Qoku" said Agron Qoku, former deputy of Dibra

At that time, it is said that a surface check was carried out by the Italian side, but nothing could be found.

"After 6 weeks, a phonogram comes from Italy, the dead bodies of 4 people were found in the fishermen's nets... and we tried to find identification documents or Albanian currency, we took photos, but none of them could recognize any relatives. It was difficult, then I know that they did a complete search in the sea, but I don't know how deep, since it was probably impossible to search much deeper at that time", said Agron Qoku, former deputy of Dibra.

The tragic news was conveyed with only a simple chronicle at the time. The country was gripped by the fever of the parliamentary elections of May 1996. The family members claim that their tragedy was neglected.

"We have not been stopped for a single day, and our open door was only to Safet Zhulali, Minister of Defense and our MP Agron Qoku. The interior minister gave us promises but still nothing", said Gjurim Maksuti, a family member.

"The state has not acted well in this regard, because it has not given me any answer. Say what you know, don't withdraw into the ranks and hide from the family, because there is no one. This event is not unique in the world. I am 82 years old and you lose 32 stars without a name without a mole, only we have been harmed," said Shahije Braç, a family member.

In May 1996, after a request from the Albanian authorities, an Italian frigate carried out an in-depth search at sea, but could not find anything.

"They brought the tape and we saw it and they told us that the Italian frigate has checked the sea and there is nothing in the sea. Then the question arises, if they are not in the sea, then where are they? If we had an answer, the case would be closed," said Gjurim Duriçi, a family member.

"It is impossible to find a sign after four months. I would say even a week is too much. For example, when Reina 1 sank in October 2011, it sank for 3 minutes and 15 seconds, and 24 hours after it sank, a Turkish frigate came to search for survivors and found none," said Artur Meçollari, former chief of D2D Headquarters.

The disappearance of the Maqellara boys/ The family members still hope that they will be kept in prison in Greece

Family members firmly believe another scenario that borders on a thriller. They are convinced that their sons have been taken hostage in Greek waters and have replaced several prisoners who escaped from the Corfu prison on March 10, 1996. They believe that these boys are still alive in a high-security prison in Corfu.

"They are of the opinion that the boat did not sink, but they are taken hostage. Where were they based that the boat did not sink? They say that 17 people escaped from the prison of Corfu and the Greek police were in control and they were caught, and after two weeks a Vlonjat came to them and told them that he saw them on TV Mega and they have a party, but this is a mystery", said Gjurim Duriçi, family member

"The boy spoke after 4 months, the boy said that we planned a break. We replaced the group of Zani Caushi", said Shahije Beça, a family member

Other residents of the area who were immigrants in Greece swear that they saw their family members get off the boat during a police operation on March 10, 1996.

Even in this document of the Vlora prosecutor's office that "Inside Story" has provided, it is said that within the framework of the investigation for this event, the prosecution body has blocked various writings about this event.

Among them is a statement by a group for human rights in Greece, according to which 29 Albanians were arrested in March 1996 and their whereabouts are unknown. According to the prosecution, this event coincides with the opening of the Corfu prison. Family members and witness Engjellush Veizi, the boatman's brother, claim that the people who were on this boat are being held in Corfu. In front of the prosecution body, 4 other witnesses confirmed this. Among the testimonies, it is said that the citizen Fatos Beça, from the village of Vojnik in Maqellara, has been working in Macedonia for two years, where there is also a testimony on a private radio called "Arze". It is said that this person was on the boat and, in the absence of a mobile phone, announced through this radio that they were safe and sound.

Malik Keshi, who had his 22-year-old brother in that raft, headed towards Greece. He asked the television if such a chronicle had been broadcast, but the television denied such a thing. They were contacted by a private detective, who retired after two months.

"With the Greek private police, it went as far as discovery, we accepted the offer that we would pay so much lek, they told us not to deal with this anymore because it is dangerous," said Gjurim Duriçi, a family member 

"The state doesn't answer, it showed us the sinking, but to sink in no way, because the boy himself declared it," said Shahije Beçaj, a family member 

However, as this document also shows, the Greek authorities themselves deny that they are aware of this event.

The former MP's appeal: The Maqellara incident can only be solved through the DNA of the 4 bodies

Former deputy Agron Qoku still has a hostage from this whole story. The DNA of the 4 drowned people who were found shortly after the event in 1996 has not been done. Perhaps, some light could be shed as photo identification for decomposed bodies is inaccurate.

"More than 26 years have passed and they do not know the truth about the fate of their family members, whether they are alive or not. Even I, with the information that I had on someone, am not able to say whether they are alive or not. The only chance to reveal a part of the truth; I think the time has come for the state to undertake the DNA of the four bodies that were found in 1996, if they still exist and can be proven in this way then they were on that boat and their fate is sealed in the waters of Otrato" said the former deputy of Dibra, Agron Qoku

"You don't want to shave me against that boy, but the burning is here, my daughter. My daughter's heart is rotten", said Shahije Beça, family member.


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