MARA BUNEVA 1903-1928
Mara was born in 1901, in the town of Tetovo. Her father was for a while the mayor of Tetovo, and is remembered as an honorable politician, who worked for all the citizens, regardless of ethnicity or economic status. Mara began her education in Tetovo's Bulgarian primary school and graduated with honours from Tetovo's junior high school. When the Serbs returned to Macedonia after World War 1, Mara left Tetovo and went to live with her brother in Bulgaria. She married the officer Ivan Hrankov. An ideal wife, a loving sister and friend, little did they suspect that Mara would soon astound everybody with her bravery and valour.
The Internal Macedonian Revolutionary Organization was revived after World War 1 by Todor Alexandrov, and the goal which the Organization strived for was a free and independent Macedonia - a Switzerland of the Balkans. A large number of young people, both in Macedonia and outside it, flocked to support the Organization in any way they could. Among these younger people were Mara Buneva and her brother. Some helped out using legal means - writing articles, organizing protests, forming a large union of Macedonian societies in Bulgaria as well as the MPO in the USA, Canada and Australia, while others volunteered to into Macedonia and carry out one of IMRO's orders. Among the latter was Mara Buneva.
In 1927, the Serbs discovered that a number of Macedonian students were secretly members of IMRO. Twenty students were jailed, and subjected to the most horrible tortures imaginable. The man who personally led the torturers was none other that the sadistic Velimir Prelich. The people of Macedonia spoke of Prelich with revulsion and horror. It seemed that they were powerless against this cruel inquisitor.
But Mara had an idea. She shared it with some of the advisors of Todor Alexandrov and permission was given for Mara to carry out her plans. No one else knew about this idea of hers, not even her husband or her brother. She returned to Macedonia and lived with her aged parents and tirelessly worked to fulfill the task the Organization had given her.
Soon, Mara shocked everyone. She started to spend time with Serb colonists, who had recently settled in Macedonia. She would leave Tetovo and spend months in Skopie, toiling long hours as a seamstress to support herself. Her father bombarded Mara's brother with letters begging him to convince Mara to return to her husband. But to no avail. The only person privy to Mara's plans was her sister Nadka.
On January 13, 1928, Mara decided to put her plan into motion. On the historic stone bridge over the Vardar River, Mara met Velimir Prelich and in broad daylight, fired several bullets into Prelich. After that, she said to the passersby: "I love Macedonia and I am dying for her!". She then shot herself, rather than falling into the hands of Prelich's torturers. Thus Macedonia was free of one of the most odious and sadistic officials of the Serb regime.
During the long years of Serbian and Serbo-communist rule, Mara's memory has been kept alive by Macedonian patriots from generation to generation. But she has been persona non grata to the governments of the old kingdom of Yugoslavia, to Tito's Yugoslavia as well as to the governments of the Republic of Macedonia. On January 13, 2007, a group of Macedonian citizens were honoring the heroism of Mara were attacked by "hooligans", who proceeded to beat aged pensioners with clubs and rocks. A number of people sustained injuries, among who was Miroslav Rizinski. During the attack, the hooligans were screaming "Die Bulgarians" and "Bugari, Tatari". The fact that the police had all their cell phones off, when people called for help shows that they and probably the government knew about the attack and had approved it.
The MPO has also never forgotten about Mara's sacrifice. Mara Buneva figures prominently in numerous articles in the Macedonian Tribune, in the historic Makedonski Almanac published in 1940, whose editor was Peter Atzeff, and other MPO publications. One of the Ladies' Sections here in Toronto proudly bore the name Mara Buneva. And last but not least, numerous pictures of Mara Buneva proudly adorn the picture displays at the annual MPO Conventions.
Let us then pause and remember Mara Buneva, because the freedoms which we take for granted sometimes, come at the cost of much suffering and blood. We who are descendants of Macedonian immigrants should remember that in the old country, there are still people who do not yet enjoy the same freedoms that we have.