Elez 1

Nina Elez
Dr. Sterling
ENGL 1301
17 October 2016
Balkan Perspective
Deep in the Balkan Mountains, the city of Paviii lies. Time has stopped in this small
rural town. There are no cars, busy streets, or industries. A white cabin is the only building that
stands in a sea of green brush. Inside the house, the Elez family gets ready for dinner. Outback a
young boy chops wood for a fire. Mico, come inside for dinner. Thats enough wood for
tonight. That would be the last peaceful family dinner Mico Elez had.
Even though Mico lived in a quiet town, religious conflicts still managed to wiggle its
way in. It all started in 1459 when the Turkish Empire attacked the Balkan region and tried to
convert its residents to Islam. The Turkish Empire gave the Balkan residents an ultimatum to
either convert to Islam or be killed. Ever since then, hostility grew between Muslim Bosnians
and Orthodox Bosnians. The year 1943 proved its hostility towards Mico and his family It was
an early fall morning. My father, two brothers, and I had gone outside to herd the sheep. Out in
the distance, a group of Muslim Bosnians began to make trouble. They started to interrogate my
father, criticize his beliefs, and ask for money. My mother quickly came out and hid me and my
older brother, but she couldnt find the youngest. We hid in the basement when all of a sudden a
gun was fired. Not thirty seconds went by when we heard another loud shot again. That day
Micos father and younger brother were killed. The death of two family members had a drastic
mental and physical effect on Mico which would impact the course of his life forever.

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Micos mother did the best she could to put food on the table. Without a father to support
the house, feeding four children was tough. Because his mother couldnt support the family on
her own, Mico and his older brother took up more responsibility. They herded sheep, chopped
wood, helped clean, cooked, and helped keep the house running. As the years went by, Mico
eventually married a beautiful young woman from a nearby town. They lived a simple life, had
three kids, and built a house in the same town. There was something repetitive about Micos life
that irked him. I got tired of living a rural life. My ancestors had lived the same life I was living.
I felt like I deserved something more than a life of farming and herding. And after the death my
mother, I tried to find a positive outcome in all the devastation. That positive outcome was a
fresh start. A fresh start away from the dark past that pulled Mico back.
The Elez family had lived their entire lives secluded from urbanization. Mico was the
first family member daring enough to pick up his family and leave for a new city in Bosnia. In
the city of Sarajevo, Mico found a job as a blacksmith. He spent most of his days heating metals
while his wife worked in a kitchen, and his kids went to school. My life in Sarajevo was a
drastic change from my life in Paviii. At the beginning, I was really happy with where my life
was at. My family didnt have any problems and there was more than enough food on the table.
Even though I was in a new city, the religious conflicts did not stop. In fact, there were more
fights between Muslim Bosnians and Orthodox Bosnians, then I had ever experienced. To avoid
being caught in the fallout between these two nationalities, Mico moved his family once again.
This time the move would be to a new country.
Frankfurt, Germany was Micos next stop on his journey. No Elez had ventured outside
of Paviii, let alone moved to a new country. Mico didnt speak a word of German, but he still
managed adapt. I remember my first day in Germany. I was trying to buy honey, but I couldnt

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find any. I tried to ask the store manager where the honey was located, but she didnt understand
me. I communicated the only other way I could. I ran around the store, buzzed like a bee, and
pointed towards my mouth. The store manager burst out laughing and pointed me in the right
direction. Germany was good for Mico because his family was protected from the religious
conflicts that ruined his childhood. Mico and his wife worked in Germany for thirty-five years
until they retired. After I retired in Germany, I felt like there was nothing more for me there. My
kids had left to live on all sides of the world. My wife and I were alone in a foreign country that
was technically not our home. Even though I had left Sarajevo, because of its conflicting
religions, I started to miss my language and culture. I missed the family atmosphere Middle
Eastern people radiated through the city. When Mico was younger, he wanted to move to an
urbanized city for a better life. Now, as he was getting older, he wanted something simpler.
In 1990, Mico tried going back to Bosnia, but the Yugoslavian War prevented him. Then
after meeting up with an old friend, a lightbulb went off. Dragan, Micos friend, talked about this
amazing city called Herceg Novi. Herceg Novi was a small city on the coast of Montenegro. I
was looking for a place to build a house and retire with my wife. Herceg Novi was the perfect
spot. It was a city that wasnt too small or too big, and it had plenty of land to buy. Mico built
his house in Montenegro and to this day lives a happy life there. Now a days, he spends his time
watering his garden and fishing. During the summer, his grandkids from all around the world
come visit him. Montenegro is a peaceful town and a perfect city for Mico to conclude his
journey.
After religious conflicts forced Mico to leave his rural life behind, he learned how to
adapt to adverse situations. Mico looked past the current events that were pulling him back and
tried to build a new future based on what he still had. He was never afraid to fail because there

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was always another way out. Every hardship has its good outcome. Mico didnt let his hardships
hold him back, and as a result he lived an extraordinary life.

My grandpa, Mico, and me in Herceg Novi.

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