When was the last time you saw a Shoeshine Man? Here in Midland there are one or two. In my old home town, there was a shoeshine man years ago, although I do not think there is one now. Maybe my friends in Central Texas can help me with information on that. But, all over Texas, the United States, and the world, it appears, the shoeshine man's occupation is on the wane. And so it is in Sarajevo, Bosnia-Herzegovina.
A gentleman in Sarajevo took up the shoeshine trade many decades ago. Hussein Hasani, known to the citizens of Sarajevo as "Uncle Misho, learned his trade as teen from his father, who had learned the trade from his father before him. Mr. Hasani said he was honored to learn his father's trade, and was proud to make an honest living with his hands. He took over his father's shoeshine stand when he was twenty-years old.
Hasani was born in Urosevec, Kosovo, which was a province in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. His family moved to Sarajevo in 1946, after surviving the horrors of World War II. Hasani married Dzemila Jameel, whom he met while working at his father's stand. The couple had no children of their own, but were blessed with a child by most unusual means. One morning while Hussein and Dzemila were walking to work together, Dzemila heard a newborn infant crying in an alley. The couple searched frantically for the little baby and found her...in a trash bin. The little girl was only hours old. Hussein summoned the police. The child was taken to a doctor and the authorities searched for the unknown parents, but did not find them. A few days later the police asked Hussein and Dzemila if they wanted the child. Hussein told the officer, "That question is superfluous!" The infant grew into a healthy child, and eventually was married. She gave her adoptive parents several grandchildren. Dzemila proceeded her husband in death by several years.
Hussein Hasani had to compete with many other shoeshine men in the early years of his business, but as time went on, the ranks of shoeshine men were thinned by both age and failing health, and by the war that raged in Bosnia-Herzegovina in the early 1990's. Hussein said that he did not miss work even in the face of the dangers of civil war. He recalls snipers shooting at him. He also saw many people killed and injured by the fighting that stretched from 1992 to 1995. After the civil war ended, Hasani continued to work even though he was in his seventies. By now he was known and loved by the people of Sarajevo, and was considered "a symbol of the city."
Hasani followed the methods of shoe shining that his father had taught, from brushing the shoes first to get all the dust off, to buffing and polishing the shoes to a glossy shine. The methods of shoe shining that Hasani's father taught him were methods that had their beginnings centuries earlier in the Ottoman empire. Hasani was honored to follow his father's trade, and to apprentice under him. He believed the trade, as he learned it, was good enough for him. Hasani never felt the need to modify his methods in any way.
In 2009, Hussein Hasani was awarded a medal of merit by the Sarajevo city fathers, and was given an apartment and pension. Hussein did not retire, however. He continued to do his work at his shoeshine stand for another five years. On January 6, 2014 Mr. Hasani died in the early hours of the morning in his apartment. The citizens of Sarajevo felt Hasani's loss so strongly that they petitioned the city government to set a monument for Hussein Hasani at the site of his shoeshine stand. In less than twenty-four hours after Hasani's death, over 5000 people had signed the petition.
Hussein Hasani was known as a kind man who shared treats with the children, and also shared some of his food with stray dogs. He called the strays his "faithful comrades of the street." The citizens of Sarajevo not only lost a good friend and long-time member of the community, but also the last practicing shoeshine man in the city. His fame had spread throughout Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the news of his death was noted in the newspapers of several nations around the world, including the United States.
My condolences to the Hasani family and to the people of Sarajevo and Bosnia-Herzegovina, at the loss of Uncle Misho, Sarajevo's Last Shoeshine Man .
A gentleman in Sarajevo took up the shoeshine trade many decades ago. Hussein Hasani, known to the citizens of Sarajevo as "Uncle Misho, learned his trade as teen from his father, who had learned the trade from his father before him. Mr. Hasani said he was honored to learn his father's trade, and was proud to make an honest living with his hands. He took over his father's shoeshine stand when he was twenty-years old.
Hasani was born in Urosevec, Kosovo, which was a province in the Kingdom of Yugoslavia. His family moved to Sarajevo in 1946, after surviving the horrors of World War II. Hasani married Dzemila Jameel, whom he met while working at his father's stand. The couple had no children of their own, but were blessed with a child by most unusual means. One morning while Hussein and Dzemila were walking to work together, Dzemila heard a newborn infant crying in an alley. The couple searched frantically for the little baby and found her...in a trash bin. The little girl was only hours old. Hussein summoned the police. The child was taken to a doctor and the authorities searched for the unknown parents, but did not find them. A few days later the police asked Hussein and Dzemila if they wanted the child. Hussein told the officer, "That question is superfluous!" The infant grew into a healthy child, and eventually was married. She gave her adoptive parents several grandchildren. Dzemila proceeded her husband in death by several years.
Hussein Hasani had to compete with many other shoeshine men in the early years of his business, but as time went on, the ranks of shoeshine men were thinned by both age and failing health, and by the war that raged in Bosnia-Herzegovina in the early 1990's. Hussein said that he did not miss work even in the face of the dangers of civil war. He recalls snipers shooting at him. He also saw many people killed and injured by the fighting that stretched from 1992 to 1995. After the civil war ended, Hasani continued to work even though he was in his seventies. By now he was known and loved by the people of Sarajevo, and was considered "a symbol of the city."
Hasani followed the methods of shoe shining that his father had taught, from brushing the shoes first to get all the dust off, to buffing and polishing the shoes to a glossy shine. The methods of shoe shining that Hasani's father taught him were methods that had their beginnings centuries earlier in the Ottoman empire. Hasani was honored to follow his father's trade, and to apprentice under him. He believed the trade, as he learned it, was good enough for him. Hasani never felt the need to modify his methods in any way.
In 2009, Hussein Hasani was awarded a medal of merit by the Sarajevo city fathers, and was given an apartment and pension. Hussein did not retire, however. He continued to do his work at his shoeshine stand for another five years. On January 6, 2014 Mr. Hasani died in the early hours of the morning in his apartment. The citizens of Sarajevo felt Hasani's loss so strongly that they petitioned the city government to set a monument for Hussein Hasani at the site of his shoeshine stand. In less than twenty-four hours after Hasani's death, over 5000 people had signed the petition.
Hussein Hasani was known as a kind man who shared treats with the children, and also shared some of his food with stray dogs. He called the strays his "faithful comrades of the street." The citizens of Sarajevo not only lost a good friend and long-time member of the community, but also the last practicing shoeshine man in the city. His fame had spread throughout Bosnia-Herzegovina, and the news of his death was noted in the newspapers of several nations around the world, including the United States.
My condolences to the Hasani family and to the people of Sarajevo and Bosnia-Herzegovina, at the loss of Uncle Misho, Sarajevo's Last Shoeshine Man .
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