Edin, whom I met through a local charity, Last Call For Grace and who is homeless. Happiest time of your life? “When I had my son. But that didn’t last long because my family was quite poor and his mother decided, though we didn’t have marital problems, she decided she’d rather try by herself. And, right now, he’s a successful young man who has a good job. Two or three weeks ago he bought his own apartment, which is a big deal in Bosnia. So, that’s what make me happy….the things that are connected to him."
I understand you were in the war in Bosnia and ultimately had to come live here. Tell me about that. "Yes. There were three sides in the Bosnian war: the Croatian side, the Serbian side which was the most powerful and then the Muslim side, which makes up the majority of the country. I belonged to Croatian side, but my home was in the area in which Muslims controlled . Eventually, I estimated that it was not safe to stay anymore and I had to leave the country, was a refugee in neighboring country, Croatia for 23 months.”
Tell me about the danger your son faced. “There was a bridge that ran in the middle of the suburb that I lived in. On both sides of the re-bar that ran under the bridge they had small caliber canons that they were shooting that bridge across. My son was three at the time, so I had to teach him, in case they killed me, what he must do. So, I was teaching him English at the time and he learned the words ‘bridge, hospital, grandma’ which meant whatever happened to me, he had to run first to the hospital, which was half way to my mother’s apartment and they would take him to her.”
That had to be a difficult thing to imagine and to teach him. “Well, when the war starts, you don’t think about that. You do what you have to do. War changes people entirely. What you think people are, they are not. They show their real faces when tensions are high, when stress is high and when adrenaline works. Then you see people strong who are breaking down and then also those you wouldn’t expect showing big hearts.”
Toughest time of your life? “The very beginning of my coming to America. Very soon after I came, my half-brother decided he wasn’t interested in being my sponsor. It was taking his time.”
Sponsor meaning what? “Sponsor is someone who helps you to start the new life…meaning takes you to the grocery store, because you don’t know anything. I got the Green Card when I was in Croatia, but they asked my half-brother to be my sponsor, because I was a hard case to sponsor. Nobody wants a 300 pound guy who is single, coming from a violent war to live with his wife and children in the house. My intention was to go to New Zealand, but they decided to use his presence in United States to make it easier for me. I knew quite a bit of English, so people could understand me. That’s what saved me. It was very tough…tougher than war in some ways. My savings evaporated and I was homeless. Since then, since June of last year, I have been homeless and have been in Wyoming, Oklahoma, South Dakota and Texas….then back to Tennessee.”
Why Murfreesboro? “I chose to stay in Murfreesboro for several reasons. First, I found many people who don’t have prejudice and will talk to me…whatever I am. I do have a social life. The other thing- there is an unusual amount of help here. Not typical compared to the other places I visited. Lots of missions, lots of organizations who are helping people. I don’t have to worry about food or medication (for diabetes) or clothes. Also, the law is not hostile toward the homeless, like let’s say in North Carolina. They criminalize homeless, write tickets for sitting on the bench and eating. If they see your camp, they just take everything and throw it in a truck and throw it away. You return in the evening and you don’t have anything.”
So you’ve found people here to have good hearts? “Yes, yes. A God fearing people and they do want to do something to please the Lord and to help their brothers in Jesus. They don’t hesitate to spend their time, money, energy to get together and help people. The one I am most pleased with and volunteer for is Last Call for Grace. They use 100% of their donations to help people. Nothing goes toward shiny buildings and new cars. Everything they get goes right to people. Very often, if it’s not enough, because we feed around 400 people in three different motels, people will get together and go buy more sandwiches. That way nobody will stay without food. I highly praise and recommend them.”
Did you ever expect to be homeless? “Yes…I knew. When I got diabetes, I knew I would not have enough strength. Before diabetes, I was working from 60 to 80 hours per week. I did well. I had one acre of land and a house and savings, but I knew in my heart that the strength was leaving my body.”
With Last Call for Grace, that program is meant to help the people that are in your circumstance. What called you to turn around and help them? “When I volunteer and help other human beings, I am not ashamed to accept help that was, I must say, overwhelming. I also made a lot of friends…people who are not homeless. The know me…I’m not abusing their friendship, not taking advantage of their good hearts and they appreciate that and are always there.”
I asked you how you handle these cold nights and you immediately turned the conversation to the positive…you chose to focus on the beauty of your camp in the winter. Why so? “Yes, it’s like Shakespeare’s Winter Tale…with all the descriptions of how pretty the forest is. When you have that minimum of stuff to survive, you can choose which road you are going to take. You can be unhappy, you can blame everyone….or you can decide to see what is pretty. I choose to consider the glass as half full. Woods are really very pretty. Especially at night, if there is a small source of light, like the reflectors off a playground that shine through the trees. It looks magical.”
On those quiet nights in your tent, what do you think about most often? “Actually, I read. I enjoy Zane Grey. He’s an American novelist who was the first to describe the American West properly. If you think about it, it’s a romantic story of the American cowboy in the Arizona area. He does it masterfully. Before sleeping, I usually read for 30 to 60 minutes. When you are alone, you have a lot of time to think.”
What gives you such a positive attitude? “I believe I take from my mother. She had a really hard life. Real hard. Through everything, she went with her head up. The other thing is I have read a lot…I don’t know, maybe 5,000 to 6,000 books in my lifetime. From reading, you get wisdom.”
Advice for my boys? “People are the crown jewel of God’s creation. Treat them good.”
May Edin serve as a reminder that homelessness is not always caused by the stereotypes that we so commonly hear, nor does he fit the most common stereotype. May our city continue to love and may Edin continue to get stronger and continue to give as much as he receives.
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