Husein Hasani (22 December 1931 – 6 January 2014) was the last

shoeshiner Shoeshiner or boot polisher is an occupation in which a person cleans and buffs shoes and then applies shoe polish, a waxy paste to give a shiny appearance and a protective coating. They are often known as shoeshine boys because the job was tr ...

in the city of

Sarajevo Sarajevo ( ), ; ''see Names of European cities in different languages (Q–T)#S, names in other languages'' is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Bosnia and Herzegovina, largest city of Bosnia and Herzegovina, with a population of 2 ...

, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He was popular with Sarajevans and was known by all as "Čika Mišo" (''Uncle Mišo'').

Background and personal life

Uncle Mišo was born Husein Hasani in 1931 in

Uroševac Ferizaj or Uroševac,, or Uroševac sr-Cyrl, Урошевац, . Also formerly known as Ferizovići (). is a city and a municipality in Kosovo. It is the third largest city in Kosovo by population and also the seat of Ferizaj Municipality and ...

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. He had eight or nine siblings, and was the last living of all the Hasani children. He was an ethnic Kosovar Roma and moved to Bosnia with his family as a teenager in 1946, just after the end of

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. The nickname Mišo was given to him by his Hungarian boxing coach, who could not pronounce his name. He had said that his true love was boxing. His wife, Džemila, predeceased him.

Shoeshiner

In 1952, Mišo took over the job of shoe-shiner from his father, a job he would keep until his death six decades later. He was the last one to keep up with the traditional trade, which has deep roots in Bosnia, inherited from the centuries-long Ottoman rule of the region. His original "base" was in front of the Marijin Dvor building. He later moved himself to

Marshal Tito Josip Broz ( sh-Cyrl, Јосип Броз, ; 7 May 1892 – 4 May 1980), commonly known as Tito ( ; , ), was a Yugoslav communist revolutionary and politician who served in various positions of national leadership from 1943 until his death ...

Street, about twenty years before his death. He sat on his chair on the sidewalk throughout the

Siege of Sarajevo The siege of Sarajevo () was a prolonged military blockade of Sarajevo, the capital of Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina, during the ethnically charged Bosnian War. After it was initially besieged by Serbian forces of the Yugoslav People's Arm ...

during the

war in Bosnia and Herzegovina The Bosnian War ( / Рат у Босни и Херцеговини) was an international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. Following several earlier violent incidents, the war is commonly seen as ha ...

between 1992 and 1995, avoiding sniper fire. During the war years, he could hardly be convinced to move to a shelter during the shelling. Despite food shortages and poverty during the war, he always kept treats for Sarajevo's stray dogs, which he called his "faithful comrades" in the streets. In the 2000s, Mišo appeared in three episodes of popular Bosnian TV series ''

Viza za budućnost ''Viza za budućnost'' () was the first post-independence Bosnian TV series. Production started on June 22, 2002, in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. The first episode was aired on September 22, 2002. The final episode was broadcast on April 17 ...

'', where he played himself. In 2009, Mišo was awarded a medal for merit by city authorities, as well as an apartment and a pension. In an interview, he said: "There were shoe-cleaners in every street when I started and now, I'm the only one, why? Because I have been brave and people laughed at my jokes."

Death

Uncle Mišo died of a heart attack in the morning hours of 6 January 2014 at the age of 82. The mayor of Sarajevo

Ivo Komšić Ivo Komšić (born 16 June 1948) is a Bosnian professor and politician who served as the 37th List of mayors of Sarajevo, mayor of Sarajevo from 2013 to 2017. He was a key figure in the talks that led to the end of the Bosnian War with the Dayton ...

called Misho a "symbol of the city" of Sarajevo and stated that his death had left the city "emptier". Upon his death, the chair where he sat daily was adorned with candles, roses and shoes by passers-by. He was buried in a graveyard in Vlakovo on 8 January 2014. The day after his death, a petition calling for a memorial to be placed in the spot where he sat everyday was started on

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. On 11 January 2014, the workers of the

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fast food restaurant in front of the spot where he worked paid for and set up a

commemorative plaque A commemorative plaque, or simply plaque, or in other places referred to as a historical marker, historic marker, or historic plaque, is a plate of metal, ceramic, stone, wood, or other material, bearing text or an image in relief, or both, ...

that reads: "''Here worked čika Mišo, the last shoe-shiner in Sarajevo. Husein Hasani 1931–2014.''"

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Miso, Cika 1931 births 2014 deaths People from Sarajevo People from Ferizaj Bosnia and Herzegovina Romani people Kosovan Romani people Bosnia and Herzegovina Muslims Romani Muslims Shoeshiners