Rough Draft of Profile.
Enes Mujugaic(En like energy, Es like essence Moo-Ya-Gitch), otherwise known as Ness, is a cashier at a West Jordan Smiths. When I met him, it was my first day on the job as a bagger, and he was the first person there to introduce himself and welcome me to my new surroundings. He was kind, lighthearted and a bit childish. He offered me sour patch kids, which I promptly took and gobbled down. My first impression of this thin, caucasian man in his mid twenties, was that he was a bit of a Jokester, probably Mormon, (as most people in Utah are) and an all around cool guy.
Pretty much all of my first impression was true, except for his religion, and his life previous to the current day. One day an older man came in and happened to check out in the lane Ness was cashiering. The man started speaking in a language unfamiliar to me, and Ness replied in the same tongue. When he left, I asked Ness what language it was; he replied that it was Bosnian. At that time my only knowledge of Bosnia was a faded memory of where it was on a map. I had no clue that a war had been waged in the mid 90s, that the primary religion there was Islam, and that there are many refugees living here in Utah.
I never would have guessed that Ness hadn’t been born in the US. Apart from an odd name, nothing stands out about him. He speaks perfect english, with no accent. He is into pop culture, wears normal clothing, and doesn’t stick out at all. It turns out though that Ness, the nicest person at Smiths, has had a very interesting, and even heartbreaking life. In 1992, Bosnia-Herzegovina broke out in war. There were three primary peoples living in Bosnia, the Bosnian Serbs (Orthodox), Bosnian Croats (Roman Catholic) and Bosniaks (Muslim). A large part of the war was “ethnic cleansing” which didn’t really refer to ethnicity (being that all the factions were Slavs) but to wiping out the Muslim population in Bosnia.
So Ness, being a Muslim, was part of the persecuted faction. Being only four years old at the time, Ness remembers very little of how he got out of his war torn home. He remembers escaping on a bus, and his family sought shelter from his Aunt and Uncle in Germany. He lived there for a few years, learned German, and enjoyed his time there. He told that when he was there he would run through the forest that lines the backyards of German houses. But, his family didn’t apply for Visas correctly, and they had to leave.
Ness’ family chose to come to America, because again, they had relatives to help ease them in. For the second time, Ness and his family had to learn a new language, adapt to a new culture, and carry on with their lives. America was a bit different from Germany though. In Germany, people “kept out of each others way” and were generally accepting of each other. In America though, especially since 9/11, tolerance for Muslims was, and still is, much lower.
Ness isn’t the most conservative Muslim, but he still believes in the fundamentals of Islam. He said that he used to pray with his grandma when he was little, but these days he doesn’t pray much. Still people would fight with him about his beliefs and make him out to be a bad guy, just because of bigotry and ignorance. Some people can't seem to see the perfectly nice young man, and can only see what his religion happens to be. A sign on a car stuck out to Ness once, it read “I learned everything about Muslims during 9/11”. That sign sadly represents a large amount of Americans, people who only know some horrible negatives, committed by extremists and know nothing of the real people who belong to Islam. Some people can’t even open their minds or hearts to try and see that people of the Muslim faith, are just like anyone else.
“It’s human nature I think, most of us aren't very fond of accepting things we don't understand. Sometimes ignorance can even be linked to fear. Muslims poke fun at that one a bit too, someone made a shirt that said ‘Don't Panic, I'm Muslim.’ ” - Enes Mujugaic
Throughout middle and high school, Ness was bullied by his peers. He grew tired of people never listening to his side. Instead of giving up though, like many a bullied teenager, he graduated early to escape his tormentors, and moved on with his life. Currently, he attends community college and is working a cashiering job. He has left his bullies behind, but everyday people can be bullies without even realizing it.
Working in a grocery store provides many social opportunities. People of all shapes and sizes walk through the doors, and purchase everyday essentials. A Muslim woman and her children often come in for their weekly shopping, and they are greeted by stares every time. Once they leave, many people turn to each other and gossip or make rude comments just because they see a woman wearing a headscarf. Her appearance makes it obvious to everyone what faith she follows, and people make sure not to say terrible things within earshot. Instead, they make these comments in checkout where they don’t realize the man ringing up their groceries is Muslim, and he can hear every word.
“The ignorance is also very common, most of the comments aren't nice, but I survived a war when I was four so wordplay doesn't hurt me personally”- Enes Mujugaic
Though Ness doesn’t take bigoted comments from strangers to heart, many people in similar situations might. Imagine being ripped from your county, and know you can never go back because there would be no surviving. No jobs, no future prospects, just an empty barren place that you once called home. Imagine the only place where you could succeed in the world, was the one place where almost everyone has some sort of grudge against your religion, and in turn, you. How would it feel to not be accepted? To work so hard to learn a new language, or even two, and have noone treat you with respect? Any refugee from Bosnia could be facing mental abuse here in America. Any Muslim in America that doesn’t wear their heart on their sleeve could too. In fact anyone who isn’t a complete stereotype for what they happen to be, is always at risk of overhearing something directly offensive towards them.
Why? Why do we let racism and bigotry run rampant in everyday life? Why do people so often think it is okay to say something offensive behind someones back but wouldn’t dare to say what they are thinking to their faces? It is amazing to think that so often people could be saying hateful things straight to the people it would offend and they would never even know. One man opened up my eyes to something terrible in this country, and most likely all over the world. In the end everyone is human, we have different shapes, colors, traditions, cultures, religions, likes, dislikes, the list goes on and on. Bigotry and hate, especially uninformed, only tears people down and makes the world a little uglier. If only people would start looking at the individual instead of grouping people into broad categories and labeling them negatively; I believe the world would be a much better place to live in.
Pretty much all of my first impression was true, except for his religion, and his life previous to the current day. One day an older man came in and happened to check out in the lane Ness was cashiering. The man started speaking in a language unfamiliar to me, and Ness replied in the same tongue. When he left, I asked Ness what language it was; he replied that it was Bosnian. At that time my only knowledge of Bosnia was a faded memory of where it was on a map. I had no clue that a war had been waged in the mid 90s, that the primary religion there was Islam, and that there are many refugees living here in Utah.
I never would have guessed that Ness hadn’t been born in the US. Apart from an odd name, nothing stands out about him. He speaks perfect english, with no accent. He is into pop culture, wears normal clothing, and doesn’t stick out at all. It turns out though that Ness, the nicest person at Smiths, has had a very interesting, and even heartbreaking life. In 1992, Bosnia-Herzegovina broke out in war. There were three primary peoples living in Bosnia, the Bosnian Serbs (Orthodox), Bosnian Croats (Roman Catholic) and Bosniaks (Muslim). A large part of the war was “ethnic cleansing” which didn’t really refer to ethnicity (being that all the factions were Slavs) but to wiping out the Muslim population in Bosnia.
So Ness, being a Muslim, was part of the persecuted faction. Being only four years old at the time, Ness remembers very little of how he got out of his war torn home. He remembers escaping on a bus, and his family sought shelter from his Aunt and Uncle in Germany. He lived there for a few years, learned German, and enjoyed his time there. He told that when he was there he would run through the forest that lines the backyards of German houses. But, his family didn’t apply for Visas correctly, and they had to leave.
Ness’ family chose to come to America, because again, they had relatives to help ease them in. For the second time, Ness and his family had to learn a new language, adapt to a new culture, and carry on with their lives. America was a bit different from Germany though. In Germany, people “kept out of each others way” and were generally accepting of each other. In America though, especially since 9/11, tolerance for Muslims was, and still is, much lower.
Ness isn’t the most conservative Muslim, but he still believes in the fundamentals of Islam. He said that he used to pray with his grandma when he was little, but these days he doesn’t pray much. Still people would fight with him about his beliefs and make him out to be a bad guy, just because of bigotry and ignorance. Some people can't seem to see the perfectly nice young man, and can only see what his religion happens to be. A sign on a car stuck out to Ness once, it read “I learned everything about Muslims during 9/11”. That sign sadly represents a large amount of Americans, people who only know some horrible negatives, committed by extremists and know nothing of the real people who belong to Islam. Some people can’t even open their minds or hearts to try and see that people of the Muslim faith, are just like anyone else.
“It’s human nature I think, most of us aren't very fond of accepting things we don't understand. Sometimes ignorance can even be linked to fear. Muslims poke fun at that one a bit too, someone made a shirt that said ‘Don't Panic, I'm Muslim.’ ” - Enes Mujugaic
Throughout middle and high school, Ness was bullied by his peers. He grew tired of people never listening to his side. Instead of giving up though, like many a bullied teenager, he graduated early to escape his tormentors, and moved on with his life. Currently, he attends community college and is working a cashiering job. He has left his bullies behind, but everyday people can be bullies without even realizing it.
Working in a grocery store provides many social opportunities. People of all shapes and sizes walk through the doors, and purchase everyday essentials. A Muslim woman and her children often come in for their weekly shopping, and they are greeted by stares every time. Once they leave, many people turn to each other and gossip or make rude comments just because they see a woman wearing a headscarf. Her appearance makes it obvious to everyone what faith she follows, and people make sure not to say terrible things within earshot. Instead, they make these comments in checkout where they don’t realize the man ringing up their groceries is Muslim, and he can hear every word.
“The ignorance is also very common, most of the comments aren't nice, but I survived a war when I was four so wordplay doesn't hurt me personally”- Enes Mujugaic
Though Ness doesn’t take bigoted comments from strangers to heart, many people in similar situations might. Imagine being ripped from your county, and know you can never go back because there would be no surviving. No jobs, no future prospects, just an empty barren place that you once called home. Imagine the only place where you could succeed in the world, was the one place where almost everyone has some sort of grudge against your religion, and in turn, you. How would it feel to not be accepted? To work so hard to learn a new language, or even two, and have noone treat you with respect? Any refugee from Bosnia could be facing mental abuse here in America. Any Muslim in America that doesn’t wear their heart on their sleeve could too. In fact anyone who isn’t a complete stereotype for what they happen to be, is always at risk of overhearing something directly offensive towards them.
Why? Why do we let racism and bigotry run rampant in everyday life? Why do people so often think it is okay to say something offensive behind someones back but wouldn’t dare to say what they are thinking to their faces? It is amazing to think that so often people could be saying hateful things straight to the people it would offend and they would never even know. One man opened up my eyes to something terrible in this country, and most likely all over the world. In the end everyone is human, we have different shapes, colors, traditions, cultures, religions, likes, dislikes, the list goes on and on. Bigotry and hate, especially uninformed, only tears people down and makes the world a little uglier. If only people would start looking at the individual instead of grouping people into broad categories and labeling them negatively; I believe the world would be a much better place to live in.