First wave happened in 60s and 70s, while second happened in the 90s of the last century. Iso Perazic, born in 1071, came to Chicago after his brother Nazo invited him.
„Unlike my brother who’s always been a bohemian soul, his wife Gertrude who is a German, is a person who I owe so much to. Thanks to her I managed to overcome first problems that an immigrant faces and to stay here. Primarily because of her attention and dedication that I learn English language as soon as possible”, said Iso Perazic.
After getting a full time job, he became a true member of blue collar working class.
„That’s when I was able to pay my own rent, drive my own car… simply I could live just like any other worker in America. And it was like that for full six years, until I opened my own construction company for smaller construction works. I worked alone at the beginning and then I hired three, four employees”, he added.
At that time he decides to start a family, so he goes to Montenegro, and about his wife Azemina he said shortly:
„It took me four days to find her, and two years to bring her to America.”
Best regards
Becir Kalamperovic and his wife Edina chose Chicago as a city where they would like to live. They made a deal and started the journey. Primarily because they saw Chicago as a city of many opportunities.
He lives in downtown Chicago, and works like a real estate agent. Twice a wekk he plays football for a club called Montenegro made of immigrants from municipality of Bar. He thinks that it’s easier for young immigrants today to survive in America than it used to be.
He emphasized that he likes diversity and lack of prejudice in America. And he doesn’t plan to change his address in a long time.
Come stai, Adzi
Adzija Metanovic was born in 1952 and came to America in 1972. Actually, Adzi is one of the most famous people in this area of Chicago which can be easily seen during his morning walk from the buliding where he works to Starbucks cafe a couple of blocks away, towards the center of the city. It’s almost as if he was in Bar, Adzi says hi to someone practically every 50 meters. A little in English, a little in Italian. And sometimes even a little in our language, when he meets some of the neighbours with origins in former Yugoslavia.
Adzi started his immigrant way in 1970, when he left to Italy. Though America seemed to be his destiny even there. Actually, he worked for over a year for an American consul in Italy. It was him who suggested to Adzi to go to America, to work in New York. But this part of the story was delayed a bit due to his return to Mrkojevici and getting married. And then, after he finally made it to America, it seemed like Italy was his destiny too, because his first job was in an Itallian Village. Even today some of his old friends tell him “knowing the Italian language saved you”. Anyway, even nowadays not a single day passes by that someone passing by doesn’t greet him with „come stai, Adzi”.
