Samka and Emsud Deumic
Photo: Pamela S. Thompson photo courtesy of L Magazine |
CWS Refugee Stories from Across the Decades:
Emsud and Samka Deumic, Bosnia -- 1993
You might say that tailoring is in Emsud Deumic’s blood. “My father was a tailor,” said Emsud, a Bosnian. “My parents had seven children – all tailors. We had a very nice life before the 1992 war. Then we lost everything.”
After three months in a concentration camp, Emsud was reunited with his wife, Samka, and their two children in a transit camp in Croatia. In 1993, they were resettled to Lincoln, Nebraska, by CWS and affiliate Heartland Refugee Resettlement. First Plymouth Congregational United Church of Christ served as cosponsor.
“Those first days were hard,” Samka recalled. “We spoke no English, had no friends. But that sponsor was very nice. They found us an apartment, got the kids in school, helped us learn English and find work. We still have many good friends at the church.”
With money earned raking leaves, along with a $50 contribution and just over $300 in loans from church members, Emsud quickly raised enough to buy a commercial sewing machine. The couple began altering clothing at home, first for church members and later for area clothing stores.
Now they own Emsud’s Clothiers and Expert Alterations, offering men’s fine business suits and sport coats. Their motto is, “Be the best and be honest.”
Son Salko is a computer science and mathematics graduate of the University of Nebraska at Lincoln; daughter Alma is majoring in business marketing there. Alma, Salko, and Salko’s wife, Amanda, help in the store evenings and weekends.
Despite the 12-hour workdays seven days a week, Samka said, “Life is a lot easier now. Now we have a normal life. Now we feel at home.”