Scrooge lives in North Dakota

I asked our friend Chanda Hidanovic, in Fargo, North Dakota, if there were any new developments in her husband's case. Mevludin, as you may recall, is a Bosnian who claimed wrongful conviction having to do with a skirmish at the county fairgrounds, claiming he was with his family at the amusement rides when this happened. He said that faulty eyewitness identification resulted in his arrest, refused to take a plea with a short jail sentence, and instead opted to count on our judicial system. He learned that the wheels of justice ground to a halt in his case. He was found guilty and was put behind bars. Now, because he is not a citizen, Immigration officials have deemed him a criminal not fit to live in this country. Regardless of the fact that he has a wife and four children here, he is being deported to his native land. The incident happened in 2006, and since that time HFP and many other friends have tried to assist the family and the legal team all the way to the state Supreme Court. Everything failed, and at a recent deportation hearing, Mevludin was ordered to leave our country.

Here is Chanda's response to my question for an update on this hellish case:


Just getting ready. Deciding what to pack and try to send over there. It costs $38 per 20lbs. Yet in my mind $38 to send hundreds of dollars worth of items that we won’t have to re-buy is worth it. I haven’t told the kids that I am definitely going. They have seen it on the news and we talked about it briefly but I haven’t confirmed it. I don’t want our time to be sad although I have my moments. I plan to leave right when Mevludin is deported and go for two weeks. We can look for a place to live and get a cell phone. Then I will come back and start shipping things and do the final preparations and go back.

I am angry. I am damn angry that I have to leave my children. It is the principal of it all now. My kids don’t deserve this. My husband doesn’t deserve this. I don’t deserve this. My thinking is that my kids are going to be fine. They have grandparents, even some great grandparents, aunts, uncles, cousins. They will be in constant contact with us via webcam, e-mail and phone. I will try and come back as much as I possibly can. We are getting them all passports so they can come to see us this summer. I just wish they were all older. I hope and pray they understand and don’t hate me. My husband---I am not sure if he will be fine. He has been broken and even more so now that he is being deported. He is a really sweet and great guy and I hope we can get that “old” Mevludin back. I just thank God that it isn’t worse. He doesn’t have a death sentence or something. This has been the worst thing to go through but at least no one has died!

I kept thinking if I stay here with my kids and my heart broken they are going to see that. Having their mom depressed, gaining weight and crying all the time isn’t good for them either. I just have a lot to think about.

I haven’t really talked to the lawyers. I think they pretty much gave up on us. I had a lot of people sending letters or e-mails to the governor and we haven’t had any response. This is going to be a really sad Christmas.


Chanda Hidanovic


Christmas time in the land of the free and home of the brave!

Doug Tjapkes, President
HUMANITY FOR PRISONERS
20 W. Muskegon Avenue
Muskegon, MI 49440

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