M&B.

The story about Mika and Branko.

Mika Legenović (75) and Branko Latinović (81) have been married for 50 years and together they have two sons. Before the war they used to live in Sarajevo. Mika was a chef in Pretis, one of the largest and most modern weapons factories in Europe at the time. Branko was an engineer in TAS, the Sarajevo Automobile Factory that produced various Volkswagen vehicles. After fleeing from Sarajevo, they lived in Serbia for a short period of time. However, in 2009 they decided to settle in Ugljevik and resume the life they had in Sarajevo. Branko got an engineering job at the Power Plant. They bought some land and started building a house. As Brankos sons had settled in Switzerland during the war, everything was indicating the balance would be struck and pre-war life would continue to function, albeit in changed circumstances.

But… war leaves visible, immediate and invisible (long-term) consequences that affect people in different ways. In Branko’s case, the change began spontaneously. As the house was being built, there was not much to spare and the needs were significant. The sons also helped, but as a good housefather, he started collecting “things”, which he thought he would not be able to afford when the need for them arises at some point.

This all affects them both, but in different ways. Mika tries to keep the house clean as much as impossible in the current circumstances and Branko continues to visit flea markets, bringing more and more unnecessary things. Life goes on.

Text: Svjetlana Krsmanović