Last summer I visited Montenegro, which is in south eastern Europe, for the first time. I went there to see the country that my parents came from. While I was there, I also visited my late grandfather’s grave which was high up in the mountains in a village called Besi. I was impressed with how beautiful the place was. The graveyard was surrounded by bushes and trees and the air smelled as sweet as maple syrup.

Saime Demirovic

“I went to Montenegro with my American family so that I could show my children the country where I was born. I also wanted to visit my father’s grave. As I was walking to the cemetery I thought “what a sad way to visit my father”, and while I was standing there I thought of all the other relatives in the other graves and hoped they were all in heaven together. My father’s wish was to be buried in his country of birth, and the day before he passed he described to me how the area that he would be buried in looked. He described how beautiful the water and trees and the green valley was in that place. And when I went to see it, he was right, it was a very peaceful and serene place to be buried. It was even more beautiful than he said it

Saime’s Mother