2024-08-12 19:59:48
One of the oldest and most respected Bulgarian immigrants in Chicago, Hamid Rusev, has died, BG VOICE reported. The information comes from his relatives. He left on August 8 of this year.
In recent years, Hamid, as everyone in Chicago called him, had been battling complications from a stroke and had been in the hospital for several months.
Hamid Rusev was 85 years old. His remains will be laid to rest next to his wife in Chicago. In September, there will be a memorial service in memory of the remarkable Bulgarian. He is survived by a son and a nephew who live in Chicago.
Hamid Rusev fled from the communist regime in Bulgaria in 1963 together with Shefket Chapadjiev, with whom they share a great friendship to this day. For years, Hamid welcomed generations of Bulgarian emigrants to Chicago, where he created the first Bulgarian restaurant “Rodopa”. For many years he was the publisher and sponsor of the “Bulgaria” newspaper, which ceased to exist during the COVID-19 pandemic. The immense love with which Hamid speaks about Bulgaria is impressive, despite the difficulties he went through during the totalitarian regime.
His love for his homeland was transferred to the many Bulgarian emigrants whom he helped. “I think that we should create a neighborhood, a neighborhood, to unite the Bulgarians in Chicago, in the USA. Not to wonder how to separate, but to see how to unite. This is what Bulgarians should do… This is my message to everyone,” Hamid Rusev told BG VOICE in 2022 when he received an award from the State Agency for Bulgarians Abroad.
“The Bulgarian community here has changed a lot. We all make mistakes, but this union will happen. It will be very nice if our neighbor is a compatriot, from our blood, Bulgarian,” added the successful Bulgarian.
At the end of 2022, Hamid Rusev received an award from the State Agency for Bulgarians Abroad for his contribution to the development of the community. “It was a great honor for me to present the Golden Badge of the Executive Agency for Bulgarians Abroad to Mr. Hamid Rusev for his overall contribution to Bulgarian emigration to the USA,” said our Consul General in Chicago Svetoslav Stankov, on whose proposal the award was given .
The most valuable lesson that the expat life gave me is to be honest, to work hard, to create, no matter where you are, not to destroy, but to create. “The award for me is some kind of recognition for my work and behavior.
“Whether I deserve it, I don’t know. I’m not very deserving of receiving awards, but I accept it with gratitude and respect. I wish all compatriots health and happiness. Let’s be together, respect each other, not hate each other…”, wishes Hamid.
He has a remarkable destiny. He was born on May 5, 1939 in the Rhodope village of Gorna Arda, where he lived with his parents and three sisters until 1947, when his family was interned with dozens of others from Rhodope in Northern Bulgaria, where he finished school. For nine months they sleep in a barn, without a toilet, without water, without a bathroom. Years later, the family returned to the Rhodope town of Madan. A book changes the lives of two friends Hamid and Shefket – Alec’s “To Chicago and Back”. Suddenly the plan for their future becomes clear – forward to Chicago.
The thought of salvation by escape did not leave Hamid. His friend Shefket Chapadjiev supports him for the risky adventure. The two make two unsuccessful attempts to escape from the watchful eyes of the border guards. Only the third time do they manage to sneak under the wire nets and end up unharmed in Greece. What follows is the plight of the fugitives, living in various refugee camps until they arrive in the United States. After a few months, they boarded the steamship “Olympic” for America. With tickets paid for by a Catholic church,
Hamid and his friend Shefket end up in New York in 1964. A little later they were already in the city of their dreams – Chicago. After the well-known first trials of immigrant life, Hamid Rusev started with a small restaurant, where he stabilized and had a successful business for thirty years. In 2001, he participated in the creation of the first Bulgarian weekly “Bulgaria”. In 1981, 17 years after their escape, Hamid returned to Bulgaria for the first time. He did not manage to see his native house in Gorna Arda, because he did not have the necessary document as a pass to pass the fences. In 1987 he sees his native home again. Only memories – sad and eerie with the wasteland of his birthplace… But he remembers the lessons he learned from his mother and father, and he himself shares that he is very grateful for his upbringing. Today, the two friends are famous, rich and respected not only in the Bulgarian emigrant circles, but also in the American community. The main contributions of Hamid Rusev are the promotion of Bulgarian traditions and values of the Bulgarian spirit among the hundreds of thousands of Bulgarians in Chicago.