Whakakihia te rerenga e whai ake nei: I whanau a Mihai Pelin i te mutunga o Akuhata 1940 i Cernăuți,
I nohoia e te Soviet Union e rua marama ki mua. Ko tana papa, ko Spiridon, he kaimahi tereina i te wa ko tana whaea he wahine whare, a ko tetahi waahanga o tona whanau he pakiaka Polish me Tiamana. I te Pakanga Tuarua o te Ao, i noho a Pelin me tona kuia i Bessarabia me nga hoia Tiamana, i mua i tana wehenga ki Bucharest i te 1944.