FBU-2006-10-31

Interviewer

Rachel Politte and Lauren Weissler

Date of Interview

10-31-2006

Interview Location

St. Louis, MO

Length of Interview

68:08

Gender

Male

Religion and/or Ethnicity

Muslim

Description

Born and raised in Kozarac, where he finished high school and college. Growing up, he was not religious. Kozarac was a mixed community of 27,000 inhabitants where everyone got along well. On 24 MAY 1992, Serbs surrounded Kozarac and shelled for two days. They had no choice but to surrender because they had no weapons. All the men were marched to Karaten Factory, which was set up as a temporary camp. From there, 1,500 men were loaded onto busses and taken 30km to Omarska Concentration camp. They were housed in a large warehouse apart of the mining complex. The Chetniks began to torture, interrogate, and execute members of the Muslim intelligentsia. He could hear constant gunshots outside. They weren’t given food for three days. He was with his son and nephew, who he was worried about since they were military age. There were two smaller buildings where executions took place daily. He was held in Omarska from 28MAY-08AUG1992 and lost 21kg in that period. After German journalist Monika Gras broke the story in the news, the camp was closed, and all the prisoners were loaded up and taken to another camp, Manjaca. A journey that typically takes 2 hours took them eight to increase time for executions as the Omarksa camp directors knew the executions would stop at Manjaca. They slept in the bus overnight outside the gates of Manjaca as more executions took place. He spent 20 days in Manjaca before being transferred to Ternopolje, where he would stay the next two months. After the International Red Cross negotiated their release, they were bussed to the Karlovac refugee camp and Zagreb. From Zagreb, he went to Germany. One-quarter of his extended family was killed during the war: oldest son, three nephews, and brother-in-law. He estimates that 30% of prisoners at Omarska were executed.

Keywords

Prijedor, Trnopolje, Omarska, Manjača camp, Keraterm, Karlovac, Zagreb camp, Kozarac, Germany, United States, Siege, Concentration camp, Beatings, Torture, Interrogation, Execution, Refugee camp, Cultural assimilation, Citizenship

Pre-War Residence

Kozarac

Wartime Residence

Omarska, Manjaca, Ternopolje, Keraterm,

First Country of Residence

Croatia

First US Residence

St. Louis, MO

Document Type

Oral History

Collection

Fontbonne University

Digital Format

MP3

Digital Publisher

Center for Bosnian Studies

City

St. Louis, MO

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