AHS-2018-05-14

Date of Interview

Spring 5-14-2018

Interview Location

St. Louis, MO

Length of Interview

1900-01-01

Date of Birth

1984

Gender

Female

Religion and/or Ethnicity

Muslim

Description

Born in Jajce to a family that was close knit and including four sisters and three brothers, Earliest memories are of living in the city that was in essence a village, Played outside with brothers and older cousins, At the outbreak of the war remembers mother did not expect it to last more than a few months, Family fled the city after shelling began to hit inside the village, Fled to Zagreb to a refugee camp, Slept outside on a soccer field with hundreds of other refugees, Experienced a lot of freight and knew that something was not okay with life, After Zagreb moved to Germany for 6 years followed by a stay in the Netherlands for 2 years, Decided to move to St. Louis due to her older brother already holding residence in the city, Moved to St. Louis at the age of 15 to Bevo Mill, Remembers it being different from other places and a lot less friendly, Used to lifestyle of greeting others on the streets while in Bevo Mill this became something that she could not do, Only siblings and mother moved to the United States while rest of the family is spread across the world or stayed in Bosnia, Feels that the United States gave her the foundation for the rest of her life, Would consider moving back to Bosnia but cannot due to the economic situation, Would also not want to take her daughter away from the only place they know which is St. Louis, Experienced discrimination and being called a terrorist due to Islamic faith, Wants people to ask questions and not assume things about Bosnians and other cultures, Older daughter has experienced some of the same discrimination at school that she experienced including being told to speak English among other things, Enjoys Bosnian cuisine such as zeljanica (Pita) which reminds her of Jajce, Wants future generations to always ask questions and never assume, Respect everyone and do not judge people based off actions that happened 20 years ago that they played no role in

Keywords

Jajce, Zagreb, Germany, Netherlands, St. Louis, Shelling, Bevo Mill, Discrimination, Religion, Bosnian Cuisine, Future

Pre-War Residence

Jajce

Wartime Residence

Jajce,Zagreb,Germany

First Country of Residence

Croatia

First US Residence

St. Louis, MO

Document Type

Oral History

Collection

Affton High School

Digital Format

MP3

Digital Publisher

Center for Bosnian Studies

City

St. Louis, MO

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