AHS-2018-10-01
Date of Interview
Spring 10-1-2018
Interview Location
St. Louis, MO
Length of Interview
1900-01-01
Date of Birth
1992
Gender
Female
Religion and/or Ethnicity
Orthodox
Description
Born in Prijedor in the Krajina region, Father had to flee the city before her birth due to his Muslim identity while mother who indefinites as Orthodox stayed behind, After her birth father returned and older sister and parents fled to Munich, Remembers very little about Germany only starting school there, Family moved to St. Louis when she was 6 years old, Family started a small bakery to support themselves, Helped parents run the shop by working on the register, Grew up in Affton area with mostly Bosnian friends, Americans viewed her different since she was not from the United States while other Bosnian viewed her differently since her parents were not both Muslim, War effected family by being forced to leave the country, Visits Bosnia as often as she can but due to expenses cannot go every year, Culture in Bosnia is very relaxed an laid back, Education is starting to become important in Prijedor with more and more young people leaving the town to go to college, Walking is the main way to get around town, Identifies more as American then Bosnian but always wants to retain her Bosnian roots, Speaks English about 60% of the time and Bosnian the rest of the time, Had to grow up more quickly than other children due to her parents needing help in translating English to Bosnian, Has never researched deeply into the war but thinks it is important to do so, When visiting Bosnia flies into Croatia and stays there for a few days until driving to Prijedor, Sees a noticeable changed when entering Bosnia as some places still show the effects of shelling and conflict, Growing up family celebrated all holidays including Muslim and Christian ones, Parents let her choose her religion which she did at the age of 17 when she was baptized, Feels that it is most important that future generations never forget what happened in Bosnia.
Keywords
" Prijedor, Munich, St. Louis, Religion, Education, Small Business, Identity, Culture, Language, New Generation"
Pre-War Residence
Prijedor
Wartime Residence
Munich
First Country of Residence
Germany
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
Copyright Note
These oral histories are made available by the Center for Bosnian Studies for research, educational, scholarly, and/or creative purposes only. All uses should adhere to the principle of fair use established under Section 107 of Title 17 the 1976 Copyright Act. More on fair use is available here: https://www.copyright.gov/fair-use/.