FBU-2020-06-01
Interviewer
Adna Karamehic-Oates
Date of Interview
Winter 6-1-2020
Interview Location
London, UK; St. Louis, MO
Length of Interview
60:00
Date of Birth
1992
Gender
Male
Religion and/or Ethnicity
Muslim
Description
Born in Srebrenica during the war. His parents fled to Srebrenica when his mother was 5-6 months pregnant with him. His parents were peasant farmers from the small village of Krivace. Town was besieged by Serbs due to its proximity to the mountain Zep which had, atop it, vital military infrastructure. His family made it to Srebrenica, but his father who was in the army went back to the front line. They were given an apartment in Srebrenica because his father was with Naser Oric’s unit. His father was wounded by a mine and returned to Srebrenica. They left Srebrenica in 1994 on a UN Convoy. His father had to protect them because Bosnian soldiers engaged in the black market were throwing women and children off busses to get their own people on. They live in Tuzla until the end of the war when they were kicked out and moved to Buhotina outside Sarajevo. They applied for asylum in 1999 and finally made it first to Sioux Falls, SD in March 2000. He finished 2nd-7th grade there, and the schools were quite unsatisfactory. They did not do much to help immigrants learn. His parents started a trucking company and they had many friends and family in St. Louis. They moved to St. Louis in 2016. Considers himself more Bosnian than America. Believes that you never really cease being a refugee, you cannot find a place where you fit in 100 percent.
Keywords
UN Convoy, black market, Army BIH, wounded, mine, refugee, asylum, education, trucking company, PTSD
Wartime Residence
Srebrenica, Tuzla, Buhotina
First Country of Residence
United States
First US Residence
Sioux Falls, SD
Document Type
Oral History
Collection
Fontbonne University
Digital Format
MP4
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/.
Rights Statement
