FBU-2011-03-10
Interviewer
Jack Luzkow and Ben Moore
Date of Interview
3-10-2011
Interview Location
St. Louis, MO
Length of Interview
119:09
Gender
Male
Religion and/or Ethnicity
Muslim
Description
Born in 1970 to Muslim parents and has three brothers and one sister. Grandparents mostly raised him. He recalls having a very normal and decent childhood growing up in Yugoslavia. He decided to go to Gymnasium for medical professions to become a nurse and graduated in 1990. He began to notice changes in peoples sentiment towards separation starting in the late ’80s. He completed his military service in the JNA from 1990-1991, serving two months in Novi Sad and ten months in Titograd (now Podgorica). After serving, he came back and got a nursing job at a hospital in Velika Kladusa. A couple of months later, the war started, and he was drafted into the Armija BiH as a medic. He served for the duration of the war and was wounded on three occasions. His primary duties were to care for wounded soldiers, but he did participate in surveillance and missions to capture weapons and supplies from Serbian forces. I this interview, he discusses the day to day life and interactions of soldiers in battle. He outlines the desensitizing nature of war and conflict. He married a Croatian woman after the war and went to stay with her parents in Germany. His brother came to St. Louis first and sponsored him to come over. He arrived and learned English quickly. He had to repeat nursing school and returned to working in hospitals as a nurse. He believes that the war could have been prevented or ended sooner. The west is powerful enough to start and end wars.
Keywords
Velika Kladuša, Unsko-Sanski Canton, Germany, St. Louis [MO], United States, Novi Sad, Titograd Nurse, Medic, Armija BiH, Mixed family, JNA, Fought during the war, Learning English, Community college, Nursing
Pre-War Residence
Velika Kladuša
Wartime Residence
Velika Kladuša
First Country of Residence
Germany
First US Residence
St. Louis, MO
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
