FBU-2013-06-07
Date of Interview
6-7-2013
Interview Location
St. Louis, MO
Length of Interview
51:04
Date of Birth
1990
Gender
Male
Religion and/or Ethnicity
Muslim
Description
Born to a Bosnian Muslim family in Bosanska Gradiska, After tensions arose a great aunt of the family sent the family a visa to come to Germany and work in a restaurant she owned, Family packed up in moved to Germany with an interesting part being that all the money they had they put into his teddy bear so along the border it would not be stolen, arrived in northeastern Germany where parents worked at the restaurant while he attended German school and learned German, Stayed in German till the 4th grade, in school would learn all subject even theology while paying soccer for the school team as a defender, After the Dayton accords were signed Germany started revoking visas, family had to decide between the United States and a still dangerous Bosnian, Moved to the United States in 2000 and came directly to St. Louis, Lived in a apartment with his parents and sponsor until family started renting their own apartment in Mehlville, Attending ESL/ELL classes in Melville from the 5th grade to the 6th afterwhich it was determined he knew enough English, Remembers the great amount of acceptance and generosity of all the students and teachers in the district, continued education in Mehlville and attended Mehlville High School and Oakville graduating in 2008, Enrolled in UMSL as a business major and eventually changed to Political Science due to an interest earned from own personality and being Bosnian, Graduated from UMSL with a degree and is looking for a role in politics, wants future generations to take care of their own communities and neighborhoods and look back to Bosnia to where they came from and take care of those places as well
Keywords
Krajina, Bosanska Gradiska, Germany, Mehlville [MO], St. Louis [MO], United States, Growing up Bosnian American
Pre-War Residence
Bosanska Gradiska
Wartime Residence
Bielefeld
First Country of Residence
Germany
First US Residence
St. Louis, MO
Document Type
Oral History
Collection
Fontbonne University
Digital Format
MP3, 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
