FBU-2013-12-05

Date of Interview

12-5-2013

Interview Location

St. Louis, MO

Length of Interview

140:26

Date of Birth

1983

Gender

Male

Religion and/or Ethnicity

Muslim

Description

Lived in the neighborhood of Dojna Gracanica in Zenica before and during the war, father passed away four months before being born, raised by single mother who supported her family of two sons, experienced the bombing of Zenica of JNA military jets, came very close to being hit by a bomb that was directed at a food distribution center, substantiated minor injuries to hand, recused by brothers friend who carried him all the way him on his back, after the attack refused to leave the hallway of his house due to fear, experienced the ongoing shelling of the city until it became a normal part of life, experienced days where there was no food to eat at all, watched as his mother made food out of everything and anything including Burek made from ICAR canned meat, Witnessed additional shelling of a community center where the whole building collapsed, traveled to Germany with brother and stayed in a asylum camp for six months awaiting paperwork, moved to the United States directly to St. Louis thanks to charity organizations, arrived in St. Louis as a 17 year old and enrolled at Roosevelt High School as a 9th grader, Experienced culture shock while attempting to learn English with the ESL program, Experienced and witnessed a racial tension that he had not know before between St. Louis African American population and Caucasian, Graduated High School and after a year enrolled at St. Louis Community College, Transferred to UMSL to study eventually graduating with a BA and MA, started his own maintenance business that is still running, became involved in the Bosnian community by investing in multiple newspapers tailored for Bosnians, founded youth organization called Medina for Bosnian Youth, joined the Federation of Balkan Americans to participate in community outreach including ACT/SAT prep, study abroad, fundraising and community organization

Keywords

Zenica, St. Louis [MO], United States, JNA, Shelling, Bombing, School, Identity, Bosnian Culture, Community activism, Started a business, Growing up Bosnian American

Pre-War Residence

Zenica (Donja Gračanica)

Wartime Residence

Zenica (Donja Gračanica)

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

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In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted.