FBU-2014-03-18
Interviewer
Deborah Mraz
Date of Interview
3-18-2014
Interview Location
St. Louis, MO
Length of Interview
63:59
Date of Birth
1965
Gender
Female
Religion and/or Ethnicity
Muslim
Description
Born in Prijedor to Bosniak parents. She got sick shortly before her 5th birthday with an undisclosed illness, but left her wheelchair bound for the rest of her life. She states that she spent the majority of her childhood travelling all over the former Yugoslavia to different clinics for treatment. She felt that things started to change in the 1980’s and recalls being in Belgrade and having Serbs tell her not to go to Kosovo because the Albabnians were dangerous. She had difficulty because she is Muslim but her last name in Karadzic, associated with Radovan Karadzic. They fled to Croatia fairly early, at the end of 1992 and remained there until 1996. It was hard being a refugee in Croatia because they were also at war and they were checked almost daily by the police for papers. They then transferred to Northern Germany in 1996 and stayed there until 1997. Her sister stayed in Germany. She, her brother, and parents all moved to St; Louis through Catholic Charities. None of them spoke English but were helped by the community in St. Louis. She learned English and obstained a drivers liscense. IN 2001, she began working at the registrars office for ESL at the International Institute and has worked there 11 years. She assist refugees when signing up for English courses, mainly Arabic and Spanish speaking. She has never returned and has no interest in visiting Bosnia. She keeps in contact with family through Facebook.
Keywords
Istria, Schleswig-Holstein, International Institute, Wheelchair, Refugee status, Trauma, Special needs
Pre-War Residence
Prijedor
Wartime Residence
Croatia
First Country of Residence
Croatia
First US Residence
St. Louis, MO
Document Type
Oral History
Collection
Fontbonne University
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/.
Rights Statement
