AHS-2017-12-13

Interviewer

Anes Prses

Date of Interview

Fall 12-13-2017

Interview Location

St. Louis, MO

Length of Interview

1900-01-02

Date of Birth

1988

Gender

Male

Religion and/or Ethnicity

None Given

Description

Born in Goražde before the start of the war, As the conflict began family took a crowded bus from the city to the Austrian border where they stay for a week, After their application for status was approved they lived in Austria in a refugee camp with only other refugees, The schools were for refugees and everything was designed for them with no real path to citizenship, After the end of the war visited Bosnia for a month and saw that still many houses were destroyed and a large amounts of weapons were still in the country, while visiting found a hand grenade that he thought was a toy, Rolled in around the room until his mother took it away, After returning from their visit to Austria told they would need to leave, Arrived in Bosnia to live full time but found very little income opportunities, Lived off savings acquired in Austria and a small income from selling food at a farms market, Treated poorly by fellow citizens as they had left the country during the war and now returned, Spent this time going to school and playing with friends around the city, Enjoyed playing soccer and swimming in the local river, After saving began to run out family decided to try and move to the Netherlands, After applying for residency denied and given a time from that they need to live, The whole time in the Netherlands was spent in a refugee tent camp with access to very little things, Applied for residency in the United States and approved, Came to the United States in 2000 to Austin, Experienced a strong sense of cultural shock as everything was different, Fast paced life, School was different and the language was difficult to learn, Helped parents with the language and finding a job, Austin almost a nonexistent Bosnian people and in that time felt very isolated, Moved to St. Louis after friends visiting the city suggested it over coffee, After arriving in St. Louis completed high school in Affton, After high school worked a lot of different low paying jobs until he found a passion for sales, In a few years became a Sales Manager at his place of employment, Thinks of St. Louis as his home now, Wants future generations of Americans and Bosnians to remember what refugees are going through and what he and all Bosnians went through, To put themselves in refugees shoes and help them and receive them with open arms to the United States.

Keywords

Goražde, Austria, Refugee Camps, Austin, St. Louis, Heritage

Pre-War Residence

Goražde

Wartime Residence

Goražde, Austria

First Country of Residence

Austria

First US Residence

Austin, TX

Document Type

Oral History

Collection

Affton High School

Digital Format

MP3

Digital Publisher

Center for Bosnian Studies

City

St. Louis, MO

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In Copyright - Educational Use Permitted.