AHS-2017-12-14

Interviewer

Luis Navarro

Date of Interview

Fall 12-14-2017

Interview Location

St. Louis, MO

Length of Interview

1900-01-01

Date of Birth

2000

Gender

Male

Religion and/or Ethnicity

Muslim

Description

Born in St. Louis to a father from Zvornik and a mother from Banja Luka, During the war both parents were captured by Serbian soldiers and held at camps, At camps experienced many negative things and witnessed many people being killed, tortured and raped, Due to international the camps were closed down and mother and father moved to Germany separately as at the time they were not married, In Germany lived in a communal housing setting where Grandparents were friends and enjoyed coffee together, Parents met and began dating eventually getting married and applying to live the United States, Family moved to the United States in 1998 firstly to Chicago where they lived for a year before moving to St. Louis to be closer to family, Started kindergarten without knowing any English as only Bosnian was used in the home, All friends at early age were Bosnians and did not meet anyone else who was non-Bosnian until kindergarten, Adjusting the first few months was very difficult but teachers who were caring made it easier, As English became easier school became easier and began to help parent translate in certain situations, Has experienced occasional discrimination due to his Bosnian heritage with people who think he should not be here, Still struggles with some aspects of English, Identifies as Bosnian since his family still follows all the same cultural norms, traditions and holidays as before the war, Prefers living in the United States as it is full of opportunity with Bosnia being a beautiful country but it has very little going in terms of the economy and has a rampant problem with corruption, Feels that the situation in Bosnia is getting worse and that potential in the near future another war could break out, Wants future generations to remember to be respectable to everyone and treat everyone equally no matter where they come from.

Keywords

Zvornik, Banja Luka, Germany, St. Louis, Discrimination, New Generation, Bosnian Cuisine

First Country of Residence

United States

First US Residence

St. Louis, MO

Document Type

Oral History

Collection

Affton High School

Digital Format

MP4

Digital Publisher

Center for Bosnian Studies

City

St. Louis, MO

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