AHS-2018-10-08

Born in Germany(Unknown City) to Bosnian Muslim parents from the city of Banja Luka, Parents enjoyed with steady jobs before the war, Father was employed as a QA specialist at a automobile factory while mother worked in a grocery store, Lived in the city proper and did not take the threat of war seriously when conflict loomed, As conflict broke out family lost income and had to look for food while father had to hid in the forests around the city for months at a time, Fled to Germany where she was born in 1994, Lived in a type of refugee camp in Germany of which she remembers very little, Remembers learning the language a bit and learning how to count in German, In 1999 left Germany and moved to the United States, In St. Louis first lived with aunt until parents could find jobs, Difficult start to life in St. Louis as parents did not know English and communication which close to impossible, Employed eventually at minimum wage jobs and moved into their own apartment, Began school at Buder Elementary where she was used as a translator for other Bosnian children who did not know English a well, Grow up reading letters for parents and other Bosnian adults and also translating over the phone due to the lack of language skills in the community, Remembers an accident in Branson where a man told her and her parents to go back to their own country after he heard them speaking Bosnian, Told him to do the same in anger, While growing up had to do everything on her own including learning about college loans or scholarships and any problems she would need to solve as her parents had no experience, Felt as if she was an outsider always as her and her family did not speak the language and have a different culture with different traditions, Heard stereotypes against her such as that the government gives all Bosnians money and that is how they can afford everything they have, The war effected her family as they were all forced to leave Bosnia to different corners of the world, They all lost at least one family member or friend to the conflict, Visited Bosnia twice but felt strange in the visit and took time to adjust but once adjusted it was time to go back to the United States, Identifies as Bosnian as she was not born here and her Bosnian heritage means a lot to her, Feels that the events in Bosnia are cruel and tragic that someone can be target only due to their religious beliefs, Believes that there needs to be more discussion in schools especially in those with a large Bosnian student body about the events in Bosnia during the 90\u27s, Would want others and future generation of Bosnians to remember how hard their parents and the first generation of Bosnian refugees worked in order to be successful, In order for them to work less as they grew up in the United States