Programme Erasmus + Europe on the move : Migration Biographies
Theses
Until peace was established again in Bosnia and Croatia , about 735.000 Yugoslavians fled to Western Europe . 350.000 of these have sought refuge in Germany . 18 One of those refugees was Gabrijela Kreso , who fled from Bosnia in 1993 to escape the war with the hope of finding a better life in Germany . Her migration biography is presented hereafter .
3.1 . Initial Situation in Sarajevo
During the siege of Sarajevo the Serbian enemy was not only equipped with heavy firearms and artillery , but also with a uniting ideology based on ethnic homogeneity . Both threats hit the city unprepared and left it vulnerable to propaganda and grenade fire . Because of a lack of ideology among the Bosnian people and in their capital , one tried to stress the multicultural identity and resist mentally by keeping the spirits high and staying strong . The Bosniaks as a specific ethnicity and majority in Sarajevo united in their role as victims to uphold the comfort-giving myth of a decent and good Bosnia . 19
3.1.1 . Youth
Gabrijela was born and raised in Cengic Vila 2 , a neighborhood located near the center of Bosnia ’ s capital . She lived with her mother , who was a teacher at the time , and her grandparents , until her mother and her father , a painter , got back together when she was 15 and he moved back in . Being raised strictly Croatian-Catholic by her grandmother she has kept her faith and thus her cultural and religious identity to this day . As an only child she was very active in cultural , sportive and social terms . She practiced Croatian Folklore , conscious of her own ethnic identity , but kept close contact to her muslim and orthodox friends . Her family even celebrated Christmas , the Eid al-Fitr ( muslim sugar festival ), and the orthodox Christmas together with friends from all ethnicities . One was aware of the ethnic , cultural and religious differences but accepted everyone for who they were . Things changed rapidly after the war outbreak , as propaganda from all sides began to flood in the city , that was now under siege and left the population in confusion about what exactly was happening . Nevertheless the relationships with the family ’ s friends and neighbors stayed unharmed at first , because they were united in their mutual destiny . Gabrijela ’ s father used to listen to multiple radio channels from different war parties on a battery-powered device , since there was no electricity most of the time . He then proceeded to compare the reports to find out the truth and expose propaganda . This might have helped to overcome interethnic conflicts at the time . Nevertheless her parents left Sarajevo to move to Split in 1997 , when hatred grew due to the Bosniak frustration , that their land had been split up . 20 Intimidated by the constant danger of being hit by grenades and artillery fire , her and her uncle ’ s family , that had moved in with them , had to sleep in the hallway to be as far as possible from the windows . With nothing to do , apart from playing cards or talking to neighbors , and living in a bombarded city with no end of war insight , life became quite miserable . 21
3.2 . Flight and new Life in Munich
3.2.1 . Flight
Gabrijela had graduated from high school and was in the fourth semester of her studies in architecture when the war broke out and she had to leave her home two years later . 22 She never wanted to leave her parents , who decided she had to , because they had already lost a daughter , who died at the age of two , before Gabrijela was born , and wanted their only child to survive . The decision was made spontaneously overnight , so she could only pack little luggage and food before she had to get on the last bus that was able to leave Sarajevo in March
18 ( Bosswick , 1997 )
19 ( Melcic , 1999 , S . 300-307 )
20 ( Schneider , Biographie 1 , 2019 , S . 6-16 )
21 ( Schneider , Biographie 3 , 2019 )
22 ( Schneider , Biographie 1 , 2019 , S . 16 )
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