Bosnian General Information

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The People

Name of Country Bosnia and Herzegovina

Population 4,025,476 (July 2005 estimate)

Government Emerging federal democratic republic

Ethnic Groups There are three main ethnicities in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Nearly half the population are Bosniaks (Bosnian Muslims), about one third are Bosnian Serbs and 15% are Bosnian Croats. 2% are from other ethnic groups.

Religions Approximately 40% of the population are Muslim, 30% are Orthodox-Christian and 15% are Catholic.

Languages The official languages are Bosnian, Croatian and Serbian (formerly 'Serbo-Croatian').

Background

In the course of its history many different groups have ruled the area now called Bosnia and Herzegovina (Bosnia). From 1463 till 1878 Bosnia was under Ottoman rule and throughout that period many Bosnians became Muslim. After years of Austro-Hungarian rule and the turmoil of two World Wars, Bosnia became one of six republics in the new socialist Republic of Yugoslavia led by Josip Broz Tito.

Communism held the different states and ethnic groups together but when Tito died in 1980 the Communist Party lost control and two years later, Croats and Muslims in Bosnia voted for independence. Most Serbs living there opposed that because they wished to remain part of Yugoslavia, which Serbia dominated. A fierce civil war broke out in April 1992 after Bosnian Muslims and Bosnian Croats declared independence. Within two months about two-thirds of Bosnia fell under the control of the Bosnian Serbs. In March 1994 Muslims and Croats in Bosnia signed an agreement creating the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina. The conflict continued throughout most of 1995, ending with the Dayton Peace Agreement. Today Bosnia consists of two entities: the Bosniaks/ Bosnian Croat Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which is largely Bosnian and Croatian, and the Republika Srpska, which is primarily Bosnian Serbian.

Since the Dayton Agreement Bosnian refugees have been returning. They often find that other refugees or returnees now occupy their pre-war homes, or that their houses were destroyed during the war. This poses a big obstacle to the return of refugees. The communities struggle with the effects of the war and it will take many years for trust to return. Before the war, life in Bosnia's cities such as Sarajevo was very similar to that of other industrialised countries. Almost two-thirds of all Bosnia's people lived in small rural villages, where farming was the main source of income.

The war disrupted people's lives and its effects continue. Most people lost their source of income, as factories and mines closed down. Landmines litter the countryside, making farming impossible. Unemployment has become a huge problem and economic revitalisation is the current focus. Foreign aid has been the key to the growth and redevelopment of the economy and infrastructure. Gradually economic reforms are taking place in Bosnia to make the shift from socialism to capitalism by privatisation and deregulation of the economy. One of the critical problems faced by Bosnia today is the withdrawal of foreign aid agencies. Bosnia now has to face the transition from international foreign aid recipient to self-reliance.

History of Migration to Australia

The history and heritage of the former Yugoslavian communities such as the Bosnian community have added an important chapter to the history of multicultural Australia. The earliest recorded immigrants from the Balkans region came to Australia during the Ballarat gold rush in 1854. Following the outbreak of World War I people from the Balkans were interned in Australia as illegal aliens. They experienced racism from local communities and trade organisations.

In the period between the two World Wars economic and social conditions deteriorated in the Balkans and there was significant migration to Australia to escape high unemployment and high frustration. The 1933 census estimated that there were 7,000 Yugoslav-born people in Australia.

Following the end of WW II, large numbers of displaced people from the former Yugoslavia migrated to Australia for political reasons, settled here and participated in post-war development. It is difficult to estimate the number of Bosnians who migrated to Australia, as it was not until the 1961 census that Yugoslavia included the new classification 'Bosnian Muslims' as a separate national identity.

In 1970 an official migration document was signed between Australia and Yugoslavia. Signs of Bosnian Muslim community life have been evident since the early 1970s with the establishment of Mosques in Melbourne and Sydney. The 1986 census recorded over 150,000 Yugoslav-born Australians, including an estimated 5,500 Bosnian Muslims.

During the civil war in the former Yugoslavia (1991-1995) about 2.2 million Bosnians were displaced and fled to many parts of the world, including Australia. Refugees from Bosnia were the largest group in the Australian humanitarian immigration program during the 1990s. Almost without exception, Bosnians arrived as 'quota refugees'. This means they applied for refugee status from offshore, arrived with permanent visas and went through a government funded resettlement program. They settled mainly in the outer suburbs of large Australian cities, such as Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane. Nowadays about 200,000 Bosnians are permanently resettled all over the world; of these 30,000 settled in Australia during the past decade.

Language and cultural barriers seriously affect the resettlement of Bosnian refugees in Australia, especially where people from rural areas are concerned. Often their qualifications are not recognised or are only partially recognised. Unemployment, under-employment and occupational downgrading are widespread.

In the 2001 census the estimated total number of the Bosnian community in Australia is about 24,000.

Bosnian Community in NSW

• Approximately 7,000 people or 0.1% of the population living in NSW were born in Bosnia.
• Approximately 4,300 people or 0.1% of the NSW population speak Bosnian.

(2001 Census)

Some Cultural Aspects of Bosnian Life

The Bosnian population is divided into three different ethnic groups: the largest group are the Bosnian Muslims, followed by the Bosnian Serbs who mostly belong to the Christian Orthodox Church, and the Bosnian Croats, most of whom are Roman Catholic. Various languages are spoken in the Bosnian community. The official language is Bosnian but Serbian and Croatian are also spoken.

Mediterranean, Western European and Turkish influences are all felt in Bosnian cultural life, which has been enriched by its diverse population. There are big variations between traditional and modern and between rural and urban cultures. In general the Bosnian culture is very community based and affectionate. Family ties are strong and friendship and neighbourhood networks are well developed. The family is very important and individual and family reputations are highly regarded and honoured. Nowadays it is common for several generations to live close by in separate households and to support each other. Hospitality is a very important value and leads to a deepened social exchange between friends and neighbours.

Prior to the civil war Bosnia's urban population aspired to a living standard similar to Western Europe and the different ethnicities increasingly intermixed by residence, occupation, friendship, and marriage. The rural population remained more divided ethnically and less well off. Following the war, religious identification and adherence to religious rules has risen among Muslims, Croats and Serbs.

After arriving in Australia the tensions within the Bosnian community between Bosnian Muslims, Bosnian Croats and Bosnian Serbs were evident. Bosnian Croats and Serbs often joined already established Croatian and Serbian communities and the Bosnian Muslims created Bosnian clubs and resources, information and welfare centres, which mainly represented the Bosnian Muslim population. Some Bosnians preferred to adopt Croatian and Serbian identities, but many also still feel more comfortable declaring themselves as 'Yugoslavs'.

In recent years there seems to have been an understanding of the Bosnian identity as including the three main ethnic groups, not just the Bosnian Muslim identity. The Bosnian identity is seen as a civic rather than an ethnic identity. Some Bosnians, mainly those living in ethnically mixed families, are eager to replace the exclusive nationalist identity by this more inclusive understanding. The Australian multicultural environment may foster this process.

Attitudes towards People with Disability

There is much variety within Bosnian culture about how people with disability are treated and have been treated in the past. Sometimes people were hidden away within the family, separated from the community, as the family and the person with disability felt ashamed about the disability. This was more common than people with disability being seen and included as part of the community.

Attitudes towards people with disability generally tend to be negative. Disability is usually seen as an embarrassment within the family. When there is a family member with disability often the whole family will feel disgraced. People will avoid the family and not want to marry into the family.

Rasim
Rasim's story is very unusual. He was a man with a mental illness living in a small city in Bosnia. He spent time with and talked to many people and in this way he was accepted as part of the community. He had somewhere to live and people were always generous, giving him food and he could come and go as he pleased.

A person with disability is often cared for by their parents at home, if necessary with support from other family members, usually sisters. Sometimes mothers are blamed for causing the disability by doing something during the pregnancy they should not have done. More often religious beliefs are involved, such as the belief that god is punishing the mothers of children with disability for their sins.

Many people are afraid of people with intellectual disability or mental illness, believing that they will behave in a violent way. Some Bosnians think of people with intellectual disability or mental illness as having no mind of their own, not seeing them as whole people and believing they will never have a 'life' or money. This negative thinking is generally stronger towards people with mental illness or intellectual disability than towards a person with physical disability or someone who is blind or deaf.

The war in Bosnia had a huge effect on everyone's lives. The numbers of people with disability (mainly people with physical disability and mental illness resulting from torture and trauma) greatly increased, making disability more common and visible in the community. People who acquired a disability because of the war were often more accepted by their community after the war. Since the war the stigma and isolation of mental health issues has reduced significantly. Overall there appears to be much more integration of people with disability in day-to-day life and some of the aid provided by international non-government agencies has gone to assist people with disability.

Many of the Bosnian refugees who fled to Australia experienced torture and trauma and the war had a huge impact on their physical, emotional and mental wellbeing. The effects of trauma have been an added pressure for Bosnians who settled in Australia. Many people are accessing specialist services, such as trauma counselling here. Sometimes dealing with a 'new' war-acquired disability or the birth of a child with disability may trigger and magnify former trauma experiences from war. Torture and trauma are likely to play a role in most families and may emerge in any dealing with the Australian health or disability system.

References

Bisogno,M. and Chong, A.,(2001). Foreign aid and poverty in Bosnia and Herzegovina: Targeting simulations and policy implications, [Internet] European Economic Review, 2001, vol. 45, issue 4-6, pages 1020-1030. <www.econpapers.hhs.se/article...htm> [Accessed June 2005]

Central Intelligence Agency (2004). CIA World Fact Book. [Internet], Washington, Central Intelligence Agency. <www.cia.gov/cia/publications/factbook/index.html> [Accessed June 2005]

Colie-Peisker, V., (2003), European Refugees in (White) Australia, [Internet] Melbourne, Victoria: Murdoch University. <www.anu.edu.au/NEC/vpeiskerNECpaper.pdf> [Accessed June 2005]

Oxfam, (2003). Cool Planet: Bosnian history, [Internet], Oxfam. <www.oxfam.org.uk/...boshist.htm> [Accessed online June 2005]

Riedlmayer, A. (1993). A Brief History of Bosnia-Herzegovina, [Internet], Harvard University. <www.kakarigi.net/manu/briefhis.htm> [Accessed June 2005]

TESOL at Sydney University: References for teachers, [Internet], Sydney: University of Sydney. <www.alex.edfac.usyd.edu.au/...bosnia.htm> [Accessed June 2005]

US Department of State. (2004). Background Notes: Bosnia and Herzegovia. <www.state.gov/r/pa/ei/bgn/2868.htm> [Accessed June 2005]

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