ANALYSIS
In several ways the story of Sead and Natasa’s "voyage" from Bosnia to Phoenix follows closely with our classroom readings. But parts of the story are the exceptions to the rule.
After leaving war-torn Bosnia and living in Austria for nearly a year, Sead and Natasa decided in 1994 to request refugee status and migrate to the United States. According to Barbara Franz’s article in the Journal of Ethnic and Migration Studies, the American Resettlement Program’s processing priority system granted "refugee status" for Bosnians long after European countries had closed their borders. Between 1993 and March 1997 99% of all applicants were accepted if they had at least one friend or relative in the U.S. Their friend Mensur was already in Phoenix. As Saskia Sassen’s article "Why Migration" mentions, many immigrants utilize a "bridge" to get to America. Although their refugee status alone probably would have allowed their admittance, Mensur provided a "bridge" which expedited the transition. Natasa extended her "bridge" to her mother and brother in Bosnia after the war was over. They now live in Phoenix.
Barbara Franz’s article in the 2003 Feminist Review entitled "Bosnian Refugee Women in Resettlement" points out that the 1980 Refugee Act granted Bosnian refugees the most generous resettlement awards. Bosnian refugees gained immediate permission to work, settlement options according to their own individual preferences, and were encouraged to become American citizens after their first five years of their residence. Sead and Natasa arrived in the United States in November 1994. The Catholic Services immediately found them both jobs and an apartment. They obtained a green card and became U.S. citizens in 2000.
Natasa’s first job in Phoenix was at a Bosnian owned company that manufactured clothing. Her experience could easily have been a paragraph in Charles S. Clark’s article entitled "The New Immigrants." She worked with a dozen Bosnian women and everyone spoke just the native language. Natasa was taking ESL classes at Glendale CC, but could not practice her English at work because everyone spoke Bosnian! She left the job so she could quickly improve her English. Sead and Natasa also fit Frank Sharry’s comments in the same article. They have a ‘desire to belong, to participate, to embrace America, to love it and wrestle with it while maintaining one’s own sense of identity.’ They have no desire to return to Bosnia. They are proud of their America citizenship and and appear to be saddened when referring to the way it once was in Bosnia.
They have been employed for many years with a McDonald franchisee in Phoenix. Saed is a technician and Natasa an administrative assistant. Their children have grown up in America and seem like normal American kids. They own a beautiful home in Scottsdale and have totally assimilated to the United States. They are enjoying their life in America.
They are truly an American success story.