COMMUNITY & CULTURE
Photo by Bryan Schraier
“ My parents had to make a decision whether to stay ,” she explained . “ From their standpoint , it was better to stay to help our relatives in Bosnia . They could send them packages ; they could send money . They were able to find jobs in their own profession , so they stayed in Dubai for the next 20 years .” The family was in Dubai when war broke out in Bosnia in 1992 . “ I was a teenager , so I did not pay attention . I didn ’ t understand why it was happening ,” she said . “ I grew up in what was Yugoslavia , and my friends and I were all the same . We didn ’ t know there were religious differences . I didn ’ t know which of my friends were Muslim like me , which ones were Christian or Orthodox .”
But for Karamehic-Muratovic , the war ’ s impact hit home in a very painful way .
“ I lost my 17-year-old cousin , who was killed in 1995 , just weeks before the war ended ,” she recalled . “ She was one year younger than me . She was coming home from volleyball practice and was killed by a shell that fell and shattered . When I think of war and loss , I think of that the most . It was such a tragedy .”
In the years following the war , much of the displaced Bosnian Muslim ( Bosniak ) community was relocated to St . Louis .
“ Little Bosnia - everyone knows that it ’ s in St . Louis . It ’ s a hub for Bosnians . Artists , performers , politicians from Bosnia , they always stop in St . Louis . This is the place ,” she said . “ If you read about Bosnians in St . Louis , they ’ re hard-working , resilient , friendly , they ’ re a model of refugee integration . They ’ re associated with a group that ’ s made a positive impact in St . Louis .”
But she is quick to add that it ’ s not always easy for the Bosnian population to find their place in the community - and that ’ s where the significance of her work comes in .
“ I have always said that knowing who you are and what your cultural identity is , is very important . Whether you ’ re from Small Town , U . S . A . or from Bosnia , each of us has a unique cultural identity ,” she said .
And for many Bosnian-Americans and foreign-born Americans , in general , there ’ s a period of “ cultural homelessness ,” according to Karamehic-Muratovic .
“ It ’ s a sense of not belonging anywhere culturally . For people like me , when I go to Bosnia , they tell me , ‘ You ’ re American ,’ and when I ’ m here , they say , ‘ You ’ re Bosnian .’ Sometimes this can be stressful for those trying to adjust ,” she said .
In her area of mental health expertise , she said it ’ s actually a good thing to identify with one ’ s cultural identity .
“ My kids are encouraged to speak Bosnian ,” she said . “ I also make it a point to take them to Bosnia every summer , where they can get a sense of their background and where their roots are , as well as interact with relatives .”
Karamehic-Muratovic said she spent a good amount of her college years in search of her identity until she had a revelation .
“ At the University of Kentucky , despite looking like I fit in , I was worried . How was I going to get accepted ? How could I get rid of the accent ? Then I turned a corner ,” she said .
“ I realized I had an advantage ! I began to embrace my cultural identity . I began to embrace the fact that I had an accent ," she added . " We are so quick to judge people by their appearance , by the color of their skin , religion , accent , but it ' s much more than that . It ’ s about having an identity and knowing who you are - that ’ s what ’ s important .”
SAVVY I SOPHISTICATED I SASSY 81