Preliminary communication
Reasons for exile, break-down and hope (Croatian and Bosnian-Herzegovian Refugees)
Milan Mesić
; Filozofski fakultet u Zagrebu
Abstract
The paper reports some findings of a survey research (N=1247), which is part of the international research project "Prospects of Return and Reintegration of Croatian and Bosnian-Hercegovian Refugees", carried out among the Croatian displaced persons in Croatia, Croatian refugees in Hungary and Germany, as well as among the Bosnian-Herzegovian refugees in the three countries. The author questions the reasons for fleeing, and the respondents’ frame of mind - especially their perception of the future (hope).
Various categories of refugees are identified according to the reasons for their present status. It is highly possible that one out of ten adult Bosnian-Herzegovian refugees (the ratio is somewhat lower for Croatian refugees) has an experience of imprisonment in concentration camp or jail. At the other end of the scale - in terms of suffering - anticipating refugees (i.e. people who left their homes before they had faced real danger) comprise 10% of the total sample.
More than 50% of our respondents come to terms with their refugee situation; others are equally divided among moderate optimists and psychologically
devastated people.
Keywords
refugees; displaced person; reasons for exile; future
Hrčak ID:
154849
URI
Publication date:
31.12.1994.
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