Denis was born in Croatia and raised in Bosnia. He was a teenager when war broke out in 1992 and at eighteen was forced to join the army. In 1996 he was evacuated to Britain by the Red Cross. Although his stay was initially temporary, Denis has settled permanently in Britain.
Denis was born in Croatia in 1977, then still part of Yugoslavia. He grew up in a Bosnian town on the border of Croatia and Bosnia.
Denis had a happy childhood. He saw himself as Yugoslavian, not Bosnian. Religion – he was a Muslim -was not important to him and his two closest friends were Serbian and Croatian.
But everything changed with the outbreak of war.
And where Denis lived, the situation was complicated by a division amongst the Bosnian Muslim community about the future of a Bosnian state.
‘There were about 100,000 people in the region [Bihać], whereas maybe 30,000… [didn’t] agree with the central government…’
At eighteen Denis was forced to join the army. He had fifty days training and was on the front line for over three weeks with little idea of what he was doing.
‘Didn’t have a clue…somebody gave you a gun and you were supposed to shoot…’
The Muslims from Bihać eventually lost their fight with central government. It was a relief for Denis.
‘I could finally take my uniform off and I was just happy, whatever happens I know that I am never going to pick up a gun again in my life.’
But he had to leave his home along with thousands of others. They headed towards Karlovac in Croatia but were stopped on the way by the Croatian army on the way.
The area soon became a refugee camp and international aid agencies began to arrive.
His family stayed at the camp for several months but Denis left after 13 days. He went to Croatia to find a way to go overseas.
‘I just wanted to get out…whatever the cost…’
Denis was eventually evacuated to Britain by the Red Cross. He arrived in June 1996 and some of his family joined him the following year. Other members of his family went to the United States, Denmark and Germany.
‘I just wanted to get out…whatever the cost…’
Although his stay was at first temporary, Denis has settled permanently in Britain and now holds British citizenship.
‘I was so happy being able to go visit my family, but…I was happier coming back here…and that tells me that this is where I belong, this is where my home is…’
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