On Thursday, October 27th 2016, Prof. Dr. Ajlina Karamehić-Muratović from St. Louis University gave a lecture entitled ‘‘Well-being and Cultural Identity of Bosnian Diaspora in St. Louis, Missouri’’ at the International University of Sarajevo. The aim of the lecture was to assess and identify the ‘‘mental health needs’’and substance abuse factors of Bosnian refugees. The lecture started with the short talk of PR Office Manager Meldina Ugarak.
Prof. Dr. Ajlina Karamehić-Muratović stated the definition of the refugee in the beginning of her lecture as ‘‘A person who flees to another country out of a fear of persecution because of religion, political affiliation, race, nationality or membership in a particular group’’ (UNHRC) During the lecture, Ajlina Karamehić-Muratović talked about mental health, disorder, difficulty, the cultural identity of Bosnian refugees who moved to St. Louis during the period of 1992-1995.
St. Louis is stated as one of top ten resettlements for refugees which make the largest Bosnian population outside of Bosnia and Herzegovina. And Bosnian was considered to be second most popular foreign language in St. Louis. In 2003, a replica of Sebilj from Bosnian community was given to the city of Saint Louis as part of its 250 Aniversary celebrations.
The lecture ended with the quotation: ‘‘Many experience a sense of a cultural homelessness- that is, of belonging neither to the United States nor to Bosnia-Hercegovina’’, by Ben Moore.
