Portland's Yugoslavian Community A Handful Of Oregon's Immigrants Share Their Thoughts About Life In Portland. By Stacy Ison On any given Sunday afternoon, you can hear sounds of Serbo-Croatian slicing through the smell of Torrefazione's Italian coffee in the northwest area of town known as Little Serbia. No, this is not New York. This is Portland, Oregon, better known for its Dead Head scene than any sort of immigrant population. Here, you can see Serbs laughing with Croats, sharing a common language, sharing the memory of Yugoslavia before civil war. Their stories are different colors, woven from the same fabric. Vanesa Pancic grew up in Split, Yugoslavia, now a part of Croatia. She speaks fondly of her childhood, where she had a great education and a loving family. She says that even though Yugoslavia was communist, she had the freedom to travel to other countries and lived very well. After Croatia sought independence, things started to change for her, because she was born to a Serbian father. She tells a story that she will never forget that happened while she was attending law school. _________________________ I asked my mother who is a Serb and who is a Croat. I didn't know the difference. I didn't really care. I was not brought up to think that we were different. _________________________ Vanesa Pancic "One day in 1990, I came home crying. I was attacked by a couple of colleagues in my school who told me, 'You're a traitor, you Serb.' I asked my mother who is a Serb and who is a Croat. I didn't know the difference. I didn't really care. I was not brought up to think that we were different. We were one nation who had lived all those years in peace." Things were difficult for the Pancic family during the war. Vanesa's father had to flee to Monte Negro, and he wasn't able to contact his wife and children for a number of years. Vanesa was able to leave Croatia in 1996, when she received a scholarship to study international environmental law at the University of Utah. After graduation, she moved to Portland because that was the only state where she knew someone from back home. Vanesa found Portland to be laid back, and the people very friendly and curious about her background. She finds it pleasantly surprising that the Portland Yugoslavian community is so large and close-knit. "We all fought back home. We had such a bloody war, that they will need generations to heal the wounds. But over here, we are all from different areas. There are Muslims, Serbs, and Croats here, and we all live in peace." The community throws many parties, and the people share almost all aspects of their lives. However, Yugoslavian politics can often be a touchy subject. Vanesa tries to avoid it when she can, because she finds it hard to reason with some people and find a common ground. "We all were hurt unjustly by someone else." Dalibor Simlesa is Bosnian. He has been in Portland for five years. He knew little English when he came to the city, but he lived next to a Yugoslavian family that introduced him to others in the community to make him feel more at home. Most of his friends are from Yugoslavia, including his Muslim girlfriend. He finds it easy to talk about back-home politics among his friends. However, he becomes impassioned when talking about American foreign policy. Even though he likes Portland, Dalibor plans to go back home as soon as he is financially able. _________________________ A common thread that Vanesa, Dalibor, and Jovan miss from back home is the family closeness. _________________________ On the other hand, Jovan Gvozden has no plans to permanently return to Monte Negro. He does not talk about politics; he would much rather "talk about life." Jovan is thoroughly happy with his life as a Portland dentist and teacher, which he shares with his Bosnian wife, Zarifa, and his daughter, Vedrana. Jovan admires Portland's beauty and enjoys the friendliness of its people, and when asked if she would like to go back to Bosnia, Vedrana said in typical American teen fashion, "No, I'm pretty used to it here." Zarifa, Vedrana and Jovan Gvozden A common thread that Vanesa, Dalibor, and Jovan miss from back home is the family closeness. They find that so many people here are unhappy that they have to be around their families twice a year, but the Yugoslavian family bond is one aspect of their culture that they are not willing to let go of. In addition to the culture shock that they experienced from the lack of family-connectedness, Vanesa was shocked by some things that many of us take for granted. "The fact that I can call 9-1-1 and get help on the way is amazing to me. Here, I can't imagine that someone would come into my home and try to kick me out because of what I am. They would kick me out if I didn't pay the bills, but not because of my national origin or religious beliefs. This is what I hope that Americans appreciate – that you have access to justice no matter what." Vanesa recently married an American-born man and changed her last name to Pancic-Meier. She is proud to have kept her Serbian last name, to share her culture with her American husband, to be a Portland attorney fighting for immigrant rights, and praying that one day, in her lifetime, she will once again live free in Croatia. Stacy Ison lives in Portland, Oregon. She has worn many hats in her life, including writer, editor, and lawyer. Stacy loves to investigate the mysteries and misunderstandings of life. Her mother blames it on her Scorpio sun sign. Scott Eaton has been taking photographs, drawing, and designing for over 20 years. Scott has photographed and written extensively about Guatemalan poverty and civil war. More recently he has been a cartoonist for a national newsletter and photographs local events, weddings, and portraits. He has a special interest in history, sociology, liberation theology, and horticulture. He now resides in Portland, Oregon. This website: Copyright © 2002 Dream World Media, LLC. / Urban Mozaik Magazine. All rights reserved. The opinions expressed in Urban Mozaik Magazine are not necessarily those of Urban Mozaik Magazine and the publisher cannot be held responsible for them. This website/publication, in whole or in part, may not be reproduced without written permission from the publisher.