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Oral history interview with Hatidza Polovina

 Collection
Identifier: SR 12319

Scope and Contents

This oral history interview with Hatidza Polovina was conducted by Elizabeth Mehren and Sankar Raman on January 7, 2019. The interview was recorded for The Immigrant Story, an organization that documents and archives the stories of immigrants and refugees in the United States. Abdulah Polovina was also present.

In this interview, Hatzida Polovina discusses her marriage to Abdulah Polovina and her experiences as a Muslim in Bosnia during the Yugoslav Wars. She talks about her early life in Bosnia, including her education, and practicing Islam in a communist country. She describes the atrocities committed against Bosnian Muslims during the war, including her father and older brother, and talks about escaping to and living in Austria. She then describes returning to Sarajevo to marry Abdulah Polovina, and talks about making a life in the middle of a war zone. She speaks about her Islamic faith. She then talks about emigrating to the United States and about adjusting to life in Seattle, Washington, and in Portland, Oregon. Polovina and Mehren discuss the reasons behind the many genocides around the world in recent decades. She speaks further about her education at a madrassa in Sarajevo. Polovina closes the interview by talking about social conditions in Bosnia at the time of the interview.

Dates

  • 2019 January 7

Creator

Conditions Governing Access

Collection is open for research.

Conditions Governing Use

Joint copyright for this interview is held by the Oregon Historical Society and The Immigrant Story. Use is allowed according to the following statement: In Copyright – Educational Use Permitted, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC-EDU/1.0/

Biographical note

Hatidza Polovina was born in Divic, Bosnia, in 1974. She attended a madrassa in Sarajevo. The Muslim men in her village were forcibly removed by the Bosnian Serb Army of Republika Srpska during the Yugoslav Wars. Her father and older brother were tortured and killed; their bodies were identified in a mass grave in Srebrenica in 2007. After her father and brother were taken, her remaining family fled to Austria, where her younger brother had been living for several years. While in Austria, she worked with an organization to help refugees. In the midst of war in 1994, she returned to Sarajevo to marry Abdulah Polovina. The couple would later have five children. The Polovina family emigrated to the United States in 2001, and they settled in Seattle, Washington. In 2015, the family relocated to Portland, Oregon.

Extent

1.16 Gigabytes (2 audio files (WAV, 1 hr., 48 min., 16 sec.))

Language of Materials

English

Abstract

Oral history interview with Hatidza Polovina conducted by Elizabeth Mehren and Sankar Raman on January 7, 2019, for The Immigrant Story. Polovina discusses her marriage to Abdulah Polovina and her experiences as a Muslim in Bosnia during the Yugoslav Wars.

Physical Characteristics and Technical Requirements

Immediate Source of Acquisition

Gift of The Immigrant Story, June 2021 (RL2021-057).

Related Materials

Oral history interview with Abdula Polovina, by Elizabeth Mehren and Sankar Raman, SR 12318, Oregon Historical Society Research Library.

Publication note

An article about Hatidza Polovina, "Love in the Midst of Mayhem" by Elizabeth Mehren, was based on this interview and published on The Immigrant Story website at https://theimmigrantstory.org/love/.

Creator

Title
Guide to the oral history interview with Hatidza Polovina
Status
Completed
Author
Sarah Stroman
Date
2022
Description rules
Describing Archives: A Content Standard
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid is written in English.

Repository Details

Part of the Oregon Historical Society Research Library Repository

Contact:
1200 SW Park Ave.
Portland OR 97205 United States
5033065204
5033065240