The Kladanj diaspora was mostly formed by war emigrants in the period 1992-95, but the trend of emigration to a lesser extent has continued to this day.
Dr. Aida Ibričević is a researcher and consultant in the field of migration and diaspora studies. She lives and works in Sarajevo, and is an external collaborator with the Migration Center at the Peace Research Institute (PRIO) in Oslo, Norway. BiH diaspora discussions directly in your inbox at www.aidaibricevic.com
TRANSLOCAL COMMUNITIES BH. DIASPORA
In addition to the transnational character of BH. diaspora, as Hariz Halilovich argues in his paper, “translocalism” is also important for a better understanding of the diaspora. As Halilovich describes, the Zvornik community was formed in Austria, in the vicinity of Vienna. Upper Austria is home to people from Višegrad, and Melbourne, Australia is home to people from Brčko. Prijedor residents in the diaspora are predominantly settled in the Swedish town of Malmo, while people originally from Eastern Bosnia and Podrinje live in St. Louis in the United States. The emergence of local communities in the diaspora is called “translocalism” in the academic literature, and when the idea that the diaspora is not a monolithic whole is taken into account, understanding the specifics of local communities supports more meaningful cooperation with many “local diasporas”. The case of the Kladanj diaspora stands out especially for its success and connection.
KLADANJ DIASPORA
According to unofficial estimates, somewhere between 25-30% of the population of Kladanj lives and works abroad. When we take into account that according to the 2013 census, the total population of Kladanj is approximately 13,000, we are talking about a diaspora group that numbers somewhere around 3-4,000 people. Of this number, some 60 families, or approximately 240-250 people, are actively involved in projects of cooperation with the diaspora, which are implemented by the i-platform. They gathered in the Facebook group “I love Kladanj”. The Kladanj diaspora was mostly formed by war emigrants in the period 1992-95, but the trend of emigration to a lesser extent has continued to this day. Although citizens of Kladanj are scattered all over the world, they are still most represented in Italy, Germany, Sweden, Austria, Denmark, the USA and France.
