Dilemma or Destiny?

Worried about cold weather, but warmly welcomed

- Ljerka Susanna Lukic

When I left my native Bosnia and Herzegovina during the third year of the bloody war, I settled down in Zagreb, the capital of my also-native Croatia.

Zagreb was as charming as always but expensive, and I soon applied for visas to the U.K. and the United States. My knowledge and appreciation of these two countries were largely based on books, movies, songs, and art pieces that I had enjoyed since my school days. I learned a lot from my pen pals, too, and I had been an international student in London, England, before the war in the former Yugoslavia. I’d never stopped dreaming of going back to England for more studies and perhaps job opportunities.

Unfortunately, I got swiftly rejected by both embassies, along with a note that I could stay and build a new life in Croatia since I was a Bosnian Croat. Yes, I am, but some regions of Croatia were still occupied, and life in liberated and free regions was going through painful recovery phases.

I wondered where else to try. Because of the distance, I didn’t consider applying to Australia or New Zealand. So, Canada, then? I had my doubts!

For about two months, I carried the immigration forms in my purse without any urge to submit them. From time to time, I even stopped in front of the majestic Esplanade Zagreb Hotel, where the Canadian Embassy was located, yet hesitated to apply.