newsletter - the bosnian-herzegovinian american …bhaaas.org/attachments/101_february-2010.pdf ·...
Post on 09-May-2018
213 Views
Preview:
TRANSCRIPT
-
then wholeheartedly welcome
our new Board members: Dr.
Snjezana Buzov, Dr. Emir Fes-
Dear Academy members,
We started year 2010 by elect-
ing four new members of the
Academy Board of Directors. I
would like to extend my grati-
tude to all the active members
who voted in the elections, and
From the Editor
BHAAAS
February, 2010 Volume 2, Issue 1
Newsletter
Inside this issue:
Sabina Varjaca, Director 2
Dr Resad Pasic Delivers Presi-dential Address
3
Bosnia is Larger Than Those who Dont Love Her
4
Members in the News 6
Dr. Suad Trebinjac 7
From the Desk of the President
Dear Academy members,
I would like to welcome you to
the new issue of our newsletter
that was arranged with great
help from the newsletter de-
signer Mr. Adnan Atic. It is my hope that we are able to
maintain the standards and
principles established by our
first editor and newsletter foun-
der Dr. Kenan Arnautovic. In this issue, the President of
the Academy Mr. Aleksandar Hemon introduces the newly elected members of the Board
of Directors. I would like to
take this opportunity to extend
congratulations to the new
board members, and to thank
them for accepting a posi-
tion that is known to be de-
manding and effortful.
In the past year we held an
exceptional event, Days of
BHAAAS in Sarajevo, which
still resonates among our mem-
bers and friends. An interview
with our Dr. Emir Festic pub-lished in the magazine "Dani"
is a great personal story about
the successful young doctor
and scientist who is able to
help a broader community
without concern for his per-
sonal interest.
Days of BHAAAS in Sarajevo
was well presented in media,
and we are preparing a special
section on our webpage where
you will be able to access all
published articles and media
clips. As a preview we bring
you the report from Radio Free
Europe where Dr. Adnan Sar-cevic and Dr. Kenan Arnaut-ovic were guests on Radio Free Europe, which can be found in
this issue's section "Members
in the News"
Dr. Resad Pasic is one of the founding fathers of the Acad-
emy, and also the president of
the American Association of
Gynecologic Laparoscopists
(AAGL). On the annual meet-
ing of the society Dr. Pasic
gave an exceptional presiden-
tial address to 1,500 AAGL
members. Dr. Pasic's presiden-
tial speech can be accessed via
link noted in the article.
Sabina Vajraca has worked
professionally in theater as a
director, writer, producer and
stage manager. Sabina also
directed a movie titled "Back to
Bosnia", and is preparing a
new movie "Emina". I can not
think of a better way to intro-
duce our new young and tal-
ented member other than to ask
that you read her powerful
story and to visit web links for
Sabina's movies.
In this edition you can also find
an interesting article about the
PM&R Department of Rashid
Hospital in Dubai, where our
member Dr. Suad Trebinjac is
a professor and head of the
department administering
prolotherapy.
The Cavatina Duo - Eugenia Moliner (flute) and Denis Aza bag ic ( gu i ta r ) a re BHAAAS members that we
will introduce in our next edi-
tion. Today, however, you can
enjoy their music while reading
this issue of the newsletter.
Special thanks to Dr. Snjezana Buzov for the translations pro-vided in todays issue of the
newsletter.
Andi Arnautovic - Editor
New Members
Charles Burger
International membership
Inka Didelija
Candidate membership
Gavin Divertie
International membership
Dino Kujundzic
Associate membership
Zlata Kundurovic
Corresponding member-
ship
Larisa Kurtovic
Associate membership
Zdenko Mandusic
Candidate membership
Denis Rajic
Candidate membership
Vedran Residbegovic
Associate membership
-
tic, Dr. Aida Hozic and
Almer Imamovic.
Dr. Snjezana Buzov com-pleted her BA at the Univer-
sity of Sarajevo, and her PhD
at the University of Chicago.
She is faculty in the Depart-
ment of Near Eastern Lan-
guages and Cultures at Ohio
State University in Colum-
bus. She fluently speaks four
languages and can read in
another ten - impressive is
the word that springs to mind.
We expect her linguistic vir-
tuosity, along with her bril-
liance, to contribute substan-
tially to the Board.
Dr. Emir Festic is an Assis-tant Professor at the prestig-
ious Mayo Clinic College of
Medicine in Jacksonville, FL.
Everyone who know Dr. Fes-
tic appreciates his enormous
energy and enthusiasm,
which were manifest during
the BHAAAS Days in Sara-
jevo in October 2009 when
Dr. Festic, along with Dr.
Ognjen Gajic (also a Board
member), immaculately or-
ganized and conducted train-
ing sessions in Intensive Care
Unit interventions. We are
proud and happy to have Dr.
Festic on Board.
Dr. Aida Hozic is a professor in the Department of Political
Science at the University of
Florida in Gainsville. She is
also a co-director of the Stud-
ies of the United States Insti-
tute on US Foreign Policy,
sponsored by the US Depart-
ment of State, Bureau of Cul-
tural and Educational Affairs.
She has published widely and
her interests range from Hol-
lywood to cigarette smug-
gling operations in the Bal-
kans. Her intelligence and
expertise will without a doubt
push us to develop interesting
and challenging future pro-
jects.
Almer Imamovic is an inter-nationally renown guitarist
who has performed in Lon-
don, Paris, Stockholm and, of
course, Sarajevo. Indeed, his
performance with the Sara-
jevo Philharmonic was the
highlight of the BHAAAS
Days in Sarajevo last year.
Mr. Imamovic started his
musical education in Sara-
jevo, under the tutelage of the
legendary Mila Rakanovic,
and continued in Paris, Car-
diff and Pasadena, California,
where he also teaches. He
often performs with his wife,
Page 2
Volume 2, Issue 1
Jessica Pierce, our interna-
tional member. We hope that
after long Board meetings
Mr. Imamovic might be able
to provide some soul relief by
playing a sevdalinka or two. Exceptional though they may
be, these four individuals are
perfectly representative of the
Academy membership and
inescapably suggest all the
exciting possibilities that are
within our grasp. They em-
body the belief that is at the
very core of our Academy
that knowledge is a shareable
wealth. Once again. let us
welcome them.
Aleksandar Hemon
President of the Academy
Sabina Vajraca, Director
Original Contribution by: Sabina Vajraca, Director
I left Banja Luka at the end of May 1992, a week before my
fifteenth birthday. I was told I was going to visit my relatives in
Croatia for the summer, and as we rushed to the airport that
sunny spring morning all I could think about was how cool it
was that my parents got me out of school before the school
year ended. My final exams were behind me, a warm Croatian
coast before me, and I couldnt for the life of me understand
why my mom was making such a fuss and crying so much.
Such melodrama! Cmon, mom. Ill see you in a couple of
months, I told her. She just nodded and forced a smile as my
dad instructed me to be good, listen to my aunt and pamet u
glavu.
By the time I saw my mother again, nine months later, I could
no longer remember the careless laughter with which I dis-
missed her sorrows. It was packed away with everything else I
knew and believed before that fateful May morning, tucked
away in the darkest corner of my mind, not to be touched, or
examined, for the fear of disturbing too many demons. For the
next eleven years I kept my gaze on the future. We moved to
United States, I finished college, fell in love, learned to live on
my own, and fully embraced my new American self. I was
happy, I believed. Bosnia was still there, but more like a safety
net. A place where I could escape should America prove to be a
mean stepmother after all.
Its only appropriate that my first trip back was as naive as my
departure. I went there for an afternoon, thinking it would be
fun to see the old streets after all that time, never realizing that
the secret combination for my emotional lock was hidden in the
smell of the linden trees of my childhood home.
My first film, Put kuci, u tudjinu/Back to Bosnia, came out of
that experience. I wanted to show what happens when peace on
paper does not mean a peace of mind. When a refugee returns
-
to their home turf only to find it has long since stopped being
home. When safety net suddenly seizes to exist.
I was criticized by many for digging up old stories that were
pass by now. Some even went as far as saying that I am actu-
ally propagating hate and violence. Why cant I tell happy sto-
ries? A romantic comedy, perhaps? People are tired of the sad-
ness. They need entertainment, not therapy.
Nonetheless, I believe that our job, as artists, is to tell stories
that everyday people are afraid of telling. Stories that push but-
tons that people prefer not to push. That bring up questions
most of us choose never to address. Whether its asking what
was it that happened in the city of Banja Luka that makes its
citizens prefer to stay in foreign lands rather than return
home, or the denial, guilt and victimhood that I examine
through the story of Prijedor in my next film, Emina, my sto-
ries will continue to be uncomfortable, digging, exposing,
questioning. For I think that in order to be truly happy we need
to open the doors, reawaken the demons, and face them head-
on. Especially those that are often dismissed and ignored, their
Page 3
Volume 2, Issue 1
Dr. Resad Pasic delivers presidential address
In 2009, Dr. Resad Pasic has presided over the world's larg-est gynecologic laparoscopy organization, the American Asso-
ciation of Gynecologic Laparoscopists - AAGL. In Orlando,
at the annual meeting of the AAGL, Dr. Pasic gave his presi-
dential address which can be seen at Dr. Pasic's website,
http://www.gynlaparoscopy.com or at AAGL's website
http://www.surgeryu.com/play-video.php?
video=454&demo_view=1
Approximately 1,500 AAGL members attended Dr. Pasic's
presidential address, which was honored by a standing ova-
tion.
Dr. Pasic's presidential speech is 30 minutes long. It is an
unusual and quite entertaining combination of photographs
and videos, concluded by a film titled "10 top reasons why to
become the President of the AAGL".
power underestimated, a fear of a bullet so much easier to com-
prehend than a fear of ones own mind.
http://www.backtobosnia.com
http://www.eminathemovie.com
-
Page 4
Volume 2, Issue 1
Bosnia is larger than those who dont love her
LIFE: Bosnia can also be this way: Emir Festic, an American story of success
Emir Festic returned to Bosnia, albeit temporarily, as a fully realized person, as somebody who is able to help the broader
community, without concern for his personal interests.
In a fast moving crowd, jostling down the Upper East Side to-
ward the Downtown, a face stood out. A young man of twenty-
twenty-five differed from the busy New Yorkers for his careful
observing of the medical institutions on this side of Manhattan.
With newspaper under his arm, he read the classifieds, fre-
quently checking to see if he arrived at the right address. It had
been almost a month since he arrived to New York, and the
home he had left never seemed so distant. In Bosnia and Herze-
govina, and in his native city Sarajevo, war was still ravaging,
the war that Emir Festic that was the name of a young man
just escaped from. That was the hot summer of 1995: newspa-
pers reported widely on the never before recorded heatstroke in
Chicago and Milwaukee, John Mayors election victory in
United Kingdom, the Iraqi hostage crisis and the fate of two
U.S citizens David Daliverty and William Barloom de-
clared as spies by the regime of Saddam Hussein. In those
days, when the Drina army corps, under the command of
Ratko Mladi, were busy allegedly taking revenge on the
people of Srebrenica for some ancient events of the Ottoman
times known as the beginning of the upsurge of dahis, news-
papers reported about Bosnia and Herzegovina, as if it was
some distant toponym destined to entertain the audience anx-
ious to hear stories about bloodshed, ethnic conflicts and mass
murder.
Under a Lucky Star I was lucky says Emir Festic, remembering those days, I
arrived to America, and even though I was provided with a
place to stay by the Redepagi family, who accepted me as
their own, I had to look for employment, any kind. I bought
newspapers and set off on foot, down the East River bank,
leaving my CVs in health institutions looking for surgical tech-
nicians.
Emir succeeded in graduating from University of Sarajevos
Medical school during the siege of Sarajevo, and became aware
that the diploma from the University of Sarajevo would not
help him greatly to put his foot in the door of any of the New
Yorks fine medical institutions. He realized the truth behind
the saying: If you can make it here, you can make it any-
where. However, beside his diploma he had another important
document in his pocket: the recommendation letter written by
the renowned New York orthopedist David Helfet, which he
received under almost unbelievable circumstances.
During the war period, until the end of 1994, Emir Festic was
a member of a mobile surgical team and the special police unit
Biseri. He volunteered to become a member of police forces
before the official beginning of war, and general draft. He re-
calls his student days in Sarajevo during the war: During
1993, I treated an injured man, whose leg was virtually shat-
tered by shrapnels, and who had to be moved out of the country
in order to receive the urgently needed complex reconstructive
surgeries. However, before the transfer, it was necessary to
stabilize the fractures and injuries, which required several sur-
gical interventions. I performed a spongioplastics procedure on
his tibia, improvising from what I could find, and I used a fro-
zen bone from the someones broken hip, hoping that this
would suffice until he reaches orthopedist abroad. Emirs pa-
tient was soon transferred to the U.S. As it turned out, the or-
thopedic surgeon who performed other complex interventions
could only confirm that the particular surgery in Sarajevo was
done perfectly. He could not help but wonder how it was possi-
ble to do that under the impossible conditions of the besieged
Sarajevo in 1993. Upon learning that the surgery was done by
Emir Festic, a medical student from Sarajevo, Dr. Helfet was
amazed, and he kept saying Unbelievable!. The story about
the enthusiastic reaction of an orthopedist from New York
reached Emir who, upon arrival to America, made an effort to
find the office of Dr. Helfet. I contacted him and reminded
him of the case. He was very pleased to write a recommenda-
tion letter for me, which helped me find employment.
Indeed, the recommendation was helpful, although, at times,
it seemed as if some higher power was helping as well. A clinic
to which Emir applied had just lost a young Chilean doctor
who while taking US medical board exams, had worked there
as surgical technician. The positive experience the clinic had
-
Page 5
Volume 2, Issue 1
with the Chilean doctor helped Emir to find employment on the
first day of job search.
Patriotism
Fifteen years later, Emir Festic returned to Bosnia, albeit tem-
porarily, as a fully realized person, as somebody who is able to
help the broader community, without regard for his personal
interests. He calls that patriotism, even though he is fully aware
of both the weight and emptiness of that word, as well as of the
fact that patriotism may be the refuge for a scoundrel. In war, we burned out fast. We exerted ourselves, we gave
everything we had. I worked 24-hour shifts, followed by 48-
hour breaks that I used for studying and taking exams. In
addition to all this, I also went to the front lines, mostly at Do-
brinja. But since there was a constant lack of medical staff, that
was where I was needed the most. At one point, I realized that
we, as citizens of Bosnia and Herzegovina, all of us who cared
about Bosnia, were given up by the outside world from whom
we eagerly waited for help. Emir says.
After Emir graduated, he considered the diploma just a first
step of the tower he meant to climb. He had realized that in
order to achieve his goals, he had to leave Bosnia and Herzego-
vina. On the other hand, I thought that, as people say, I paid
my debts to the homeland. I thought I could be more helpful
on the outside, because then, as well as now, the fate of this
country was being solved outside its borders. For three years of
the siege, I had been giving everything I could. First I worked
as surgical assistant, operated myself at times, and all while
studying. Like everybody else I also traveled for and carried
water, and lived through all daily horrors like my fellow Sara-
jevans. I had never went through military training, I wasnt
skilful in using weapons, and I could not do more than I had
already done, Emir adds, like he was justifying. Needless, for
in his war career he had seen everything, and helped hundreds
of injured and massacred. I remember the massacres in the
Vaso Miskin street and the Markale market. I remember the
mutilated and broken bodies, half-dead and massacred people.
When I think of that today, I feel as if the brain isolates these
horrible memories in some separate chambers, so that one can
live normally. In war, you accept abnormality, deviation as
something normal, on daily basis. That, which later may cause
long lasting trauma for people, becomes altogether normal.
In a way, this had awakened in me the professional interest in
working with acute diseases, in intensive care, where the sick-
est patients are. Those who, either cant breathe, or whose
hearts suddenly stops.
America, the land of opportunities For Emir, leaving Sarajevo and arriving to the U.S. was, in
many ways, a cultural shock. Initially, he was helped by immi-
grants from Plav, who had lived in the U.S. for decades. In
order to become independent, Emir immediately set off to
search for an employment.
He established ties with other Bosnian immigrants, and soon
he join the Advisory Council, a lobbyist group which was
involved around political problems in Bosnia and Herzego-
vina, and maintained contacts with a number of the U.S.
senators, congressmen, and former US ambassadors in Bos-
nia. Two years ago he became a member of the Bosnian-
Herzegovinian American Academy of Arts and Sciences
(BHAAA). This is what brought him to Sarajevo as a partici-
pant in the manifestation Days of the BHAAAS in Sara-
jevo, which took place in the last week of October. Seven-
teen members of the Academy gave a number of lectures and
presentations at the Clinical Center of the University of Sara-
jevo, the Rectorate of the University of Sarajevo, and The
Bosnian-Herzegovinian Academy of Arts and Sciences. Re-
nowned and competent specialists, mostly in the field of
medical sciences, presented their work in different disci-
plines: from the medical ones to those in social sciences,
focusing on Bosnia and Herzegovina and its Diaspora.
This is how I think about Bosnia: it has to be what it de-
serves to be, which means that all who live here should be
equal. Bosnia is large enough for everyone who loves her,
and it is larger than those who dont. That is the Bosnia that
In war, we burned out fast. We exerted ourselves, we gave
everything we had. I worked 24-hour shifts, followed by 48-
hour breaks that I used for studying and taking exams. .
has always been and will always be. Our intention is that
truth about Bosnia becomes known, that what happened is
not forgotten, and that what happened in Bosnia becomes an
example of what should not happen to anybody else Emir
emphasizes that, even though the majority of initial members
of the Academy were Bosniaks, they do not see Bosnia
solely as the state of Bosniaks. He adds I am especially
pleased that the organization, since we must measure eve-
rything by ethnic composition, is becoming more and more
Bosnian in the true sense. Emirs intercession for B&H in-
dicates that he could someday return to his homeland, how-
ever he does not speak of that for now. He concludes: Now,
we have the support of the Helsinki Commission and the
State Department, and we conducted talks with those who
lead the negotiations about Bosnia, such as former U.S. am-
bassadors in Bosnia. As U.S. citizens we asked for the con-
tinuous and active U.S. presence in B&H, because that is the
only way we can be efficient in helping Bosnia. Even
though he follows Bosnian newspapers only sporadically, he
seems to understand well political circumstances in B&H.
Our newspapers are extremely depressive. In my view, one
should not pay attention to the politicians paradoxical state-
ments that are found in the media. Also, I believe that only
active approach to problems, good moral, hard work, recon-
-
Page 6
Volume 2, Issue 1
great; parks, playgrounds and beaches are very close, we have
no reason to complain.
BHAAAS
The Bridges of Collaboration with the Homeland
Bosnian Herzegovinian American Academy of Arts and Sci-
ences (BHAAAS) is a non-profit organization established in
November 2007, in Charlotte, NC. A group of Bosnian and
Herzegovinian academicians, scholars and artists joined to-
gether to found this organization with the goal of advancing
science, scholarship and arts among Bosnian and Herzego-
vinian Diaspora in the US and Canada. Currently, it has more
than one hundred members. Its members come from all schol-
arly disciplines and arts; from medical science and law to so-
cial sciences, literature and music. The Academy aims to estab-
lish close ties between the scholars in Bosnia and Herzegovina
and those who live in the US and Canada, and to build bridges
of collaboration with the homeland. The event Days of
BHAAAS in Sarajevo, which was organized in October, rep-
resented the first step in that direction. In the following years,
the Academy plans to organize similar events in other regional
centers in Bosnia.
Magazin "Dani" # 662; 02/19/2010 Author: Eldin Hadzovic Translated by: Dr. Snjezana Buzov
ciliatory philosophy, regardless to whether one is from Sara-
jevo, Banja Luka or Mostar, can help towards the way out of
the deadlock, and I think that 350.000 American Bosnians must
have their say about their homelands future. Practice American Medicine with European Roots
Emir Festic works at the Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, FL,
which is among the American clinics with highest reputations.
First, unlike many of health institutions in the US, this clinic
does not function primarily as business venue, and it is closer
to European system of medical care. The founders of the clinic,
the Mayo brothers and their father emigrated from Scotland,
and brought with them, as Dr. Festic explains, the roots of the
European medicine. Regardless of how much I work, my sal-
ary is fixed, and as a result I cannot put the financial interest
before the interest of our patients. Following the internal
medicine specialization in 2001, and sub-specializations in the
fields of pulmonary medicine and critical care in 2005, he was
employed by the Mayo Clinic, where he currently serves as
director of the surgical intensive care. He now spends ten hours
at work everyday, from 7:00 AM to 5:00 PM, in addition to
night calls. Thus, it is clear that his private life revolves around
his job at the Clinic. Emir lives in close proximity to his work,
so that he does not have to spend two hours everyday commut-
ing to and from his work, like most of Americans. He explains:
My wife Nura is also a medical doctor, so it is easier to afford
to live close to our work. People usually can not afford that. I
do not have much free time. We have three daughters, and I try
to spend as much time together, as possible. Jacksonville is
Members in the News
On 9ov. 16th, within the program titled I want what is mine, not what belongs to others, Radio Free Europe hosted Dr. Adnan arevi and Dr. Kenan Arnautovi, Translated by: Dr. Snjezana Buzov
We present two medical doctors, citizens of B&H, who work
at prestigious US clinics, and who are members of the Bosnian
Herzegovinian American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In the
latter capacity they recently visited Sarajevo. Our guests are:
Dr. Adnan arevi and Dr. Kenan Arnautovi.
Dr. Adnan arevi: My main motive to be here is the same as my colleagues to transfer the knowledge that we acquired
in the U.S. My personal goal is to introduce lectures in the field
which, in my view, is not sufficiently developed in B&H, or is
not developed at all, i.e. the senior health care. My work is in
geriatric psychiatry, and I think that, as the population ages,
there is an increasing need for the specialists who would be
able to address the problem. One of our priorities should be to
bring attention to these aspects of health care. I believe that,
unless we begin thinking and acting very soon, these issues
will, within ten or twenty years, pose a difficult challenge.
Dr. Kenan Arnautovi: One of the main ideas behind estab-lishing the Academy was to bring together and organize those
who havent been included in the organizational developments
of the people originally from this area living in the U.S.. We
started two years ago with seventeen members, and within a
short period of time the membership grew to over one hundred.
Since we now live in the US, another goal was to establish ties
with our homeland, the Republic of B&H, and to look for ways
in which we could contribute to the exchange of experiences
between the two states,. The third goal is to contribute to the
development of the democratic, progressive B&H as a member
state of the EU.
-
Page 7
Volume 2, Issue 1
Dr. Suad Trebinjac
-
Page 8
Volume 2, Issue 1
-
Page 9
Volume 2, Issue 1
-
Page 10
Volume 2, Issue 1
-
BHAAAS
The mission of the Bosnian-Herzegovinian American Academy of Arts and Sciences (BHAAAS) is advancement and development of arts and sciences in the Bosnian-Herzegovinian diaspora in the United States and Canada. The Academy aims to provide connections between Bosnian-Herzegovinian scientists, artist and professionals in 9orth America and build the bridges of cooperation with the homeland. The Academy will promote the spirit of intellectual diversity and free ex-change of ideas among the Diaspora in the belief that knowledge is shareable wealth.
2411 Newburg Road
Louisville Kentucky 40205
USA
E-mail: info@bhaaas.org
Editor: Dr. Andi Arnautovic
Technical Editor: Adnan Atic
top related