A biography of an Australian refugee aid worker from the Bosnian war

Lana Petkovic

Biography: Lana Petkovic

Born on 6th June 1983 in a Bosnian City called Mostar, Lana Petkovic's has come a long way. Petkovic's parents came from two different religions. Her Mirjana mother was Catholic while her Slobadon father was Muslim. Marriages where couples came from different religions were frowned upon at the time -- just as they are frowned upon today in some quarters.

According to Petkovic, her early childhood years were spent at Mostar. Her family's stay in the city was however cut short as a result of the war that soon rocked the country. This war in the words of Gibney and Hansen (2005, p.190) "lasted from April 1992 to November 1995." It was during this war that Petkovic's parents become separated. In addition to the unrest, religious animosity was a contributing factor in the said separation. Petkovic was left in the care of her mother.

Leaving Mostar was however not that easy. The escalating violence complicated the situation for Petkovic and her mother largely because other families in the town were also trying to escape the hostility at the time. Hopes of getting out of the country continued to dim as the war worsened. According to Petkovic, her most significant memories include their attempts to board a bus each morning to no avail given the sheer number of those who were also trying to escape the war. By the grace of God, Petkovic and her mother were able to board a bus one morning. In her own words, "that was the last bus to leave the town before the city escalated into full blown war."

Soon, Petkovic and her mother were able to find their way into Croatia. They were taken in as refugees and they had to rely on assistance from the Red Cross and several other community centers. Before long, they were lucky enough to be placed with a family that took them in for a couple of months. At this time, Petkovic's mother could not secure employment as she did not have any form of documentation on her. Everything had been left behind in Bosnia. As Petkovic points out, the only belongings they had left Bosnia with was a bag full of clothes and some money to last them a couple of days. Petkovic admits that were it not for the help they received from people of good will, they would not have made it.

During their stay in Pula, Petkovic secured admission to one of the schools in the city. Soon, she was also baptized. She also received her reconciliation and became Catholic. All the while, Petkovic was pursuing her education which she did until year seven. Through God's mercy, the family was again lucky when a chance came through for them to come live in Australia. According to Petkovic, the Catholic community in Croatia was also very instrumental in bringing them to Australia. There was also no shortage of support once the two eventually arrived in Australia. Petkovic's mum however had to learn English so as to avoid the obvious language barriers.

According to Petkovic, her finishing of high school was largely thorough the support of friends and the community. After high school, Petkovic went ahead and enrolled for a Bachelor of Science. On completing her first degree, Petkovic enrolled for masters and on completing the program, she secured employment as a Pharmacist. These are no mean feats for an individual who had to run away from hostilities in her country to become a refugee in another.

Looking back, Petkovic feels that just in the same way she and her mother were helped at their time or hour of need, helping others to her comes natural now that she is in a position to do so. She humbly recognizes that fact that she wouldn't be where she is today were it not for the help she received along the way. She terms what she does part of giving back what she got. In her own words, "one good deed deserves another." Towards that end, Petkovic has chosen to engage in a number of helping activities. In addition to serving people from her culture and background (who may have also gone through the troubles she went through), Petkovic also visits the local community centre on a monthly basis to help out those in need of any assistance especially in regard to filling documents and opening bank accounts.