Along with the anniversary of the day when George H.W. Bush recognized the independence of the then Republic of Bosnia and Herzegovina on behalf of the United States of America on April 7th in 1992, the governor of the US state of Iowa, Terry Branstad, officially declared April the month of culture and tradition of thousands of US Bosnians who inhabited this US state after the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.
Members and leaders of the BiH community joined the initiators and authors of this proclamation and members of the Bosniak American Association of Iowa (BAAI) in order to jointly greet the decision by the governor Branstad.
“Since their arrival to Iowa, Bosnians and Herzegovinians became an important factor of prosperity in the state,” said Elvir Klempić, one of the youngest activists in the Democratic Party of USA. Klempić added that the progress of citizens from BiH who live in Iowa is evident in many fields, especially in the military and education sectors, where many of them are employed.
“Our diaspora contributes to all aspects of society in Iowa, and the success of Bosnians and Herzegovinians here serves as an example to other immigrant communities. Our community has proven that possibilities in the USA are unlimited,” Klempić said.
“Knowing this, the governor Branstad announced an entire month of celebration of Bosnian-Herzegovinian community, now already a successful community that primarily wanted to prove that they have many genuine ties with their homeland.
BAAI is the initiator of the declaration of April as the month of BiH culture and tradition in Iowa, founded in 2015 by young people. BAAI was established with a clear aim of helping their community and, as they claim, with the aim to fight for the rights of Bosnians and Herzegovinians in this US state. The establishment of a month dedicated to BiH culture and tradition is “just one in a series of great projects and programs that this association has planned for the future”.
The association also intends to open a cultural center, to start working on providing scholarships for students coming from BiH, and to start a program for endangered people originating from BiH. Members of the association will continue promoting the planned activities in order to reach an even higher level of collective success of the community.
(Source: avaz.ba)
