The Association of Returnees from Bosnia, Their Descendants and Friends—that is not yet the official name. “The word ‘Yugoslavia’ is unwelcome in all the countries of the former Yugoslavia,” explains Edward Burniak, one of the organization’s members. Among others, those who came to Poland from those areas after World War II may join the Association. The organization is intended to support non-political and non-denominational activities.
Stefania Sadlak (80) was born in Dziewięcin, a small village in Bosnia. “Mother was from the Kraków region, and Father was from Volhynia. They left in search of bread,” she recounts. Stefania was 16 when she came to Poland. Her family settled in Różyniec. “We left in May. It was so warm there, and the fruit was already ripening. We missed those lands very much,” the woman recalls.
The grandparents of Antonina Zenona Dutkowska emigrated from Galicia and settled in Dziewięcin. During the turmoil of the war, part of her family fled to Sarajevo. “That was where my mother met my father,” she says. Soon afterward, her father joined the partisans. Antonina was two years old when he was killed.
“When the war ended, Grandmother summoned her children and said: I want to return and die in my homeland,” the woman relates. And so it happened. Antonina’s family settled in Różyniec. “My grandmother used to tell me: child, remember! The homeland is always the homeland. A person feels secure there, even if they are poor.”
Good Memories, Bad Memories
Antoni Dziechciarz was born in Bosnia. “The second generation of Polish settlers survived for 40 years,” he says. “The identity of the Poles was preserved. They did not live in enclaves, but they stayed together.”
“Childhood there was beautiful. Bosnia seemed like an arcadia to us. Beautiful friendships were formed,” Mr. Antoni recounts. “All of that ended when the war broke out.”
Edward Burniak’s father nearly died during the war. “Chetniks—members of Serbian partisan units—stormed into our house,” Mr. Edward says. “They accused my father of being a communist because he supported Josip Broz Tito, and of acting against God. My mother replied: what kind of God do you believe in if you have come to kill a man?”
A scuffle broke out. Mr. Edward’s father pushed the partisans over, then ran out of the house and escaped into a cornfield. The Chetniks began shooting at him. “Fortunately, they did not hit him. After all that, we had to flee to Prnjavor,” Burniak adds.
Preserving the Heritage
“We want to build friendship and cooperation between Poland and the nations of the former Yugoslavia,” the organization’s members declare. “We want our association to establish contact with our ancestral lands; we intend to preserve this heritage,” Antoni Dziechciarz emphasizes. “We used to be called people with two hearts—one in Bosnia, the other in Poland,” Edward Burniak says with a smile.
More information about the Association is available at the following telephone numbers: 75 644 75 84, 75 732 44 77, 886 407 384 and 606 981 095.
(information ii)