The Atlanta Youth, a branch under the non-profit group Community of Bosniaks Georgia, hosted the event, which emphasized this year’s integration theme.
The program included speeches, poetry, and a song duet between Alma Bajramovic, one of the youth members, and Hanka Paldum, a well-known Bosnian singer.
Right: Alma Bajramovic
The pride was certainly felt in the room when Bajramovic hit the high notes during her interpretation of a famous, traditional Bosnian song. The audience started clapping and singing along instantly.
Youth members that perform traditional Bosnian folk dances ended the program with a performance and all eyes on them.
Afterwards, guests were provided with Bosnian food and drinks. Bosnian stores and restaurant catered half of the food, while the remainder was made from scratch from women in the Bosnian community.
Invitees walked from table-to-table, where Bosnian items were on display for the public. Objects included Bosnian books, artwork, and Bosnian coffee with sugar and “Rahat lokum,” a jelly-sweet that is usually eaten alongside coffee.
Inera Isovic, one of the event coordinators, was apprehensive about so many things taking place on the same day.
“We were worried that people wouldn’t show up since it was Super Tuesday and there was no session inside the Capitol,” she said. “The most challenging thing about organizing this year’s event was definitely guessing what the turn out would be.”
Left: The Capitol was introduced to traditional Bosnian food, drink, culture, art, dance, and entertainment.
Thankfully, we have incredible supporters in our community who make all the hard work we put into these events worth it,” Isovic continued.
Editors Note:
In 2015, the first annual Bosnian-America Day was established March 1, 2015 and was sponsored by the following members of the Georgia House: Buzz Brockway of Lawrenceville, Joyce Chandler of Grayson, David Clark of Buford, Valerie Clark of Lawrenceville, Brooks Coleman of Duluth and Chuck Efstration of Dacula.
The event is held each year on Bosnia and Herzegovina’s Independence Day, 23 years after its citizens voted for independence from the Socialist Federal Republic of Yugoslavia.
After Bosnia and Herzegovina seceded, Yugoslavia was considered dissolved into five successor states: Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Slovenia and former Yugoslavia, later divided into Serbia and Montenegro.
According to the resolution, Metro Atlanta benefits from the presence of the Bosnian-American community “through multiple businesses, restaurants and shops.”
The resolution also says that “the Bosnian community has combined their rich culture with the great American way of life and first, second and even third generations of Bosnian-Americans are living the American Dream.”
