“Durable Solutions,” Transnationalism, and Homemaking among Croatian and Bosnian Former Refugees

Authors

  • Jasna Čapo Institute of Ethnology and Folklore Research and University of Zagreb

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.25071/1920-7336.40139

Keywords:

Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Serbia, durable solutions, transnationalism, homemaking, former refugees, integration, repatriation, minority return, ethnicity

Abstract

This article proposes that the UNHCR-supported “durable solution” programs for former refugees from Bosnia and Herzegovina and from Croatia were at odds with the actual exilic experiences of former refugees. It introduce homemaking as an essential aspect of a successful durable solution and proposes supplementing the usual ethno-politicized understandings of home in the specific context with analyses of the process of homemaking at different scales—house (dwelling), community (the wider space of settlement containing natural, cultural, social, and economic aspects) and nation. The article also argues that repatriation and local integration in the country of first asylum—two allegedly distinct and opposite solutions to refugee crises—should be viewed as intertwined processes within a broader transnational context. It is concluded that their combination brought a durable solution to refugee predicaments in the specific case.

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Published

2015-04-02

How to Cite

Čapo, J. (2015). “Durable Solutions,” Transnationalism, and Homemaking among Croatian and Bosnian Former Refugees. Refuge: Canada’s Journal on Refugees, 31(1), 19–29. https://doi.org/10.25071/1920-7336.40139