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Immigrants from Bosnia and Herzegovina in Croatia: a sense of belonging and acceptance in the new social environment

According to the 2011 census, 584, 947 people born abroad live in Croatia, and 409, 357 or 70% of them were born in Bosnia and Herzegovina. A large number of immigrants from Bosnia and Herzegovina is the result of intensive labour migration during the socialist period and the migration caused by the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Immigrants from Bosnia and Herzegovina have rarely been the subject of scientific research in Croatia, especially considering the sense of belonging in the new environment in the context of social integration. This paper presents the results of empirical research which aimed to examine some quality of life dimensions of adult Croatian citizens, born in Bosnia and Herzegovina, who immigrated to Croatia. The survey was conducted in Zagreb and its surrounding area in 2014 on a convenience sample (N = 301). Part of the results related to the immigrants’ sense of belonging to a new social environment and perceptions of social status determined by their origin are presented in the paper. The results reveal that, on average, the immigrants from Bosnia and Herzegovina feel very accepted in the local community, and their origin is not an obstacle to acceptance and adaptation to the social environment. In their judgment they respect family and traditional values more than the local population, and they appreciate Croatia more than its “indigenous” people. Furthermore, they show a higher level of sense of belonging to the city and the country in which they live as opposed to the country of origin. It is also important to note that the majority of the respondents (93%) declared Croatian ethnicity and that they all had Croatian citizenship, while one third had a double citizenship: Croatian and Bosnian- Herzegovinian. Effects of the selected socio- demographic and socio-economic characteristics of respondents on the obtained results were checked and interpreted in the context of the theories of social integration and quality of life.

immigrants from Bosnia and Herzegovina ; sense of belonging ; acceptance ; integration ; Zagreb

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