The Croatian Diaspora

ZAGREB, November 2, 2019 - The Bosnian Serb entity's vice-president Josip Jerković, who represents local Croats, said on Friday he had received assurances from the Serb leader Milorad Dodik that the planned route of the future motorway through the area of Modriča would be changed to avoid demolition of Croat houses in three villages. Jerković told Hina that alterations would be made to the route, which is now planned to pass through the three Croat villages: Garevac, Čardak and Donji Kladari. The plan to demolish some of the houses of Croat returnees for the purpose of the construction of the…

ZAGREB, October 30, 2019 - Representatives of the Croat community in Serbia on Tuesday held a news conference to point out the problem of a lack of working space for their activities in the Serbian capital city, underscoring that local authorities have been ignoring their requests for a few years. Jasna Vojnić, the leader of the Croatian National Council, and Tomislav Žigmanov of the Democratic Alliance of the Vojvodina Croats (DSHV) and a parliamentary deputy in the Serbian assembly, told the conference in the Croatian embassy in Belgrade that in the last three years they had sent five letters with…

October 28, 2019 - While many Croats are emigrating to Ireland, some are headed in the opposite direction. Jason Berry, an Irishman living in Split for 6 years offers some excellent emigration food for thought.  There were some interesting reactions to our article at the weekend interviewing a Croatian expat approaching 5 years living in Ireland after her decision to move from Croatia. You can read Lidija's experiences in Kinsale in Is the Grass Greener in Ireland? A Croatian Expat View After 5 Years Abroad. One of the first messages I received was from Maura from the United States: Thank…

October 26, 2019 - With so many Croats in Ireland, and many more making the move, is the grass really greener? Some Croatian reflections as a 5-year anniversary in Ireland approaches.  Croatia's entry to the EU back in 2013 brought many changes to the country, one of which was easier access to job opportunities in other EU countries. With initial UK restrictions on jobs for Croatians, many Croats headed to the only other English-speaking EU country, Ireland. A trickle turned to a wave, and the Emerald Isle has seen thousands of Croatia move to Ireland in the last few years. …

October 20, 2019 - Continuing our look at successful returnee stories and experiences from the Croatian diaspora to the homeland, next up Luis Miguel Zuvic on his journey from Venezuela to Split.  1. Born in Venezuela, returned to Croatia, something that many diaspora dream of doing. Tell us briefly about your journey. I got a scholarship to learn the language, and mostly because of the situation in my country, I decided to take it. After a year in Croatia, I went back to Venezuela, which lasted for just three weeks, and decided to go back to Croatia. I studied for…

ZAGREB, October 19, 2019 - The Croat minority in Montenegro contributed significantly to the country's accession to NATO and has been contributing to its accession to the European Union, and the Montenegrin state has secured, primarily through its election laws, a privileged status for the Croat minority, Montenegro's Human and Minority Rights Minister Mehmed Zenka has told Hina. "The Croat minority has contributed very much to all positive processes in Montenegro, notably integration processes. Also, a positive step was made through election laws facilitating the representation of the Croat minority in the Montenegrin parliament. Montenegro and Croatia have a joint…

ZAGREB, October 10, 2019 - A two-day international conference called "The diaspora and the homeland" began on Thursday, with participants underlining the importance of expatriates for Croatia's development, recognisability and branding. Presidential envoy Mirjana Hrga said expatriates were a key topic for the survival of the Croatian state and nation given that more Croats lived abroad than in Croatia. President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović considers that an unforgivably wasted capital for the country, a resource from which a relatively young and independent state should draw its wealth, she said. She recalled that the president had proposed establishing a demography ministry a few…

ZAGREB, October 3, 2019 - Croatian Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and representatives of Slovenia's ethnic Croat community agreed on Wednesday that it was necessary to continue to work on having Ljubljana recognise the status of Slovenian Croats as an ethnic minority, the Croatian government reported. Plenković received in Zagreb for talks representatives of the Croat communities from Slovenia and Montenegro, which has defined the status of its Croat community. "While Croats in Montenegro have the status of an ethnic minority, the status of ethnic Croats in Slovenia is undefined. That is why the need was expressed to continue activities on…

The National Federation of Croatian Americans Cultural Foundation (NFCACF) announced today that 58 years ago, on this day, October 1, 1961, Roger Maris (Maraš) of the New York Yankees, hit his record 61st home run in one baseball season, eclipsing the 34-year old record of 60 home runs by baseball legend Babe Ruth. Roger Maris was born in 1934 in Hibbing, Minnesota to Croatian American parents. Maris played 12 years of major league baseball. He hit 275 Home runs, was All-Star 12 times, won the World Series 3 times, was the Most Valuable Player 2 times, Gold Glove Award winner,…

ZAGREB, September 29, 2019 - The 15th anniversary of classes in the Croatian language in Montenegro was marked in Tivat on Saturday, with the Croatian president's envoy underlining the importance of Croatia's institutional connection with expatriate communities around the world. Croatia's consul general in Kotor, Jasminka Lončarević, conveyed President Kolinda Grabar-Kitarović's message, which also underscored the importance of building national unity and solidarity with full respect for the states and nations where Croats live. Lončarević congratulated, on behalf of Grabar-Kitarović and the Consulate General in Kotor, "all students, all teachers and their parents as well as everyone who, in these…