Refugee Tears is a non-fiction account based on the author's own experience in the war in Bosnia and refugee life in Serbia in the early 1990s. It is not a book about war, but rather about the refugees from Bosnia and other parts of ex-Yugoslavia affected by the war. It is a book about the daily struggle for a new life, that lasted over three years. It is about the human strength to survive. It is a touching story about life and death, love and hate, tears and laughter, and fear and hope. It is a long journey that starts on a refugee bus, and ends in a new country of freedom called Canada. This journey does not belong solely to Natasha Bartula, but is also a record of the lives of many people who shared similar destinies in one of many refugee centers in ex-Yugoslavia. It presents a global picture of the everyday struggle to survive with all its tragic and comic moments. It is about life in tough circumstances where the haunting past interferes with the sad present, while eyes stare up to the sky praying for a better future.
About the Author: Natasha Bartula was born in the former Yugoslavia, in Sarajevo, the capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, where she lived and studied Serbo-Croatian Linguistics and Yugoslav Literature at the University of Sarajevo. She studied there until the beginning of the civil war in 1992. In May 1992, Natasha and her family fled Sarajevo and moved to Serbia where she lived as a refugee for almost four years. Her strong desire to succeed pushed her to complete her studies as a refugee in Serbia, under very difficult conditions. In 1994, she graduated from the University of Nis and obtained a degree as Philologist in Serbo-Croatian Linguistics. From 1994 to 1995 she worked as a journalist for Radio Ivanjica in Serbia. In August 1995, Natasha immigrated to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, where she now lives with her family. After completing Refugee Tears, her first autobiographical work, she is currently at work on her collection of fairy tales and short stories for children. First Editor editorial comments: "Thank you for giving me the opportunity to share your story. It is a story that needed to be told, so that generations today and in the future will know the truth of what happened to your former home of Yugoslavia. As I read your poignant story in your moving poetic style, I wept with you and felt the pain vicariously through your words. Your children and your grandchildren will have the benefit of learning the powerful lessons you learned through the suffering you endured. Their lives will be richer for it. Thank you again for permitting me to share your story and to delight in your eventual success. Please accept my best wishes for your success with the publication of this fine book and for your own future happiness."