26 years ago, war separated my family. My dad and I still feel the aftershocks

This First Person column is written by Nadja Halilbegovich, a writer and survivor of the Bosnian War. For more information about CBC’s First Person stories, please see the FAQ. 

My dad turned 80 this summer. We have been living on separate continents ever since he and mom managed to smuggle me out of our war-ravaged hometown of Sarajevo, Bosnia when I was 16. Desperate to salvage what little was left of my childhood, my parents made the agonizing decision to send me abroad and ensure my survival — even if it meant severing our family.

The following two-and-a-half decades of physical and