OmniTRAX/Broe Quest Series
Emina Cingel
Emina Cingel grew up during peaceful times in the former Yugoslavia. Right after fighting broke out she and her family left the country and sought refuge in neighboring Hungary. Emina, then age 16, with her mother and younger sister, spent a year in a Hungarian refugee camp before coming to Canada in 1993.
In a recent interview, as a guest speaker at Sisler High School for the In Exile for a While program, Emina shared some of her experiences living in a refugee camp with an audience of high school students. "Although the refugee camp provided us with immediate food and shelter, it was no comfort of home. I remember, there were days were we only eat lentils for lunch … the meat was served only when the delegates from foreign countries came to evaluate the conditions of the camp.”
Life in a new country was full of opportunity, but not without many obstacles. Leaving behind friends and family members, such as her father, left deep emotional scars, but as a young woman she found hope and a future in pursing her education. Emina overcame many financial difficulties in order to complete her bachelor's degree, such as working full time while taking on a full course load. “Personally as a woman who was once a refugee from the former Yugoslavia, I feel like I have triumphed over amazing odds to earn the first degree in my family.” For Emina this was not the only triumph. During the War Affected Children Conference in 2000, with the help of International Red Cross, her family was united with her father after ten years of being separated by war and not knowing whether he was alive.
Emina holds a BA double major in International Development and Conflict Resolution Studies from the University of Winnipeg and is a member of the Canadian Association for the Study of International Development (CASID). She has spoken about her experiences as a refugee for the In Exile for a While program, and presented her undergraduate thesis on "Post Conflict Peace Building in Croatia" at the 2005 CASID conference in London. Emina devotes time to community activism by volunteering as a Violence and Abuse Prevention Educator with the Canadian Red Cross, as well as with the Refugees in Exile program at Sisler High School. Her previous volunteer and work experiences include those with the Needs Center for War Affected Families and with the Entry Program as an interpreter for newcomers.
Now, her most compelling personal goal is to give back to communities where issues of conflict and violence continue to be of utmost importance. “When faced with challenges, disasters, stress, grief, or pain, it is the willingness of another to stretch out their hand when needed that connects us all.” Emina’s future goals include work as a humanitarian worker with an NGO or with the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) and pursuing a master’s degree.