A Bank and a Population
Dear Friends,
Before Bosnia-Herzegovina entered our collective awareness a symbol of human tragedy, it was a place like any other where ordinary people lived their lives. Bosnians fell in love, raised families, and watched the seasons of life come and go.
In the time before "Bosnian" became an adjective -- as in Bosnian Serbs, Bosnian Muslims, and Bosnian Croats -- Bosnian was a proper noun that included all. Before Prijedor, Sarajevo, and Srebrenica became part of the modern lexicon of war and genocide, there was just Bosnia-Herzegovina and its shared culture and people.
If we can remember a true past, we can imagine a real future. Today, transplanted Bosnian culture is alive and well in St. Louis. In the Bosnian cafes, stores, restaurants, homes, and businesses clustered around the Bevo Mill neighborhood here, normal life is returning.
Early after the arrival of Bosnian refugees to St. Louis, a local bank took a chance on these newcomers without any credit or work history. Southern Commercial Bank provided car loans and home mortgages that allowed Bosnians to get on their feet in a new place far from home.
In 1999, the Post-Dispatch reported that Southern Commercial had made over 300 car loans to Bosnians without "one missed payment." As Bosnians began buying homes, the bank extended loans for amounts smaller than those normally serviced by other lenders while training a Bosnian employee to become a loan officer.
Today Southern Commercial includes a Bosnian vice-president along with numerous other Bosnian staff and customers. The bank was among the first to step forward to offer major financial support for the Prijedor exhibit at the Holocaust Museum and Learning Center.
It is fitting, then, that Southern Commercial Bank will host the Prijedor exhibit over the coming months at its Bevo Mill branch in the center of the Bosnian community. They have constructed a special wall inside the bank to mount the more than 30 panels that tell the wartime story of Prijedor.
Here in the heart of the Bosnian community, people will have the opportunity to learn how and why Bosnians came to St. Louis. As the city with one of the largest Bosnian communities in the world, we have a special responsibility to both tell and hear that story. The truth about the past must be the prologue to a new future.
Please join us for a special exhibit preview on Thursday, May 22 at 3 pm. The bank is located at 4914 Gravois across from the Bevo Mill. The attachment provides additional information on the exhibit at Southern Commercial Bank.
Thank you for your interest and support as we remember the Bosnian people and honor their presence among us.
Sincerely,
Patrick McCarthy
Exhibit Advisor
