Political science grad reflects on family, Croatia and UVic

Christina Ljubic glows as she talks about her family in Toronto and in Croatia. “My family is very proud,” says Ljubic, “they are all excited to read my thesis on the war.” It is the war – the Homeland War, or the Croatian War of Independence (1991-1995) – that shaped and steered a lot of Ljubic’s path toward a master's degree in political science.

“The war impacted my life from a very young age, explains Ljubic, “I was four when war broke out in Croatia, many of our family were killed or interred at refugee camps.” Ljubic grew up in Toronto with two Croatian parents who were very involved with the Canadian Croatian community. Both her mother and father were politically active and Ljubic remembers seeing her parents on television during some of the peaceful demonstrations against the war in Croatia.

“I grew up immersed in politics, I am passionate about politics, says Ljubic, “I needed to write about the war in Croatia, I was always asking my family about the war.”

In 1996, at the age of nine, Ljubic visited Croatia with her parents. “It was right after the war had ended; we had to make sure our family was ok, says Ljubic, we just didn’t know.” The utter devastation stays with Ljubic. She can describe in detail the widespread destruction of buildings and countryside, and the many friends and family who went missing or lived in refugee camps.

“There were mines everywhere, Ljubic recalls, even in the graveyards. Sometimes I was too scared to even get out of the car.”

Ljubic’s cousins escaped the bombing of their village but their father was killed. Years later through letters and emails, Ljubic says it is still very hard for her cousins. During her thesis research, Ljubic appreciated the support she received from her family and thesis advisor, Dr. Amy Verdun.

“My academic challenges were cutting down the length and scope of my research,” explains Ljubic, “I could only examine and research the beginning of the war, not the entire period of conflict.”

After receiving a BA in International Development from York University, Ljubic chose UVic to do her master’s degree in part due to its coastal location.

“I was always drawing oceans and mountains as a child,” remembers Ljubic, “I just had to be somewhere that I could walk to the beach.”

It was also the beauty of the environment that helped Ljubic balance the devastation that she was reading about on a daily basis.

“When I needed a break, the beach was right there,” says Ljubic, “it was such a contrast to my research that it really helped me find some emotional balance.”

Playing the Croatian instrument, the tambura, also gives Ljubic some of that life balance.

“It is like a guitar, a stringed instrument,” explains Ljubic.

She has played the tambura since she was nine years old and continues to play with her folklore group Vatroslav Lisinski.  At Christmas the group recorded their first CD.

“I did some singing on the CD as well,” says Ljubic, “along with my brother.”

Ljubic is passionate and optimistic about her future. Her immediate plans include returning to the Toronto area and beginning a career in international work or the Foreign Service before pursuing more academia.

“I love travelling and working within the international community,” says Ljubic, “but first I need to spend some time with my family.” Ljubic will receive her master’s degree in political science at the June 14, 2013 convocation.