The Balkans in exile : the relationship between Serbian and Croatian communities in Toronto

The recent growth of the Serbian and Croation communities in the Greater Toronto Area has encouraged a change in attitudes between the two groups. Nationalistic sentiments harbored by many in the post-World War Two wave of predominantly Četnik and Ustaša émigrés have been laid to rest by the most recent influx of immigrants and refugees from the former Yugoslavia. This study will discern the reasons for which the new cohort of Yugoslav expatriates of Serbian and Croatian descent has been able to overcome seemingly crippling issues of nationalism. This paper will discuss how two major political figures in the Balkan wars of the 1990s, Slobodan Milošević and Franjo Tudjman, manipulated the nationalism of these two communities. In addition, an examination of media from Serbia, Croatia, and Canada will provide insight on the intricate web of factors that have influenced the conflict between the Serbian and Croatian communities in Toronto.