People from the small north-eastern town of Odzak have been leaving for Western Europe for decades and so did Jozo Andjelic 32 years ago. He settled in Lucerne, Switzerland, and since then he has been helping fellow countrymen find their way around when they arrive as well.

“To come back and stay? Never,” Andjelic said. “It is very difficult. I can come back for holidays for a while, but to stay longer, hardly. Many of those who were around before and who you have been hanging out have left. A lot passed away,” he explained.

It just takes one downtown stroll to see the massive diaspora influence in Odzak. The number of license plates from Denmark, Sweden, Germany or Croatia is nearly equal to those from Bosnia and Herzegovina. People who left see their friends and family only when they visit for vacation. Those who stayed, think about leaving more and more.

“My daughter is now a student in her third year of college and she can simply not see her future here. What do we do when she leaves? What will become of our other daughter who also does not think about staying here?” Mersida Ahmetovic, who lives in Odzak, asked herself.

According to a Serb citizens association, Serbs from Odzak mostly move to Republika Srpska which surrounds the town. They say they are not treated equally here. In schools, children are taught according to Croatia’s curriculum.

“Some of the children do not want to be taught according to the Croatian programm and because of this, their parents drive them to Bosanski Šamac, Vukosavlje and Modriča every day,” said Damir Ivetić from the Serb citizens’ association Posavina.

But those who live in Samac, Vukosavlje and Modrica, as well as other places in Posavina (the area along the Sava river), are also moving away.

The Union for sustainable return and integration in Bosnia and Herzegovina warns that the situation is alarming. It organized a meeting with representatives of the local community in Odzak.

“We did not choose Odzak by accident, as we know throughout the past year, more than 10.000 people, including entire families, have left Posavina,” the president of the Union, Mirhunisa Zukic, said.

There is no official statistical data on how many people have left Posavina and Bosnia but the Union believes that from 2013 until now, 151.101 Bosnians left the country.