Former Iowa legislator writes children’s book on fleeing war in Bosnia

Anesa Kajtazović, who served in the Iowa Legislature from 2011 to 2015, talks to Iowa Starting Line about her new memoir.

Several times during our interview, Anesa Kajtazović’s voice breaks.

More than 30 years later, the memories of fleeing her childhood home—the sound of gunfire, packing her life into a backpack, and leaving her grandparents and beloved dog Bobi behind—still feel emotionally raw.

That’s why it took the former Iowa legislator so long to write her experiences down in the first place.

“It was the most difficult thing I’ve ever done professionally, and in a way personally,” Kajtazović said. “I’ve never, ever talked about it. It’s something we don’t ever talk about in the house. When you are given a second chance at life, I think you become so busy trying to survive … you don’t stop and think about what happened. You just keep moving forward.”

Around five years ago, a third grade teacher asked Kajtazović to speak to her classroom about her experience. She declined, then “felt a deep sense of guilt” about not being able to share it.

“I knew, deep down inside, sharing our stories is how we grow,” she said.

Now, anyone can read about Kajtazović’s story in her new self-published children’s book, “Anesa, No Skola Today: A Child’s True Story of Escaping War in Bosnia,” a memoir of her childhood growing up in Bosnia, suddenly being surrounded by war, and having to flee quickly—leaving her grandparents, her beloved dog, and the life she had known behind.

Packing those memories away as a survival tactic made bringing them out again hard. Even at a recent book launch in Waterloo, held on World Refugee Day, Kajtazović had someone else read the book out loud.

But she said she’s gotten “such a great response here in the community” about her story, and is thinking of writing a follow-up book about her experience in the refugee camp where she lived with her family until she came to the US.

“It’s not just a story of displacement and loss; it’s also about courage, strength, and the will to rebuild,” Kajtazović said. “I think, when we look at these refugee stories, it can also help shape us into more compassionate communities and members of our society.

“And I think it’s important to give our children a foundation that’s rooted in awareness and understanding,” she added. “Children are naturally empathetic and smart … These are real humans who had dreams, who loved their community—and it can happen to anyone, anywhere.”

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