My War, My Peace

My parents were shaped by World War I. I was shaped by World War II.
- Silvana Bastianutti Kukuljan
My War My Peace is the life story of Silvana Bastianutti Kukuljan. It narrates how war demolished her family's home in Fiume, Italy (now Rijeka, Croatia) and changed their destiny. Silvana lived through bombings and invasions, became a displaced person, a refugee in Ruta, Italy, and finally, an immigrant in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. With her family, Silvana survived.

In a time when we readily dismiss refugees, it is important that we listen to Silvana voice her experience as she writes:

"Outside of the Italian community, the general population did not know a thing about my country's rich cultural heritage and did not care to learn. For them, Italy was the Mafia, spaghetti, and "O Sole Mio." They were content with that.

"When I was in high school, by chance, I read the poem by Emma Lazarus that is found on a plaque at the base of the Statue of Liberty. At one point it says:

'. . . Give me your tired, your poor
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. . . . '

"Well, I never was garbage, nor will I ever be!

"Yes, I was hurt and angry at my situation. My self-esteem took quite a beating. . . . Everything about America-not just the language but also the customs, unwritten rules that surrounded me, and many other subtleties-was hard to discern."

After years of struggle and adjustment, they found success and peace. "Perhaps," Silvana reflects, "we are an example of what is called an American success story."