Expression

Approx. time

Explanation

compliance management

1:00

making sure a company sticks to all the regulations

Bosnia-Herzegovina

1:20

southern European country of 4 million people

Croatia

1:35

country of 4 million people to the north of Bosnia

Adriatic Sea

1:47

body of water separating Italy and Bosnia

1992-95 Bosnian War

2:20

conflict between Bosnian Muslims and Serbo-Croatian Christians for control of regions of Bosnia-Herzegovina (after the breakup of ethnically diverse Yugoslavia)

dire circumstances

2:35

terribly difficult situations

ended up

2:41

resulted in

go through the motions

2:50

participating without focus or intent

flee

3:25

to run away from danger (past tense is “fled”)

surreal

3:27

a kind of fantasy, an experience that does not seem real

besieged

3:49

surrounded by an enemy and cut off from access to supplies

massacre

4:30

large-scale murder of many people

concentration camps

4:39

prison camps containing many people of one religious or ethnic group

mass graves

4:40

places where many bodies were buried without marking who was there

immediate family

4:58

parents and children

extended family

5:04

The basic family unit of parents and children, also called the “nuclear” family.  The next circle of family extends out to aunts, uncles, cousins, and grandparents.  Only Kemal’s nuclear family fled to Switzerland for safety.

evacuated

5:30

removed to safety in an emergency situation

The City That Never Sleeps

6:06

nickname for New York City

International Organization for Migration (have logo)

6:22

http://www.iom.int

plopped down

7:35

To plop something down is to throw or drop it somewhat carelessly.  In Kemal’s case, his family didn’t have the luxury of time to pick the perfect country to live in.  As with many refugees, a move can happen quite suddenly because of the urgency of the situation.

Wonderbread

8:22

kind of soft American white bread baked in long rectangles

“If you build it, they will come.”

8:56

Alan said, “If you bring the customers, they will build the store.” Kemal grinned, “If you build it, they will come.” Here he showed that he understood a reference to the 1989 American movie, Field of Dreams.  In the movie, an Iowan farmer has a dream where he is told to build a baseball field in his corn farm.  The voice in his dream says people will pay to come to the middle of nowhere to watch America’s favorite pastime, the sport of baseball.

20 years hence

9:07

20 years afterwards

culture broker

9:55

someone who negotiates cultural conflicts

role reversal

9:58

where two groups take the opposite roles from usual

left on the side of the road

10:24

stranded, abandoned, not taken along on the trip

adult foster homes

10:22

living center for adults who cannot take care of themselves

Community Relations Commission

11:07

In Grand Rapids, the former Civil Rights Commission has responsibility to watch out for issues of discrimination.

quasi-judicial

11:12

having some decision-making power but no legal power

alleged discrimination

11:18

stories that discrimination happened

allegation of racial profiling

11:22

Kemal said the black and Latino communities complained to the city government that the local police were engaged in racial profiling.

Racial profiling is where law enforcement officers stop to question or arrest members of certain racial or ethnic groups based on their race or ethnicity rather than on actual evidence they have committed a crime.  In many cities, people of color are arrested at much higher rates than white people, which gives the appearance of racial discrimination.

stakeholders

11:30

various people who have a stake in the results, people who are involved in the project or business

ethnic minorities

11:43

groups of racial, national, or ethnic people whose numbers do not dominate the local population (usually also connected to an inequality of power)

town hall meetings

12:09

A way for a government to stay responsive to the concerns of the citizens is to hold meetings in the local government buildings (town halls) where they can ask questions of the local officials.  

focus groups

12:11

A focus group has a similar purpose to town hall meetings, but the format is different.  It includes a small group of citizens (about one dozen) who are chosen because they represent a specific community demographic; they are brought into a small meeting room and asked their opinions on topics of concern.

ride-along

12:20

Many communities have programs where citizens ride in the police patrol cars along with officers who are on duty.  This gives the community members a way to understand the job the police are doing.  In the case of this Grand Rapids program, the Commission members were monitoring police behavior for signs of racial profiling.

very secular

13:47

not very religious; relating to the world

tenets

13:50

major rules or principals of a religion or other philosophy

not adhere to strict hard line

13:59

easy, flexible, not conservative

abstain during Ramadan

14:15

Kemal said that Bosnian Muslims will abstain from drinking alcohol during Ramadan.  Strict Muslims do not drink alcohol.  Moderate Muslims occasionally drink in social situations.  During the annual month of prayer and fasting, even moderate Muslims will give up drinking alcohol.

mixed marriage

14:45

marriage with partners from two different groups

congregation

15:05

local group of people united for religious practice and identity

brutally honest

16:57

strongly truthful, even if the message is harsh