Coming to Ireland from abroad with no English and finding yourself sitting Junior or Leaving Cert exams a few years later is no mean feat. That's what's happening to a number of young Bosnian students, who came to Ireland from 1992 onwards on the Irish Government's refugee programme. There are some 25 Bosnian students now attending Hartstown Community School, Dublin, and this year, four of them are sitting Leaving Cert exams, while two are taking Junior Cert. Although by now, their English is pretty good, the Bosnians admit that when it comes to exams, they are at a disadvantage. "It's very stressful," says 17-year-old Merima Avdic from Bjeljina, who came to Ireland in 1992. "I find spelling very hard and I lose marks because of it - in geography especially. I would do better in exams if I could express myself better."
She finds Leaving Cert "very hard" and it requires "a lot of study".
Merima, who says biology is her favourite subject, hopes to go to NUI, Maynooth. "I'd love to work in medical science," she comments. Before the exams she was staying behind in school for two hours each evening to study and then working from 7 to 10 at home. "The study is hard," agrees 19year-old Mirza Halilovic, who comes from Zvornik, "but it's much simpler than in Bosnia. There, secondary school is much stricter and you work much harder. They have a lot of tests. You do 13 subjects and you have to decide, quite early on, what you want to be when you leave. Before I left Bosnia I had started secondary school and I was taking science subjects like chemistry and physics."
Bosnian students find things much harder because of the English, he says, even when the subjects are easier. Next year, Mirza hopes to do a PLC course in information technology. He says he's been studying for two hours each evening in school and then working for an hour and a half at home. Medina Ejubovic, from Srebrenica, and Adis Sikiric from Banja Luka, who are both 18, are taking Leaving Cert Applied this year. Medina has been in Ireland since 1995; Adis arrived only three years ago. They're both studying health and social, contemporary issues, information technology, French, English and enterprise. "It's easy," comments Adis, "you don't have to study much except for the languages." After Leaving Cert, Medina plans to take a year out and then do a PLC in information technology. She'd like to return to Bosnia, but "the economy is very bad. It's very hard to live there. There are very few jobs". Adis is bent on a career in travel and tourism. Medina's sister, 15-year-old Muska, is also sitting exams this year - Junior Cert. She's working hard, she says, and has been spending two to three hours at study every night.
Initially, settling down to school life was difficult, the students say. Going to school with very little English was tough. "I liked school from the start, but it was very hard to sit in class and not be able to understand," says Medina. "It was really difficult," recalls Adis. "I didn't have any friends. The other children wanted to make friends but we weren't able to, because we couldn't understand each other. But after a few months things were fine."
The students find the Irish school day very long. In Bosnia, school was split - half the students came in from 7 a.m. to noon, while the rest did 1pm to 5 p.m. "I liked having the rest of the day off," comments Mirza. What, then, do they think of Ireland? "Brilliant," says Adis. "People are so friendly. The only thing I don't like is the weather - all that rain. In Bosnia, when it's winter, it's winter and when it's summer, it's summer." When Merima first came to Ireland, she attended primary school, which she found difficult, she says. At Hartstown, though, she was immediately happy. "The teachers and our principal, Mr Flynn, have been brilliant," she enthuses. "They made us equal to all the Irish students. We are treated the same as the Irish and we're not looked on differently. I don't think of myself as a refugee. I don't think of myself as different. Everyone has accepted us."
Hearing news of the events in Kosovo is "very hard", Merima remarks. "It reminds us of what happened to us. We're glad about what NATO is doing," interjects Mizra. "It's about time." The accidental bombings of Kosovars are "nothing like what the Serbs are doing to people", they say.
Hartstown Community School's principal, Mr Tommy Flynn, describes the Bosnian students as "wonderful. They're the first into school in the mornings. They used to get a bus which arrived at 9.05, but now they all get the early bus, which is here by 8.15". Bosnian students coming from Irish primary schools all have a little English, he says. It is the older students who can pose problems. "It can be difficult to integrate students coming in at 15 or 16. It's hard to find a level to suit their ability. We find that transition year helps to settle them." "It amazes me how quickly they pick up English," comments senior English teacher, Ms Mary Fogarty. "They catch up quite quickly. Most of them are able to pass their exams by Christmas."
