Author: Jelena Kopanja

Bio: Jelena Kopanja is former Feet in 2 Worlds contributor. She is a graduate of New York University’s Global and Joint Studies Program, with concentrations in Journalism and Latin American Studies. She was born in Bosnia, from where she brought her love of good coffee and baklava. Prior to her graduate work, she was involved in immigrant communities as an ESL volunteer instructor and an interpreter for Spanish and Bosnian.

Contributions:

Band of Balkan Migrants In Austria Combats Stereotypes With Music

Posted on: 26 Aug 2011

Reporter Jelena Kopanja produced this story for PRI’s The World about the Viennese group “Wiener Tschuschenkapelle.”

Mladic Arrest Gets Mixed Reaction in Austria’s Large Former-Yugoslav Immigrant Community

Posted on: 01 Jun 2011

Serbs, Croats and Bosniaks are divided over the arrest of Ratko Mladic on war crimes charges. But in the long run, shared language and culture may heal the the divisions among ex-Yugoslav immigrants.

Anti-Immigrant Party Wins Over Some Immigrants

Posted on: 11 Oct 2010

Despite an anti-immigrant platform, Austria’s Freedom Party has won the support of some Serbian immigrants in Vienna. Listen to Jelena Kopanja’s report for PRI’s The World.

Austrian Asylum Request For Teenager Denied After 8 Year Struggle

Posted on: 14 Jul 2010

In an increasingly anti-immigrant atmosphere, Austria’s highest court has ruled that 18-year-old Arigona Zogaj must leave her adoptive home in Austria and return to Kosovo, the country she barely knows.

Immigrants In Austria: Integration or Expulsion?

Posted on: 17 Jun 2010

The integration of Austria’s growing immigrant population is a constant subject of debate in the country. Listen to Jelena Kopanja’s radio story.

Across Europe, Governments Impose Restrictions on Immigration

Posted on: 27 Apr 2010

Europe’s economic crisis has fostered anti-immigrant measures in several countries and helped advance the position of extreme right-wing parties across the continent.

Immigrants Gather in Maryland to Celebrate Thanksgiving, Enjoy a Warm Meal

Posted on: 01 Dec 2009

Casa de Maryland, an organization that offers services to immigrants, has been organizing its Immigrant Thanksgiving for the past several years. This year’s event was moved from the organization’s offices in part because the organizers expected a much larger turnout than in years past.

New York’s Number 7 Train, A Journey Through Immigrant America – A Feet in Two Worlds Video

Posted on: 24 Nov 2009

The Number 7 train is nicknamed the “International Express” for the many immigrant communities it connects as it makes its way from the center of the city into Flushing, Queens.

In Virtual Town Hall with Immigration Reform Activists, Gutierrez Promises Bill By December

Posted on: 19 Nov 2009

Activists gathered Wednesday night at house parties across the country in a day of action for comprehensive immigration reform organized by the Reform Immigration for America campaign.

Domestic Violence In Immigrant Communities: Often Triggered by Stress and Complicated by Immigration Status

Posted on: 11 Nov 2009

This is the first in a special two-part series on domestic violence in immigrant communities by Feet in Two Worlds reporters. Jelena Kopanja reports from New York the challenges faced by immigrant women.