I was nine years old when my family left our home in Kljuc, Bosnisa & Herzegovina, to travel to Travnik in the hopes of crossing into Croatia and eventually into Slovenia.  We traveled by bus with other people from the town who were seeking refuge and so we were limited in terms of what we could take with us.  My parents knew that any valuables we carried, including currency and jewelry would be taken from us along the way.  My mother had sewn these items into the inside of this dress and I wore it under my cloths until we reached Croatia.  It was a small comfort to get to keep some family heirlooms in a time when we were being forced to surrender our identity.