Eight Mouth Journey to Pier 21
Born, Bratovajnci, near Karlovac, Croatia, 1937, Branko Culig was a machinist at the time he married Dragica (Carol) Sut, a seamstress, born, Novaki, Croatia, 1943. In 1965, Branko and Carol fled Yugoslavian oppression by entering Italy on a day pass. They then were guided into Switzerland before slipping into Germany where they were placed in a Displaced Persons camp. There they waited to learn what country would accept them as refugees. After six months, Branko and Carol were given the good news that Canada would take them in. They crossed the Atlantic by boat, arriving, Pier 21, Halifax, Nova Scotia, 1966. From that place of entry, a boat took them to Welland, Ontario, where relatives lived in nearby Fonthill. After settling, Toronto, Branko, a tool and die maker with Canada Packers, and Carol, a caregiver, raised two sons. One, a graduate of Humber College, works as a manager for United Parcel Services, British Columbia, while the other son, a York University graduate, currently works as a financial planner. In this view, Branko and Carol prepare to leave their native land, 1965, on an eight month journey that would lead them to a new world, a new homeland where opportunity embraced them. [Photo, courtesy David and Danny Culig]