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]