In the early 1990s, people of Yugoslav origin living in Australia felt obliged to help their family and friends caught up in the fighting back home. Countries of the former Yugoslavia (Serbia & Montenegro, Bosnia & Herzegovina and Croatia) were ripped apart by civil war.

Vaso Despotovic had witnessed the destruction and devastation of the war. He arrived in Australia in 1988 alter being granted a permanent visa under the skilled migration program.

Frustrated by the lack of coordination he observed in local aid organizations, Mr. Despotovic established the relief agency BEO-Export in January 1994. It specialized in sending food, medical and sanitary aid to war-torn parts of his former homeland.

The agency soon attracted many people because it provided a fast and reliable service. In the mid ‘90s, after the civil war had ended and the situation back home had stabilised, BEO-Export expanded its services to include money transfer.

Money transfer enabled former Yugoslav patriots in Australia to actively participate in the rebuilding process by providing capital in the postwar era. In 1996, BEO -Export was registered as an Australian company (BEO-Export Australia Pty Ltd) and provided the money transfer services to local ethnic communities of former Yugoslavia.

During the late ‘90s, Australia has admitted large numbers of refugees from the former Yugoslavia that were displaced and affected by the civil war. Because of the BEO-Exports relief efforts and services it provided in rebuilding communities of former Yugoslavia, a lot of refugees were already familiar with BEO-Export.

A large number of these refugees, after settling in Australia, continued to support their families and friends overseas and just like during the difficult times, BEO -Export was often a tangible link between them and their loved ones.

Source: Liverpool Champion, Fairfax Community Newspapers, 20 Dec 2006

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