During winter break in late 1990, Anabela left Bosnia for Switzerland with her boyfriend, Nikola. Shortly after they left, their home country Yugoslavia began breaking up and several wars started, including one in Bosnia. Nikola returned to Bosnia, as his parents had been left behind. He became one of the first victims of the war. Anabela remained in Switzerland for a short period, and could not return to Bosnia because of border closures. She had no family in Switzerland nor contact with family in Bosnia, so she decided to relocate to Belgrade.