My next post is going to be about Maja Dezulovic, a
beautiful mixed-raced woman writer, who lives in Croatia, Eastern Europe.
My next modelling assignment was in Split, a
beautiful city in Croatia, and my hairstylist told me there are no black people living in Croatia; so I searched for black or mixed-raced artists living in Croatia... I was a bit apprehensive about travelling alone
there. And actually, in short, my experience in Split was fantastic, people
were so friendly, smiling at me, wanted to talk to me, wanted to take selfie
with me, everywhere all eyes were on me, I felt like a goddess... lol. That
lead me to conclude, if you have the chance to have a passport, travel as much
as you can, live your own experience and tell your own story.
Right, this post is about Maja so let's start with the
Q&A.
Hello Maja, who are you and where are you from?
I’m originally from South Africa. I am a freelance writer, author,
screenwriter, and poet.
What brought you to Croatia?
My father is Croat. He moved to South Africa in the 1960s. There he met and married my mother.
We visited Croatia while I was growing up and I always felt a close
connection to it. The moment I could, I
made the decision to move here.
Which town in Croatia do you live in?
I live in a small town called Janjina on the Pelješac
Peninsula. We are an hour and a half’s
drive from Dubrovnik. It is more of a
ghost town now but Janjina was referred to as Little Paris (or Mali Pariz in
Croatian) in its heyday.
What's the weather like?
We enjoy a sub-tropical Mediterranean climate so it’s warm
most of the year. Winters can sometimes
be chilly and the strong winds unpleasant, but luckily that doesn’t last long.
How long have you lived in Croatia?
I moved here with my husband and our Cocker Spaniel in
2015.
Do you speak Croatian?
Yes. I have my
grandmother to thank for that. She
stayed with us in South Africa in the early nineties. She could speak no other language so she
spoke to me in Croatian and that is how I learned the language.
What is your general impression about Croatia and Croats?
Croatia is a beautiful country, but it is also a country
that has been exploited and continues to be raped of its riches, at the expense
of the local communities. People here
tend to be docile because they do not feel they have the power to change
things, which continues the vicious cycle.
I write about this in more depth in my new book Discovering Little
Paris: From the Heart of Darkness to the Heart of Pelješac. The book is a
memoir detailing our move here and what we’ve learned and experienced. Its release date will be confirmed later this
year.
What is the last thing you read that made you laugh out
loud?
An internet meme about writers.
What books are on your bedside table?
A Dylan Dog comic book and my Kindle (which has many books
on it that I’m reading).
What ambitions do you still have?
I’d like to see a movie I wrote on the big screen. I’ve just got into screenwriting and I’ve
always loved movies so it puts together two of my favourite things. It’s not about the fame, and I also somehow
doubt that there’s much fame in it, because when you watch a movie, you first
take note of the actors, then the director maybe; it’s not often that people
remember the writers’ names. I want a
screenplay of mine produced so that I can influence people in a positive way
and have that message shared on a global scale.
What is the greater achievement of your life so far?
I write for my bread and butter. I can say I’ve been at it for eight years and
I’m still going. I’m proud to tell
people that I’m a writer, because it says that I do what I love for a living.
Get in touch with Maja
Website: http://www.majadezulovic.com/
Twitter: @Majadez
Vanity Afro, 10/05/2017
Be happy, do the best you can, be good and kind. X
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