Iz bisera severne Afrike do Beograda

Neverovatnom harizmom i neposrednošću, g-din Mažid Hamlaui opčini svakog svog sagovornika. Iako je NJ.E. ambasador Tunisa u Beograd stigao tek pre nekoliko meseci, sa gostima se pozdravlja onako kako se to radi u Srbiji – tri puta. Srbiju doživljava kao šlag na torti svoje dosadašnje karijere i ovde mu se sve dopada. Nasmejan i gostoprimljiv, sa ekipom Glob magazina, podelio je svoje utiske o životu u Srbiji, o odnosima dve zemlje i o modernom Tunisu nakon revolucije.

Odmah po završetku fakulteta, uplovio je u diplomatiju. Sa 23 godine zaposlio se u Direkciji za međunarodne odnose pri Vladi, potom je otišao u Pariz u stalnu misiju pri UNESCO-u, pa u konzulat Tunisa u Francuskoj. Karijera gospodina Hamlaua nastavlja se u Madridu i Alžiru, a Srbija je prva zemlja u koju dolazi kao ambasador.

Mene diplomatija zaista čini srećnim i to je ono što sam oduvek želeo. Kruna svega što sam radio je ambasadorsko mesto. U svakom poslu postoje i negativne strane, ali ja ne gledam na taj način. Najteže mi je to što sam proteklih meseci bio razdvojen od porodice, iako su me često posećivali. Ali i taj problem će uskoro biti iza mene jer će mi se oni ovde pridružiti. Supruga Rim ima uspešnu advokatsku karijeru u Tunisu, Jasin (10 godina) i Emira (12 godina) idu u školu, pa nisu mogli odmah da se presele u Srbiju. U našem poslu je razdvojenost od porodice cena koja mora da se plati. Mada, u mom slučaju je sve bilo znatno lakše zbog ljudi koji su se trudili da mi vreme u Beogradu prođe što lepše.

Dolazak u Srbiju demantovao je sve predrasude koje je gospodin Hamlaui imao o našoj zemlji. Od ranijeg stereotipa o Srbima kao konfliktnom narodu, danas je slika potpuno drugačija. Kako je sam rekao, ne postoji ništa negativno što bi mogao da kaže na račun ljudi koje je upoznao. Čak poručuje:„Volim vas svih 7-8 miliona!”.

Srbija je predivna zemlja, a Beograd izgleda kao ogroman park. Presrećan sam što sam ovde i želeo bih da se što duže zadržim. Srbi su jedinstven narod i razlikuju se od svih evropskih naroda koje sam upoznao. Ljubaznost, gostoprimljivost i neposrednost ne mogu da Vas ostave ravnodušnim. Pre nego što sam došao u diplomatsku misiju, imao sam potpuno drugačiju sliku o Srbima. Nikada pre nisam bio ovde, čak ni kao turista. Jedino što sam imao od informacija je bilo ono što se u stranim medijima plasiralo godinama unazad – da ovde žive kriminalci i ratnici.. Međutim, vrlo brzo sam uvideo da su svi ljudi koji me okružuju i koje upoznajem nešto potpuno drugačije od prethodno stečene slike. Dokaz koliko sam oduševljen životom u Srbiji je i činjenica da će se i ostali članovi moje porodice preseliti u Beograd. Zaista sam uveren da je ovo jedno divno mesto za život. Jedina stvar na koju ne mogu da se naviknem je hrana. Tunišanska kuhinja je mnogo pikantnija od srpske. Iako smo na porodičnom odmoru na Zlatiboru probali odlične domaće specijalitete i poslastice, zasada ne menjam tunišanski meni.

(Nastavak teksta u štampanom izdanju)

From North Africa`s Pearl to Belgrade

With his incredible charisma and directness Mr. Majid Hamlaoui charms everyone. Although His Excellency, the Ambassador of Tunisia, arrived to Belgrade a few months ago, he greets his guests as people do in Serbia – three times. He sees Serbia as the whipped cream on the cake of his career and he likes everything here. Always smiling and welcoming, he shared with the Globe Magazine team his impressions about life in Serbia, the relations between the two countries and Modern Tunis after the revolution.

Immediately after graduating from faculty, he embarked on diplomacy. When he was 23 years old he was employed by the Direction of International Relations of the Government. After that he worked at the Permanent Mission to UNESCO in Paris and then at the Consulate of Tunis in Paris. Mr. Hamlaoui’s career continues in Madrid and Alger. Serbia is the first country where he comes as ambassador.

Diplomacy makes me really happy. It is what I have always wished and the crown of the diplomatic career is an ambassador’s position. Every work has positive and negative sides, but I do not see it that way. The most difficult is that I have been away from my family in the last months, although they visited me often. Fortunately that is over, because they will join me soon. My wife Rim has a successful lawyer’s career in Tunis. His children, Jasin (10 years old) and Emira (12 years old) go to school and therefore they could not move immediately to Serbia. Separation from the family is the price that must be paid in my work. However, in my case, it was much easier, thanks to the people that made an effort so that I could spend my time as nicely as possible.

The arrival to Serbia made Mr. Hamlaoui discard all the prejudices he had of Serbs as conflictive people and now he has a total different image. As I said, there is nothing negative about the people that he met. He even says “I love all 7-8 millions of you!”

Serbia is a marvelous country and Belgrade looks as a huge park. I am very happy that I am here and I would like to stay as long as possible. Serbs are a unique nation and differ from all Europeans that I met. You cannot stay indifferent to their politeness, hospitality and directness. Before coming to this diplomatic mission, I had a totally different image of Serbs. I had never been here before, even as a tourist. The only information I had was that one spread by mass-media years ago – that here live criminals and warriors . However, I saw very soon that the people, who surrounded me and whom I know, are totally and completely different from that picture. The proof of how enthusiastic I am about living in Serbia is the fact the rest of my family is moving to Belgrade. I am really convinced that this is a marvelous place for living. The only thing I cannot get used to is food. Tunisian cuisine is much more spicy than the Serbian one. During my family holiday in Zlatibor we tasted many Serbian delicacies and specialties, but I still prefer the Tunisian menu.

(Continue reading more in printed edition)