A black girl in Pula

Are you sure they're not racist where you're going?

My mother asks me this question before each of my trips abroad.

It is a real fact, before each of my trips I do some research on the tolerance of the population of the country towards black peolpe. Unfortunately the fact that blacks do not go on trips to certain countries is not at all a legend. This is how I gave up on my dream destination, India, when I discovered how black people (Nigerians, Senegalese, Congolese, ...) were treated in this country. We hear a lot about assaults, insults, ... towards black people in some countries. The goal of going to study abroad is to discover new cultures, improve your linguistic skills, make new friends, ... But we cannot do any of these things by being constantly on guard and being a victim of negrophobia.

When I announced to my relatives and my teachers my plan to go to ERASMUS in Croatia, many of them were resistant to this idea. Indeed, during my research on racism in Croatia I came across several videos, articles, and testimonies of black people who have been victims of racism in Croatia. However, I also found several fairly positive testimonies on the experience of black people having stayed in Croatia. Likewise, I also came across articles talking about the fact that, given the large number of tourists that Croatia attracts, the Croatian population is very tolerant of foreigners. In addition, I spoke with one of the French student (who is Métis) who went to Pula last year for her Erasmus. The results of her year were very positive and she told me that she had never had a problem because of her skin color when she was in Pula. In view of the shared opinions that I have observed, I have decided to leave for 1 year in Croatia anyway. I tend to be very curious and stubborn, and I needed to make up my own mind. But above all, I did not want to miss the opportunity to discover a country because of uncertain opinions.

"But Johanna, what is it like to live a year in Croatia then?" I come precisely to the subject. To be honest with you, I had a good experience in Croatia as a black woman. When I arrived in Croatia I immediately felt a difference in the behavior of the people I met on the street compared to the people in France. I quickly noticed that I was the subject of attention of many people in the street. Indeed, in Croatia the black population is very little present, it is very rare to meet a black person in the street. Even in terms of tourism, very few black people dares venture into Croatia (probably because of the country's reputation). The first days in Croatia, I very rarely met other black people, but it still happened. After the tourist season, the number of black people decreased even more, which made me stand out even more on the street. Whenever I go out into the street, people look at me with insistence and curiosity, some even stop walking by staring at me. Likewise, it surprised people a lot when I said that I was of French nationality and of Caribbean origin, because in the mindset of many Croats, Croatian people are necessarily African.It also (rarely) happened to me to feel like some people made fun of me when I was walking down the street, but you know, there are idiots everywhere. This kind of behavior can be scary and embarrassing, but I got used to it very quickly.

I think it is only curiosity, because apart from that I have never been victims of racist acts (insults, defamation, assaults, ...) in Croatia. The Croats are really nice and have often been very open minded and interested in my culture. I had a lot of comments from a good intention about my ethnicity and my skin color while being very polite and respectful: "You have a beautiful skin color!", "I love curly hair!", "I would love go to the Caribbean! ", ... Some even approached me in the street to tell me that it was good to see a little more ethnic diversity in Croatia. I would also like to point out that Croatian men are very sensitive to the charms of black women.

I have often been hit on the street, in college, in bars, or even in discos!

However I spoke with some people who told me that unlike big cities such as Pula or Rijeka, tolerance towards foreigners and more specifically towards black people in small less touristy towns, was completely different. Therefore I do not recommend going to small Croatian villages if you are not white, because people can sometimes be aggressive or disrespectful towards strangers since they are not used to seeing them.

My opinion is really subjective, but I just wanted to give you a detailed picture of what it was like to live in Croatia while being black. The experiences vary according to the people, their state of mind, the cities they went to, and the people they met. I just hope this article can help people who are hesitant to go to Croatia because of their skin colors.