Sulaima Hind Interview, Part 1

Today, the 39th anniversary of the founding of Christiania, is a fitting time for posting the first part of an interview with Sulaima Hind. To backtrack a little, here is part of an earlier post to frame today's:

An alternative community, very interesting to check out: Copenhagen, Denmark's Freetown Christiania. Situated on a former military site, nearly 1,000 people live there. . . If you're into art and music, it's there. It's everywhere. In fact, all of Copenhagen, all of Denmark is nifty-fifty. Indeed, all the Nordic/Scandanavian countries are culturally sophisticated, ecologically minded and highly educated. [However, as this interview suggests in Part 2 along the lines of Hamlet, there's also something rotten going on in Denmark  -- xenophobia].

You might say that Existentialism started in Copenhagen with Søren Kierkegaard (1813-1855), whose spirit roams the city. Above: Peter Fallesen & Sulaima Hind, Fristaden Christiania / Freetown Christiania (2008).

The Interview, Part 1.

Erik:  Sulaima, can you tell us something about your work?

Sulaima:  The book Fristaden Christiania/Freetown Christiania is made as a journey into this one of a kind place, our beloved squat city Christiania. It contains photos and facts by Peter Fallesen, and five short stories by me. Both of us are living in Christiania. As an author one of my goals is to create images with words, you know, show don´t tell, that’s the kind of literature I like to read and write.  It is also a goal or wish for me, through my writing, to broaden my horizon, and in that process, hopefully that of others as well.

My debut as an author was in 1997 with the novel Voxeværk = Growingpains. It´s translated into German, with the title Straßenkind / Strassenkind = Streetkid, and into Estonian and Russian, but not yet into English.  The novel is a raw tour de force through my youth which was mostly spent on the streets of Copenhagen, as I from the age of 13 was a wery self-destructive and violent punkgirl. Finally, around 1987, I found a safe place to settle down in Christiania, and have done a lot of psychological and spiritual work since then, and written four books, and contributed to other books.

I have also cofounded a project for new generations of streetkids, voiced my opinions in newspapers, and finally I do motivational speeches. Doing that, telling people my story and insights is my passion and my only income. . .

If you want to see photos of me and my books, please see http://www.sulaimahind.dk/  

To read more about Christiania: www.christiania.org

If you want to contact the publisher of Freetown Christiania: www.nytnordiskforlag.dk  

Today's Rune: Partnership.