Jelsa’s friendly ghost has a chat with Total Hvar.
A little over a year ago, a new Facebook page appeared which quickly achieved a cult following among local people in Jelsa, and made several people rather uncomfortable. Always innovative, funny and extremely well-informed, Dobri Duh Jelse (or The Good Spirit/Ghost of Jelsa) started to ask some uncomfortable questions about why things in Jelsa were not as they could be. An excellent graphic design ability and use of photo shop created some hilarious and memorable images. Our friendly ghost was interviewed today by Total Hvar.
The Friendly Ghost of Jelsa. Why did you decide to start the Facebook page?
The main motive to start this FB profile was the continuous destruction of Jelsa after the war in Croatia. As I and 98% of the citizens of Jelsa can’t influence any changes and improvements in Jelsa, this was the only way to explain to people what Jelsa used to be, and what Jelsa could be. Do I do that properly? Let my FB friends be the judge of that.
You obviously care very much about Jelsa. How would you describe the differences between Jelsa today and 10 years ago?
Jelsa has obviously stagnated, the economy is almost the same. Tourism, as the main source of Jelsa’s economy, has been reduced to a few (not enough) excellent private initiatives. Tourism in Jelsa is spontaneous, therefore Jelsa has become a transit place to other destinations. I haven’t heard for any existing 10-year tourism development plan in Jelsa. The best comparation is between Bol and Jelsa, 15 years ago and today. It’s evident year in year out.
If you could change three things about Jelsa, what would they be?
To change the tourism policy; to enrich Jelsa’s touristic offer; to unite all capable people (regardless of age) to move Jelsa from this level to the next, better level. However, we all live here in Jelsa.
Croatia recently had local elections. Are you hopeful that they will bring change in Jelsa, and what is your analysis on the election results?
I am, every change leads to something better. If we don’t change anything, we will remain at the same. As you can see in my previous post from „PLJUS“ agency I didn’t made a big mistake in my forecast. I can say that results are as expected.
You are more than a year old, and still anonymous, which is quite an achievement in such a small community. Have many people guessed your identity?
The profile was opened 10 months ago and at the beginning a lot of people were curious about my identity. I don’t think that today it is the same situation. Today a lot of people think that they know my identity (so I hear) and they mention a few „candidates“ not just one. I think many of them will be surprised with my identity.
Many thanks, DDJ, and keep up the good work. If you want to follow Jelsa’s moral conscience, you can do so here.
