The Devious Diva is an Englishwoman who blogs from Greece about human rights, parenting and difference at This is Not My Country. She's one of the few writers regularly reporting on the lives of the Roma, who consistently suffer human rights abuses in countries throughout Europe. Recently, we chatted about the motivation and rewards of being an expat blogger.

This passionate poetic post is part of the reason I find so much pleasure in regular visits to her site

"Don’t be do self indulgent wasting time with my fuck off computer should be doing something else and not waste my time on things that lead nowhere and money money that’s the thing/
Dull blocks lead nuance confused jumble save and restart wonky time always takes its time when you least expect it there I go...

I like the shape on the page my words make could do it again make no sense of it relax explode black smoke emails censor honest old men with wigs and eyes look sad your father after how many years why now why now.
War if you can’t come we can’t go I’m afraid planes flying tickets practical but fear

Speak out way out way off down smells that comes to me bandages from the hospital that make me sick now

Music in my ears to my ears my ears that sometimes don’t hear block it out listen to that beauty

Quiet afraid can I start again too late grass i want grass in my garden like when i was young lemon trees spoil the grass this is not my country and you don’t understand me you wont see me

I am invisible this is not my country my country is cold and green and unfriendly and funny and dark and deep ...."

How long have you lived in Greece? What led you to go there?

A: I met the the love of my life 13 years ago in London and he had had a love affair with Greece for many years and always wanted to go back and live there. He is not Greek but who says you have to be Greek to love this place! When London became intolerable for him, he decided to leave and move here. He never tried to persuade me to come with him. We had talked so much about how it had to be my choice, my decision. I had a good job and still loved London and never intended to leave. The love was strong but it wasn't just love that made up my mind, but the idea that I didn't want to wake up ten years later and regret not taking that opportunity. So here I am, 12 years later. We are still as strong together now as we were then. And the kid brings new bonds between us and the country.

What led you to create "This is Not My Country?"

A: It started as words on a page written with a pen! I had written this "rant" poetry called "This is not my country" for a performance (though for reasons of anonymity I cannot reveal what exactly) and because of it I was asked to announce the publication of a book about a racist attack that left 5 people dead and 4 seriously injured. I felt that it wasn't enough to just to talk about the book and then forget about it. I had been reading blogs for a while but this incident gave me the reason to start my own. I had never wanted to do a "my daily life" kind of blog. It just didn't appeal. I have never kept a diary so I needed a real reason my own blog

How did the name "Devious Diva" come about?

A: I got the nickname Diva years ago from friends but it was all very tongue in cheek because despite what I do for a living (performance) I am not at all Diva-like. The Devious bit simply came to me because I liked how it sounded. I am also not very devious! I felt that it created an online persona that was very unlike me in real life but expressed a part of me that is real. I have gone through phases of not liking the devious bit but it has stuck and I think of the more positive connotations of the word (showing a skilful use of underhanded tactics to achieve goals). My tactics are not real underhand but I do try and use friendliness and understanding (when I could be screaming at some of the commentors on the blog) to achieve my personal goal of getting a dialogue going about human rights issues in Greece. I love the fact that DD has become the nickname of my nickname!

Tell me about the weekly chats on your site. How did they come about, and what kinds of things do folks talk about.

I think I was mostly inspired by a forum for people of colour that became Taking Place (started by Kevin at Slant Truth). I met some amazing people there but I find forums frustrating because the conversations are too broken up. So I started DD live as a place to have real time conversations. At first my intention was to discuss serious issues but it has evolved into a place where people just drop by to hang out, have a bit of a laugh and mostly to take a break from blogging. We discuss whatever people want to bring up or just chat about what we are up to in the blogworld or in our real lives. It's really anything people want it to be. If anyone is interested in joining, they can email me for the password. I have quite strict guidelines for joining because I didn't want it to be a place that could be invaded by trolls and so far, there has only been one sad person who got in by lying about who he was.

How did you become interested in the Roma?

I had approached the Greek Helsinki Monitor (an ngo here) for information on various human rights issues. I struck up a good online relationship with them and was invited to go and see the settlements for myself. I am not easily shocked by things but the trip left me so shaken that I felt I had to do something. It was the children who inspired me because (as I said in one of the posts) I looked in their eyes and I saw my own child.

I also felt that I wanted to redress the balance in some small way. The Roma are rarely written about in the media and usually only in connection with crime or some negativity. I wanted to bring a human face and emotion to their community. So often they are just "them" or "those Gypsies" I hoped that the photos and words would allow people to see who "they" are. People who have been disregarded, rejected, abused and marginalised for so long, we have forgetten that they are human beings.

6. You have written in your Roma series that the living conditions that you've seen among the Roma in Greece are worse than what you saw in Soweto at the end of the apartheid era. As you note, the Roma are in desperate straits throughout Europe. Why do you think their plight has attracted so little attention.

It is not "sexy" as they say in the media. It is not easy to find solutions. There is little to be gained for anyone who brings attention to their situation (which I think plays a role when journalists are thinking about which issues to cover). People don't know about what is going on because there is no media attention. And I have to say that in my experience dealing with this, that most people just don't care.

I've read that in some parts of Europe, the Roma are referred to as "non-white," and that the ERRC has studied the US civil rights movment and attempted to use the kinds of legal strategies employed against Jim Crow in the US. As a black woman, how do you see this construction of race play out in Greece?

Great question and a hard one to answer. Greece is a confused place in lots of ways. I feel it is trying to decide what it is. Eastern or Western? Traditional or modern. It is a country dealing with recent mass immigration and is struggling to define who is Greek and what it means to be Greek. I have always seen my being English as an issue of nationality, an accident of birth. The fact that I am a black woman does not affect my nationality (except to nationalists and racists) Here in Greece the issue is more complicated. many people here would say that religion, for example, has a bearing on being Greek (98% being Greek Orthodox) When it comes to race things get a whole lot more complicated. There is an extreme lack of dialogue about race here. I believe that until we see prominent non-white Greeks on a regular basis (there are one or two), there will be no movement on this whole subject.

What's the one thing you would like your readers to do, think or believe as a result of participating in your online community

Discussion. I have had several people write to me about their experience of reading something on my blog and then discussing it with others who don't know about the issues or who might have held racist opinions. That is the most rewarding thing for me.

Is there anything you I should have asked, but haven't?

This is a great set of questions, not least because they made me think again about what I am trying to achieve with my blog. So thank you for that. I think you covered what I would like to say. If anyone is interested to know more, they know where to find me!