With a diplomatic career that goes back to more than two decades, H.E. Barbara Joziasse, Ambassador of Netherlands, has well assimilated the virtues pegged on to her personal quote – “The Perfect is The Enemy of The Good!” She tries to follow that mantra through in her diplomatic missions as well as her everyday life.
Although she does not disdain the ideals of perfection and is aware that it – in certain ways – has no substitute in diplomatic parlance, her message to women is that perfectionism can be tantamount to invoking the wrath of ‘the good’. She notes that women have a predilection for ‘the perfect’. “God has created us all, so simply be. Don’t lose your confidence, just believe in yourself,” is her advice; although she admits this is harder to say than to do.
As a diplomat who has her fingers on the workings of the world, she is aware that women need to do that much more. “We have rights – be it in the Netherlands or in Oman – but do we have the confidence to simply go about and do it?”, she questions, pointing out that the obstacles one faces often comes from what we say to ourselves. While there is no denying that women are still a minority in various areas of the society, the fact is that confidence from within gives more energy, maintains H.E. Joziasse.
She is quick to add that Oman has been an inspiring mission. “Omanis, in general, value taqabbul… I love that word. They accept and respect others. They are tolerant. I feel at home here and I don’t think I am doing more or less better than my male colleagues…” she adds, highlighting, as an example, the help she and her husband received from an Omani gentleman when their car battery died during a trip to Sohar.
Oman happened in 2013. She had visited the place in 2006 with the then Prime Minister and had expressed her wish to work here. So, when she was asked, during her posting in Zimbabwe, if she would want to move to the Gulf, her reply was, ‘yes, it depends on where exactly.’ And that where was Oman…
Having started her career in 1995 in the Middle East bureau of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, H.E. Joziasse quickly climbed the ladder to become the Deputy Director of Foreign Trade and Investments at the Ministry of Economic Affairs, before taking up the post of National Coordinator for top-level executive positions in international organisations. Shortly after, she was appointed as Ambassador to Zimbabwe, including Malawi and Zambia.
Talking about her initiation into this career, H.E. Joziasse points out that she is intrinsically motivated – professional ambition wasn’t a real issue. She comes from a modest background, as her grandfather had lost his land when a part of the island they lived on, flooded. “They lost everything in a single day – just like that. In those days there was no insurance… World War II had ravaged Europe. My parents worked hard to build a future for their children,” she recounts.
Endowed with a serious temperament, study came easily to H.E. Joziasse. She frequented the library on her bicycle and read books on foreign countries and places around the world. She studied in Leiden, Damascus and Oxford – later on in life she studied Financial Economics in Tilburg. And as is customary, she applied for jobs following her graduation. When she got a call for a job interview at the foreign ministry, it seemed to be the right opening.
She distinctly remembers her last round of interviews after a selection trajectory of half a year. “They were all very senior people, and I was quite intimidated. They were asking me questions to which I really did not know the answer; but I had been hanging in there for half a year to get this far and I was not ready to let go. I decided to say whatever I thought was the best, common sense, answer, and it turned out right,” recalls H.E. Joziasse.
Things turned in her favour, and her skill for languages, among a host of other talents, stood her in good stead. She studied Arabic in the Netherlands for one year and after that for a year in Syria and continues learning even here, thanks to her teacher who keeps challenging her knowledge by having her watch television programmes, like “Morning Coffee” on Oman Television.
The home I grew up in… I grew up in a very warm, supportive, family, with my father, mother, and a brother, who is exactly one year, minus one day, older.
When I was a child, I wanted to… Travel. I always wanted to go abroad, and that hasn’t changed at all.
My greatest inspiration… Books on life, religion, spirituality, even metaphysics … I find those very inspiring. Not to say that a good thriller is lost on me. Very relaxing indeed.
I dream of… It is a continuous dream to make things better for all of us. To add value. The right and freedom to be, to flourish, to develop. There are always people less fortunate than we are, and I want to help them out. When I retire – which is still a long way for me – I hope that this blessing will befall me and I am able to bring people together, so that they can benefit from one another. Loneliness in my country needs more attention.
It’s not fashionable but I like… To play classical music. I play the piano and violin, which was not fashionable at all when I was younger. Later, I joined various choirs, also not fashionable then. This has changed over time, luckily.
You may not know it, but I’m no good at… Cooking. You can ask anyone close to me to corroborate this.
You may not know it, but I’m very good at… Drawing and, to a lesser extent, painting, when I have time.
If I have time to myself… I like to do nothing in particular. Oman has beautiful beaches, so I go there to swim or to read a book.
My house is… The official ‘residence’ part is what it is: an official area for functions. But I am quite a private person, so my house is my refuge, in a way.
My favourite haunt/holiday destination… There are so many; but these days I like to go to the Netherlands. There is the relative difference between Oman and Netherlands… I love cold weather.
My favourite weekend spot in Oman… Misfat Al Abriyeen – it is a gorgeous wadi.
Things I like about Oman… The people, the diverse natural splendour, its architecture, and artful expressions, and, of course, the Muscat Festival. Every year we go there, with or without our guests, and often we go more than once. The families, the Luqaimat and after that the Omani dances… great fun!
On top of my wish/bucket list is… To have a holiday for four weeks at a stretch. The last one must have been two decades ago.
My success mantra is… The Perfect is The Enemy of The Good. As women, we always go for perfect and never arrive, because perfect is not reachable. If only we could tell ourselves that good is good enough.
In 10 years’ time, I hope to… Still add value to the life of others.