Q&A with Maya Butalid

How did living abroad influenced your writing?

I started writing when I was already living in the Netherlands. My book Chasing
Windmills is for a big part about my integration process and participation in Dutch
society as a Filipino immigrant, balancing between Filipino culture and living in Dutch society. My book The Heart of a Mother also features stories of other migrant mothers (of Moroccan and Turkish immigrants, and a Syrian refugee), showing the universality of a mother’s love imbedded in personal and unique stories cutting across cultures, generations, beliefs and social-economic status. With my writings I want to amplify the voices of the (Filipino) diaspora in Europe.

Can you cite a favourite passage in one of your books?

“As I look back from 1983 when I first arrived in the Netherlands up to this day, I
guess I have completed the circle of creating and re-creating my identities….. It was quite a journey, but it made me realize that no matter how integrated I may be in Dutch society, contributing and participating fully in this society, does not make me less of a Filipino. An important part of me will always be Filipino.” - from Chasing Windmills