Dutch | Sri Lankan
I identify as being half Dutch and half Sri Lankan. My mother is from The Netherlands and my father is from Sri Lanka. They met in Colombo, Sri Lanka. I was born in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and I grew up in Colombo, Sri Lanka for the biggest part of my life. Just before turning 16, I moved to The Netherlands. I don’t have a distinctive moment that I consciously or actively recognised nor realised I was of mixed-race. Growing up, our household was a mix of both cultures. At school, I was conscious of the fact that I was also Dutch but because it was an international school, it wasn’t a ‘problem’ or extremely ‘unique’. Also, having to always explain myself as being half Dutch and half Sri Lankan made it all relatively ‘normal’. I think, that in The Netherlands, I’ve had to justify or explain myself more than I had to in Sri Lanka. Growing up in Sri Lanka, I automatically adopted the Sri Lankan culture through school, my friends and at home. At home, my mother did her best to immerse us in all that was possible of Dutch culture. We also took Dutch classes two times a week after school, which also brought my brother and I in contact with other Dutch children. A negative experience is that people at my old work used to think I was adopted. My mother is blonde with blue eyes and my father is Brown with brown eyes. Yet the conclusion most people came to when they saw me with my mother is that I must be adopted. A positive experience is that most of the time people are genuinely interested in my heritage. I manage and try to reap the benefits where and when I can. Being mixed-race amongst a sea of more beautiful mixed-raced people, makes me feel happy that cultures are merging and creating new cultures. The world is an ever-changing place and I’m glad to be a part of that. If I were to be born again, I’d like to still be half Dutch and half Sri Lankan. I wouldn’t know what else. For my parent’s sake, I’d like for them to stay in Malaysia or chose another country to raise us. I know that they’re both strong enough to help us discover the Sri Lankan and Dutch culture as well.
Want to read more? – Subscribe here #mixedracefaces