Creole/Chinese/Dutch | Indian
My Mother’s side is Creole/Chinese/Dutch, my Father’s side is Indian. They were both born in Surinam, South America. My Dad's family belongs to India's highest caste; the Brahmins. The Brahmins are the caste from which Hindu priests are drawn, responsible for teaching and maintaining sacred knowledge. They are also the ones with the so-called fairest skin colour. The skin of the lowest caste is dark. Colour prejudice against people with dark skin is common. My Mom, being Creole, of African descent, was rejected by my Dad's family for her dark skin. And so was I. My Dad fled his family house to be with my Mom but as family loyalty is a deeply held ideal within Indian families, it was one of the reasons they ended their relationship.
My Grandparents had an arranged marriage. So I'm the first generation from my Dad's side of the family to break free from the uncompromising dogmas, ancient value systems, ingrained attitudes, set up by those before me. I can't imagine not being able to choose my own partner, being restricted in who I love. I feel fortunate to be able to experience the freedom to be with a man, a woman, White, Black, or Brown. And I appreciate it even more because I know what my parents went through. In Surinam, the suicide rate of closeted LGBTs amongst Indian people is very high. The hidden struggles and family pressure to marry lead them to jump off the 'Suriname bridge' or hang themselves. They'd rather die than live a lie.
Fortunately, my mixed identity has never stopped me from doing anything in life. If anything, it makes me work harder to own my place in this world. In the corporate world, where I often notice that I'm one of the few with a different ethnicity. In the acting world, where my looks are rare. Yes, we need role models to inspire and motivate us, to look up to, to see that the things we dream of aren't fantasy but can actually happen in life, but we can't forget that we, also, are role models ourselves. So, an occasional racist remark that gets thrown my way, or a comment on social media about my skin colour, challenges me to be more ambitious than ever.
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