Czech | Kenyan
My Dad is Kenyan, from the Western Region near Lake Victoria and is from the Luo tribe. He met my Czech Mother in the mid-sixties in then Socialist Czechoslovakia. He was studying Engineering in Prague thanks to the stipends that were handed out during the Cold War to thousands of African students post-Colonial independence. My Mother is from a small provincial town in Czech and she met my Dad at work. Gradually they got together, married and had me, much to the dismay of Mum's family. When Dad completed his degree, he moved back to Kenya first and Mum and I followed a few years later, once our exit permits had been granted by the Communist regime. At that time travel bans made it very difficult for Czechs to leave for the West and Mum was forced to relinquish her citizenship as she was deemed as a traitor for leaving the country.
When we moved to Kenya, we lived in the capital Nairobi and often had Dad's family staying with us from the village, as was the custom. Through this, I learnt Dad's tribal language and used to translate for Mum. I remember the native food, lots of fish with decorative fruits and Grandmother cooking in the compound on a jiko, a small charcoal burning stove. Mum adapted to Kenyan ways wearing a kikoy, an African sarong worn at home and learnt how to make Dad's favourite dishes, such as Ugali, as food was central to his culture. Sadly, my childhood memories of living in Kenya stop right there, as at the age of six my parents separated, and I was sent back to Czechoslovakia.
Mixed has been both a blessing as well as feeling the odd one in the room. I was extremely conscious of my full lips and I hated being tall as I stood out in crowds. I was constantly observed by strangers be it on the train, in the shops or even the doctor's surgery. Czechoslovakia was a closed society and both kids and adults didn't know how to react to other races.
Thereafter, moving to the UK was a huge turning point in my life. Living in London had its challenges but it was liberating not being stared at on the streets.
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