Dutch | Ghanaian
Ghanaian music was always played at home during my childhood, and of course, I love the cuisine! My favourite food is kenkey and fried shrimp with fresh pepper sauce, and no birthday is complete without ɛto, a traditional Ga dish made of mashed yam, palm oil and topped with boiled eggs, which we always serve in a clay grinding pot called an ayewa. Apparently, the dish has fallen out of favour with Christian Ghanaians, but my Mum has always encouraged honouring pre-colonial traditions like eating ɛto and pouring libation to stay connected to our ancestors.
My hair is also a huge (in more ways than one) aspect of my identity. I never relaxed it growing up and was raised to love and care for it. I wore it out to my University of Cambridge interview! Reception has been mostly positive, but I have been told to chop it off to fit it in a swimming cap, or had it yanked while waiting in queues or walking around town. I am not offended if people ask nicely if they can touch my hair, I understand the curiosity, but at the same time I am not a petting zoo animal.
However, my negative racial experiences are not limited to hair. It ranges from explicitly being dehumanised, being consistently confused with the only other Black/White mixed girl in my school year for the 7 years I was there, and being scrutinised at airports, since passport control officers believed my White Father had kidnapped my brother and I, despite sharing a rare surname. I realise how much of my experience is subconscious, too, knowing that racial abuse was inevitable for the Black England players at the Euros after the finals, or being wary of non-White anti-Blackness in countries my White friends have been to on holiday and recommend.
If I were born again I would want to learn Dutch and at least Twi, the main language in Ghana. I implore multicultural families to teach their children their respective native languages. This said, I maintain my ties to my Dutch side by visiting family often and participating in Dutch society here at Cambridge. I wish to further understand my Jewish heritage as well.
Studying Medicine @ University of Cambridge
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