Dutch | Indonesian
I have grown up culturally Dutch. It was not until I was older I became more interested in the cultural heritage of my Mum's side of the family. Through my studies I learned about colonial history & the ways in which both that history and colonial power structures still continue to shape today's societies. As I enjoyed doing some family history research, I soon noticed how Dutch colonial history runs through my entire family tree. It changed my entire perspective. During my childhood I had always been told how my Mum's family moved to a new country where the kids would have a much brighter future; and left a home that seemed to be not particularly worth remembering. As it was a past that was hardly talked about, neither by my Mum nor my Grandfather. Now, by looking at my family's story through a decolonial lens, I see not so much how the Netherlands provided a bright future, but rather how their lives and futures were shaped by colonial oppression for generations. So, now I'm trying to learn more about the cultural habits & rituals that have been lost, as a means to both understand where I am coming from as to restore some of the colonial damage that I believe still affects family dynamics in important ways.
If your mixed-race is related to coloniality, I can totally recommend unraveling your family tree and putting it next to the colonial history of the place where your family is from. It can help greatly in understanding some of the struggles that your ancestors encountered and that were possibly partly inherited by your (Grand)parents. Also, be critical and self-critical on the narratives that you have been taught by your family and the ideas and prejudices they hold. Colonialism and migration might have caused pains that sometimes unknowingly have transferred from generation to generation and that may continue to blur and confuse things today. It may be a lot to unpack but I think it's something worth going through. Oh and finally, embrace the perks of being mixed, like being able to come very close to understanding multiple perspectives and thus to navigate different kinds of environments and situations.
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