English | Mauritian
My Mother is from the UK, my Father is from Mauritius. My Dad had just moved to London from France. They met at a party in Clapton, Hackney, a stone's throw from where I now live. The first question a close family member asked her when I was born was 'is he Black?'.
My Father does not particularly enjoy talking about his past and can't understand my interest in this side of my life. I'm learning about my Mauritian heritage and culture independently and have found @mixedracefaces really helpful in processing some of my feelings around my heritage. He did not teach me or my sister Creole or French and doesn't relate to being Mauritian any more.
As a child, I didn't go to Mauritius because my Father was living in this country illegally so we could never travel abroad. My Mauritian family had to always come to us. I first went there at 15, without my Father, to spend time with my Grandmother. I have visited a number of times since. I was close to my Grandmother and would have loved to have seen her more. My Grandmother used to speak about it to us when we were children, she'd teach us songs and tell us stories from her childhood, but as she lived in Mauritius we would only see her every 2 years.
It probably sounds really corny, but I don't see events in life as challenges, they are all part of life's experiences and often they don't resolve themselves, but that's fine. I suppose the biggest personal event I have been experiencing is the ill health of my Father who is an alcoholic. He is trying to address this but the long term consequences of his actions on himself and those around him aren't resolved. It is an ongoing process that changes over time. It is definitely an event that has shaped me though!
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