Jordanian/Italian | Pakistani
My Mum is Arab and Italian, her Mother is Italian, and her Father is Arab (Jordanian). My Dad is Pakistani. My Italian Great-Grandparents moved to Britain in the early 1960’s, away from the rife poverty and poor living standards they faced back in Italy at the time. My Arab Grandad moved from Jordan for better prospects and opportunities. These reasons are similar to my Pakistani Grandparents that came from the region of Kashmir. Accrington and other towns were popular destinations that attracted migrants because they were very industrialised towns, known for their cotton and textiles.
Throughout my upbringing, my Nanna always protected me from the repulsive, repugnant and racist slurs surrounding my Pakistani heritage. She never wanted me to be around that or have to ever suffer from that type of abuse, hence why she was very protective over me. When I was a young child, I suffered from being a visible outcast, spending most of my life in majority White populated areas. As I’ve gotten older, I’ve rarely received direct racism. I believe that this is because I don’t hold the ‘stereotypical negative racial stereotypes’ of any of my races. I would also say that I am racially ambiguous to some people. Often racism plays on ignorance by believing that everybody that belongs to a certain race embodies these negative stereotypes. It’s absurd that in today’s British society, minority groups are still easily generalised in negative ways.
There are times when I haven’t felt like I’m fully Arab, fully Italian, fully Pakistani as well as being fully British. There have been times when I’ve felt that I have no sense of belonging wherever I go. Growing up, I felt a lack of representation in the media of people that shared a similar background to me. I have always felt like an outcast, but in recent times I have learnt to LOVE that I am an outcast and created my own sense of belonging. I am thrilled to see upcoming platforms such as Mixedracefaces giving mixed-race people like me a voice to share my story. This representation is very important.
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