Scottish | Pakistani
I don't think I was proud of my heritage growing up, it made me different and probably gave me some popularity. Now I understand it more and its significance. There is a growing community of people with shared experiences as me, navigating the same world and leaping the same hurdles. Reading stories on @mixedracefaces has opened my eyes to my past and it feels so familiar. It makes me excited to meet more people like me. It is stupid because before I didn't think there was anyone like me, but of-course there are thousands.
My childhood school was 99% White, it was very noticeable I was different by the colour of my skin. This said, I would never hide my identity, it would be impossible to do so. Importantly, I would always share my mixed heritage. I looked different but I didn't feel different, I had the same accent, clothes, and friends as everybody else. There was nobody else like me, but what could I have done? As a kid I would feel more English than my Asian roots and this shaped everything. There was nobody to be friends with who could share my differences and draw out conversations about our race, to celebrate it. I have never outwardly hidden my identity, but maybe I did on the inside, it was locked away, never to be expressed.
There are few role models for me in the conservation sector, people who have had the same upbringing and life experiences and have chosen to work in conservation. I feel like this hasn’t really affected me, but when I think harder, it probably meant I was slow in finding my career. People from ethnic minorities have less exposure to nature, less access to it because they live in cities, and thus a shallower connection with nature. I find this unfair on three levels: (a) the joys of the natural world should be shared equally; (b) there is a biodiversity crisis threatening the life support systems we depend on; fighting this requires collective action; and (c) creativity thrives off diversity. A more diverse workforce would benefit from a greater range of experiences and alternative ways of thinking.
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