Russian/Ukrainian | Ghanaian

Photo credit: provided by subject

I'm mixed-race, of African and Slavic ethnic background (Ghanaian-Russian), baptized into the Greek Orthodox Church of Ghana. My Father is from Ghana, a country in West Africa and my Mother is Russian-Ukrainian. It's a beautiful story. My Father was studying civil engineering in Rostov-on-Don (a very sunny city in Russia) and that was the same city my Mother was living in. They met through mutual friends and got married in the late 90s in Rostov-On-Don, after which they moved to Ghana, where my brother and I were born.

In my home there is always a diverse setting. I grew up in Ghana, but practically experienced the Russian and Ukrainian cultures on a daily basis as my Mother taught me the Russian language since my childhood. We had Russian soups like borsch for lunch, Olivier salads, Ghanaian light soup, jollof rice and many more delicious dishes from both cultures. I love the diversity I experienced because it taught me about my ethnic background, something I am very proud of. At home, my parents, brother and I speak both English and Russian interchangeably. I also understand Ukrainian as I spent most of my childhood summers in Striy, Ukraine visiting my grandparents.

I have never hidden my identity from people. I get a lot of questions from curious people who take interest in my ethnicity and I always feel proud to tell them about my background. I think every mixed-race person should be happy to identify as such. We represent the diversity of cultures in one body. What could be more fascinating than that? Being biracial sometimes makes it hard to identify with one particular race, but I feel like I understand the global racial issues more as I have parents who belong to both races (African and European). This provides me with vast knowledge of my diverse cultural background, making me well informed on matters relating to racial equality. I believe everybody is equal no matter the skin colour and before identifying as African, Asian or White, we should first identify as human.

I was born and raised in Ghana, so most of my life has been spent there and currently I'm studying at a university in Russia. The experiences I have had in both countries were wonderful. From making many friends to visiting many cultural sites like museums, theatres and palaces.

The Coronavirus pandemic hasn't been easy for anyone, but so far I have made the best out of my free time during the lockdown. It was a moment to dedicate myself to learning languages, pursuing my study interests and reading lots of novels. I believe in every negative situation we can find a positive element.