Serbian/Celtic | Indian

Photo credit: Provided by subject

I identify as Eurasian; Serbian/Indian with a Celtic background. Regarding religion, I was born in a Muslim country and lived there for 16 years of my life. My Dad is Orthodox Christian, my Mom is Hindu, Stepmom is Catholic Christian. So, we basically celebrate almost all holidays. 

My Dad is Serbian (Balkans, Europe), my Mother is Indian (Sindhi, todays Pakistan). According to various DNA tests, I have strong Celtic (Irish, Scottish and Welsh) ancestry, by the percentages, I am more Celtic than I am Balkan/Serbian. My Step-Mother is Filipino and even though I am not Filipino by blood, the Philippines is beautiful, I love their food so much and they are part of the greater Asian family!

My parents met in Dubai, UAE back in the day when Dubai was literally a dessert. That's where I was born, thus my mother tongue is English. We saw Dubai grow into the metropolis it is today with our own bare eyes. My Grandfather was part of the first Serbian community in the UAE and was very fond of Locals in the UAE. My Mother, I'd say, is a very 'Americanized' Indian; she values Western culture more as she moved out of India at a young age and made a career for herself in the West. However, she is very proud of where she is from and even though my parents are divorced, and I don't live with her, she has taken me to India and taught me a lot. 

My Dad is also I'd say, very Western. He grew up in Germany and also the UAE. He combined all these cultures and ways of life in our household when I was younger, and especially now with my Stepmom. I'd say what influenced the household the most was definitely the mix of cuisines. From Filipino, Serbian, Arabic, to Chinese, Mexican and Indian food, there is nothing you can't try here! 

My mother tongue is English, as I grew up in Dubai, UAE and it was the mutual language that was spoken and understood in the household. I wish I picked up Hindi, but unfortunately my parents got divorced at a very young age. I didn't really learn Serbian, except for a few words that my Grandma taught me when I was younger (I had visited then Serbia and Montenegro when it was a Union). Since I moved to Serbia, I picked up Serbian in around 4 years. It is a very tough language!

I grew up around Western music too and occasionally Arabic/local music. This is kind of the downside of growing up as a Third Culture Kid (TCK) because you grow up in some place that has no significant connection to you, adapt to the local culture and kind of erase the meaning of ‘identity’.

Growing up as a Third Culture Kid (TCK) in a country that has no significant cultural meaning to you (UAE), you kind of lose the meaning of 'heritage' and 'identity' - especially in Dubai, a literal cultural melting pot (think New York). I noticed that a lot of fellow peers that I went to primary school with had also tried to 'hide' their identity, almost fearing the possibility of being bullied because they were not of White descent or they were simply in the same position as me, just kind of lost and didn't really care. Probably one of the downsides of growing up in a cultural melting pot. It’s a challenge for some, especially us TCK's and biracials at a young age. 

However, ever since moving to Serbia, Europe, since I am of a kind of darker skin tone, I noticed people where interested in where I was from (I wouldn't go so far as to say there are racists here because the majority of Eastern Europe is quite homogeneous, so when people see others with a different skin tone, there is this normal, human curiosity). So, because of this, I kind of activated this side of me to start asking questions of where I was from. I never in my life had told people that I was Indian per say. I would always say I was Serbian because I had a Serbian passport and because my Mom was not in the picture since the divorce. I would definitely say I went through a serious identity crisis (which is actually one of the many consequences of growing up as a Third Culture Kid, PLUS the fact that I was biracial). 

Then, I noticed that I started finding and researching more about Serbia and India, and when people would ask me where I was from, I would go on and say: I am Serbian and Indian. (I tried to create a shorter version of my life story in my head because I hated the sound of me repeating myself to others, even though people were genuinely fascinated with my background). Last year, I got myself a Serbian and Indian flag and put it in my room, I started connecting with my Indian and Serbian cousins. I started finding fascination in my Serbian surname because it is a very rare one. I did my DNA test, found out that I am more Celtic that Serbian and now I am currently on a journey to find out more about my ancestors.

Even though I am very grateful for growing up in such a diverse country (UAE), I am definitely happy I moved to Serbia, to reconnect with at least one part of my culture and experience things first hand. You kind of learn how to be street smart and independent because Eastern Europe in general is quite a harsh to grow up in, especially in my case, where I came, was put into a Serbian State High school and had to learn the language at the same time. It definitely helped shape me, helped me grow bold and resilient and I would go as far as to say that my comfort zone knows no limits, and that my relocation is definitely one of the main factors for my various accomplishments at the age of 20.

My parents are pretty liberal, none of those fixed/arranged marriages as seen in many Indian households, career first. As far as I know, my parents and Grandparents never had any issue with interracial relationships as almost everyone grew up abroad, in a different mindset. I definitely think this is one of the main factors of how I grew up to be so opened minded too. Every time I would tell my friends about my Dad and his remarriage with my Filipino Stepmom, they jokingly say that my Dad was into the ‘exotic’ ones which I would always laugh and agree with. 

I definitely don't have anything against interracial relationships. I find it to be a very logical result of globalization and migration. Cultures have mixed, matched and interlocked for thousands of years, and this is basically the same thing. However, I respect that some people/peers who simply cannot see themselves with another race/culture/religion. That is entirely up to them and I wouldn't be too fast to go out and call people who think like that 'racist', because life is unpredictable, just like my Grandparents and my parents, moving, migrating and engaging in interracial relationships because they were simply in love. 

In my opinion, love has no race.

I visited Serbia when I was younger to see my Grandparents, but we all spoke English so there was not really any cultural connection. The same goes to India, I visited India when I was 14 and I feel as if I was too young to appreciate the culture. Almost 7 years later, I am looking forward to visiting again, like I cannot even explain. I have fallen in love with Indian food and I love the spices so much. I want to learn more about our history when I go back and definitely want to reconnect with my cousins and relatives. I am so sad because we barely have any Indian restaurants here in Serbia.

Everyone says how ‘cool’ and ‘interesting’ it is to be biracial, but honestly it was more of a nightmare, especially taking my story as an example. I feel like in a world where everything is so instant and so globalized, it's kind of easy to get caught up in all the chaos and you kind of forget who you are with everyone around you. That's why I am happy I caught on, and that on time, went through (hopefully) my first and last identity crisis and I can't wait to get some closure regarding my Celtic ancestry and surname. I feel as if through my future travels, this curiosity of wanting to know more will be even more present and one day, as on my bucket list, I want to backpack the whole of Asia and Europe.

I work in an international company, so I am happy with my workplace. Serbia has labour laws that protect against discrimination. In the UAE, I feel that people from Asian countries are treated like second class citizens and therefore are not respected as opposed to White/Brit expats.

I want people to know me for being hardworking, ambitious and resilient. Not where I am from or what my life story is, even though that is what makes well me, me. I never really put race, sexuality or culture on the forefront of who I am. I never really found the need to pull out the race or sexuality card on anyone. I don't want to be considered a minority in my country or the place I live because I will work hard regardless and build the future I had envisioned.

If I had the opportunity to be reborn I would like to be a butterfly. The concept of being a flying creature has always fascinated me. The sole concept of flight, being in the air, not caring, is something so beautiful to me. it might also be because I have wanted to be a pilot since I was 4.

The work that Mixedracefaces is doing is simply spectacular. Please keep doing it. I love knowing that there are mixed people like me. Sometimes I feel like I am sort of some experiment gone wrong because I feel so alien-like being from two different countries. But it must be so boring to live a normal life. I've always wanted to be extraordinary. 

Life could always be better. I am just bummed because my productivity levels have gone down so much compared to before Covid-19. Everywhere I turn around, there's always someone talking about the virus and I am so tired of it. Unfortunately, my Grandma (my last Grandparent) passed away as a result of the virus - that is a story for itself.