Italian | South African

My Father is Italian, and my Mum comes from South Africa. They met in London through work. My Mum left South Africa during the Apartheid era, where during that time being in an interracial couple was illegal and returning as a family would have been too dangerous.

As a child I was shielded from these realities but growing up I began to understand more about the oppressive regime, segregation, and the hardships people suffered. Living in the UK, it was difficult to comprehend such a system existed and reconcile that it was also part of my heritage, I didn’t like speaking about it. My Mother, who is of mixed heritage spoke Afrikaans fluently which would always surprise the mainly White South Africans we would very rarely encounter here.

I remember Nelson Mandela’s release from prison and the huge impact it had on my family even from afar, it was a moment of huge significance for us which stayed with me, not least because mixed-race identities are very much part of the cultural makeup of South Africa historically and in spite of Apartheid; it felt like a validation of our identity.

My Italian heritage is very important to me, and I have a strong cultural link and connection to Italy which I had more access to growing up and visited frequently. Although having mixed African and European heritage was not always understood it was looked upon with curiosity rather than hostility. My dual heritage and the perspective it’s given me is something I’m immensely proud of, and has made me the person I am.

I’m wary of mixed-race identities feeling like a trend and being labelled in a way which can be unhelpful which is why spaces like this are so important. There are still lots of misconceptions about mixed-race people, mainly being confused about their identity, or having to explain themselves, or having to be one thing or another, which is tiring. I think these views are often imposed on you, where society can’t slot you neatly into one category or another.

Tenee Attoh23 June 2023Comment