Dear fellow EU citizen,
I’m Dahaba Ali Hussen and I’m a Dutch-Somali Londoner. My family and I moved to the UK when I was 10 after my mother fled the Somali Civil War and sought asylum in the Netherlands.
I spent the next 8 years in London before I went to study History at the University of Cambridge. After I graduated, I moved back to the capital and began my journalism career.
In truth, I had never given my multi-faceted identity much consideration. I was of Somali origin, held Dutch nationality and identified quite strongly as a Londoner. I grew up in North London and I have also been proud of my local community. It wasn’t until Brexit – that I was confronted with my Europeaness as an “other”.
When our futures as EU Citizens in the UK were uncertain – people would always be shocked to learn that I was indeed European.
I would allow for their confusion, after all I do have a crisp British accent but a part of me would wonder if they would be so taken aback if I was…white.
It is no secret that Europeaness is measured on a proximity to whiteness and this distanced me from my European identity in the past. Many of you will be aware of my Settled Status nightmare where I was rejected for my EUSS which culminated in me losing my right to work. When I shared on Twitter that I have only been in the UK since I was 10 – many people assumed I had come straight from Somalia when I have never even been to Somalia.
I believe it is important for Black Europeans to have a safe space to share our experiences, as well as dispel the notions that you cannot be both Black and European.
That is why, this Black History Month I am working with the3million to celebrate and share the stories and lived experiences of Black Europeans in London.
Whilst we do contend with the subtle and unsuble forms of discrimination that are faced by minorities – there is a richness to our understanding of and contribution to different cultures and we can celebrate this through taking up space and fully claiming our identities.
Join us for a month of discussion and share your own experiences.
