Black History Month - Heritage and Home: Growing Up Eritrean in London

Salem B. Habtom

As part of Black History Month, young people from Partnership for Young London are sharing short blogs that explore what this month means to them. Through their personal stories, they reflect on their lived experiences of BAME culture, heritage, and identity. This initiative celebration of our diversity as young Londoners, embracing dual heritages and highlighting the richness that comes from different backgrounds.

Growing up within the Eritrean diaspora, it always felt inevitable that my cultural identity would be split in two.

My lineage stems from East Africa, the Horn of Africa, where my ancestors have always lived, but it was with my family that this ancestral chain was broken. We found ourselves living in the metropolitan city of London, a great contrast to my mother’s sub-Saharan upbringing in Ethiopia and the Italian-influenced streets of Asmara, Eritrea, where my dad spent his youth.

As their firstborn, I had an upbringing that was outwardly quite British, the first in my family to do so. This is my story, one similar to that of my peers; I attended the same English schools, and my friends were all from London too. The one thing that set me apart was my Eritrean heritage.

Having an additional culture meant that I also celebrated an extra Christmas, Easter, and New Year. I was surrounded by and embraced British culture, but I also had my Eritrean culture, allowing me to experience the best of both worlds.

My Eritrean heritage adds to my identity rather than ostracises me, though for others, society can make this difficult. I am currently reading a book called ‘Where Are You From? No, Where Are You Really From?’, and its title highlights a common form of othering. This can lead to racial prejudice, the extremities of which are highlighted in the poem ‘Thirteen’.

No matter the ideals that society may perpetuate, I know from experience that having an additional cultural identity is special. It doesn’t make you less than or other, it adds another dimension to who you are. This should be celebrated, no matter how others portray it, and it’s vital to know that our differences make us who we are, and that should be cherished.