Different strokes

Children of mixed parentage talk of their personal experiences

Children learn a lot from their peers. It is through these interactions they begin to comprehend the ethnic, religious, cultural and linguistic differences. From these experiences they create an identity for themselves, more so if they are from a mixed marriage.

Even siblings from within the same family may relate differently to their roots, depending on their own appearance, ties with their family, experiences in school and their determination to stand by an opinion.

"Living in a country that is very cosmopolitan does iron out differences that my children might have felt if they were growing up in their father's native land, Egypt, or in New Zealand," explains Ameera Shiha, mother of five-year-old Asma.

Apart from being able to do things on her own like the occasional visit to the grocer to pick up her favourite chocolates, which she was never allowed to do while in New Zealand, Asma loves to swim, draw pictures of mosques, recite the Holy Quran and teach her friends English.