<p>I wasn't sure how to start this post, I'm sort of just going with the flow - but what I want to share is an experience I had about 25 years ago when my family and I used to live in Moscow, Russia. It was a short experience, it involved a Russian boy and a certain weird question. For some reason the question stayed with me for years - it was spoken innocently and ignorantly and in the moment I didn't really think about it - but I'd later go on to ponder on it. Given that this happened in a completely different global socio-cultural climate, I'm also being careful as I write to not pass on the wrong message, that this isn't a cry of victimhood or affirmation of victim mentality, but simply to shed light on a past reality.</p><p><img src="/media/inline_insight_image/two-hands-united-middle-diversity.jpg" alt=""><br></p><p> On a certain evening in 1998, I was playing with my siblings in the corridor of this building where we held midweek services - my parents were missionaries in Russia at the time and had started 4 churches around Moscow. The branch we were at consisted mainly of Africans who lived around Moscow while the other branches had mostly Russian members - having a black person start churches and pastor Russians in post-communist Russia was unheard of, but I'd like to think God gave my dad the grace to do so, anyway that's another story. </p><p>So, it was midweek service and my siblings and I were playing in the corridor, when this Russian boy walked towards us with this look on his face that said "I'd like to play with you guys". We welcomed him with open arms, we could all speak Russian (I still can) so we started talking and running up and down the corridor. Then at the end of it all, when it was time for us to go in for the service, the boy turned to us, having had a good time, filled with confusion and excitement, said in Russian <strong>"Pochyemoo anyi tibya ni meelee"</strong> which translates roughly as "Why were you not washed".
Before I go on I'd like to share another account of this story I once wrote; here it is: </p><p><em>"Several times over the course of my life I’ve used my knowledge of languages to break the ice in conversations or dispel erroneous notions about who black people are – it always works, like magic; it worked on multiple occasions during my time in Russia where people would meet me at the store, in the park, on the Metro (subway) with my family, and expect the worst because of a certain pre-conceived notion they had, but then there’d be an abrupt, noticeable change in attitude, once I’d speak their language…and they’d stop, and be forced to re-evaluate all they’d been inundated with – they were, inundated with a lot of inane stuff. </em></p><p><em>Proof of that is one time in Moscow, at the church we attended (it had several branches, but this particular one was an all-black church), my siblings and I were playing in the corridor (it was a very long corridor, the building used to be an officer’s mess) with this Russian boy and at the point where we had to go in, he turned to me, having had a good time with genuinely cool unpretentious people, asked me, in slight bewilderment…” Pochyemoo anyee tibya nye milee…” </em></p><p><em>That translates roughly to ‘Why weren’t you washed’ (when you were born – which was the unsaid, implied part). </em></p><p><em>For the life of me I can’t remember what I said to him, but such was the level of ignorance that existed at that time in those parts…this was maybe 1997 or 1998." </em></p><p><img src="/media/inline_insight_image/vebebveb.jpg" alt=""><em><br></em></p><p>
You could tell that there was no malice in his mind, he said it with such genuine concern, almost like saying "when you get home, tell your parents to wash you", so you'd look like me. Like I said, I didn't think anything of it at the time - but it stayed with me. </p><p>This was a rather pleasant experience if you would believe it, over the 10 years I spent in Russia so many nasty things happened - you see, racism in Russia is quite different from racism in the US - it isn't systemic, it has no history of slavery, Jim Crow, mass incarceration, police brutality or disenfranchisement...it is just good (bad) old racism, you know. But just like in the US (and anywhere else), it's location-dependent; for example, the fewer the number of foreigners in a city, obviously the higher the chance you'd encounter racism. </p><p>At the time Moscow was becoming more and more international as Russia opened its doors after the fall of the Soviet Union, but there was still A LOT of racism. </p><p>I often wonder if we can ever live in a colourbind world, where you aren't judged by the colour of your skin but the content...you know, all that warm, fuzzy stuff MLK said. </p><p><img src="/media/inline_insight_image/vqervqvqv.png" alt=""><br></p><p>I'm pretty immune to it at this point, I just, you know, keep on living and doing all I can to correct preconceived notions. </p><p>If you've got any similar 'interesting' experiences, be sure to drop them in the comments. </p><p>Oh and, the title of this post was inspired by "Colourblind", a song by Counting Crows, check it out if you don't know it, it's pretty nice.
Thanks for reading!! (edited)</p>