‘I HAD TO KEEP TELLING THEM ZIM IS A NORMAL COUNTRY WITH A LOT OF RICH PEOPLE’

📅 Published: August 26, 2025

Curated by AllZimNews.com

But, in the UK, my whole identity became a conversation starter.

It reminds me I’m not really from here.

Not in their eyes. “It doesn’t matter how I dress, how I speak or how many years I live here.

To them, I’ll always be from somewhere else. “I have to constantly explain that Zimbabwe is a normal country with lots of rich people who live in way more luxury. “It’s exhausting having to defend your home, your people, your childhood — all because someone watched a charity advert once. ”She adds: “I used to try and hide the Zimbabwean in me.

My accent changed so quickly — not because it had to but because I wanted it to.

I wanted to blend in, I didn’t want to sound different. “But now?

I miss that accent.

I miss sounding like where I came from.

I miss feeling like I belonged somewhere completely, without having to split myself into two. “Now, I switch between English and Shona without thinking.

At home, it’s mostly Shona — mama says English makes her feel like she’s still at work.

Daddy doesn’t really care, as long as we’re speaking. “But, outside, speaking Shona feels risky.

I remember scrolling on TikTok when some Karen started talking about how ‘nasty’ it is that we eat food with our hands, how it’s ‘so dirty. ’“I don’t understand why they can’t process the simple fact that we can wash our hands. ”At times, she says, the disappointment has come from being with fellow black people. “Sometimes, I’m even around black British people and still feel left.

Some of them were born here — they have the accent, the slang, the rhythm of this place. “And me?

Two English for the Zimbabweans, too Zimbabweans for the English.

When I’m around white people, I notice everything — my hair, my skin, my slight accent. “When I’m with black British people, I still don’t always fit.