Latest news with #culturalIdentity
Al Jazeera
04-07-2025
- Politics
- Al Jazeera
One tick and ‘anti-Semitic' fruit: The curse of being Palestinian
It was a normal Teams meeting at the end of a busy week. Colleagues were discussing the hospital weekend plans. I was there too, nodding, half-present. My mind was elsewhere – on a message I'd sent earlier that morning to a friend in Gaza. I glanced at my phone. One tick. WhatsApp users know the signs: one tick means the message was sent. Two ticks mean it was received. Two blue ticks, it was read. For most people, it's a minor delay. But when you're texting a Palestinian friend in Gaza during a war, one tick carries a sense of dread. Maybe his phone's out of charge – normal in a place where power was cut off 20 months ago. Maybe there's no service – Israel often cuts communication during attacks. But there's a third possibility I don't allow myself to think about, even though it's the most likely outcome if you are living through a genocide. Still one tick. Back in the meeting. We wrap up. Plans are made and people start to think about their own weekend plans. I glance again. Still one tick. This is the curse of being Palestinian. Carrying the weight of your homeland, its pain, its people – while being expected to function normally, politely, professionally. Then, I was told my Teams background was 'potentially anti-Semitic.' It was a still-life image: figs, olives, grapes, oranges, watermelon, and a few glass bottles. A quiet nod to my culture and roots. But in today's climate, even fruit is political. Any symbol of Palestinian identity can now be interpreted as a threat. Suddenly, I was being questioned, accused, and possibly facing disciplinary action. For a background. For being Palestinian. I felt silenced, humiliated, and exposed. How was my love for my culture, for art, for my people being twisted into something hateful? Why is my choice of virtual background more controversial than the devastating violence unfolding in real time? This is not isolated. Many of us – Palestinians, or anyone else who cares about Palestine – are being challenged on our humanity across organisations, all driven by external pressure. And then it happened. Two blue ticks. My friend was alive. He messaged: they fled their home in the early hours of the morning. He carried his children, walked for hours, left everything behind. No food, no shelter. But alive. How could I explain to him what had happened to me that day? That while he ran for his life, I was threatened with disciplinary action about a painting of fruit? That I was accused of racism for an image, while he was witnessing the destruction of entire families? This is what it means to be Palestinian today. To constantly navigate a world that erases your humanity, silences your voice, distorts your identity. To be told your pain is political. Your joy is provocation. Your symbols are offensive. I've worked in the NHS for 25 years. It's more than a job – it's part of who I am. And now, along with two colleagues, I'm taking legal action. Not for ourselves, but to protect the NHS from external political lobbying. To say, firmly and clearly, that our National Health Service should belong to its patients and its staff – not to those who seek to silence, intimidate or twist it into serving a toxic agenda. What happened to me is not just unjust – it is unlawful. Speaking up against genocide is not only my moral responsibility as a human being, but also my right as a British citizen in a democratic society. I don't write this to compare my experience with my friend's suffering. I write it to expose the absurdity, the cruelty, of how Palestinians are treated across the world. Whether under bombs or under suspicion, we are made to justify our existence. It shouldn't be this way. Being Palestinian is not a crime. But too often, it feels like the world treats it as one. The author is currently pursuing legal action, alongside two NHS colleagues, challenging, among other things, allegations of antisemitism. The views expressed in this article are the author's own and do not necessarily reflect Al Jazeera's editorial stance.
Yahoo
27-06-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Real Canadians: Indigenous grandmothers pass teachings down to young mothers
Five Indigenous grandmothers are sharing traditional teachings with young Indigenous mothers to help give them and their children a healthy head start. The health and well-being of Indigenous Peoples is closely tied to cultural identity, which is established at a very young age. Residential schools and other colonization traumas disrupted the transfer of traditional knowledge, leading to long-lasting consequences to the physical and mental well-being of many Indigenous people in Canada. 'As a survivor of residential school, I lost all my connections to my culture, and I had no traditional parenting knowledge to share with my children,' explains Blackfoot Elder Jackie Bromley of the Kainai Blood Tribe, Treaty 7. 'Many younger people remain disconnected from their culture, and they don't know what they should do when they have a baby.' A group of five Indigenous women from Treaty 6, 7 and 8, and the Métis Nation of Alberta are working together in collaboration with University of Alberta researchers to develop a booklet to share traditional teachings and cultural practices with new Indigenous mothers. Elder Darlene Cardinal, Elder Lorraine Albert, Elder Muriel Lee, Elder Jackie Bromley and Knowledge Keeper Norma Spicer originally came together for a panel discussion at a health conference, but the group collectively felt there was more they could do. With the help of Dr. Stephanie Montesanti, associate professor with the University of Alberta's School of Public Health and funding from the Women and Children's Health Research Institute (WCHRI), they formed the Grandmother's Wisdom Network and worked together to create a booklet of traditional teachings for new Indigenous mothers. 'Connection to culture through the sharing of traditional knowledge improves health and enhances wellness across generations as mothers share knowledge and traditions with their children,' Montesanti says. 'Supporting Indigenous children's development and well-being starts during pregnancy by helping mothers develop stronger connections to culture.' Grandmothers and Elders are highly respected in Indigenous communities. They have a vital role in preserving traditions, transmitting wisdom, and guiding communities by passing on traditional knowledge. 'There is no greater teacher in Cree culture than a kokum or grandmother,' explains Elder Muriel Lee of Ermineskin Cree Nation, Treaty 6. 'Grandmothers are the real knowledge keepers, and the Grandmothers' Wisdom Network has given each of us an avenue to share traditional knowledge.' Though traditional knowledge varies between cultures, all of the grandmothers share one common belief — that caring for a new life is a sacred duty. 'It's so important that we teach young mothers how to care for their children,' explains Elder Lee. 'Each of the grandmothers shares their knowledge in their own way. In Cree culture, we believe a child belongs to the Creator and is only on loan to the parent.' 'There is no greater teacher in Cree culture than a kokum or grandmother.' – Elder Muriel Lee Beginning in spring 2025, the grandmothers will provide the new booklet to Indigenous mothers and their families. Future work will involve health-care providers using the booklet to enhance understanding and awareness of cultural aspects of pregnancy, childbirth and early life among Indigenous Peoples. 'This has been the most meaningful and purposeful task I have undertaken in my life,' says Elder Lee. While working on this project, the grandmothers have supported each other, shared knowledge and discussed ways to share traditional knowledge in each of their respective communities. They plan to continue working together for the foreseeable future. Take Action: Do one thing that brings you personally closer to reconciliation. There are many options — have an Indigenous tourism experience, attend a powwow, or learn some Indigenous words used by people in your area. Debbie Olsen is an award-winning Métis writer and a national bestselling author. If you have an idea for a story that could be featured in Real Canadians, email realcanadians@
Daily Mail
25-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Princess Beatrice's stepson Wolfie has a nanny just to teach him one incredible skill, his mother reveals
Princess Beatrice's stepson is being taught how to speak fluent Chinese by a nanny after his mother Dara Huang says that it is important for him to 'appreciate his roots'. Dara Huang, 42, who is from the US but now lives in central London, was with Princess Beatrice 's husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi for three years from 2015 until 2018 and the pair even got engaged in 2017. The pair welcomed Wolfie - whose real name is Christopher - into the world nine years ago. Since they split and his father Edo married into the royal family, Wolfie has been warmly welcomed into the Firm and appeared alongside them at key events including the Christmas Day walkabout. During an interview with content creator World Microphone, which was filmed in February - Dara apologised for 'butchering' her Chinese and said that she had hired a nanny to teach Wolfie the language. She said: 'His Chinese is better than mine. I think growing up Chinese in America is very hard. You have to pass down your identity and culture to your kids. 'He has an Asian face so he should speak and he should understand [the language].' Dara also said that she was taking nine-year-old Wolfie to Taiwan, Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong this year 'to experience it all'. She added: 'I want him to appreciate and absorb the culture.' The architect said her parents are from Taiwan but moved to America because her father got a high-flying job at NASA, where he worked for 40 years. She said: 'When I was little my dad always told me "You are an American but you have an Asian face, you need to be more hard working than everyone else".' Every year, Dara throws Wolfie a big party to celebrate Chinese New Year, adding: 'All of his friends come over and they wear traditional Chinese outfits.' She added that Wolfie has immersed himself in the food and beverages from East Asia and particularly enjoys drinking bubble tea and tucking into noodles and dumplings. Dara captioned the clip: 'Remember kids! Appreciate your roots, it will help you in your future.' She posted the clip on her Instagram page which racked up thousands of views and comments from fans who were impressed with her bilingual skills. One wrote: 'Wow. Your Chinese is awesome Dara,' while another penned: 'Love what you're doing to pass the culture to your son.' A third said: 'My parents said the exact same thing to me growing up!' Dara Huang, 42, who is from the US but now lives in central London , was with Princess Beatrice 's husband Edo for three years from 2015 until 2018 and the pair even got engaged in 2017 Dara decorates their house for Chinese New Year every year with vibrant red wall hangings and throws Wolfie a party with his friends This comes as Dara awkwardly dodged a conversation about the Royal Family while an estate agent showed her around a £60million London penthouse. Constance Cunningham took her onto the balcony to show her the views where she pointed out three visible landmarks from the Bayswater property - the Shard, London Eye and Royal Albert Hall. But Cunningham then drew her attention to Kensington Palace Gardens in front of her, which led Huang to say 'Kensington Palace'. Cunningham said 'the Royal Family', before Huang added 'right' - and Cunningham gently said: 'Who we love so much…' The exchange happened during a tour of the property in an upcoming episode of Britain's Most Expensive Houses which airs on Channel 4 this Wednesday at 9pm. The two women were looking at The Penthouse at the Park Modern development on Bayswater Road, which is one of London's most expensive new properties. Cunningham is given the chance to sell the home which boasts impressive views of Kensington Palace Gardens and Hyde Park and would be her biggest deal yet. She believes the property would particularly appeal to US buyers keen on investing in London, and therefore turns to American interior designer Huang for advice on how to sell to Americans and how to convince a Miami-based agent contact to take a look. Christopher 'Wolfie' Mapelli Mozzi was born in March 2016, with his parents splitting up two years later in 2018 before Edo then married Beatrice in July 2020. Beatrice and Edo have two daughters together – Sienna, who was born in September 2021, and Athena, who was born in January this year. Wolfie has since made appearances at royal engagements, including at the Together At Christmas carol services at Westminster Abbey. Harvard-educated Huang was born and grew up in the US and was granted British citizenship in 2022. Speaking to Tatler in January, Huang referred to Wolfie as her 'little man' and revealed he likes to paint and that she once sold one of his paintings for £40,000. She shares joint custody of Wolfie with Edo but said: 'If I had all the money in the world, I would probably build a commune for single parents, because it's so nice to be able to put children together. 'I feel like I spend most of my life looking for single mums to hang out with.' In May, Dara made a wry comment about her dating life following the news that she has split from her former partner. The 42-year-old Chinese American architect, who now lives in Chelsea, was previously dating London-based financier Filippos Kodellas de la Morena in 2020, the Daily Mail's Richard Eden revealed. However, it has since come to light that the pair went their separate ways because the investor last month announced he is engaged and set to tie the knot this summer with his new partner, Sofía Marti Marti, a businesswoman and dentist, according to Spanish magazine El Confidencial. Dara appears not to have taken the news too heavily and is back on London's dating scene, making a humorous comment to apparently confirm this. Taking to her Instagram Stories, Dara wrote, 'Just a small note for all you single ladies out there. 'Go to Mayfair on a Friday at around 5 pm because it's 99 per cent men flooding pubs'. She accompanied the comment with a photograph of a London pub brimming with punters enjoying a pint in the sunshine.
Daily Mail
24-06-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
Revealed: Special skill Princess Beatrice's stepson is learning to pay tribute to his heritage
Princess Beatrice's stepson is being taught how to speak fluent Chinese by a nanny after his mother Dara Huang says that it is important for him to 'appreciate his roots'. Dara Huang, 42, who is from the US but now lives in central London, was with Princess Beatrice 's husband Edoardo Mapelli Mozzi for three years from 2015 until 2018 and the pair even got engaged in 2017. The pair welcomed Wolfie - whose real name is Christopher - into the world nine years ago. Since they split and his father Edo married into the royal family, Wolfie has been warmly welcomed into the Firm and appeared alongside them at key events including the Christmas Day walkabout. During an interview with content creator World Microphone, which was filmed in February - Dara apologised for 'butchering' her Chinese and said that she had hired a nanny to teach Wolfie the language. She said: 'His Chinese is better than mine. I think growing up Chinese in America is very hard. You have to pass down your identity and culture to your kids. 'He has an Asian face so he should speak and he should understand [the language].' Dara also said that she was taking nine-year-old Wolfie to Taiwan, Shanghai, Beijing and Hong Kong this year 'to experience it all'. She added: 'I want him to appreciate and absorb the culture.' The architect said her parents are from Taiwan but moved to America because her father got a high-flying job at NASA, where he worked for 40 years. She said: 'When I was little my dad always told me "You are an American but you have an Asian face, you need to be more hard working than everyone else".' Every year, Dara throws Wolfie a big party to celebrate Chinese New Year, adding: 'All of his friends come over and they wear traditional Chinese outfits.' She added that Wolfie has immersed himself in the food and beverages from East Asia and particularly enjoys drinking bubble tea and tucking into noodles and dumplings. Dara captioned the clip: 'Remember kids! Appreciate your roots, it will help you in your future.' She posted the clip on her Instagram page which racked up thousands of views and comments from fans who were impressed with her bilingual skills. One wrote: 'Wow. Your Chinese is awesome Dara,' while another penned: 'Love what you're doing to pass the culture to your son.' A third said: 'My parents said the exact same thing to me growing up!' Dara Huang, 42, who is from the US but now lives in central London , was with Princess Beatrice 's husband Edo for three years from 2015 until 2018 and the pair even got engaged in 2017 Dara decorates their house for Chinese New Year every year with vibrant red wall hangings and throws Wolfie a party with his friends This comes as Dara awkwardly dodged a conversation about the Royal Family while an estate agent showed her around a £60million London penthouse. Constance Cunningham took her onto the balcony to show her the views where she pointed out three visible landmarks from the Bayswater property - the Shard, London Eye and Royal Albert Hall. But Cunningham then drew her attention to Kensington Palace Gardens in front of her, which led Huang to say 'Kensington Palace'. Cunningham said 'the Royal Family', before Huang added 'right' - and Cunningham gently said: 'Who we love so much…' The exchange happened during a tour of the property in an upcoming episode of Britain's Most Expensive Houses which airs on Channel 4 this Wednesday at 9pm. The two women were looking at The Penthouse at the Park Modern development on Bayswater Road, which is one of London's most expensive new properties. Cunningham is given the chance to sell the home which boasts impressive views of Kensington Palace Gardens and Hyde Park and would be her biggest deal yet. She believes the property would particularly appeal to US buyers keen on investing in London, and therefore turns to American interior designer Huang for advice on how to sell to Americans and how to convince a Miami-based agent contact to take a look. Christopher 'Wolfie' Mapelli Mozzi was born in March 2016, with his parents splitting up two years later in 2018 before Edo then married Beatrice in July 2020. Beatrice and Edo have two daughters together – Sienna, who was born in September 2021, and Athena, who was born in January this year. Wolfie has since made appearances at royal engagements, including at the Together At Christmas carol services at Westminster Abbey. Harvard-educated Huang was born and grew up in the US and was granted British citizenship in 2022. Speaking to Tatler in January, Huang referred to Wolfie as her 'little man' and revealed he likes to paint and that she once sold one of his paintings for £40,000. She shares joint custody of Wolfie with Edo but said: 'If I had all the money in the world, I would probably build a commune for single parents, because it's so nice to be able to put children together. 'I feel like I spend most of my life looking for single mums to hang out with.' In May, Dara made a wry comment about her dating life following the news that she has split from her former partner. The 42-year-old Chinese American architect, who now lives in Chelsea, was previously dating London-based financier Filippos Kodellas de la Morena in 2020, the Daily Mail's Richard Eden revealed. However, it has since come to light that the pair went their separate ways because the investor last month announced he is engaged and set to tie the knot this summer with his new partner, Sofía Marti Marti, a businesswoman and dentist, according to Spanish magazine El Confidencial. Dara appears not to have taken the news too heavily and is back on London's dating scene, making a humorous comment to apparently confirm this. Taking to her Instagram Stories, Dara wrote, 'Just a small note for all you single ladies out there. 'Go to Mayfair on a Friday at around 5 pm because it's 99 per cent men flooding pubs'. She accompanied the comment with a photograph of a London pub brimming with punters enjoying a pint in the sunshine.
Times
23-06-2025
- Politics
- Times
Indians should be ashamed to speak English, says Modi's minister
In a nation seeking to portray the language of Shakespeare as the language of colonial subjugation, even a simple 'hello' can lead to trouble. Two years ago civil servants in the Indian state Maharashtra, ruled by the Hindu-nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party, which is led by the prime minister, Narendra Modi, were told to ditch the greeting and replace it with 'vande mataram', meaning roughly 'I bow to thee, oh motherland'. Since then the drumbeat against English has intensified, culminating with comments that have sparked a national debate and possible reckoning for its use. Amit Shah, the powerful home minister and senior figure within Modi's Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has said that the day is coming when Indians who speak English will feel 'ashamed' to do so. Shah has long railed against the legacy of colonial rule in India and, along with other members of Modi's government, believes the British empire 'enslaved' Indian minds long after the end of the Raj. 'In our lifetime, we will see a society in which those speaking English will feel ashamed,' Shah said. 'I believe that the languages of our country are the ornament of our culture. For our history and culture to be understood, it cannot be done in foreign languages.' His comments have prompted a nationwide debate about the enduring legacy of British rule. Ever since the BJP came to power, ministers and Modi have taken potshots at English, calling it a 'colonial relic' surrounded by a 'slavish mentality'. Street names and army regimental titles have changed from English to boost pride in Hindu culture and history. Shah has stoked controversy by arguing that Hindi, the language of northern India, should take precedence. However, this riles people in southern India, who accuse him of wishing to impose Hindi dominance and stifling the country's linguistic diversity. • Modi's nationalists demand destruction of 'thief' emperor's tomb English mostly functions as a 'link language' in southern India, whereby people who do not speak Hindi use it to communicate. Speakers of different languages largely communicate in English without either side feeling threatened by it. If, however, Hindi replaced English, it could prompt widespread outrage. Shah's critics point out that for every class of Indian, speaking English is seen as a passport to success, prosperity, and elevated social status. More than 100 million Indians speak English with varying levels of fluency and it is the language of business, technology, science and higher education. Rahul Gandhi, who leads India's opposition Congress party, said: 'English is not shameful; it is empowering. English is not a chain; it is a tool to break the chains. The BJP don't want the poor kids of India to learn English because they don't want you to ask questions, move ahead and attain equality.' Kancha Ilaiah Shepherd, an activist and author, agreed, saying the BJP did not want Dalits — the lowest stratum in the caste system — and other low-caste Hindus to learn English for fear they would go on to challenge the dominance of the upper caste through the concepts of equality and individual merit that they would inevitably imbibe with the language. 'By his logic, Shah should be ashamed to have educated his son in English. Why was the English-educated foreign minister, S Jaishankar, chosen for the job? Why doesn't Shah become foreign secretary and go around doing diplomacy in Hindi?' Shepherd asked. He pointed out that the upper castes, the elite and top industrialists all ensured their children were taught English to the point where, he said, 'English is actually their mother tongue'. • Why India's census will ask about caste for first time since the Raj He added: 'It's only the rural masses and Dalits who are told to shun English because they want this very powerful tool of liberation to remain the exclusive preserve of the upper castes so that they can maintain their dominance.'
