Pr[ide] to be Mozambican?

Identity and culture is an issue most immigrants have to confront at some point during their stay abroad.

Do you abandon your culture in an attempt to assimilate into the new society you find yourself?

I've heard some people say things like "I don't want my child acting all Mozambican.  I’m paying for him to go to an international school, so he can know better! “  

Funny enough, the parents uttering such comments are usually very Mozambican to the core. At other times it is the kids who dislike their cultures so much. I've met some kids who   say things like, "OMG, I hate Mozambique, Mozambican food, Mozambican people, etc. Thank God I was born in South Africa."

There are those Mozambicans  who were born and raised elsewhere and come here ever so often take a couple of pictures of themselves doing “typical’ moz things so they can post them on their social networks so that they’re perceived as ‘proud’ to be African. But then they spend the rest of their time here on the social networks writing stupid shit about how they’re  ‘so lucky to be here’ and ‘back to my roots’ and whatever other street lingo they managed to hear from their guard or Maid. And best of all to show how proud they REALLY are… most of the time they’re doing their ‘tourism’ they’re actually just eating in restaurants that serve ‘Petit Gâteau ‘or ‘Bacalhau à Gomes de Sá” or any other type of foreign cuisine, or going to expensive resorts.  The rest of the time is spent complaining on the lack of ‘service’ around town, oh and it’s ‘So hot here!’  

The worse of them or let me say, the one that annoys me the most, are the young Mozambicans who grew up in Mozambique, but went  abroad at college age, yet put down anything or person they perceive as too African.

I always catch these people making the most ignorant bashful comments towards their own culture.

I feel like slapping their mouth with frying pan, for real, because most times they say such things as if acting Mozambican around them reduces their social status.

Basically, how do you maintain an authentic unadulterated form of your original culture while in the diaspora?

I've sort of taken this all over the place, but you get my drift…


 

These pictures have nothing to do with the subject at matter....just me crusin' around the capital of Mozambique on the quest for some fried Chicken with Piri-Piri.