As an African woman, having a white Dutch husband and mixed kids, I want to share my experience towards Black Lives Matter. In 13 years in the Netherlands, I have come across many facets of discrimination. I mostly talk about issues in relation to HIV stigma and discrimination, but today I choose to share this experience.
Not so long ago, I used to take my youngest child to school by bicycle. Crossing a busy road for a young child is dangerous so I would put him in my transport bike and bring him to school myself. Like many other parents I would use a narrow path as a shortcut to school with our bikes. Along this path, people from the neighbourhood would also be walking their dogs.
I had already been using this path for many years when suddenly a woman, walking her dog, told me I am not allowed to pass. But a white mother, also with a child on her bike, just passed and the woman said nothing at all. So I asked, "Why am I not allowed to pass?" She said, "because this is a walking path". I replied, "Well ,we are both breaking the rules as dogs are also not allowed to walk freely and shit here". She was furious.
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