Questionnaire response
RESPONSES
Y.
3 min read
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Where are you from ?
Senegal
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In which country did you live?
Senegal and France
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How old are you ?
27
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When did you realize that your skin color made you different than others?
As a child
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When did this take on a negative connotation?
As a child
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Have you experienced episodes of racism against yourself (this varies from micro-attacks to acts of violence)?
a. Yes
b. No
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If you answered "yes" to the previous question, what was the event that struck you the most? (or "the events")
Being called "toubab" or "white" by black people.
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What would define your skin color the most among the following propositions: (for lack of adequate words please do not be offended by them)
a. 'Light skin'
b. 'Mixed'
c. 'Black'
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Have you ever witnessed racist acts around you?
a. Yes
b. No
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Have you ever heard 'inappropriate' comments from those around you?
a. Yes
b. No
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If so, it took place within which group (s) among the following? (Many answers are possible)
a. Your group of friends + acquaintances (so rather friends of your friends)
b. Your group of friends
c. Within your family
d. At school / at university
e. At work
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For each of the boxes checked in the previous question, please specify how you felt at that time? Did you react? Yes? No ? Why?
I felt assaulted even though I wasn't the one being talked to. Yes, I reacted because it was stronger than me.
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What is your relationship with your skin color?
Good, I accept myself without difficulty and I am proud of my skin color!
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Has your relationship to your skin color always been the same? (Whether the answer is yes or no, please explore the evolution of this relationship over time)
As a child I hated being called a "toubab" and as I grew up there was a vision of "mixed people" that no longer bothered me. Then once I arrived in France, my pride in my skin color grew stronger.
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Do you agree that with age you gain a better understanding of what racism is?
Yes, until a certain age we don't even realize that there are people of different skin colors.
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Over time, do you feel more apt to be against racism or on the contrary less apt? (In both cases, please specify for what reason (s))
More able because as you grow up you become more aware of the world you live in and I think I have more knowledge today to know how to deal with it so I don't become a victim of racism. And I think that with age, wisdom helps a lot too.
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Do you have or would you like to have children?
Yes
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If so, is the notion of racism something that comes to your mind when you think about potentially bringing into the world / educating another human being and being responsible for it? Why ?
No, it's not something I think about when I think about having children because
I think that we are not necessarily victims of racism in life and that if it is something we fear from the beginning we are more likely to notice it, attract it and therefore suffer from it.
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Where do you currently live?
In France
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Where would you see yourself living? When choosing this place, do you take into account the notion of racism? Yes? No ? Why ?
Somewhere where it's warm and there's the sea.
No, even if it looks like where I grew up...
I have always been welcomed in the countries I have visited and I think that being neither totally black nor totally white helps a lot to blend in
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Here you can express anything you feel about racism that was not necessarily covered in the previous questions. (Whatever you feel, whatever you want to share).
Being mixed race can be an advantage as I said above but it also puts you in front of a difficulty of belonging... for black people you are white and for the white people you are black so finally you are not accepted by anyone really...
I think we have to be realistic and even though the world shouldn't be like this, for me we will always have to fight against racism because it will always exist (at least for us and the next generations).
But we can still make things better by doing the right thing and fighting so let's keep hope alive because hope is what makes you live.