I’ve always had questions about my family. Both sides of my family immigrated to France not so long ago but I never knew the details. I always knew I was Algerian and Polish because we were so proud about it but my actual family here in France is quite small so I didn’t have a lot of chance to have answers. So I basically lived my life without really knowing where I’m really from. Until now. Because I decided that 2018 would be the year where I take care of myself. So I decided to use everybody’s best friend, Internet, to look for informations on my family. The first time I tried wasn’t really a success, every name I typed, I couldn’t find it. When I tried to look for my grandparents, my father’s parents, I only found his name, not even his brothers and sisters’ names. When I tried to search for my mother’s father’s name, I only found my grandmother’s obituary.
My mother’s name gave nothing except her social medias and just our family name didn’t give anything as it is one of the most common Polish last name. It’s so common it’s the first thing I saw when I arrived in the small town I visited in Poland, the twin town of where I live in France. But when I typed my great- grandfather’s name I found a website specialized in family trees. My great-grandfather, my grandparents and my mother’s names were on this website so I looked deep into and I found some names related to my family so I decided to begin my own family tree, at first it was easy because I know my close family but after I entered my parents, siblings, grandparents, uncles, aunts and cousins’ names, I was stuck because I didn’t know any more names. Actually, I only knew my French family and no other names. I had my great-grandfather’s name but it was the only name I had. It was on the website with another name related but I wasn’t sure because the name really sounded French and was supposed to be Polish. But every date was accurate, it said that my (supposedly) great-grandfather got the French nationality between 1909 and 1963 (nobody knows the exact date but the website gave these dates and it’s between them) and the first wave of polish immigration to France started in 1909.
It all made sense but at the same time the name related to it didn’t make any sense to me but it was the middle of night at the time so I couldn’t ask my mother for information. But when I could she confirmed that the name I found was her grandmother so I already found both my polish great-grandparents. I continued to look deep into this website and I couldn’t find anything about my Algerian family, as my grandparents directly immigrated from Algeria so I already know everybody here and I’m the second generation born in France, my father being their first child he’ the first to be born in France. But what I found is a user of this website who just happens to be my mother’s cousin, and his family tree was almost perfect as only the most recent generation were missing (me and my cousins). So I actually found the entire family tree for my mother’s side and it goes back to the 1600s and even before. Also I acknowledged that I probably won’t know anything more about my Algerian family as my father doesn’t even know hos grandparents and only my grandparents and my uncles/aunts who went to Algeria for vacation know the family there.
That’s why I’m not happy when someone calls me pure white and French. Polish people are indeed white, but it’s definitely not France and I’m the third generation born here. I’m also the second generation born here for my Algerian family and it’s not because my skin is lighter than them and my hair is pink (naturally deep black) that I’m disowning my Algerian heritage. I actually decided that even if I don’t talk to this side of the family a much as before, now is the time I finally decide to be proud of it.