Rooted Beyond Erasure

Episode #379: “It’s a different migration story,” reflects Amy Hardingson, speaking about her enduring connection to her Burmese heritage, a thread stretching across generations. Her great-grandmother, Hilda, embodied this love, embarking on the perilous Great Trek during World War II to India in 1941. A member of the Eurasian community in Burma, Hilda fled with her three-year-old daughter and seven-month-old son (Amy's grandfather). After losing her husband to malaria during the arduous journey, Hilda and her children were interned by the Japanese in a concentration camp for over a year. Their survival ultimately led them from war-ravaged Burma to the UK in 1947, initiating their family's diaspora story.

Growing up mixed-race in the UK, Amy wrestled with a complex identity, often feeling her lived experience didn't conform to societal expectations. She faced intrusive questions and battled “mixed-race imposter-syndrome and anxiety.” Through researching Hilda's family tree, Amy unearthed a mixed heritage stretching back to the beginnings of British colonialism, a revelation that was incredibly healing and reshaped her self-understanding.

Amy actively cultivates this rich connection for her daughter, Lucy, through cultural immersion like cooking authentic Burmese food and reading engaging bilingual books. Lucy, at nine, has also enthusiastically embraced this legacy by undertaking a “charity badge” for Girl Guides, choosing to fundraise for Better Burma following the coup. She raised £170, directly aiding 160 different families. This act gifted Lucy a powerful “sense of agency and direct living connection to her Burmese heritage,” says Amy, demonstrating “how every little bit of money helps.”

Amy understands that embracing one's heritage, despite external pressures and historical erasures, is important. For her, “untangling that internalized racism is really important to help you to actually forge that sense of self and identity in a healthy and holistic way.” She believes this journey, like a delicate thread, can be repaired, strengthened, and woven into something new, showcasing an evolving identity across time.