#PeopleofNEI: Tamara, the free

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Northeast Indiana is evolving. These are the people shaping its future. #PeopleofNEI

This week’s feature:

Tamara, 33, has been living in northeast Indiana since June, 2015. She moved to Fort Wayne from South Africa to escape domestic abuse. With only her two year old son and one suitcase, she fled the country and left behind her car, her home, her career, and her money. “I say that I am African American when I am in Africa but I feel like I am not allowed to say that here. My father is African; my mother is American. When I was growing up, my family was the only white family in the community. I relate to African Americans. They were the ones that helped raise me. Moving to northeast Indiana has been a growing experience. I feel like this is home but I sometimes feel like an outsider. I tried to dull my accent and fashion to fit in better but I am obsessed with being transparent and not putting on a facade. When I moved here, I had lost everything but my son. Now, it’s all about finding my new normal. I like being here and not having to worry. I am thankful for things like going to bed with a roof over my head. Northeast Indiana has a sense of old-fashioned values here and there can be a delight to that. There is a Midwest charm. Even though I am still dealing with trauma from my past, I feel engaged here. I believe that we are all divine and perfectly imprinted at birth. We allow ourselves to take on external voices that overwhelm us. You can live in that space or you can break open. It’s ugly and difficult but it’s beautiful. Our freedom is on the other side of it. I believe in living a life of full expression.” #PeopleofNEI

A post shared by Input Fort Wayne (@inputfortwayne) on Mar 25, 2018 at 6:44pm PDT

#PeopleofNEI: Tamara, the free

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