Ene Obi, the mother-in-law of Altynay Jakisheva, daughter of Mukhtar Dzhakishev, former head of Kazatomprom, the world’s second-largest uranium producer, has responded to racist comments posted on her Instagram account following the wedding of her son Karl and Altynay earlier this week in Almaty.
In an emotional post, Obi reflected on her own experience growing up in a multicultural family. Her father is Nigerian and her mother is Jamaican.
«Growing up in Lagos, we were constantly teased (bullied) because some of our family practices were not Nigerian. We were unwelcome by some people in Jamaica. Nigerians would call my mum a slave. Jamaicans would call my dad a monkey,» she wrote.
Despite those experiences, Obi said she is proud of her multicultural background, which she believes has given her a deeper understanding of different cultures and perspectives. She hopes to pass that appreciation on to her future grandchildren.
«I can only teach my grandchildren what I know. From their mother’s side, they’ll learn about Kazakh and Kyrgyz culture. Would this make them less or more limited? You decide,» Obi wrote.
Meanwhile, Dzhakishev has described his son-in-law, Karl Obi, as a man with «the right moral compass and ambitious goals.»
