On the Question ‘Where Are You From?’

It’s sometimes really hard for some people to say where they are from. There are people who were born in one country but lived in three or four countries in their childhood and teen years. They have grown up having spent a significant number of years in several countries. When one has asked me where so-and-so was from, for example, and I pointed this out, she asked me what the person’s passport was then and I said it didn’t matter what passport the person held. I don’t think passports always say where a person is from; it doesn’t always represent what the person identifies themselves as. I think we need to rethink the question, ‘Where are you from?’ It’s become an extremely difficult question to answer. Some people may ask where a person’s ancestors are from but, in my opinion, that still doesn’t represent where the particular person has come from. Some people say, ‘I don’t know’ to the ‘Where are you from?’ question and I don’t think it’s strange. And let’s not forget that so many people out there are ‘stateless’; wanted, not accepted by an any country. What to do with them?