People often ask why I started the #BlindianProject and what my inspiration was.
I usually explain how I stumbled upon an Al-Jazeera article about African students being attacked by street mobs in Noida, New Delhi, before leaving for a family trip to India (approx 25k Africans study in India).
Yesterday, almost five years from the Al-Jazeera incident, a young Indian woman reached out to me to share details of another news story. But, this time, the incident didn't involve street mobs; it involved the police and a Nigerian man's death.
The young woman went on to describe the hateful comments her friends received for trying to raise awareness. "Why are you sharing this? You like those blackies. They are polluting our culture."
As I messaged the young lady back, it all came full circle.
Why I am doing this?
How/why the BlindianProject initially started?
Why this is important?
The details of this story are still emerging, and we may never know what happened. But I'll be damned if I don't continue to share our stories. I'll be damned if I'm silenced.
Watch this space as I'll be speaking more on how I'm collecting all the pieces to the puzzle.
Rest In Power Leohand Lyeanyi
Read the full Hindustan article here