Lamiez Holworthy opens up about childhood
Lamiez Holworthy opens up about childhood. Popular South African DJ Lamiez Holworthy has opened up about the challenges of growing up in a predominantly Indian community, where she faced rejection and prejudice.
Born in Eersterust and raised in Laudium, Holworthy’s experiences were shaped by her mother’s Indian heritage. However, her mother’s family did not accept her due to her non-Indian appearance and paternal lineage.
In a podcast, Lamiez said the rejection from her mother’s family was so severe that they were forced to concoct a false narrative, telling people that she was a product of rape to justify her existence.
“People think white people are racist, but Indian people can be worse. Some coloureds can be worse, and I experienced the worst from my family,” she said.
“My mom had to choose between having me and her family. It was terrible. They wrote my mom off. I was the black sheep of the family. I looked black, and I didn’t have their kind of hair, which made it worse.
“They would tell people that I was a product of rape. I first heard it from my Indian cousin when everyone in school kept asking how come I was black while my cousins are Indian.”
Despite these challenges, Holworthy credited her mother, who is also her manager, for providing a loving and stable home environment.
“My mom had to hide for the longest time, but she chose me, and she continued to choose me. My mom raised me with so much love that I could not tell a difference between myself and my siblings. My mom has always been ready to go to war for me.”
However, her family faced another significant setback when Holworthy’s mother was retrenched from her job. This coincided with Holworthy’s matric year, and the loss of income threatened to derail her plans to study in New York, a dream that had been made possible by her mother’s gift of a plane ticket.
“I initially wanted to be an entertainment lawyer. On my 16th birthday, my mom bought me plane tickets to go study in New York. Then she got retrenched. Not only did it mean New York was not happening, but it also meant studying at that time was not happening. The municipality would come and switch our lights off. We’d sit in the dark for weeks.
“There are so many things that my mom and I had to endure, and now that I’m older and God and my ancestors have shown up for me, I understand why things had to be so tough. I understand why things happened the way they did. I wouldn’t be who I am if it weren’t for those things. I wouldn’t be who I am if I didn’t know what it’s like not to have.”
Though this aspiration was crushed, Holworthy’s mother ensured that her children never felt the weight of their financial struggles.
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