1,585 likes, 27 comments - black_andirish on September 30, 2020: "My name is Yasmine Phillips, I’m 35 and am a mixed Guyanese, Slovak and Hungarian Brit who lives in county Wicklow. I grew up in London where there was nothing remarkable about my race. So I found it incredibly strange when I first moved to Ireland and many people found my race something of a curiosity. I spent my first couple of years in West Cork where I would go months without seeing another brown face. I’ve felt uncomfortable being called exotic or coloured by well-meaning people. And I’ve felt even more uncomfortable hearing more racist views expressed. The incident that comes most to mind was when I was at a breastfeeding support group. One of the women was talking about her birth experience and was telling us how scared she’d been being touched by the foreign doctor, and how relieved she’d been when an Irish midwife had taken over her care. Upon seeing my incredulous face, she retorted “I’m sorry, but that’s how I felt!” I now have a 1 year old and I worry about her growing up in a very white area in rural Ireland. I worry about how this will affect her self-image and I worry about her being treated as a curiosity or worse. I also feel sad that I might be the only brown person she sees on a daily basis. Before my daughter was born, my partner and I ran a small market garden. I am passionate about organic growing and homesteading. I currently work with @WWOOFIreland, an educational charity that connects volunteers with organic farms and small-holdings. It was through wwoofing that I came to live in the Irish countryside and it is my hope that more brown people will become interested in organic living and make the move to the more rural areas of Ireland. . . Thank you for sharing your story @the_market_garden ❤ . . #blackandirish #blackirish 🖤☘".