It has been approximately one week since I became a German citizen, and no, I haven’t given up my Guyanese citizenship to attain it. Prior to January this year, when the monumental citizenship law passed in the Bundestag (Germany’s Parliament) foreigners were required to renounce their own citizenship if German citizenship was the path they wanted, with exceptions made only under specific circumstances.
Like my last name, this would have been a hard thing for me to sever ties with. As old people would say “mah navel string bury in Guyana”. Names and all other aspects that are instrumental in shaping one’s family lineage such as nationality, culture etc form such an integral part in influencing and contributing uniquely to one’s life experiences. Therefore, they make the tangible parts like documents, passports etc become more than “just paper”. If anything it sets you off with your core purpose.
