Identity runs deep - this is an amazing story - and shows how much we still need to discover about identity. As a white person, born in Africa, issues of identity loom large, and (in a way) it is a privilege to be exposed to many identity struggles play out day-to-day. An example that I have experienced is how strongly people retain certain African cultural characteristics in other lands (America, Europe, Asia), even when they are from families that have been in those countries for hundreds of years, and even when they probably feel fully assimilated. I don't think we really fully understand how culture passes down through generations, whether this is through stories, language, biology. Whatever drives it, it is a beautiful feature of being human.