Quote

I've never had a very closely connected family. My parents split up when I was young and I was living with my mom for a little while, then I was kind of just on my own really young. It wasn't some kind of global tragedy, it was just never really a very close-knit family. So there was support in the sense that they didn't stand in my way.

I come from a family of working people. My parents were Guatemalan immigrants who spent most of their lives in the service industry.

I was adopted by two amazing people: a Salvadoran mother and a white father who were incredibly supportive of me and my work. I am eternally grateful for them.

The building of friendship, family, community and love is complicated. We are so isolated in this country, no longer supported by tribes and villages.

While 'Friends' was about a 20-something population and what they were going through, they were also dealing with issues with their family.

We had people of all backgrounds coming together - all races, all creeds, all colors, all status in life. And coming together there was a kind of quiet dignity and a kind of sense of caring and a feeling of joint responsibility.

I had a family that supported me.

My mother was an activist; so was my father. They came from a generation of young Somalis who were actively involved in getting independence for Somalia in 1960.

Mum and Dad met campaigning on the Spanish civil war. Both were active peace campaigners. They died in 1986 and '87.

That's what a family is: a whole bunch of people coming together.