There are so many Africans in London as if I didn’t know that before arriving here. The question which many people keep asking is where are they always hurrying to in the mornings?
In the evenings, as they trot home, running after buses and trains, the same question is asked but with a different tone … where are they coming from?
In a period when the biggest issue is over immigration and that Britain is getting too small for such a large number of people, the subject remains ever topical … at the edge of the British general election slated for sometime next year.
Africans in London are a mixed bag. Many had come with the notion of making out their future, some academically and others, in business. Quite an odd bunch bent on drugs and other dissocial activities.
It is these odd couples that are giving the other tame Africans a bad name.
The curious thing is that accurate figures of how many Africans are in Britain remain unknown.
Officials I asked at the Home Office are non plussed and few of them flex their hands in the air saying apologetically, ”shoot me if I can give you an accurate number or something closest.”
Sierra Leoneans who have lived here long enough are also tripped when I pose the question to them.
Many say many Africans have been linked to crime which makes the peace-loving African to be misunderstood and looked at as a potential crime maker.
One African I met had an interesting story. ”They are the children being sent by parents to Britain that are more likely to be linked with crime and other ills not those who were born here,” he said without winking his eyes.
Unlike the Poles who are returning back to their homeland, they were the largest group in the East European quagmire after Africans to stay put, many are now talking openly of returning to their homelands.
Like Zimbabwean Sally Mutenda, who I studied with in Moscow and have been living here for dozens of years.
”It’s a no win situation, believe me, its better in your own soil”, she confessed as we shared tea in a Starbuck coffee drink out.
Fellow Kenyan Matthew Simonda agreed saying, ”our country needs us better than here. When you have passed a certain age, you are no longer a good guy for Europe,” he sighed.
Whatever the odds, many Africans more than ever before are striving for higher education.
Educational institutions which used to give grants and scholarships said ”things are a little bit tighter than before and the crunch has worsened the situation.”
”We can only make it with few half grants and the competition is fierce,” one registrar confessed.
Many universities have upped their costs and even at that they are not able to take in the thousands that are applying.
In it all, there is the melting pot as many believe that Britain is the softest spot in Europe to enter.
For some Africans, the days when the streets of London are paved with gold remains a reality.
Try to dissuade them and you would be cursed with dozens of unprintables. The reality remains however that things are not easy. Not even the hardworking has a sure chance of making it through.
Like Gambian Julius Macauley, who said he sold his land and all his belongings to come to Britain five years ago.
‘’I am not even half way to achieving my dreams and I regretted my action. Let others think twice before jumping to such a decision,” he warned.
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