Discovering Europe
Being African in Romania
More than 2 million Romanians live outside the country but only around 60,000 foreigners live in Romania. However, all that is set to change as Romania becomes a destination country with a relaunched economy in need of labour. The newcomers are Moldavians, Turks and Asians as well as Africans. For the latter, integration is not always easy.
Amadou Niang.
© A. Niang
Former student Amadou Niang can testify to that: “As a Senegalese grant holder, I was immediately disappointed by the poor conditions for university students. The room on the university campus was in such a poor state that I had to rent a room at my own expense. The quality of the studies also leaves something to be desired and there is corruption when it comes to exams.”
Nonetheless, after completing his studies, Amadou Niang wanted to stay in Romania. His reason for staying was love. But not even marriage to a Romanian offers protection against discrimination when dealing with the administration or finding employment. Then there is the problem of living as a mixed-race couple: “The anti-discrimination law is just a cosmetic device,” he says. “It doesn’t work in practice. It simply imposes a fine with no redress for the victim,” adding that the Romanies probably suffer more from racism than Africans. Despite all this he says he has many Romanian friends.
Based on his own experiences, Amadou Niang decided to found an association to help immigrants settle in Romania. And he is not alone in taking action, as a programme called ‘Democracy and courage’ has been set up to educate young people on how to reject racism in schools.
2 Comments
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#2 tebidhenry wrote at 31.07.2008 14:45:
Africans are a very special people in the fact that they are different from all other people. Articles like yours are quite interesting as it gives a clear image of how an African is perceived and treated out of his country.
#1 Chirandu wrote at 14.07.2008 15:55:
Being African (in Romania), I liked the article you wrote about your personal experiences. I realised that "Being African", as a concept should be shared, as such, am recommending you to check the discussion forum where the concept is discussed...here the discussion forum "Being African" is based on a book of the same title by Professor Mandivamba Rukuni, published 2007. It is interesting to note that Being African should be understood as a framework of guiding principles for African people, regardless of their geographic location. The framework is informed by the ten pathways of being human. For more information, you can follow the link: connactionzim.com/index.php
The forum provides a book summary and raises issues about the concept Being African.
Would be grateful to get collaborative comments from you guys.
Thank you
Chirandu