It’s beautiful to see the life stories of African immigrants being told. I give praises to the wonderful filmmakers particularly those from Africa who are telling our stories through our own voices & viewpoints.
I recently was introduced to two stories that deeply touched me & evoked a lot of emotion in terms of feeling the pain, isolation, the good & the bad of the immigrant & expat experience which many Africans who return home after years of being abroad along with Africans abroad who chose to leave home for a better life away from the wars & poverty that limited & deprived them of fulfilling & living out their dreams in their home nations. The BBC followed Supermodel Alek Wek & her mother back to the war torn nation of Sudan, where her & her mother fled when she was only 14 to seek refuge in England. They returned to find her father’s grave & to see family members & friends who they have not seen in over 14 years. It is a far different story to see Sudan through the eyes & experience of natives like the late great Manute Bol & Alek Wek than the George Clooneys of the world, who we have become accustomed to hearing about the plight of Sudan from. The documentary project ”Africa to Australia” interviews African immigrants & refugees in Australia speaking on their experiences from Africa to Australia.
The children of these nations born in their parents adopted nations or taken as young people to new nations really touched me the most because it is difficult enough to navigate through the everyday trials & tribulations as a child in general, but when your traditional home life is extremely different from the life of most of your peers it adds an extra additive of trying to find where you fit in & often many young people find themselves as people without a true full identity to the nation of their parents birth or their new adopted nation, or the nation of their own birth because for some reason we as human beings often choose to see our differences as divisions instead of gifts to be treasured & celebrated.
“Is NOT Our Differences that Divide Us. It is Our Inability to Recognize, Accept & Celebrate Those Differences” Audre Lorde
AFRICA TO AUSTRALIA DOCUMENTARY SERIES
View The Rest Of The Series Here
As many Africans still seek better lives outside of Africa many more are returning home.
New Wave of African Expats & Diasporans are Returning To Build Africa For The Future:SANKOFA!
Some Went by force to seek Refuge & realized they had found home.
NOW Immigrants from Around The World Are Flocking To Africa. From Italians who have taken over places like Malindi, Kenya to the chinese seeking new business opportunities all over Africa.