Thursday, December 21, 2006
CHINA:Black Pearls in the Yellow River
CHINA:
Black Pearls in the Yellow River
There was a time when Cameroonians did not consider China as a possible destination. That has long changed. Cameroonians are now streaming into China in search of education and jobs.
By Declan Forjong Mbecha in Jinan CITY, CHINA
It is common for people being advised or admonished: “When in Rome do as the Romans do.” Yet, many people who have travelled to China would agree that the practice of this age-old wisdom is not as easy as saying it. Currently, China’s economic boom is making it an increasingly popular destination for many foreigners, including Cameroonians. One of the most daunting tasks Cameroonians face in China is that of overcoming the yawning gap of differences between their home society and the Chinese society.
Culture Shock
The sheer size of China and its population is already a big psychological menace to the incoming Cameroonian. The language does not sound like any other language one has ever heard. The inability to easily communicate one’s feelings and thoughts can be frustrating at times. Cameroonians overcome this difficulty by adapting; learning the basic sentences needed for daily communication, especially bargaining.
Chinese cuisine is very good. In fact, the Chinese have many delicious meals that Cameroonians are becoming habitual with. Yet, there is always a longing for home food. In Cameroon, meals are usually dominated by carbohydrates and vegetable whereas in China it is more of meat and vegetable. Even with the familiar dishes, the cooking method is different. As Azem, a Cameroonian based in Yiwu of Zhejiang Province, puts it, “Cameroonians miss the familiar tastes of fufu, waterfufu, corn fufu, plantains, achombo and achu.” Unlike in America and Europe, there are no African shops and restaurants to cater for the gastronomic needs of Africans here in China. Like the strange language, chopsticks provide one of the first challenges as it would be hard to have spoons at most tables. Foreigners from Africa and western countries must quickly learn the art of eating with two twigs pegged between two or three fingers.
Cameroonians in China sometimes face a breakdown in interpersonal communication. Asking somebody very personal questions is considered as a way of showing concern for the other person by the Chinese. Yet, at the other end of the communication line, Cameroonians perceive the questions as being too intruding on their privacy. Many newcomers are baffled when somebody abruptly stops them in the street and, without any protocol, starts asking questions like; “Where are you from?”, “Why did you come to China?”, “What’s your job?”, “How much is your salary?”, “How old are you?”, “Are you married?” and a whole lot more. It is worth noting that a global survey revealed that the Chinese come first among people who can easily show a stranger their bedroom. This is opposed to Africa where the bedroom is considered sacred and private. Most Cameroonians here in China find it distasteful when a Chinese visits them and starts poking his head around.
China is still a mystery to many people, a country with very strange habits, if one may put it that way. If eyes could kill, many Cameroonians in China would be dead. The Chinese just do not understand why some people, especially Blacks, are so different from them. The difference in skin, hair, height, body build; in fact every little detail attracts their scrutiny. The audacious ones would even venture to ask why one is so black. Once I was discussing with some Cameroonians about what response they give to such questions. ”I ask them why they are so yellow,” Cornelius Nkemaka, a Cameroonian in Yiwu City, explained. “I just ignore them,” said Gana Fidelis, another Cameroonian residing in Sichuan province.
Overcoming the visa humbug
There are different categories of Chinese visas given according to the travelling purpose. The most common visas are Z for workers, F for business people and expatriates on short term stays, L for tourists, and X for students. Unlike the case of most Western countries, it is fairly easy to obtain a Chinese visa from either the Chinese consulate or embassy in Cameroon as long as one has proof of financial viability. Most Cameroonians who come to China to look for work go through visa agents who are adept at preparing the necessary proof needed to convince the Chinese visa officer. The tourist visa (with a 15 or 30 day validity) is the easiest to get, which can then be changed to F or Z on arrival in China.
However, one thing the visa agents never tell their clients is how difficult it may be to renew one’s visa. No sooner have the travellers arrived in China and are still trying to overcome culture shock than they realize that their stay may be cut short if they do not act fast to extend their visas. There are three ways to solve the problem of an expiring visa or residence permit. The easiest way is to travel to Macau and then seek a re-entry visa. Another way is to go through visa agents who can charge as much as 1000 US dollars for one year validity. Finally, the lucky ones pick up a job before their visas expire. They have a heavy load lifted off their shoulders since employers are charged with obtaining a work permit for their employees.
Profiles and Professions
Cameroonians in China can be divided into three categories: students, workers, and business people. Though there are privately sponsored students, most of the Cameroonian students here are sponsored under a Chinese government scholarship programme. It is not possible to work and study at the same time in China. Job seekers make up about 70 percent of the total number of Cameroonians in China.
About 10 percent of Cameroonian migrants in China are married. Most Cameroonian boys readily date Chinese girls, but very few marry them.
The most common profession in China available to foreigners is the teaching of oral and business English. The Chinese are more eager these days to learn the language to perfection. About 85 percent of Cameroonians are into teaching. A few are employed by nightclubs, where they serve as DJs and MCs. Others are employed by trading companies and translation firms.
Those who teach face a Herculean task. To win the confidence of the Chinese school employers, the foreigner must be able to twist the tongue to “rap” like Americans. This explains why native speakers from America, Canada, Britain, and Australia are the most desired. So in order to get employed, Cameroonians who have never “rapped” in their lives, must make not only an attempt, but “rap” so well. In addition, a very lively teacher will win the students’ votes. Chinese parents and school authorities believe so much in their children and students respectively that most of the time, a foreign teacher’s credibility is marked by how popular he or she is among the students. The pay package is commensurate to the effort put in. The least earning foreign teacher still earns higher than the average Chinese teacher.
Racism or Preference?
Officially, racism is discouraged in China. But foreigners experience a kind of institutional racism. This is mostly felt in the field of teaching where most Africans are involved. Africans and foreign born Chinese are the most segregated against. Even though foreign born Chinese may easily get integrated into areas like business and the high-tech industry, they face segregation even more than Africans when it comes to teaching. The case of the foreign born Chinese may sound bizarre, but experience has shown that some Chinese seem to believe that only a Whiteman can teach their kids real English.
The media contribute in promoting racial prejudices against Africans, though inadvertently. The Chinese media, like the Western media, have been focusing their attention mostly on the bleak side of Africa. Blacks in China are the incarnation of poverty, war, and disease. For this reason, many rich Chinese look down on Africans and so would not like Blacks to teach their children. Hence it is not uncommon to see job adverts online stating clearly: “Looking for Caucasian whites only”!
However, there are some employers who do not mind about the colour as long as the applicant is not from Africa. The reason they give is that Africans do not speak English well. The Chinese prefer the Western accent. Consequently, some of the Africans in China just lay claim to a Cameroonian-American ancestry. All one has to do is speak like one of Uncle Sam’s scions. And in most cases it works like magic. “Since hunters have learnt to shoot without missing, “eneke”, the small bird, has learnt to fly without perching,” said Joe Sube, an African, quoting Chinua Achebe as he raised a bottle of Tsingtao beer to his mouth.
But Africans in China also have their own part of the blame. Conmen as well as inefficient and unqualified applicants abound in China. The Chinese have a certain mentality that is hard to change. Once a Black person commits an offence in a given city, it causes both Chinese authorities and employers to doubt any other Black person who eventually goes there. Many Blacks in China have thus had to atone for the sins of their compatriots.
Successes and Failures
Despite all the difficulties, Cameroonians in China generally register a success rate that supersedes failures. Only about 20 percent of Cameroonians would rush back home as a result of the difficulties faced here. Many of those who return home with bowed heads either overstayed their visa and could not get it renewed or they got themselves involved in scam (feymania) and must rush back home before the Chinese police swoops down on them. There are also those who just cannot stand the stress of culture shock and racial prejudices. This was the case of Peter Ngwa, a Cameroonian from Bamenda who came to China last year. At first, he got a lucrative teaching job. Then his students’ parents started complaining that they did not pay so much money to the school for a Blackman to teach their kids. The school had no option but to fire him. Ngwa spent five months unemployed, living off the charity of good friends. At last his visa expired. He asked his family back in Cameroon to send money for him to go back home.
On the success side of the coin stands Awung Fernando, 30, a teacher in Jinan City, the capital of East China’s Shandong Province. His success is due to a multiplicity of factors, the most outstanding being his talents and the fact that his Chinese employers do not care about colour and origin as long as the foreign teacher can deliver. Awung has been working in the same school for the fourth year running, which is rare for most Africans in China.
After spending five years teaching English and French in Mamfe and Fontem, Awung decided to go for further studies in cinematography in Europe. Financial difficulties forced him to drop the dream, likewise closing the doors of admission that had been opened for him, and take up a teaching position in China. “While in Cameroon, I was linked up with one guy in China, also a Cameroonian, who at the time used to receive Cameroonians and help them find jobs, if they could pay,” Fernando recalls. “So, without stress, I bought my present job for 600 dollars, just within the first three days I spent in China. Many Cameroonians suffer because they either have no money to pay agents or they don’t want to invest. But I think my success is due to the impression I have made on my employers during the years I have been here. That is why they are ready to keep me here as long as there is the need for a foreign teacher.”
About pay, Fernando said, “I’m satisfied with what I receive as pay, for if I wasn’t I would have looked for another job.” When asked about his precise pay, he smiled then said with mock humour: “Have you become Chinese too? Just joking, but my pay is my personal business. Anyway, I can say the pay is good. Otherwise I would not have been able to bring my fiancée over last year.”
Well, if there is anything Cameroonians are good at, it is their ability to easily adapt to new environments. Despite the challenges in China, they are are doing a nice job of integrating into the society.
Black Pearls in the Yellow River
There was a time when Cameroonians did not consider China as a possible destination. That has long changed. Cameroonians are now streaming into China in search of education and jobs.
By Declan Forjong Mbecha in Jinan CITY, CHINA
It is common for people being advised or admonished: “When in Rome do as the Romans do.” Yet, many people who have travelled to China would agree that the practice of this age-old wisdom is not as easy as saying it. Currently, China’s economic boom is making it an increasingly popular destination for many foreigners, including Cameroonians. One of the most daunting tasks Cameroonians face in China is that of overcoming the yawning gap of differences between their home society and the Chinese society.
Culture Shock
The sheer size of China and its population is already a big psychological menace to the incoming Cameroonian. The language does not sound like any other language one has ever heard. The inability to easily communicate one’s feelings and thoughts can be frustrating at times. Cameroonians overcome this difficulty by adapting; learning the basic sentences needed for daily communication, especially bargaining.
Chinese cuisine is very good. In fact, the Chinese have many delicious meals that Cameroonians are becoming habitual with. Yet, there is always a longing for home food. In Cameroon, meals are usually dominated by carbohydrates and vegetable whereas in China it is more of meat and vegetable. Even with the familiar dishes, the cooking method is different. As Azem, a Cameroonian based in Yiwu of Zhejiang Province, puts it, “Cameroonians miss the familiar tastes of fufu, waterfufu, corn fufu, plantains, achombo and achu.” Unlike in America and Europe, there are no African shops and restaurants to cater for the gastronomic needs of Africans here in China. Like the strange language, chopsticks provide one of the first challenges as it would be hard to have spoons at most tables. Foreigners from Africa and western countries must quickly learn the art of eating with two twigs pegged between two or three fingers.
Cameroonians in China sometimes face a breakdown in interpersonal communication. Asking somebody very personal questions is considered as a way of showing concern for the other person by the Chinese. Yet, at the other end of the communication line, Cameroonians perceive the questions as being too intruding on their privacy. Many newcomers are baffled when somebody abruptly stops them in the street and, without any protocol, starts asking questions like; “Where are you from?”, “Why did you come to China?”, “What’s your job?”, “How much is your salary?”, “How old are you?”, “Are you married?” and a whole lot more. It is worth noting that a global survey revealed that the Chinese come first among people who can easily show a stranger their bedroom. This is opposed to Africa where the bedroom is considered sacred and private. Most Cameroonians here in China find it distasteful when a Chinese visits them and starts poking his head around.
China is still a mystery to many people, a country with very strange habits, if one may put it that way. If eyes could kill, many Cameroonians in China would be dead. The Chinese just do not understand why some people, especially Blacks, are so different from them. The difference in skin, hair, height, body build; in fact every little detail attracts their scrutiny. The audacious ones would even venture to ask why one is so black. Once I was discussing with some Cameroonians about what response they give to such questions. ”I ask them why they are so yellow,” Cornelius Nkemaka, a Cameroonian in Yiwu City, explained. “I just ignore them,” said Gana Fidelis, another Cameroonian residing in Sichuan province.
Overcoming the visa humbug
There are different categories of Chinese visas given according to the travelling purpose. The most common visas are Z for workers, F for business people and expatriates on short term stays, L for tourists, and X for students. Unlike the case of most Western countries, it is fairly easy to obtain a Chinese visa from either the Chinese consulate or embassy in Cameroon as long as one has proof of financial viability. Most Cameroonians who come to China to look for work go through visa agents who are adept at preparing the necessary proof needed to convince the Chinese visa officer. The tourist visa (with a 15 or 30 day validity) is the easiest to get, which can then be changed to F or Z on arrival in China.
However, one thing the visa agents never tell their clients is how difficult it may be to renew one’s visa. No sooner have the travellers arrived in China and are still trying to overcome culture shock than they realize that their stay may be cut short if they do not act fast to extend their visas. There are three ways to solve the problem of an expiring visa or residence permit. The easiest way is to travel to Macau and then seek a re-entry visa. Another way is to go through visa agents who can charge as much as 1000 US dollars for one year validity. Finally, the lucky ones pick up a job before their visas expire. They have a heavy load lifted off their shoulders since employers are charged with obtaining a work permit for their employees.
Profiles and Professions
Cameroonians in China can be divided into three categories: students, workers, and business people. Though there are privately sponsored students, most of the Cameroonian students here are sponsored under a Chinese government scholarship programme. It is not possible to work and study at the same time in China. Job seekers make up about 70 percent of the total number of Cameroonians in China.
About 10 percent of Cameroonian migrants in China are married. Most Cameroonian boys readily date Chinese girls, but very few marry them.
The most common profession in China available to foreigners is the teaching of oral and business English. The Chinese are more eager these days to learn the language to perfection. About 85 percent of Cameroonians are into teaching. A few are employed by nightclubs, where they serve as DJs and MCs. Others are employed by trading companies and translation firms.
Those who teach face a Herculean task. To win the confidence of the Chinese school employers, the foreigner must be able to twist the tongue to “rap” like Americans. This explains why native speakers from America, Canada, Britain, and Australia are the most desired. So in order to get employed, Cameroonians who have never “rapped” in their lives, must make not only an attempt, but “rap” so well. In addition, a very lively teacher will win the students’ votes. Chinese parents and school authorities believe so much in their children and students respectively that most of the time, a foreign teacher’s credibility is marked by how popular he or she is among the students. The pay package is commensurate to the effort put in. The least earning foreign teacher still earns higher than the average Chinese teacher.
Racism or Preference?
Officially, racism is discouraged in China. But foreigners experience a kind of institutional racism. This is mostly felt in the field of teaching where most Africans are involved. Africans and foreign born Chinese are the most segregated against. Even though foreign born Chinese may easily get integrated into areas like business and the high-tech industry, they face segregation even more than Africans when it comes to teaching. The case of the foreign born Chinese may sound bizarre, but experience has shown that some Chinese seem to believe that only a Whiteman can teach their kids real English.
The media contribute in promoting racial prejudices against Africans, though inadvertently. The Chinese media, like the Western media, have been focusing their attention mostly on the bleak side of Africa. Blacks in China are the incarnation of poverty, war, and disease. For this reason, many rich Chinese look down on Africans and so would not like Blacks to teach their children. Hence it is not uncommon to see job adverts online stating clearly: “Looking for Caucasian whites only”!
However, there are some employers who do not mind about the colour as long as the applicant is not from Africa. The reason they give is that Africans do not speak English well. The Chinese prefer the Western accent. Consequently, some of the Africans in China just lay claim to a Cameroonian-American ancestry. All one has to do is speak like one of Uncle Sam’s scions. And in most cases it works like magic. “Since hunters have learnt to shoot without missing, “eneke”, the small bird, has learnt to fly without perching,” said Joe Sube, an African, quoting Chinua Achebe as he raised a bottle of Tsingtao beer to his mouth.
But Africans in China also have their own part of the blame. Conmen as well as inefficient and unqualified applicants abound in China. The Chinese have a certain mentality that is hard to change. Once a Black person commits an offence in a given city, it causes both Chinese authorities and employers to doubt any other Black person who eventually goes there. Many Blacks in China have thus had to atone for the sins of their compatriots.
Successes and Failures
Despite all the difficulties, Cameroonians in China generally register a success rate that supersedes failures. Only about 20 percent of Cameroonians would rush back home as a result of the difficulties faced here. Many of those who return home with bowed heads either overstayed their visa and could not get it renewed or they got themselves involved in scam (feymania) and must rush back home before the Chinese police swoops down on them. There are also those who just cannot stand the stress of culture shock and racial prejudices. This was the case of Peter Ngwa, a Cameroonian from Bamenda who came to China last year. At first, he got a lucrative teaching job. Then his students’ parents started complaining that they did not pay so much money to the school for a Blackman to teach their kids. The school had no option but to fire him. Ngwa spent five months unemployed, living off the charity of good friends. At last his visa expired. He asked his family back in Cameroon to send money for him to go back home.
On the success side of the coin stands Awung Fernando, 30, a teacher in Jinan City, the capital of East China’s Shandong Province. His success is due to a multiplicity of factors, the most outstanding being his talents and the fact that his Chinese employers do not care about colour and origin as long as the foreign teacher can deliver. Awung has been working in the same school for the fourth year running, which is rare for most Africans in China.
After spending five years teaching English and French in Mamfe and Fontem, Awung decided to go for further studies in cinematography in Europe. Financial difficulties forced him to drop the dream, likewise closing the doors of admission that had been opened for him, and take up a teaching position in China. “While in Cameroon, I was linked up with one guy in China, also a Cameroonian, who at the time used to receive Cameroonians and help them find jobs, if they could pay,” Fernando recalls. “So, without stress, I bought my present job for 600 dollars, just within the first three days I spent in China. Many Cameroonians suffer because they either have no money to pay agents or they don’t want to invest. But I think my success is due to the impression I have made on my employers during the years I have been here. That is why they are ready to keep me here as long as there is the need for a foreign teacher.”
About pay, Fernando said, “I’m satisfied with what I receive as pay, for if I wasn’t I would have looked for another job.” When asked about his precise pay, he smiled then said with mock humour: “Have you become Chinese too? Just joking, but my pay is my personal business. Anyway, I can say the pay is good. Otherwise I would not have been able to bring my fiancée over last year.”
Well, if there is anything Cameroonians are good at, it is their ability to easily adapt to new environments. Despite the challenges in China, they are are doing a nice job of integrating into the society.
Subscribe to Posts [Atom]
