Nowadays, more and more Africans come to Europe chasing their hopes and dreams. Whereas 7 to 8 millions work illegally, only 2.5 millions are officially allowed to work and study in Europe. Although some succeed, their new life in Europe not always holds what it promises, as you can see in the case of Michael.
He is a
40-year-old Ghanaian who tried his luck by coming to Spain. At first, he worked
as a construction worker, but when the financial crisis hit Spain, he was no
longer needed. For a short period of time, he managed to work as seasonal
worker on farms until the heatwave came. Now Michael is unemployed, homeless,
has nothing to eat and begs for money. Although the living situation in Ghana
is probably better than in Spain, he refuses to go back because he is too
ashamed to face his family. His five children, wife and mother are looking up
to him and are hoping for money. Michael is so embarrassed of his failure that
he even takes photos of other persons’ cars and houses pretending that they are
his property.
However,
there are also some immigrants who live the European Dream, for example Steven.
He is also from Ghana and experiences the Netherlands as heaven. He always
strived for a better lifestyle and believed that he could succeed. He went to
university in order to have the qualifications required for leading a proper
company and was working as a travel agent as well as a travel consultant. After
some years, Steven founded his own travel agency in the Netherlands called
Trans Africa Travel. His advice for all the Africans coming to Europe is to
work harder, always strive for education and to believe in god’s blessing.
These two stories show us that it is essential to never give up believing and hard working. However, the European Dream can easily turn into an European Nightmare and vice versa - it is always about luck.
By: Stefanie
Almer, Laura Rossberg, Katrin Wiesinger
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