Living in Europe is not exactly a walk in the park. There are many rules and regulations and the weather is not always that great. Then there is the stress of finding a job, a house, paying the bills and supporting the family back home. How do we survive in Europe?
John Nkebi from Uganda had just bought dinner in Cologne, Germany, when his dog got into a fight with another dog. Before he knew it people came running down the stairs and beat him up. ‘They looked outside the window and saw that I was alone, that was the problem, I was alone and two people came down and started to hit me. One of them had a baseball bat.’ John his story is no exception, many people in Europe experience racism on a daily basis.
Living conditions in Europe can be poor and dangerous. For many immigrants, it is hard to find a house and often buildings are unsafe. Wahabu from Senegal lives in Paris, and got the shock of his life when his house caught fire. 'The first thing I saw was my mother coming down form a fireman's ladder. When I saw the flames, I realized not everyone would come out alive', he memorizes.
Ssuuna Golooba is the initiator of the Surprising Europe project. He was a photojournalist in Uganda when he decided to seek his fortune in Europe. The tough reality of life in Europe as an undocumented migrant is not what he had imagined. Here's his story.
Heartbeat detectors, CO2 measurement tools and sniffer dogs; the UK border control in Calais, uses a lot of tools to catch migrants who try to get into the United Kingdom without documents. These hi-tech devices make it hard for people to reach their promised land. Trucks get scanned, so stowaways have to find a way to fool a heartbeat machine, hold their breath and get rid of their human scent. Is that even possible?
In overcrowded, small boats arranged by human smugglers, people risk their lives to reach Europe. Dayo from Nigeria and Ferhan from Somalia made this dangerous journey by sea. Some of their fellow travellers passed away, but as fortunate survivors they ended up in Malta, a small island in the Mediterranean Sea. Dayo doesn't like to recall his trip: 'I don't even want to remember the sea'.
Being illegal in Europe is tough. You hardly have any rights and the laws are getting stricter. In 2006, the French government repeals a law that legalised 'sans papiers' ('the without papers') living in the country for more than 10 years. Anzoumane Sissoko from Mali is the spokesman for CSP 75, a protest group. From May 2008 to August 2010, his movement occupied two buildings in Paris, demanding papers for thousands of undocumented immigrants.
