May be, it is time to set up a ”Questions & Answer” page at KSB to address the growing number of questions via email of Kenyans who genuinely want first hand and real information about Sweden because they want to make certain decisions or because they are just curious. Occasionally, I get immigration-related questions from Wakenya at home and abroad who want to study in Sweden, come for a visit or relocate but they lack the information they could compare with official stuff gleaned from embassies or the Internet.
When Juliet Kavinga was killed, some Kenyans (especially back home) were surprised that such brutal murder could have been executed by a white Swede who hails from a country which many people outside Sweden view as a land of humble, kind and obedient people who follow the laws of the State. What made the Juliet murder macabre was the fact that she was seven months pregnant at the time she was killed. The reality that the murderer was the father of the unborn child simply deepened the mystery.
Sweden is like any country and people are killed almost on a daily basis. People are shot to death, mugged and even chopped into pieces before their bodies are stacked in bags then dumped in the bush or elsewhere. On an almost daily basis, girls are raped and the sensational media like Aftonbladet and Expressen are permanently filled with bizarre tales.
Stories of fathers raping their daughters, bosses stealing money from big companies, highway thugs blasting security vans to make away with millions of kronors and other chilling tales are part of daily life. Guns (including Kalashnikovs) are available and shootings are always in the news. Just like the Mungiki are killing and beheading their victims in Kenya, it is not out of the ordinary to find a decapitated body dumped somewhere in a Swedish bush.
There is a case where a young girl conspired with her boyfriend to kill her parents so that they could inherit property. According to a report, the daughter thought that the parents were too old but that Sir death had forgotten them so she conspired with the boyfriend to dispatch the parents to the real underground by hitting their heads with a hammer.
When a very strange news item comes up, it is common to hear Wakenya wondering what is wrong with Wazungu. There are numerous cultural values which are readily accepted by Wazungu but which sound really strange to Wakenya.
For example, a Gambian national divorced his Swedish wife after he refused to take a shower with his six year old daughter as the mother had insisted. The mother showers with the daughter freely but when she insisted over a long period of time that the father does the same so that the daughter could understand the biological difference, the guy quit, arguing that such an action would amount to “bewitching” the daughter. The crisis was worsened by the fact that the guy had refused to go for sun-bathing at the beach in his underwear because he didn’t want to be seen “naked” by strangers. Europeans have a more or less common culture but I am trying to limit myself to Sweden.
I think that there are a lot of myths routinely planted in the minds of Wakenya by Wakenya when they travel home. There are many Kenyans who are well informed about the situation in Europe. But there are others who need urgent help.
“DECOLONIZING THE MIND”
These are the type who believe that you can land in Sweden then in the next few days, you have landed a white Swedish partner to marry to prepare for settlement in Sweden. While this is not impossible, it is rare. Prospective white partners are not like potatoes in the garden waiting to be picked then led straight into marriage to complete the puzzle of “settling in Sweden”. In any case, Wakenya here are not in high demand (like hot cakes) within the romantic market place so the notion that a Mzungu will grab you by the loins at Arlanda International Airport to kiss and caress you all the way to the alter is thoroughly misplaced.
If you write an email to a Mkenya here to “organize ways” for you to “relocate” to Sweden permanently, you will be making a huge demand on the poor Kenyan who neither works at the immigration nor owns a charter plane that ferries Wakenya from Nairobi to Stockholm.
If you are an accountant at a Bank in Kenya, it is pointless offering to “do any job” here to survive during the first days because the process of settling in Sweden includes very many factors which might take years. You might land in Stockholm to discover that getting that job might not be as easy as one plus one. There are Kenyans who have legally settled in Sweden but they have no jobs so what are you saying? The best a Kenyan can do (and this happens from time to time) is to help you obtain a “tourist visa” by guaranteeing your accommodation and up-keep once you are in Sweden. Whatever happens next is an open question.
If you intend to come here for studies, do not pay anybody money in exchange for a tourist visa with the explanation that once you arrive, you will be able to change your visa to a “student’s visa” then join an institution. Very innocent Kenyans have lost as much as half a million Kenyan shillings to travel to Sweden with bogus promises.
Just like in any country (including Kenya), you will need a student’s visa if you have to study in Sweden but this visa has to be obtained from Kenya. Education in Sweden is free ie you won’t be asked for any school fees. But, according to the rules, you will need to show the Swedish Embassy in Nairobi that you can be able to maintain yourself for a minimum of one year before you can be granted a student’s visa. The average cash needed for monthly up-keep for a student (including rent) is 7.000 kr (about Ksh 70.000). This is the bottom line and rules could vary depending on whether you have a relative or someone who can accommodate you so that you slip paying rent.
A Kenyan who is on holiday for a few weeks and is spending lavishly might have planned the trip for some time up to the last coin. Don’t be duped to believe that because nani came to Kenya and he was spending like water, cash grows on trees ulayani. People work, just like in Kenya.
Kenyans resident in Sweden and elsewhere should collaborate on the question of “decolonizing the minds” of our brothers and sisters back home especially about the real situation ulayani. Instead of painting false pictures while on holiday, Wakenya should tell it as it is because many lives have been ruined through wrong information.
Some Kenyans have been stuck in Sweden for more than five years because if they travel home, they will not be able to travel back to Sweden. Other communities are also facing similar problems under similar circumstances. However, this does not mean that something cannot be done to educate our people back home. This kind of education should form part of the liberation process from a psychological point of view.
Okoth Osewe
About the Author
