Wednesday, June 29, 2016

Being African in India: 'We are seen as demons'

After a year in India, Zaharaddeen Muhammed, 27, knows enough Hindi to understand what bander means. Monkey.

But it isn't even the daily derogatory comments that make him doubt his decision to swap his university in Nigeria for a two-year master's degree programme in chemistry at Noida International University. Nor is it the questions about personal hygiene, the unsolicited touching of his hair or the endless staring. It is his failure to interact with Indian people on a deeper level.

"People often look at me as if I am different, and hard to be trusted," the tall, softly spoken student explains. "I try to be friendly. I speak Hindi and always laugh. But when I offer biscuits to the neighbours' children, they don't accept."

After a year, one of Zaharaddeen's biggest wishes remains unfulfilled: to be invited to an Indian wedding.

"I am a big fan of Bollywood," he explains about why he wanted to come to India. "I did not come for the school because there are enough good universities back home. But I wanted to learn about this other culture and interact with the people here." Full story...

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