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(NYASATIMES) Being African among the curious Chinese

Being African among the curious Chinese
By Nyasa Times
Published: August 13, 2009

Twenty years ago, the few Africans in China were locked behind diplomatic walls in embassies, while those who came for trade restricted themselves to commercial cities such as Shanghai and Guangzhou. Today there’s a growing population of Africans in China, more than 20,000 in total, but the vast majority of Chinese have never seen one.

This is the reason many Chinese people from rural areas get overly excited when they meet Africans. Most of them had barely heard of Africans and the idea of people with black skin, and coiled texture hair is still far-fetched to them. At tourist sites like the Great Wall and Tiananmen Square you often see farmers queuing up to take pictures with Africans and sometimes the farmers even ask to touch and feel the Africans’ skin or hair.

While most Africans understand the Chinese reaction and try to be patient and calm when asked for pictures, sometimes the experience is shocking. Walking in Beijing one day, Daniel Tonga, a Zambian graduate student, saw a boy running after him, gesturing him to stop. After he stopped, several women appeared and they walked briskly to him with small digital cameras.

They could not speak English so they gestured that they wanted to have a picture with me,” said Daniel.

Some Africans in China for a longer stay, such as students, talk of experiences beyond cultural shock and posing for pictures. Several said they felt a measure of discrimination and racism. One African student recalled one time on the train when as soon as he sat down the woman next to him covered her nose and tried to avoid any bodily contact, which was futile given how crowded trains are in China.

He was embarrassed and was confused for days until he asked his Chinese classmates what the problem with the woman might have been. “I felt bad hearing that some Chinese people believe that Africans have dark skin because they don’t bath,” the student said, “The woman covered her nose because she thought I would smell.”

Another student from Uganda said some taxi drivers refuse to pick Africans up. On several occasions, he said, he had been passed by a taxi only to see it stopping for either Chinese or Westerners standing a few metres from him.

“One time, it was raining but a taxi driver refused to take me while I was already in his car,” the student said.

Hearing African narrate their encounters with Chinese people, some Chinese clearly behave in ways deemed racist or discriminatory out of ignorance or sheer lack of exposure. For example, some Africans talk of Chinese who after touching African skin checked their fingers expecting that some color may have rubbed off. Others say when they get into a train Chinese avoid sitting next to them.

Looking at this behavior through a historical lens, it is forgivable. China has only been open to the outside world for 30 years and its exposure to Africans only dates back a few years.

It is likely that most Chinese behave this way more out of ignorance than ill will. I have heard of Chinese students who avoid contact with African students out of fear of violence or use of dirty words. This reaction is likely a direct Hollywood influence because in movies African-Americans are usually portrayed as gangsters.

I associate with most of the experiences shared by fellow Africans, especially posing for pictures. But given a chance to share my own experiences of being in China, I would talk about my fascination with the differences between social conventions here and in my home country, Malawi.

One Sunday I was on the train in Beijing. A young woman and her partner got on board and as soon as she sat down she pulled out a make-up kit from her bag.

Oblivious to the packed carriage, the woman held a small mirror in her left hand and started applying eyeliner. Surprised as I was by her boldness, I was much more surprised that no one seemed to pay attention to her, since in Malawi this would be considered shocking behavior, similar to getting dressed in public! By the time I got off, she was pinning her hair. I realized, though, that seeing this was just part of the process of familiarization that both Africans and Chinese have to go through.

As the population of Africans grows in China and more Chinese go to Africa, the two peoples will become more familiar with each other, and the stereotypes of the past will disappear.

The author is a student from Malawi now studying at the School of Journalism and Communication, Tsinghua University

Labels: CHINA, CHINESE

posted by MrK @ 3:24 PM