The Woes of the African Immigrant:

The Dilemmas and Uncertainties Surrounding the Eventual Decision to Return Home Versus the Imminent Challenges in Africa and the Anticipated Social Impacts on the Families and the Children Left Behind. By: Percy Konadu Yiadom (BSW, MSW)

It is believed that the average African immigrant if not all immigrants wish and aspire to return home after retirement to enjoy a decent old age. In Africa the care and love that we provide to our senior citizens is something that is missing in the western world, the palliative care provided to people by their own family members before eternity is comparable to one. Therefore after witnessing how old age is spent abroad and realizing the differences in care and treatments meted out to a well to do old person in Africa and abroad, the average African wish to enjoy his/her retirement and old age in Africa with the basic needs in place and surrounded by family members ready to offer any help and assistance. However, whilst some people are lucky to realize these dreams, to others it is nothing but an illusion. How sad and unfortunate can it be when people toil and soil for years, invest all their earnings in various projects just to be taken by the icy hands of death without reaping any fruit of their labors. Life is understood to be very unpredictable, yet mankind endeavors to plan life as much as possible. The decision to eventually return home after retirement is taken differently by every family. While some families make this decision easily, to others it becomes a nightmare. Most African immigrants have children born and raised here, whilst some parents have done their children a great favor by travelling with them to Africa, teaching them African cultures alongside the western cultures, by introducing them to African traditional dishes and generally raising them in the African way. Other parents have done the total opposite. Sadly enough most children born to African parents have no knowledge about their parents’ background and practice no other culture but the western one. Whilst the decision to return home is generally unbearable for all the children born and raised here, it’s extremely difficult if not incomprehensible for those African children raised in the western way. Some African immigrants are married to other foreign nationals for various reasons, whilst some of them are able to plan the venue for their retirement, to others it becomes a deadlock which sometimes culminates into the abrupt end of their marriages.

Returning home to enjoy retirement is a multifaceted decision, whilst others return home to enjoy the most relaxed life and kingly treatments, to others it becomes a nightmare. People have invested their whole assets in Africa hoping that they will enjoy better lives during retirement and old-ages just to be disappointed. Some investments are mismanaged by family members and friends, some assets are stolen whilst have been destroyed by natural calamities including fires without any forms of insurances available. Having said that some immigrants who have returned home have become very successful and happy, they are enjoying a retirement that meets their expectations and are really enjoying the latter parts of their lives after all these years of stresses.

In conclusion, whilst the decision to eventually return home as an immigrant is very laudable, it is like a double-edged sword and therefore should be handled with all necessary caution. Socially, it is very difficult and challenging to eventually return home after having had and raised your children here. What do we expect these children to do? To follow us to Africa where they have heard nothing but negative things about? To abandon their friends, schools, lifestyles to mention but a few and begin a new life in an unknown land? These and other challenging factors have made the average African parents’ dream of returning home nothing but illusive ideas with our only option being to procrastinate. Others have the mentality to return home when the children are old enough or adults, but the question is how old is old enough? These children need us as their parents to provide shelter, food, clothing and other basic needs to enable them to attend schools to build futures for themselves. Can we leave our children behind and return home after they turn 16 or 18 years because they refuse to relocate with us? If the answer is no then the decision to return home to enjoy a relaxed retirement should be taken with nothing but caution and family collectiveness. In reality people need a break after being exhausted, similarly, we all need breaks and relaxations after working all kinds of jobs for all these years, but the problem is can we relax at the expense of our loving families especially our own children?

From a personal point of view, whilst this decision is very difficult to make, it is still surmountable when taken early and collectively. Africans married to other nationals should send their spouses to their home countries if possible for visits, introduce them to your families, teach them to eat African dishes if possible, make them aware that you are an immigrant and a visitor in this country and that you will one day return home eventually be the wishes of God. Children born here to African parents should visit their parents home countries, eat African dishes as much as possible, associate and socialize with other African kids and should participate in the African culture as much as possible through the ways that we raise these children. Lo and behold these African children born and raised here, and our non African spouses who have visited African several times, who love the African dishes and who have known that Africans do not live on trees as purported by media biases but Africa possess all the needed infrastructures to make their relocation worth living will one day follow us back home when the time is ripe thereby making it possible for the average African immigrant to realize his/her dream and enjoy his/her latter days in a more respectful environment.