The flowing Nile, the pyramids of Jiyu Xuanang, the prairie where antelope gallop... The ancient land of Africa has always exuded a mysterious and fascinating charm, and many people's intuitive impression of Africa has always stayed on the screen of the animated movie "The Lion King". At the same time, poverty and disease are also key words that people can't avoid when they talk about Africa. What does the real Africa look like?
In recent years, China's relations with many African countries have become closer and closer, and the Beijing Summit of the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation has just come to a successful conclusion with fruitful results. Southern + reporters recently interviewed a number of Chinese young people working and living in Africa, who used their own stories to unveil the mystery of the African continent for us.
First glimpse of Africa
The stars in the sky, the Milky Way visible to the naked eye, the yellow sand... The lonely scenery and the exhaustion of dozens of hours of continuous boating and driving are the memories of Zhang Hongyue, who was 25 years old at the time, when he first set foot on African soil.
Wild boar, pheasant, baboon, camel... These animals used to exist only on television screens, but now they are leisurely moving not far from the road. "I'm really in Africa." He sighed.
Born in Lanzhou, Zhang Hongyue joined the Shanghai Overseas Economic Group after finishing university in Shanghai. In early 2015, his company undertook the expansion of Hirgigo, the country's largest power station in Eritrea, Africa. Zhang Hongyue, who has always been bold and adventurous, applied for the first batch to go to the scene.
The site of the project is located in an off-the-beaten-track area in eastern Eritrea, where 10 months of the year are dry seasons, with an average annual temperature approaching 40 degrees Celsius. Due to the proximity to the Red Sea, the humidity in the air is extremely high, and every time you go out for more than ten minutes, your clothes are completely soaked.
"I used to hear how backward and hard Africa was, and I wanted to come over and experience it for myself with this platform and opportunity, but I found that it was indeed the case." Zhang Hongyue said.
"Fully armed" is the description of Guangdong girl Chen Congyi's dress when she first arrived in Africa. Before coming to Morocco, Chen Congyi always associated the words disease, war, and chaos with Africa.
In 2016, Morocco fully opened its tourist visas to Chinese citizens. After hearing the news, Chen Congyi, who has always had a dream of hiking travel, immediately booked a ticket to Morocco. "At the age of 22, I wanted to challenge myself and try to travel around Morocco alone." She said.
"Wrapping myself tightly before going out, I'm very worried." She said. However, her concerns were mostly dispelled the next day.
Walking on the streets of Casablanca, Chen Congyi saw cafes everywhere and people chatting leisurely. While chatting with the driver in the car, the driver told her that Morocco had delicious food, unique scenery, a long history, peace, no war.
"So why not love people, why not love life? I didn't expect the driver's big brother to be so philosophical, which suddenly touched me, and I gradually let go of unnecessary vigilance." Chen Congyi said.
Into Africa
In the Sahara Desert, Chen Congyi and people from all over the world meet, ride camels together, climb sand dunes barefoot together, look up at the Milky Way on the paracels together, and share each other's stories together.
Since setting foot on Moroccan soil for the first time, Chen Congyi has revisited the area 6 times in a year. After graduation, her identity changed from a backpacker to the head of the Sino-Motorcycle business cooperation and cultural exchange project and the leader of the delegation.
Among the girls Chen Congyi met in Morocco, some of them wrapped their headscarves, but also wore ultra-shorts and small tank tops. "Two girls dressed in completely different styles can be best friends because they always think it's a free personal choice." In the process of going back and forth, Chen Congyi found that her understanding of Morocco was constantly being refreshed.
"The air is fresh, the scenery is beautiful, and it's a tourist destination." Qing Ge, who has been practicing in Tanzania for 4 years, describes the local landscape this way. "A lot of scenes from the animal world were filmed in Tanzania." Qingge said.
Tanzania impressed Qingge the most with the local children. Every time you take the train through a place, there will be many African children waving at themselves outside the train, which makes Qingge unforgettable.
"These children grow up in a relatively isolated area, no toys, no tutoring classes, as long as they see foreigners will be very excited, because from time to time some foreigners will come to bring them some clothes and food, for them, happiness is very simple." 」 Qingge said.
Zhang Hongyue, who is rooted in Eritrea, Africa, has a deeper feeling for Africa's natural environment.
Zhang Hongyue's project is to expand a local heavy oil power station, and many things need to be started from scratch. "We did the layout of the venue ourselves, and even the simplest propaganda slogans and warning signs were all brought by our first personnel from Home with their luggage." Zhang Hongyue said.
Mosquitoes and diseases are a major problem in their lives. The living of the personnel on the site is in the movable board room, the board room is insulation, sound insulation is poor, and the sealing is very poor, and insects are easy to enter.
"A colleague was also bitten by a bug, the condition is more serious, the lymphatic system problems, the project department immediately arranged to return to China for treatment."
Growing up in Africa
Brother Qing works as a practical worker in an engineering enterprise in Tanzania, and his main responsibility is to be responsible for the translation of local legal provisions. "After leaving the colony, the local common law system has been followed, and people's legal awareness is still good, but the enforcement is relatively weak." He said.
Qingge's project team will hire local workers, and in order to match some local habits, they use a weekly salary system. "They don't have any planning, they like to get paid early to do something they like, a bit like 'there's wine in the future, they don't save too much, which makes me see their optimistic side, but I'm still more difficult to adapt to." Qingge laughed.
The 29-year-old Has been in Africa for five years and has been working in the market in Ethiopia.
"Friends often ask me, are you living hard in Africa alone? Will you be afraid? I thought it would be the same at the beginning, but then I found that as long as you dare to try, many things are far less difficult than you thought. Lin Ge said.
His life in Africa was very fulfilling, in addition to work, he was busy traveling, busy studying, busy sharing. He learned several languages, including Spanish and French, as well as local musical instruments.
A friend once asked Lin Ge: "Is it better to work in Africa or in China?" He replied, "China." "Does Africa make more money?" He replied, "Not necessarily." The friend asked, "What does Africa bring you?" ”
"This question stopped me at the time, and I couldn't answer it at once, and then I thought that when I came to an unfamiliar environment and no one could rely on it, I could discover my potential." He said.
Harvested in Africa
Huo Qifan, a 27-year-old girl who now works at Tsinghua University, has traveled back and forth to Kenya three times in the past five years. The first time was as an intern of the United Nations Environment Programme; the second time, he was an UNEP project consultant; the third time, he used his vacation to work on public welfare projects.
Huo Qifan worked in Nairobi, Kenya, where the United Nations Environment Programme is headquartered.
During his time in Africa, Huo Qifan participated in various conferences organized by the United Nations Environment Programme. "On the one hand, it will pass on what UNEP has done in Africa to China, and on the other hand, it will report to UNEP headquarters on China's contribution to the world environment." It makes sense to be able to contribute a little to environmental protection work. She said.
Usually, when taking a taxi, the local driver will be very enthusiastic to try to chat with her. "At first I thought they were all foreigners, but then I learned that they were very fond of Chinese, and sometimes they walked on the street and people came to take pictures with me." Huo Qifan said, "The way the African people express their feelings is more straightforward, and I am very pleased to express their gratitude to China in this way, because the friendship between China and Africa can be seen in the people." ”
Zhang Hongyue, who is in Eritrea, also expressed a sense of accomplishment in his work. After Zhang Hongyue went to the scene, he was mainly responsible for the external cooperation work, that is, docking with local government departments, factories, channel providers and other aspects.
"Remember the vast majority of the time, the mechanical equipment and sand and gravel materials in the construction of the project are in short supply, the main reason is that the local conditions are backward, equipment and materials are very scarce ..." In the face of various problems, Zhang Hongyue and the project team worked together to actively communicate with many parties, and during the construction period, all conditions were used to ensure the supply of equipment and materials, laying a solid foundation for the completion of the project on schedule.
"Whenever you solve a big and small problem, you will feel the strength of the team and the affirmation of yourself. Just like the joy of success for those who are obsessed with reaching the top, it is addictive. He said.
"Watching a power plant gradually being built and successfully connected to the grid to generate electricity, and having a contribution in it, it feels like watching your own children grow up." He said.
"Africa That Can't Go"
"It seems that I am having a hard time getting out of Africa." Huo Qifan, who worked in Kenya, borrowed a sentence from the novel "Out of Africa" to express his feelings for Africa.
The reporter found in the interview that in the Chinese working in Africa, everyone's feelings are different, some people want to leave, some people want to come back, and some people even love and get used to life on the grassland.
Huo Qifan is full of interest in everything between China and Africa, and when it comes to winter and summer vacations, she will still participate in or organize volunteer activities in Africa and bring Chinese culture to African children.
"A lot of business in Africa is in its infancy, and it needs the support of other countries, and I hope to do more." She said.
Chen Congyi is not only one of the first visa-free tourists in Morocco, but also participating in the tourism cooperation projects between the two countries, and she has a more detailed understanding of the development of tourism between China and Morocco.
In her eyes, there were not many Chinese who traveled to the local area before, so the local area lacked experience in receiving Chinese tourists. "After the number of domestic tourists increases, now Moroccan hotels will basically be equipped with hot water kettles, as well as white rice, porridge, Cabbage and other Chinese foods, which make the Chinese people feel more convenient and adaptable." Chen Congyi said.
"Working until late at night and hungry, or in the traditional festival period, I am particularly homesick, thinking about snacks in my hometown, thinking about my relatives at home." However, now when I have to leave the project before visiting my family, I am also very reluctant. Zhang Hongyue, who works in Eritrea, said.
"Very uncomfortable." This is Zhang Hongyue's strong feeling when he returned to China to visit his relatives.
In the past few years, he has returned to China to visit his relatives three times, each time for more than 20 days. However, every time he came back, he felt a strong discomfort, on the one hand, he was uncomfortable with city life, and on the other hand, he was at a loss for many new things in the country.
"Mobile payment, mobile phone taxi, these all made me suddenly confused." Talking about this, Zhang Hongyue was embarrassed.
Returning to Shanghai at the beginning of this year, Zhang Hongyue was walking alone in the street, and the bustling scene of the city made him extremely uncomfortable. "The African side is desolate and sparsely populated, and every night is a round of bright moons and stars in the sky, and suddenly it has become all kinds of skyscrapers, neon, and a very strong sense of oppression, and I clearly feel that the whole person is trembling." He said.
For the future, Hongyue intends to continue to work in Africa for a few years. "I hope that our team can continue to work hard and continue to leave behind a 'child' that symbolizes Sino-African friendship in the African land." He said.
[Reporter] Jin Zuzhen Intern Wang Yuling
[Trainee reporter] Wang Yueying
【Video】Jin Zuzhen
【Proofreading】Cao Baiying
【Author】 Jin Zuzhen; Wang Yueying
【Source】 Southern Press Media Group South + Client Nanfang Number ~ Depth ~ Southern Probe