Approximately 500,000 African immigrants have taken up residence in China, capitalising on the country’s swift economic development. Principally fulfilling the role of intermediaries, they purchase from Chinese wholesalers and ensure Africa is supplied with inexpensive merchandise, ranging from hair extensions to imitation designer gear. Such an arrangement creates an economic peace, benefiting both parties involved. The African immigration community in China, referred to crudely as “black ghosts”, intrigues Noo Saro-Wiwa, a British-Nigerian writer. Saro-Wiwa dives into the everyday lives of these migrants, based in the areas of Xiaobei and Sanyuanli in Guangzhou, locally known as “chocolate city” – Asia’s largest African diaspora.
Saro-Wiwa’s book details an audacious, often hilarious yet sometimes risky exploration into this unknown community, documenting her encounters with an assortment of individuals from the African diaspora in China – short-stint goods traders, students, a Ghanaian heart surgeon, a nightclub dancer from Niger and a teacher from Kenya, as well as biracial families where the Chinese mothers converse in English but with a Nigerian accent. Saro-Wiwa paints a vivid picture of the African Pentecostal church observed – a place where the Communist Party tolerates as long as no evangelising occurs, where the pastor inspires the congregation to “dream big” amidst foreign territory.
Despite the vibrant faces of this community, Saro-Wiwa does not shy away from revealing its darker side – her solo female presence attracting unwanted advances from drug peddlers and visa violators in the mostly male environment. She also tackles Chinese society’s unfamiliarity with political correctness, acknowledging the curiosity and bias endured by black visitors.
Born to the activist Ken Saro-Wiwa in Nigeria but raised alternatingly in England and her parents’ homeland, Saro-Wiwa acutely perceives the shift from her own privileged background to the immigrant camaraderie. Despite wishing she had stayed longer to foster stronger connections, visa restrictions prevail. Nonetheless, Saro-Wiwa’s book is remarkable for her lucid understanding of our progressively global world – the increasingly blending cultures, giving ‘Black Ghosts’ its modern perspective and spark of intellect.
Gráinne Lyons, the author of the review, is best known for her book ‘Wild Atlantic Women: Walking Ireland’s West Coast’, published by New Island Books.