Hey people Ok.. so.. I've been living here for over a month now.. and I love it! Been applying for some jobs but no succes yet... so I'm doing volunteerwork at the moment, which is a side of Amsterdam that most tourists wont easily see. I work in a part of Amsterdam that is sort of considered the more shady part.. huge appartmentbuildings, low social economic status, etc etc.. although they are fixing the place up a little by tearing down some of the appartmentbuildings and replacing them with some lower leveled buildings it's still kinda intimidating when you're not used to places like that (like I was). I wouldn't say it's dangerous there, but just.. different. It's like getting a culture shock while being in your own country. Anyways.. one of the buildings is a parkinglot that has some small office spaces as well. One of these spaces is rented by a reverend (sp?) of some church. It's a man from South Africa and he uses that space to give African Immigrant Youth who got turned down for a permit ('greencard') a place to stay during daytime, so they don't have to wander the streets. Now you might think.. why don't they jsut fuck off and go back to where they came from? Well..... if you'd hear there stories... There are some guys there from Sierra Leone.. they are about my age (mid twenties) and have been childsoldiers in there country. This places them in a difficult position, because they are first and foremost victims of the war.. but they have also participated in the atrocities that took place (killing, mutulating etc.). Many of them bare not only the emotional scars, but also the physical scars of that. But still.. our government thinks it's totally ok to send these people back.. although they're traumatised and scared shitless to face their own country again. Another group of guys have been brought to Holland by soccer-scouts, who promised them a lot of work and a good income. The village they came from have high expectations of them.. but once the boys are in Holland they are used as a cheap 'working labor' in low-level soccerclubs to help them get a promotion, after which they are dumped.. leaving them without a working permit, no papers and no money to bring back home. Feeling as 'losers' or 'failures', they can't go back to their families.. and they are even at great risk if they return without money to pay of their debts in case they borrowed money to get to the soccergames where the scouts spotted them. Anyway.. way more complicated than 'black guys looking for easy money'.. it's really heartbreaking. On top of that.. the HIV-problem is very real. My 'job' there is to fix the few, old, computers that they have in that room and start some kind of teaching program so they can learn some basic skills. Hopefully there will be an internetconnection there somewhere next week so I can show them how to get an email address, how to use it, how to find information about their countries, maybe even find lost family members.. etc etc. Although being a white, young looking girl and working with African males is quite a challenge (already had a couple of wedding proposals.. hehe.. plus they can't stop talking about my long blond hair, which is kinda flattering *grin*).. I love taking up this challenge. Too bad though that it feels like I'm battling my own government at some times.. So far for part deux
Sounds very interesting. These kids and many like them would be telling different stories if they'd only been born somewhere else. Having been born in a first world country is like hitting the lottery. Watch out for the low flying airplanes where you live.
hey mafuman. what does your name means? mafu=???? madderfack u?- man/??? help your favorite dutch guy out peace homie
I still am Do you like Johnny Rebel? Oldskool redneck music. Roses are red, and violets are blue. Niggers are black, you know thats true (8) Hopefully I won't get banned for his Mirror mirror, on the wall, who is the blackest of them all?
