African students trapped in China under new coronavirus

 

African students trapped in China under new coronavirus

21-year-old Kem Senou Pavel Daryl is a Cameroonian student living in Jingzhou, China. When he was infected with the new coronavirus, he did not try to leave China.

"No matter what happens, I don't want to bring the disease back to Africa," he said. Senou is also in a 14-day quarantine period in his college dormitory.

He has fever, dry cough and flu-like symptoms.

After getting sick, he remembered his childhood exposure to malaria in Cameroon. He was worried about the worse.

"When I went to the hospital, I thought about death for the first time and thought about how it would happen," he said.

He has been isolated in a local hospital in Jingzhou, China. He takes antibiotics, and some medications commonly used to treat HIV. Two weeks later, he began to show signs of recovery.

Computed tomography (CT) showed no signs of illness. He became the first African to recover from a deadly coronavirus known. His medical expenses are borne by the Chinese government.

Egypt has become the first African country with confirmed cases. Health workers warn that countries with weak health systems may struggle to cope with possible outbreaks. The disease has killed more than 1,600 people and infected more than 68,000 people, most of them in China.

"I don't want to go home until I finish my studies. Since the Chinese government pays for the medical expenses, I don't think I need to go home," Senu said.

Why don't many African countries evacuate overseas Chinese?

Beginning at the end of January, governments around the world, led by the United States, have begun to pick up their diaspora in Wuhan and surrounding cities.

But thousands of African students, workers, and families are still trapped in the blocked central province of Hubei, and some believe their government should do more.

"We are children of Africa, but Africa doesn't want to save us when we need it most," said Tisiliyani Salima, a student at the Huazhong University of Science and Technology Tongji Medical College and chairman of the Wuhan Zambia International Student Association .

For nearly a month, Salima has been in self-isolation.

The 24-year-old student felt that time was beginning to lose meaning. She is sleeping every day and watching Chinese social media.

She is the contact between the Zambian embassy and 186 Zambian students isolated in Wuhan. Many people are concerned about food safety and supply, as well as the lack of information in a city where an average of 100 people die every day.

She watched as international students from other countries withdrew from the city, while her compatriots were left here.

"The response from African countries to the south of the Sahara is basically similar," said one student who agreed to be interviewed anonymously.

"Publicly and privately, African countries say that China can handle this situation, but in fact, the epidemic has not been contained. You listen to those official responses, it is telling you that African countries do not want to offend China. We have no bargaining chips.

China is currently Africa's largest trading partner, and the relationship between the two sides has become better in recent years.

In the process, China accepted 80,000 African students, many of whom were attracted by scholarships offered by the country. However, the leader of the student group said that many families, old and young, are now trapped in Hubei without much help and assistance from their national government.

"People are saying," Don't take us back because Nigeria can't take care of us. "I feel paradoxical, because in the final analysis I am also a human," said Angela, a recent Nigerian student who graduated. She was only willing to give her first name, not to disclose her last name.

"I would be grateful if they faced Nigerians here, but we don't seem to get priority attention. We didn't get any response from our government," she said.

Last week, for the first time in 22 days since closing the city, Angela ventured out of her dormitory door. The shortage of supplies forced her to go out and buy essentials.

"This city is like a ghost town now. When I walked out of the neighborhood, I didn't know they wouldn't let me come back. People took their temperature outside the gate," she said in a telephone interview in her apartment.

On January 30, Cameroon's student group wrote an open letter to their president, urging the government to withdraw overseas Chinese and take away nationals trapped in the epicenter.

A few weeks have passed and Dr Pisso Scott Nseke, a leader of an African community in Wuhan, said that Cameroonians here are still waiting for news.

He agreed that the community's opinions on whether to want to be removed were not uniform, but he said that everyone was disappointed with the lack of help from the government.

By mid-February, Egypt, Algeria, Mauritius, Morocco and the Seychelles had all removed their expatriates in Wuhan.

There are reports that countries such as Ghana and Kenya are considering it.

"Feeling abandoned"

Some countries have also provided financial support to diasporas.

According to the leader of the Ivorian (Ivory Coast) International Student Association in Wuhan, after a few weeks of discussions with their government, 77 students in the country in Wuhan received a grant of $ 490 (£ 380) each. However, many people are increasingly frustrated with the government's position.

Ghana has also reportedly provided financial assistance to its nationals.

"Staying here doesn't guarantee our safety, we are just in a country with better medical facilities," Salima said.

"We feel abandoned. China is clearly angry at the Americans' evacuation, because they feel it has caused panic," said a student who agreed to be interviewed anonymously. "The people here have a lot of dissatisfaction with the Chinese authorities. trust."

Some have called for the African continent to unite to help Africans in China.

"The decision to withdraw overseas is not a question of" unity "with China. Taking care of the health of the people is ultimately the responsibility of every country, no matter where its citizens are, including in China," said Beijing-based International Development Consulting Hannah Ryder of Development Reimagined said.

As for Sennu, he said he had no plans to return to Cameroon.

"This will be a bad and dangerous decision. What I fear most about this virus is psychological and emotional. Now I will not consider returning to China."