https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0kned3gOygE
This story explores the difficulty’s that Black people face while traveling the European continent. This past November I had the privilege to sit down with Adesire Ajayi-Smith. She is a Black International student here at Thompson Rivers University(TRU). Smith has traveled to 2 countries in Western Europe and has been to 2 countries in Eastern Europe.
Smith told me that while the racism she faced in Europe wasn’t overt, it was certainly an underlying feeling in her trips. An example she gave me was when she would walk into a grocery store in Ukraine the shop owner would follow her around making sure that she wasn’t stealing anything. She said that the worst example of racism was when she would get into taxi cabs in Poland and the cab driver would say something like “Another African” or “Why are you people here?”.
But despite this, Smith wants other Black people who are thinking about visiting Europe to not be afraid, and to just be aware of what some of the local population might think of you while you’re visiting and to be aware of the customs and beliefs that are held there.
You can listen to my Interview with Ms. Smith by clicking the link at the top of the article.
Leave a Reply