Black Ghosts by Noo Saro-Wiwa

4.5 out of 5 stars

The publisher provided a copy of this, free of charge, in return for an honest review.

It has been a number of years since I have been to China, but I still remember the first time. It was unlike anything that I had ever experienced, the smells, the mass of people, the food and the mild terror of being driven on the roads was a sensory overload. One thing that I know I didn’t see outside Hong Kong airport was any black people.

It turns out though that there is a fairly large ex-pat community of Africans in parts of China. There are about 20,000 of them living in an area of Guangzhou are from Nigeria, Noo Saro-Wiwa’s original home.

Saro-Wiwa wants to meet these Africans and understand a little of what it is like to live in this country. Navigating the tube she missies out of getting a seat as the Chinese are much more ruthless than her in grabbing them. She finally arrives at Guang Yuanxi Road, the centre of African activity. She was among her people at last.

She takes time to absorb the sights and the smells and spends time watching the Africans and Chinese going about their business. She tries her hand at bartering, but the Chinese stallholders behave very differently to what she is used to and refuse to budge on price.

But she is here to meet the people who are trying to make this country their home. She finds stories of people who are traders, exporters and even the odd drug dealers. She meets Africans who have been residents for years and have even married locals. Even though they are living there the visa requirements for them are quite onerous and any tiny discrepancies can mean deportation and that might come with a five-year ban on returning to China. This has been a big problem for those with financial and family commitments.

The Africans are frequently the recipients of subtle and overt racism from the Chinese and have to be careful not to make a scene. Saro-Wiwa talks to a number of people who have outstayed their visas and who use all manner of methods to stay well under the radar and avoid arrest and deportation.

I thought this was a fascinating book. Saro-Wiwa is an engaging writer who takes time to tease out these Black Ghosts. I liked that she didn’t do much research before going. It meant that each encounter and experience was fresh and surprising to her and also to me as the reader. This is a well-written travel book that has a very different slant to most travel books.

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2 Comments

  1. Liz Dexter

    This sounds absolutely fascinating and has gone to the top of my wishlist!

    • Paul

      It is right up your street.

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