...The SaintsAwards Project...

I met a young man in one of those hang-outs in one of China's most commercial city, Guangzhou; I spotted his unnatural quietness and invited him over my table for a drink.

Gaining an aura of friendship, he decided to introduce himself and how he has journeyed from Singapore, to Malaysia down to China, he narrated his ordeals within the first three minutes of acquaintance in an experience that has reformed him to his present status卝ust watching, thinking of what to do next, saddened by dejection suffered from past experiences and really squared by despondency.

"I left home in search of a better life anywhere I can get it but I found out authorities in Singapore will not accommodate you for any slightest excuse, in Malaysia, there have been a mass deportation of foreign immigrants for some economic reasons, last night police raided our neighbourhood, two of my friends were picked, the other slim guy is as harmless as a dove卋ut he is going underground and will be deported whenever he produce a flight ticket卆s a matter of fact, he has been feeding on me, his family is so poor that they've sold all they had to assist him here I'm afraid he's going to rot there in Chinese prison" he lamented.

The quest to travel abroad:
All over the world there have been an influx of African immigrants seeking refuge, of greener pastures, safety and decent living they felt denied them at home by their elected representatives in leadership, this number comprised of young able bodied men, some with skills and talent not given any due recognition despite some academic training in their home countries and others with mere vocational technical skills with hope of finding a plain field to sale their services.

Anyway, prior to that people must travel, for whatsoever purpose as is enshrined in the inalienable human right of freedom of travel on planet Earth.

Why do people have to leave their own country?
In the quest for a different environment other than ones own place of nativity for whatsoever experience emerges a mixed crowd of people. Those who have need to migrate to other "would be better places" other than their own, those who travel for pleasures and border crossing hustlers with hope to earn a better living in the other region.

This is where young people like my new friend are worst victims running away from home, from loved ones, from freedom to a place of no freedom, lost love and a place where nobody cares about you.

Most African leaders has a notoriety of depriving their own people simple basic means of existence, a status they gained through political lying and fake promises of what they will provide once voted into office. But the simple truth is they assumed office and buy off the people's conscience through representatives who benefits from them directly by means of contracts and phony political errands while the majority are forgotten and ignored in abject poverty and care.

Monies ought to have been utilized in giving the people a decent living by providing basic amenities is stashed away overseas and the little left is used to buy them off again into divers 'fake' promises whenever another election comes around and the circle continue to run from regime to another until their own people has lost faith and confidence both in the leadership and the country they call their own, the irony is, while the leaders cared very little about this injustice done to his own people, blinded by gluttony and greed with 'employed praise singers' trying to raise some tiny degree of hope among the dejected and helpless citizenry 'probably' asking for their contribution in building a better society, their entire families are overseas living in affluence on those stashed away monies they have deprived their own people of.

Due to this negligence and insensitivity to the plight of their own people, the young Africans has been on the run, even in droves to anyway they think they could get some care as rational human being of this world order.

Is there any law that permits this kind of traveling?
It is an inalienable right of every human being to travel under planet earth. One of the principles of the United Nations is to develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples;

According to former U.N. Secretary-General, Dr. Kurt Waldheim?The choice is in our hands. No nation and no individual can be a bystander at this critical moment in the history of the world卲eople are switching environment for different purposes he cannot show apathy to the plight of those who feel insecure and deprived somewhere and determined to switch environment for a progressive lifestyle, irrespective of their background and still claim to uphold the tenets of the United Nations as this will lead to increasing frustration and disappointment of the victims.

Reception in the new environment:
This escape to a supposedly freer and safer world has not made much difference compared to the troubled past as would be overseas host countries has in most cases further dimmed the hopes of these running young people seeking for some care and attention by means of certain discriminatory policies.

Hordes of immigrants:
Like I mentioned earlier, among the various border-crossing 'would be immigrants' around the world is a mixed crowd of people, those who have the need to do so, those who are privileged to do so by means of acquisition of wealth and the hustlers, the 'assumed' neglected people, the commoners, who 'probably' don't belong in any count, hence, by this sudden unfortunate placement had to seek refuge and care wherever it could be found.

And like Dr. Kurt Waldheim earlier cited, among these are the frustrated, disappointed and I quote 'underprivileged but talented and skilled people with even some university education' followed by visionless and unemployable urchins abandoned by their own societies who by chance suddenly found themselves in a new and 'probably' better environment卋ut horded under one umbrella of "Immigrants".

The unwanted crowd of peoples:
Now, the inherent reality is, my dear young explorer suddenly found out he is not wanted in his new environment for whatsoever services whether professional or vocational. He felt he has the need to travel with his little vocational experience and decided to find out the cause of this cold reception and learnt that some young African immigrants like him had recently constituted a nuisance of a sort overseas by means of illegal entry or illegal stay

He decided to visit his home embassy abroad in the host country to narrate his ordeals; probably they could show some concern to his plight but to his utter dismay he found the same kind of people he was running away from in his home country, the 'assumed' insensitive and callous' government and their agents'the fact is, the best the embassy could do for you is to show you the way back to where you had began your first race

The uncaring oversea embassies:
Some African embassies abroad are known to have exhibited a degree of apathy to their citizens overseas even in matters of civil and national interest. A young Cameroonian had problems with his travel documents here in China and decided to contact his home embassy in Beijing for assistance, according to the young man, he was billed a price he could not pay for, but his actual request attracts no cost in the first place, his pleas for assistance fell on deaf ears, this certainly sounds like a case of 'extended corrupt practices' from the home front.

There have been discriminatory visa policies in China against Nigerians legally invited to China to offer professional services or illegally residing and doing business here.

A school invited a Nigerian to teach and put him on a one year renewable contract, his residence visa is due for renewal, in company of his employer's authorities he took his passport to the Security Bureau for renewal of visas and had his documents cancelled and asked to leave immediately while the contract duration is pending, he would like to know for what offence卆nd he learnt because you're a Nigerian your people are criminals".

Nobody cared about us:
This is it, the plight of the down-trodden common people of the world, those nobody wants to do anything with, those not given any due recognition by means of their underprivileged environmental situation and personality.

They are not horded under any class of immigrants because they live in the best houses overseas; attend the best schools that even some citizens of their host country cannot afford, they have wrecked hopes of some young bright futures in their country, transfer wealth meant for their own people to some overseas countries and are always welcome as long as they keep bringing in the 'stolen monies'卐ven the home embassies abroad is an extension of their offices!

Then, the 'assumed' border-crossing hustler with a 'would be' baptismal name "Immigrant"卍ecided to act on impulse with regard to the 'inalienable rights of all human being to travel under planet earth, he decided to seek a respite somewhere else in other region of the world as much as his little savings could afford without stepping on toes and met another brick-wall. You are not wanted here"! 'Would be' places of hope wouldn't tolerate you because you are an African and a potential immigrant'!

Now, in your own country, you feel not wanted too because you are deprived of any form of care and concern also. African leaders actually don't care how prone to dangers they could be subjecting their young people to neither have those who give them loans overseas, those hosting their children and families abroad ever bothered to sound to their deafness what future dangers could be lurking around unnoticed.

Suppressed Aggression:
One day a young Cameroonian in a Southern China city was asked to leave that he couldn' t get a visa renewal despite holding an employment as a teacher and having undergone all the necessary requirements, he would like to know why that is and insisted on getting answers. The young female police interpreter noticing an expression of a frustrated young man with an intense anger asked him to put his request on paper, she told her boss "This not like other Black man"in Chinese English.

When I asked him what gave him such courage to re-act and his supposedly intensions had he not gotten some positive attention, he said and I quote "I was bent on going home and unleash a revenge on any Chinese I see in Cameroon because I did no wrong" Chinese live peacefully in my place and are not discriminated for whatsoever purpose".

The outcome will certainly be a transferred aggression over misplaced grudges.

Our world is changing definitely and policy makers should not overlook this reality. No matter our cultural differences, Laws of independent countries certainly must be respected and obeyed, if a foreign visitor is found breaching the laws of his host country that particular individual should be dealt with according to the law of that territory, this should not be transferred to other law abiding and legal aliens.

That would amount to a total disregard of peoples, rights and values by means of their background taking us back to that great problem of prejudice, racial discrimination and ignorance卆nd the outcome of this carelessness will be too retrogressive for a progressive society.

Conclusion:
People are making a home of any place of their sojourn in today world once it attracts their fancy. Whites, Blacks and Yellow people if we have any are inter-marrying; it was not at this rate before; today you have some black men marrying Chinese ladies and some Chinese going to settle with their families in Africa, I know of a Canadian who have lived in Nigeria as a teacher for close to 30 years despite the nasty stories that emerge from that region.

Many countries in Europe, Australia and Canada who have a foresight of this current trend have adopted multicultural policies to help ease the integration of 'Would be' immigrants and minorities in their societies with the United States in the lead, having learnt their lesson from the Detroit Riot of 1967.
In Africa, you have foreigners from all over the world living and doing business without any form of disregard and discrimination.

If African governments show disregard to their young people and the helpless young people decides to find relief in other region of the world, they should not be discriminated and humiliated because of their background, if anyone transgresses the law of his 'new found land of hope' he should be made to account for his misconducts as an individual.

If people of the world and policy makers are not learning any lesson from history what happened in France between October/November 2005 should serve as a 'litmus test' of an outburst of bottled frustrations over a period and then it could be worse because people have switched environment all over the world more than as it were before, either for comfort, economic reasons or sheer pleasure, you just can't stop people from traveling and migrating unless you are not a member of the new world order.

We should care and respect others differences despite the differences in our cultural backgrounds and values, this disregard, discrimination and apathy to some groups of the world citizens will never solve any problem and might pose a great hidden danger in the future