Chapter VIII

Christian Lost His Human Dignity & Self Worth

"I came to Taiwan to study and work at the same time. I flew to Nigeria from Ghana, my home country, to get a Taiwan visa. And from Lagos, Nigeria, I flew to Sophia in Bulgaria. Bangkok was my next stop. There, we were stripped naked and checked for drugs by the immigration officers. They said they were doing this because of Taiwan’s stringent rules on people coming in from our part of the world. Well, we are no dope fiends. Never have been.

"We soon arrived at the CKS Airport, checked through the Immigration and thought we’d made it. But that was the debut of our problems. We did not know exactly where to get off the bus. A friend of ours had helped translate the address of some of our countryfolks in Taipei. We arrived in Taipei at 1 p.m. that afternoon but it wasn’t until 7 p.m. that the taxi driver dropped us at our friend’s home.

"The following Sunday, an acquaintance in the church we attended that day helped us out with accommodation. But that was only the start of our problems. The rent was high. Besides, we started hearing all sorts of news: the police were cracking down on foreign workers working here illegally and imposing huge fines on local employers who are caught hiring such people. In effect, no employer would dare recruit people without work permits.

"All of a sudden, we found ourselves in dire financial and emotional straits. Two weeks passed. No work. We came here to study. The fees were exorbitant for people of our estate. We had no support from anywhere, anyone.