On this article, I’ll share my expertise of being welcomed as an African scholar in China, the place I pursued a Grasp’s diploma in Journalism and Communication in New Media on the Communication College of China.
In 2019, I acquired an academic alternative from the Chinese language embassy in Somalia to review in China. This chance opened my eyes to many issues and taught me worthwhile classes.
Earlier than departing from Mogadishu, I used to be apprehensive as a result of destructive messages from some media about China’s remedy of different communities. Nonetheless, my expertise was fairly totally different. On my flight to Beijing, I used to be impressed by the kindness of a Chinese language citizen who sat subsequent to me. He greeted me with a smile and we had a nice dialog all through the flight.
Upon arriving in Beijing, I used to be welcomed by pleasant individuals on the college and across the metropolis. The college emphasised cultural change and arranged journeys to totally different areas of the nation, the place I witnessed the nice and cozy hospitality of the Chinese language individuals.
Earlier than the COVID-19 outbreak in Wuhan in late December 2019, I used to be invited to an occasion to reward workers of a fragrance firm. My pal from Yemen and I had been properly acquired and even invited to a different occasion, which was sadly canceled as a result of pandemic.
Regardless of the challenges posed by COVID-19, my expertise in China was overwhelmingly optimistic.
In conclusion, the nice and cozy welcome and hospitality I acquired from the Chinese language individuals and their authorities dispelled any destructive messages I had heard from some media earlier than my journey. I now have a passion for China and its open-minded individuals, who confirmed nice kindness in direction of African college students like myself. Their angle was higher than what I’ve skilled in some nations, and I might love to go to China once more sooner or later.
By: Abdirahman Abdullahi Kanava – Editor-in-chief of Somali Nationwide Information Company (SONNA)
