MOST people left their motherland with the hope of staying in the UK only for six months.
In fact, there are some people who left Zimbabwe unceremoniously, for reasons best known to them.
And because of this, many people have stayed put in the UK because they are ashamed to come back home empty-handed. The need to prove a point makes one stay longer but at a high price.
Zebron Phiri, a Zimbabwean who has spent 10 years as a migrant in the UK, said he first went there as a tourist.
Said Phiri: “Ten years have passed since I started living in London.
“I came for the first time as a tourist and the second time I came, I was so sure I would not last six months, but guess what, I’m still here.
“I do not regret the move, but the first years were tough and I lived like a slave, a willing slave.
“I came to better myself and enhance my capacity to compete in the global village and I thank God I have achieved a lot because in this country, the sky is the limit.
“ I have known many who have been in the UK for the past 20 years and they have achieved NVQ 1 which is equivalent to a first aid course.”
Saviour Shava on the other hand said: “I graduated with an Engineering degree from Zimbabwe and did further studies in Engineering in the UK, but the situation taught me to be humble.
“I now drive a lorry with all my degrees.
“If only our friends in Zimbabwe are to know that education is not only the key, but is indeed a humbling process, our country would be miles away from what it is.”
“Gilbert Dumbura now working as a nurse in UK said: “When you come to the UK, you must love your countrymen.
“You have to be social lest you die of stress.
“I remember my friend, a medical doctor arrived from Zimbabwe full of pride and in two weeks, he was sorting letters at a local post office being supervised by his former maid who had arrived in the UK earlier.
“That was a humiliating, but humbling situation.”
Nigel Matura said: “As a graduate even if I had a Master’s and a PhD degree I knew that in Zimbabwe the chances of finding work in the field I am interested in were minimal.
“In UK, the state can on one hand partially support me during my studies financially, and for that I decided to stay permanently.
“After all, those I left home never care about me.
If I go back home sick they will throw me under the bus.”
The Diaspora at the very end is not just about money.
It means more education, awakening, reflecting and self-improvement.
Therefore living abroad also has its own advantages.
It is not an act of treachery as others may put it.
Despite the homesickness at times, living abroad can make one become a better and open-minded person.
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