COVID-19, You, Me, Africa and the West

Grief and Loss

This weeks episode is our 10th and final episode for the season.  I am excited and thankful about the conversations we have started, the connections we made and the relationships we’ve built as a result of my story as a Nigerian Immigrant. The reach and plays is something I did not see coming, 10 countries and over 200 plays. Today I would like to share my thoughts on grief and lose. This episode resonates with me so much today for reasons you will discover as this episode unravels. But I’m sure it will resonate with you too because we have all lost someone or felt lost ourselves. To keep up to date with Season 2 of The Nigerian Immigrant, follow me on Instagram @thenigerianimmigrant.  Make sure to follow, like and share this podcast if you have enjoyed it. See you on the other side.

Welcome.

The Nigerian Immigrant is a social and cultural podcast featuring Blossom Anyimba-Cooley (aka life of the party, aka sunshine in a rainy day) a proudly Nigerian Immigrant talking about growing up in Nigeria, migrating to Australia, finding love, motherhood, applying for credit and all things banking, access to Governments services, mental health and so much more. The Nigerian Immigrant is about Blossoms interests, experiences and passions. About Blossom.  Blossom Anyimba-Cooley is a Journalist, former banker and account manager. She is a mother of one and resides in the blue mountains.

Being Black in White Australia

Today I'm going to talk about racism.  Living in a time like this makes, the importance of the human connection cannot be understated.  I have some questions of my own. Do you think we are becoming better humans through this experience?  Are you becoming a better person, are you the same or are you worse off?  This is an episode of self reflection. As I too reflect on one of the hardest experiences I’ve ever had to deal with as a Nigerian immigrant…racism.  I’d like to first note that there is the ignorance that comes with not knowing about other cultures and that’s okay. There are over 7.5 billion people on the planet, 195 countries and 6500 languages. We cannot know of one another. As an immigrant, questions about different cultural practices are welcome and encouraged. This is not racism.  Racism is when you look down at others because you believe your race is better than their race. This ideology fuelled the Nazi’s mission for world domination and subjugation. The idea that that their skin made them superior and every other race was subhuman.  I hope also that we learn to not be what I can racial apologists, people who make excuses for other people’s racism. That we educate when we can and not make excuses. In 2011 I wrote about my experience as a black person in Australia. Over 2500 read my article, the most traffic I’d ever gotten. I’ve had my fair share of racism. I remember being asked once by a white man if my vagina looked the same as possibly his wife’s. The looks!!! Oh the looks! Things are getting better everyday… People are being called out everyday for racist behaviours and ideologies. I think and hope that the message is getting through. Nearly 10 years after I published that blog and I can tell you that I do not care what a person thinks of me. I think you are doing yourself a huge disservice if you write me off without getting to know me. Recently I worked in the most toxic workplace I have ever worked in so I know racism is alive and thriving in Australian work places. But it is up to us to continue to educate (when we can) in whatever fashion we deem fit. In this work place a white Australian colleague said Indigenous Australians ought to get over themselves that the stolen generation happened 60 years ago. I reported her to the manager and told them to let her know if was from me. Indigenous Australians have gone through and are still going through so much inequality and inequity. So to answer the question, is Australia racist?  Yes, Institutional or systematic racism which encourages disparities in employment, the criminal justice system, housing, heath care, income and so much more.  Are there racist Australians? Some are , in my opinion 1 in 10. To read the full article check out my blog thenigerianimmigrant.blogspot Please feel free to share your experiences with me I’d like to know. We have listeners from 10 countries so please represent. You can send me a DM on Instagram @thenigerianimmigrant .

COVID-19, You, Me, Africa and the West

This episode is about COVID 19 and how it affects you, me, Africa and the developing nations. What a year we've had!  Jumping into a new year, the new year resolutions some of us had involved getting a gym membership, going out more,  finding love, getting a job. All of which has been made hard or impossible. I didn't have a lot of plans but I had some, I had an established gym routine, we were going to see my family in London and booked a trip to Greece , Scotland and  Italy this month. If there's anything I've learnt throughout this experience, it's the fragility of life, a reminder that we are  interconnected in a way that we may never had considered. Simply sharing a lift, a train or a car with someone else can  put our lives at risk in away we may never had considered before. What an incredibly humbling experience this has all been for us. Throughout this experience I hope that you've been well. And if you've lost your job or you feel like your life has  been put on Pause due to COVID remember that you're not alone. And that when there's life there is hope. For me; I've been  lucky to have a job that's considered essential and have been working from home. But that dosen't make me immune to  the fears of a potential job loss and the consequences of that. We also have a mortgage and tenant. The constant fear  about how that person's job loss impacts you is unreal. Our tenant decided they were going to move out just recently. It is  quite scary to worry about the loss in income there and how quickly we can get a new tenant in this environment. Different  governments policies and response to COVID-19 is important mostly because it provides support so that people can  survive this. Democracies are an important form of governance that puts the welfare of the people first. You see that with  Australia where the government introduced a package for employers to continue to pay their staff, a package for job  seekers, businesses and even commercial tenants. Parents who are still working don't need to pay for childcare for 3  months and some people can access their superannuation early if they need to. There are clear rules on community  access and fines in place when those rules are flaunted. Knowing what some African countries are like, my worry from the  beginning has always been about how we were going to impose strict lockdown on 200 million people without making any provisions for them with respect to adequate electricity supply, water, income support, healthcare and concessions to  keep businesses afloat. How are you helping your community? Please share with me @thenigerianimmigrant on instagram.  Please like, follow, share and subscribe.  I appreciate your support.

10 Questions Game

Welcome to a new episode of my podcast the Nigerian immigrant. Today I am going to be playing the 10 Questions Game with my sister Vivien Anyimba. You can check her out on her instagram handle @vivy_uche. This is a go to conversation starter.  Have a go with the people you're in lock down with and tag me @thenigerianimmigrant on instagram.  Glossary: Village:Every Christmas, Nigerians go back to the village of their mothers or fathers to celebrate the holidays. This typically runs into the new year. Children get new outfits and a new hair do for the celebration. Keke na pep: Tuk Tuk (Auto Rickshaw) Knockout: Mini Fire work  Keep in touch by following @thenigerianimmigrant on Instagram or thenigerianimmigrant.blogspot Don't forget to share, follow and subscribe. See you next time...