Picturing a society in harmony

Documentary film shows how Africans are having a positive influence in a Chinese city

A documentary film featuring the lives of Africans living in China has been screened at two locations in the United Kingdom this year, including twice at the London School of Economics.

The six-episode film Africans in Yiwu, with separate themes for each episode, highlights a wide range topics involving the lives of Africans living in Yiwu, Zhejiang province, in East China.

Hodan Osman Abdi, a Somali researcher, lecturer and vice-director at the Institute of African Studies at Zhejiang Normal University, says the documentary, which she co-directed with her colleague Zhang Yong, focuses on Africans' educational endeavors, aspirations, business activities, romance, artistic activities and food culture.

The Africans tell their own stories rather than having a narrator, Abdi says, adding that those taking part were followed for almost two years and allowed to communicate naturally.

"The realism of life the film displays will surely defuse many misconceptions about the lives of the African community in China and their relationship with the Chinese population," says Abdi.

It was screened for the first time in London at the language center of the London School of Economics on Oct 25, and for the second time on Oct 27 during the Somali Week Festival, part of African History Month in the UK. Its third screening was for the Chinese students and scholars association at the LSE.

"We want people to see the lives of Africans living in China; we believe the reason why China-Africa relations have gone so far is because we have paid attention to people-to-people exchanges," says Abdi.

She says the film was produced in Yiwu because the city represents a special environment where Chinese and Africans coexist in harmony, showing mutual respect and understanding.

"The African community in Yiwu participates in community building in the city, and this is one of the main reasons they have assimilated into the society," she says.

"For example, the Sudanese commercial association often organizes its community to donate blood to the blood bank in Yiwu. The African merchants' association organizes visits to care homes for the elderly, remote villages and orphanages and donates supplies."

Yiwu hosts the second-largest African community in China after the southern city of Guangzhou, Guangdong province.

African merchants in Yiwu are an integral part of the committee for resolving business disputes and are also often asked by the local government for policy recommendations.

This helps enhance mediation with law enforcement authorities on behalf of African merchants when their visas or travel documents expire.

"Our success rate is 97 percent in settling disputes, and our method of mediation is well received by both African and Chinese businesses," says Chen Jinyan, director of the mediation committee in Yiwu.

Abdi says, "We find that people-to-people communication between Africans and Chinese people in Yiwu is remarkably progressive and cohesive. In my opinion, the biggest influence is the open policies taken up by local authorities that aim to ensure healthy integration of different societies within the Yiwu community."

Although the film has not been officially released, it is gaining some positive reviews after being screened at the Zanzibar International Film Festival and being chosen as the opener for the Lusaka International Film Festival.

In China, it has been shown at universities across the country, and the directors are determined to screen it at more locations worldwide.

For China Daily

(China Daily Africa Weekly 11/17/2017 page18)