Savings Account? Not Feasible

It’s impossible to have a savings account abroad. Recent immigrants from Africa, Asia, Caribbean and Europe find life difficult in Canada and the U.S. because everything costs money, even washing your clothes. There is also pressure from countries of origin, to help those left behind financially.

The expectation is that they are rich because they live abroad.  I know, rich is relative, but parents and grandparents ‘back home’ do not understand that sons and daughters don’t have any cash money, to quote a blues singer, somewhere in Mississippi.

Recent immigrants find it difficult to save because wages from one or two jobs disappear as soon as they land in the bank account. They are also not enough. That’s why credit cards are back-up. Some immigrants come from continents where a savings account is a source of pride. Those savings also made it possible to process visas and buy plane tickets to start a new life in Canada, U.S. or Sweden.

Family members left behind do not understand that the cost of living is very high abroad because recent immigrants don’t tell them. They perpetuate the myth that life is a piece of cake in Canada and U.S. If they were truthful, family members will think twice before asking for money. What shocks recent immigrants is the realization that nothing is free, like ‘back home.’

Appreciating The Value of Water

Water is not free, something that is new for recent immigrants, because it’s something they took for granted when growing up. In more rural areas, the rain comes and fills up big drums outside the house. Alternatively, women fetch water from the river. Local authorities also install communal taps nearby. Not everybody has a car in most African countries. Those that do, have no problem with washing the car. They hook up a garden hose to an outside tap or use a bucket to wash the car. Not abroad. Owners take cars to the car wash.

Recent immigrants also appreciate the value of water when the laundry basket is overflowing. You need money to wash your shirts and jeans. It’s not like where you were born. You washed them by hand and hung them on the clothes line for the sun to do its magic. In Europe and North America, you need money for the washer and dryer.

Raising Kids

Recent immigrants soon learn that there are no free babysitters like aunts, cousins and grandparents. It’s also expensive because kids don’t play outside. Play is organized and costs money and equipment: ballet shoes, hockey sticks, swimming gear etc. In their old countries kids swam in the ocean or rivers.

Conclusion: Nothing is free abroad. It might be difficult at first, but they get used to living off the credit card for the rest of their lives. A savings account becomes a thing of the past.

Nonqaba waka Msimang

Blogger Without Borders