Julia's opinion about my book! culled from her blog

I lördags var jag, Kayleen och de Manders tvillingarna inbjudna till Alieu "Alex" Khans boklansering. Det var en underbar afton med underhållning och ett superb tal av författaren. I slutet kallade Alex upp ett x antal personer som betytt mycket för honom. Jag blev helt rörd och chokad när han läste upp mitt namn!

Alexs bok streckläste jag. Han är en fantastisk skribent! Det roliga är att både jag och Kayleen är nämnda i hans bok. Vilket är hur kul som helst!

Boken, With In A Year" handlar om Alex. Om hans första år på ön Åland. Denna bok lämnar inte några hemligheter, utan han berättar öppet om hans fru och hans tankar om de ålänska invånarna.

I Sverige träffar Alex en ålänsk kvinna. Han fattar fort tycke för henne och flyttar med henne till Godby, Åland. De gifter sej och hans fru blir gravid. Han letar febrilt efter jobb och får till slut jobb i ett jordgubbs land. Lönen är urusel. På grund av detta så börjar det dala mellan Alex och hans fru. Även språket och de olika kulturerna gör att de skapas missförstånd mellan dem. Alex hittar ett nytt jobb igen, som städare. Lönen är bättre och han trivs bra. Förhållandet mellan honom och han fru blommar upp igen.
Men efter solsken kommer regn. Och Alex måste sluta på jobbet. Turisterna var få och ägarna hade inte råd att hålla honom kvar.

" My continuing lack of job became unbearable for Tessy and this was what led to our second and final separation".

Alex fick tag på ett rum som han kunde hyra. Hyran fick han betalat med hjälp av socialen. Nu började en jobbig tid för honom. Han älskar och saknar sin fru. Och han känner sej mycket ensam, eftersom han inte hade några specifika vänner på ön.

"I believe that the greatest gift a man can give his pregnant wife is his time".

Alex börjar på en Medis kurs för att lära sej svenska. Det är en heltids kurs och eleverna får 600E för att gå där. Han får bra kontakt med lärarna och bildar snabbt nya vänner. Men mitt i allt tappar han kontakten med sin fru. Och han börjar fråga sej själv om han någonsin kommer att få träffa sitt barn...

Hur det slutar är något ni får läsa om själva. Jag rekommenderar verkligen den här boken. Den är oerhört intressant och välskriven. Jag är även imponerad och stolt över Alex, trots alla hans motgångar så kämpar han vidare. Som han säger om sej själv "I'm not a quitter".

Embracing diversity!

I am very happy that my book launching went well, although majority of the island's important personalities i invited were absent.

The program started with an introductory remark by Nadja from Källbo Skola. Her colleague Hedviq did a powerpoint presentation about The Gambia and the other African countries (nationalities)on the Åland Islands.

In my speech, as the author of the book, i appealed to the Local Government to re-intensify their intergration activities on the island. I emphasized the need for inclusion and the responsible participation of immigrants in the community.

I used the program to honour people who are very receptive to black immigrants on the island. Some of these people include Petra Berg, Heidi Ost, politician Carina..etc.

I would like to thank the City Mayor for launching the book. Special thanks to ÅSUB and FPA for their presentations. I cannot also forget to thank my young friends from Källbo Skola. Tack så mycket to all my guests!

Picture: Shows the African percussion group at the program

Jasmine to storm Åland during my book launching

Jasmine is described as one of the promising young gospel musicians of Sweden. Born on the 26th February 1998, she started singing at the age of 5.

Jasmine had performed with Swedish big names like Charlotte Perelli, the winner of the 2009 Melody Festival- Sweden.

Book review- Within a Year-An African Immigrant on the Åland Islands

Alieu Khan left his native Gambia for Austria to pursue a Master's Degree in Peace and Conflict Transformation. When financial problems deferred his dreams, he went to Sweden for a while before moving to Åland, a cluster of islands in Finland, to live with his Finnish wife, Tessy. He shared his experience in this foreign world in a memoir: Within a Year — An African Immigrant on the Åland Islands.

Alieu's marriage with Tessy became characterized by a lot of misunderstandings: cultural and language barriers, which relentlessly frustrated him. Lack of job and inability to speak the language of the Island made things even more difficult for him. But never a quitter, he would attend some language classes to incorporate himself in the system; attend programs; write in newspaper columns; attend community and music concerts; meet different people and a lot more.

Alieu's memoir is typical of what most immigrants in Europe and America go through. For him, it was time for Europeans to recognize the valuable contributions of their immigrant populations. While he intends in the memoir to give a good exposure to the outside world about this notable Island, the tale is driven more by his passion to set an example for other immigrants. He reiterated the need for a diverse world in which all humans are seen and treated equal.

Alieu’s living tale of a true adventure will give hope and confidence to many immigrants during darkest hours of struggle.

Yero Ghedda Jallow (Dalton)
Co-editor of Gainako Online Newspaper
Minnesota, USA

Boy-killing Egypt teacher jailed

An Egyptian court has sentenced a schoolteacher to six years in jail for beating a pupil to death because he had not done his homework.

Maths teacher Haitham Nabeel Abdelhamid, 23, took Islam Amr Badr outside the classroom and hit him violently in the stomach.

The 11-year-old boy fainted and later died in hospital of heart failure in the city of Alexandria.

The court was told the boy had four broken ribs.

Abdelhamid was convicted of manslaughter.

He said he only meant to discipline the pupil and did not mean to hurt anyone.

The teacher's lawyer was quoted as saying in court: "Hitting [a child] is not banned in schools and my client did not break the law."

National outrage

Observers say the case has been seen as a shocking reminder of the failings of Egypt's state education system.

The incident, at Saad Othman Primary School on the outskirts of Alexandria in October, caused national outrage.

Islam's father, Amr Badr Ibrahim, said others should have stood trial with the teacher.

"The problem is the teaching and the teachers because they cannot find good teachers," he said.

"The minister of education should be the first person to be accused - how can he agree to let such a young man teach children?"

In the state education system, young, inexperienced and under-resourced teachers often struggle to control classes of 60 to 100 children.

The Egyptian government says it is bringing in education reforms - including new teacher testing.

It is also trying to tackle violence in schools and has issued new statements on the prohibition of corporal punishment.

Culled from BBC

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Yes we can!!!!

Multicultural Marriages and Relationships on the Island

More and more Ålandic people are marrying or having a relationship with people from different cultural backgrounds. This can be easily noticed, where ever you go to within Mariehamn.

When I talk about multi cultural marriage or relationship, I am simply referring to a marriage or relationship between a foreigner and a Finnish citizen. This has become so common nowadays, with the advance in technology and the availability of different flights to different destinations.

Majority of the foreign men and women living on the Island are either married or cohabiting with a Finnish national. At Medis, where many foreign nationals enrol to study Swedish, more than 80% are married or on cohabitation.

The few foreign nationals on the Island, who has not migrated because of love, include the IFK footballers from Africa and the refugees from Kurdistan/Iran. Some of the refugees are also attending Medis, as part of efforts in getting them integrate easily within the Ålandic community. Some of them live with their families and have succeeded in creating their own smaller community on the Island.

I have also noticed that, the other group of people, who has not also migrated because of love, are the foreigners from the new EU states like Lettland, Romania, Lithenia etc. Some of them moved to the Island with their partners. Currently, in Medis there are lot of them also trying to learn Swedish and planning to stay longer on Åland.

In a chat with one of the girls from Lettland, she disclosed that she has no plans of returning to her native country. According to her, she has finally decided to make Åland her final home. Her husband is also from Lettland and they both live together outside Mariehamn.

Majority of the women from Thailand, Philippines and few other Asian countries are married and living with Ålandic men. A good example is Tony Wikström, the proud winner of the Singing Bees Contest on Swedish TV3. His wife is from Asia and currently they have three children. During the Singing Bees Contest, we were all proud of them, especially when the whole family held and displayed the Åland flag for every one to see and expressing how proud they are to be residents of Åland.

Currently, I think there is only one African married and living together with a Finnish national. There are few of us, who were once married and have children on the Island.

The newest mullato baby on Åland, was born on the 7th November 2008 at 02.28am at the Åland Centralsjukhus. Her mum was living in Stockholm and it was there she met a Nigerian and they felt in love. The baby is called Kayleen and lives with her mum in Finström. When asked why she decided to name the baby Kayleen, this was what she said:-

‘Well, when she was in my stomach, I was thinking that she was a boy. I don’t know why - it was just a feeling I had. One day I saw a music video by the Swedish singer, Ken Ring. The song was about his son, whose name was Kelian and he was showed on the video. He was so cute, so I decided I will also name my baby Kelian.
One of my friends didn’t know how to spell the name and so she spelled it as ‘Kayleen.’ Which happens to be a girl name and that’s how I decided to call my daughter Kayleen.’

The young baby’s father is currently in Nigeria. He is expected to join them, very soon. Kayleen is the first child of both her mum and dad.

There are not many mullato kids on Åland. The few I know have moved from the Island and are now living on the mainland. Last summer, I met a mullato boy at the library, I cannot remember his age, but I think he is around 13-15 years old. We had a very interesting conversation and he was very happy meeting me. According to him, his mum is a native of Åland but his father is from Jamaica and they all live in the USA now. The boy is so proud of having the surname, GARVEY and he claims to be a descendant of Marcus Garvey. For the benefit of those who don’t know, Marcus Garvey was a national hero of Jamaica, who wanted all black men in the USA and all other parts of the world to return back to Africa. He is seen as a prophet by the Rastafarians (Bob Marley and others).

In many of these multicultural families, the children grow up speaking both English and Swedish. Most of the Ålandic natives, speak English to their foreign wives/husbands and this offers the children the opportunity to pick up the language so quickly. There are some children, who just don’t want to try English after being exposed to Swedish at the Dagis and primary schools.

‘When ever I speak English to my son, he responds in Swedish. It’s so difficult to get him speak English, although he understands the language.’ A British national on Åland told me. He has been living here for more than ten years and he is one of the successful immigrants on Åland.

There are some children, who are exposed to more than two languages, especially if both of their parents are immigrants on the Island. I have two very young friends of mine, who have parents from Russia and Scotland and therefore they are exposed to English, Russian and Swedish.

Multicultural marriages and relationships are converting Åland into another Island with diverse cultures. This why the Multi Cultural Society is becoming very important and the monthly cultural cafés at Café Bönan is doing a lot in encouraging cultural appreciation on the Island. I have always suggested the need to expand the cultural cafés and targeting a larger audience.