Aime Lema, a Congolese from Romania, went through a lot of stages till he became a business man: he was a foreign student who came to learn in a country from another continent, he was a political refugee, an immigrant willing to help his fellows, a married foreigner to a Romanian. For him, our country is a like a second home. His two children were born here, here he started a business in constructions and he wants to open stores in which to sell African objects.

Reporter (Rep.).: You came here in 1991 from the Democratic Republic of Congo to study in Romania. Why here?

Aime Lema (A.L.).: I had the choice to pursue Medicine or Petrochemistry. My father, a diplomat, told me to study Petrochemistry. Back home they needed engineers and then only 3 countries had good universities: Iraq, Romania and Belgium. I ruled out Iraq because of the Gulf War. I wanted to go to Belgium, because lots of Congolese were there, French was spoken and it would have been easier for me, but there was also a lot of fun to be had and dad was sure I would not study and this is why he advised me to go to Romania. He didn’t force me for he knew I couldn’t work during the holidays (while in Belgium any foreign student may work and earn money during summer breaks), so he said he was going to pay for everything in Romania. This is how I ended up at the Faculty of Industrial Chemistry in Bucharest.

Rep.: What was the hardest thing: learning Romanian or adjusting here?

A.L.: I did the gap year at Pitesti, then I came to Bucharest. I was alone and had to learn the language, and in 4 months I started speaking. I had no choice. There was no one in Pitesti who could speak my native language – Lingala, or French – the official language in my country. Where I was distributed there were Arab, Moldavian, Nigerian students who spoke English, Arabic or Romanian, which made me learn the language to communicate with colleagues. I did the courses which the Romanian state offered, plus I played scrabble on my own, I would form words in French and then I looked them up in the dictionary, because French and Romanian are very much alike. I had a very good teacher too, I was among Romanians and I refused to have courses in French at the faculty. I was a boarder in Bucharest, i did not stay in a hostel and I really wanted to learn Romanian. This was my goal, I was ready to stay 5 years and then go back home. My parents were well connected and back home I would have definitely worked in the field.

Rep.: Do you think that not being to work as a student set you back?

A.L.: Yes, a great deal. But I loved sports and I started to play football in college with my colleagues. There was a court at the Polytechnic and we asked the dean to play there. My dean was Ecaterina Andronescu, an extraordinary woman, who understands and tries to help. I know that because I had a problem with an exam because one Physics teacher would not let me take it. I had my appendix removed and missed classes, colloquies and he didn’t want to let me take the exam. I went to the dean, told her my problem, she understood and she let me.

Rep.: Were there differences between foreign and Romanian students?

A.L.: There were lenient professors, they understood our lack of language skills. But there were some not so nice ones: „you don’t like to study, you pay and you think you should have everything” they used to say. Only two professors gave me a hard time, most of them tried to help me, and Petrochemistry is not easy. Back then, you couldn’t pay cash like now. If dad sent money from Egypt (where he worked back then) to my account, it would remain for 30 days, and, even if I had a bank statement which meant the money was there, they didn’t let me sit for exams till it came. If you went to dean and she saw your signed paper, she would vouch for us. This woman is extraordinary, she was very correct with me.

Rep.: How did you end up asking for political asylum?

A.L.: In 1996, our country was shaken up, my father was a state secretary and a diplomat. He was well-known. And one thing is clear where I come from: who loses the election must go. When the civil war broke out, things were bad for us. Everybody who had diplomatic passports was called, some were killed if they had been close to Mobutu Sese Seko, so that is why it was better to ask for political asylum. I went with my diplomatic passport to the Romanian state and I asked for protection and the refugee status. Then I had finished college and I was playing football. I had not returned to my country, for the situation was messy and I preferred to stay here until everything settled.

Rep.: How were you perceived by Romanians?

A.L.: They were not racist, just ignorant. If you ask me, I can say that people were angry because there were not a lot of black people back then. Some tried to find out more because they were curious, some were violent, but I consider that to be ignorance, not racism. I am black and that’s that. In France, Sweden, Spain, Italy, wherever I traveled, when I speak Romanian some people look at me and get scared (laughs)… Positive and negative discrimination have always existed. The Iuventus Colentina Team wouldn’t accept me because I was black. But the difference between me and many others is that I get over this easier than them.

Rep.: Still, do you think Romanians still need a bit of education regarding this matter?

A.L.: No, I wouldn’t go that far. Romanians went abroad, now what harsh treatment means, some did bad things where they went, but most of them were fair. There are all kinds of people, and those that work are angry because things go bad and they are discriminated along with criminals. The same things happen to Africans.

Rep.: What do you think about Africans’ access to work in Romania?

A.L.: Lots of things have been regulated, I as a refugee could not work, but after many campaigns, I got some rights. We have access to everything, the only problem – you have to be employed somewhere to have access and if you cannot be employed because your papers are not ok you don’t have access. You have access on paper, I can’t deny that, but basically you don’t. If you don’t have a degree, they don’t hire you. That’s the problem the law is incomplete. It’s only half completed, the refugees have not been helped.

As long as you cannot work with a contract, the problem shall remain. I have a construction company and I tried to hire people but there are a lot of problems. There are few employed refugees, though most of them would like to stay in Romania to work. It’s hard to earn a living in Romania!

Rep.: What is the main problem African immigrants face?

A.L.: There are and there always will be problems. Diplomas are not acknowledged and rightfully so, the same applies for Romanians, they are not acknowledged somewhere else. What I have always condemned was the fact that there is no assessment commission. Most people were professors, doctors, company executives, I know some Africans who came and asked for the refugee status and could work only as security guards. Horrible! They didn’t want to go because they were someone. If they came and I asked them what they did, I would test them, assess them and establish the baccalaureate level and they would have sat for an exam. That would have been a solution.

The assessment commission would have been a solution! But if he has nothing… A refugee cannot come back home. Recognizing studies is a problem which will forever remain unsolved. There is a lack of will power!

Interview taken on 13.04.2013