Tag Archives: Willesden

The Ivory Coast

Fatou was born in the west african country of the Ivory Coast. In fact, she spent her childhood there until the age of 16. Fatou’s father wanted a better future for his daughter, in order to achieve that he took her to Accra in Ghana. His intention was to find employment for himself and Fatou there.

Abidjan, Ivory Coast✈️ Accra, Ghana

423 km

Accra, Ghana

Now Fatou’s childhood is officially over, instead she begins her adult life. Right at the beginning, Fatou and her father get a job at the Carib beach resort. In fact, she works there as a chambermaid, so her task is to clean rooms. In addition to working, Fatou discovers swimming for herself. That’s exactly what she teaches herself in a sea in Accra. Fatou has been continuously pursuing this activity since that time. One of her favorite things to do was to watch the mass baptism in the hotel pool, which took place once a month. Fatou felt safe and calm, while watching them and it guided her through her time at the resort.

That’s pretty phenomenal, isn‘t it? Regardless Accra is a place where sex tourism is a daily thing. When Fatou had one month left in Accra she got raped by a russian tourist. In the end Fatou said nothing to her employers because she knew that they wouldn’t do anything. This was definitely a burden for the 18 year old girl.

Accra, Ghana ✈️ Tripoli, Libya ✈️ Rome, Italy

3331 km + 1002km

Rome, Italy

Since Fatou’s father did not have enough money to bring his daughter and himself to Italy, he saved enough money to at least make this possible for Fatou. In Rome she started cleaning toilets in a catholic girls school. Important to mention is, that she didn‘t knew Jesus back then, owing to the fact that she wasn‘t religious yet. However, this changed in the following journey.

While she staid in Rome, Fatou got interested in becoming a street artist. In the end she got discriminated because it was a closed shop which only brown men were allowed to enter. That´s the reason why she couldn’t follow this profession.

Willesden, London

Rome, Italy ✈️ Willesden, London

1436 km

When Fatou turned 18 she started her next chapter in Willesden. This is basically the place where she felt home the most so far. In Willesden, Fatou started to work as a housekeeper for the Derewals. It‘s important to mention that the family wasn‘t nice to her at all. Instead they faced her in a racist way. For example the children often used her name as a term of abuse. When it comes to talking about her activities in her free time, she watches a game of badminton, that takes place every monday. Also she still follows her hobby swimming at the Willesden Center for Health and Care. Another big part in her life is the catholic faith, which was introduced to her by her good friend Andrew. In fact she got baptized on February 6, 2011.

Sadly, her life took another turn when she was fired by the Derewals. Fortunately Andrew stood by her side the whole time and offered her a place to stay and also a new employment. Despite the fact that life put many obstacles in her way, Fatou still stays optimistic and looks forward to her future.

6192 km of courage

After walking out into the cold grey, I felt a sense of brightness, of being, washed clean,that neither the weather nor the circumstances could dim.