Ulla Fels

Changing Times Ulla Fels

Changing Times: Considering the many African refugees seeking Asylum in our rich European countries nowadays and our lack of knowledge about their social background, Bakary Sidibe's stories about his life and his explanations about his Gambian society help us to feel more connected with the newcomers and to understand them as people with their own history and values. Bakary Sidibe also shows us how the destabilising influence of the colonial rulers on the traditional social, economic and political structures of African societies still affects the life of the people today. Their young men with no employment and no perspectives at home are now seeking their fortunes in Europe.