Black History Month – Reclaiming Narratives
NCH&C has been celebrating Black History Month. This year’s theme for Black History Month is “Reclaiming Narratives,” and marks a significant shift towards recognising and correcting the narratives of Black history and culture.
By emphasising “Reclaiming Narratives,” we shine a brighter light on our stories, allegories, and history.
This theme underscores a commitment to correcting historical inaccuracies and showcasing the untold success stories and the full complexity of Black heritage.
As part of this, we have been encouraging staff to take the time to read the article below called “Immigration Fatigue,” written by three Internationally Recruited Nurses working across Norfolk and Waveney Integrated Care System (ICS).
Lived experience matters because it can change the assumptions and biases that are made incorrectly about a person and an entire community of people. It supports the development of innovation and the culture, creating psychological safety and improved care.
Immigration Fatigue
This is the story of three colleagues working across Norfolk and Waveney ICS. They have come together to create an account of the experience of leaving for the UK to work in our NHS. To protect their wellbeing they will remain anonymous.
Moving to a different country often results in high levels of stress from experiencing financial difficulties and poverty, a lack of representation and familiar community, inability to communicate or be understood, sense of failure and the pressure to succeed, political oppression, and loneliness. This can lead to a condition known as Immigration Fatigue.
Immigration fatigue can also include trauma responses such as post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) in those who are leaving persecution and threats of danger. These issues are not raised in the account below, and it is not assumed that these issues are a factor in the experience of any of the contributors, or any members of staff working across Norfolk and Waveney ICS.
This is their story:
“Applying for a job in another country is not dissimilar from applying in the country that you reside. There are specific job sites, but in this case working for the NHS, the process might be different from other industries.
“After the stress of committing to saving enough money, completing successful interviews, and waiting for visas, of course, the whole process is very exciting. Telling your family and friends who are worried of course, but excited for you too. There were prayers of safe travel and success, leaving parties and lots of tears. The feeling of embarking on such a journey felt incredible.
“The day came and arrival at the airport saying goodbye among showers of tears, check-in, security and, “What is the purpose of your journey to England?” and proudly replying, “I have a job in the NHS!”
“Not knowing anyone wasn’t so much of a problem, it’s the not knowing where I am. Norfolk is not London and after 11hours of travel: one hour to the airport, seven hours flying and then around three hours in a taxi from Heathrow airport to Norfolk minus delays is hard work. And arriving at night is another thing. There is a lot of countryside in Nigeria yes, but having not been to England before, to be honest, the lights of London disappeared quicker than I thought they would and at night, in the winter in Norfolk is very dark and the cold is so cold, there was a distinct lack of preparation of how cold the cold can be here. Looking back, it’s funny, but my goodness!
“Because of covid restrictions there was real camaraderie among the group. We didn’t all know each other before but we were going through the same thing. We were excited, we were scared. We didn’t leave the accommodation really for a couple of weeks, also preparing for the OSCE, apart from for short walks and so didn’t really see anyone else, but when we did, sometimes we would experience people looking at us, one older white man said, “Hello,” to me. Of course, I replied and smiled, but I wasn’t expecting it. Some of us didn’t not have good experiences.
“Shopping has been an experience, trying to find the food that we like to eat, the prices of the food that we like to eat. One friend said that a neighbour in the village that she stays, once said to her, “You do like to cook smelly food…” which really upset her. I have never experienced that, but I feel that because she was further away from the city, sometimes people who are in the countryside don’t experience much flavour.
“We like to cook, and we like to eat. We have tried some English food like fish and chips and roast dinner at the pub where some colleagues took us. It was nice. It wasn’t something that I would have every day, but I liked it.
“One thing that I have noticed is that there are no parties here. People go to the pub and clubs seem only to be for really young people. Back home we have parties, get dressed up, bring good food or it is catered, we dance, laugh, there will always be people playing games like cards or dance battle. Parties will go on all night and there doesn’t have to be an occasion like a birthday or wedding. There is nothing like that here. I miss that. Sometimes it makes me feel lonely as people don’t get together in the same way here as we do back home. But there is some community at church.
“We are becoming accustomed to the many coffee shops. There is always somewhere to go for coffee here. I like the big supermarkets. Some of us have children and it’s great to be able to get school uniform and school supplies whilst buying groceries. I have been to the “Big” Sainsbury’s which is amazing. They have lovely skincare products, and I am trying the hair products too. I was worried that I was going to have to ask my family and friends to bring me supplies when they visit or travel to London all the time, but I asked other Black people who work here, and they told me where to go. I even signed up for a Nectar card and a Tesco Clubcard also.
“I spent a lot of time worried about getting things wrong, not knowing, or understanding. English people say very funny things and it’s not necessarily how we were taught English. What is the difference between, “Lunch and Dinner?” and “Dinner and Tea?” everyone seems to use these words very differently. People ask, “Alright?” but apparently it means, “Hello,” and “… in a bit” is a measure of time because people say, “I will see you in a bit.” There are lots of things like this that I am getting used to as well as the things for work. I was worried to share my opinion when I was asked what I thought about a patient for the first time. To be honest, I was surprised that my opinion mattered. I was surprised that no one here says “Ma’am or Sir” to the managers, and you use their first names like we are all friends. But then I think some of us surprised colleagues when they found out that English was our first language and not something else. Some people have been really interested to get to know us, some have not, and that is OK. Some people have been very welcoming, and others have not. I don’t know if being from Africa or elsewhere makes the difference or if we were British, but Black it would be fine. I don’t know. I know some colleagues have really struggled to find a place here because of it and some of my friends have left Norfolk for other places. Some have got Band 6 jobs which is amazing, and I am so proud of my friends they are inspirational.
“There have been times were coming to work was really hard. Thinking coming to England was a mistake, usually when it is so cold. There are times when being here is great. There are more opportunities, different opportunities and that sometimes weighs in its favour. And sometimes I feel so tired and alone. It hasn’t been easy, but an experience, nonetheless.
“As I make money, I save a little and try to use this to have a little social life and not just pay bills or send money home. Staying in Norfolk is fine for now, I am not sure about forever, but I am having a good time at the moment.”
We want to thank the colleagues who provided their personal stories for this article. For more information about Black History Month, please click here.