Why it is better to stay home than do 'bbc' jobs in the UK

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Why it is better to stay home than do 'bbc' jobs in the UK

Thursday, 10 June 2010 01:15 |

Demands from relatives and family back home compound problems for people living abroad

The London kyeyos may be contributing significantly to the Ugandan Treasury, but their lives in the UK are nothing to envy. If you are a Ugandan with a fairly well-paying job and plan to quit for a more lucrative one in the UK, think again.

I also used to believe that Ugandans working in London were a happy lot until I went there and got it from the horse’s mouth. A friend who left home for England in 1994 to work her way through school described earning a living in England as an ordeal. “You can’t get a professional job here,” the woman, who did not want to be named, said, adding that the only work she has ever done since arriving nine years ago was wash dishes in restaurants, make beds in hotels, work the tills in supermarkets and care for old people in nursing homes.

In London, there is no room for embarrassment over what work one does because life is really hard, and bills are often astronomical. “As long as you are earning the pound, nothing else matters,” the Ugandan woman explained. Survival for students is even more challenging because, apart from paying bills (electricity, water and heating), they have to keep themselves in school lest they get deported. Worse still, a student visa permits only 20 hours of work a week, which at the best rate of £6 an hour, adds up to only £120 a week. With rent eating up the lion’s share of £60-£100 a week, many students in London have found themselves struggling under a heavy burden of unpaid bills, with no other means of staying afloat apart from doing multiple jobs.

Though doing multiple jobs brings in the pounds, it has its downside. “I get so tired that I sometimes doze in class,” said Patrick, who is about to complete his accountancy course. He also naps on buses and trains, often missing his stops, to his utter embarrassment. “One time I slept all the way to the last stop and had the bus driver not shaken me awake, I would have spent the night in my seat. I got off the bus but couldn’t tell where I was, and it was midnight and freezing,” said Patrick.

Men do mostly security jobs, but they also work in chain stores, supermarkets and fast-food restaurants. Ugandans who don’t have to pay school fees have an easier time but they can only find work in nursing homes, restaurants and hotels. Many of these have been granted asylum status and are legally in the UK.

I am told that life is more difficult for people whose status cannot be defined, especially those who came on visitor visas but refused to go back. Although I have not yet met anyone in this category, I am told that they cannot operate their own bank accounts, and have to rely on the goodwill of those who are legally in the UK.

A story is told of a young man who got himself a temporary job during a six-month visit to England. His wages were posted on a friend’s bank account since he had none. To get rid of the young man, the friend reported him to the authorities that he was staying in England illegally. He lost his savings because he could not take the friend to court over the theft of his money and returned to Uganda empty-handed. The highest paying job in London – care assistant in a nursing home – is also the hardest. Most Ugandans prefer it to the others because it rakes in the pounds. Most nursing homes pay between £5 and £8 an hour. However, it involves cleaning up old people who cannot take themselves to the toilet, washing their underwear, feeding them, bathing them, and making their beds.

Among the Nigerians in the UK, it is known as “a BBC job,” short for British Buttock Cleaning. With the number of old people growing, the demand for this category of workers is high, which is why the wages are good. However, some old people are really mean and can be rude.

Nusi, a Nigerian friend who works nightshifts in a nursing home, recounts how an old woman, whose wet diaper she wanted to change, shouted, “I don’t want to see any black faces! Get out of my room!” Nusi left and closed the door firmly behind her. But the woman called her back after two hours when the wet diaper became unbearable, and this time she was “nicer.”

Many Ugandans who leave their jobs at home and sell their property to live in the UK get a rude shock when they discover that life is far from heavenly. “If you have a stable job in Uganda and can live within your means, then it is better to stay home because the UK makes you work till your back breaks and yet the money is not enough,” said one Ugandan woman living in London.

It is more expensive during winter when heating bills increase, and one has to take a bus or train.

Warm clothing is expensive, which eats into one’s savings. Demands from relatives and family back home also compound the problems for kyeyo people in London. Kyeyo is a Ugandan slang referring to odd jobs. Relatives in Uganda often have high expectations of family members living in the UK. “I used to call home at least twice a week but now I don’t because all you hear are complaints, whines and whimpers for cash,” said Patrick. “When I say I don’t have money they don’t believe me and instead accuse me of letting them down.”

However, some people argue that the Ugandans living in the UK are partly responsible for fanning the high expectations. “Every time they go home, they get loans, which they spend lavishly once they arrive in Uganda. They buy expensive gifts which in normal circumstances they would not afford, and then dress in flashy clothes, giving the impression that money is the least of their problems,” said Barbara, who is saving money for an air ticket to return to Uganda for good.

How many Ugandan lawyers, doctors, journalists, accountants, teachers or nurses are doing odd jobs in the UK? We might never know.

We might also never know how much they contribute to the British government coffers via the income and other taxes they pay.

The London kyeyos may be contributing significantly to the Ugandan Treasury, but their lives in the UK are nothing to envy them for. As one of them aptly put it, “It is a dog’s life.”

By Edward Mulindwa