In Italy, Ugandan students are out of supplies and cash and are appealing for help from their government. In all, there are 32 students at various universities in Italy.
They have reached out to Uganda’s embassy in Italy and the Office of the Prime Minister in Kampala seeking for at least 400 euros (Shs 1.6m) each, about (Shs 52.7 million in total) but have not gotten feedback yet.
Italy has been ravaged by Covid-19, registering an average of least 600 deaths daily in the last two or three weeks. The Italian government, like so many other governments across the globe, imposed a lockdown with only essential services such as pharmacies, supermarkets left to operate. Ugandan students used to do side jobs to supplement their upkeep but those were shut down too.
Students’ coordinator, Jovan Kalyango from the University of Bologna (who is studying statistical sciences), says all they have got from government is threats and insults. He had in fact declined to grant an interview, saying he needed to protect his life and that of the author from harm.
“I am tired of interviews because every time we do interviews, we get threats instead of feedback. But let me do this just one more time so as to go on record yet again but I don’t really expect any help.” he told The Observer from Bologna.
According to communication seen by The Observer, students reached out to the embassy on March 23, 2020. Initially, according to students, the embassy asked them for their details. It is coming to nearly a month, and students say it has been a tormenting eight weeks especially for those who are not on full scholarship. Due to the lockdown, students can no longer babysit or work in bars and restaurants for extra cash.
“Yes, true some of us came here privately, but we didn’t turn into other citizens. It is disheartening that to our government we don’t seem to exist and have been left all on our own. The Italian government is overwhelmed and is taking care of its own citizens,” Kalyango said.
Stephen Kabila, who is at the Catholic University of Milan, says they have run out of upkeep money and some students are relying on others for survival. Kabila is the only Ugandan residing at his student residence. He is living with one Nigerian and four other students from Europe.
The rest, over 100 students were evacuated by their respective governments.
“Personally I don’t want evacuation from Italy. Schooling is still going on online, so we prefer to stay and complete our studies. The financial assistance we’re asking for is to help us financially within the coming two or three months because they are going to be the hardest. It is money for upkeep. Money for data,” Kabila says.
Indeed, Kalyango told The Observer that as coordinator, he has been forced to buy data for at least three destitute students so they can continue with their education online. When he pointed it out to the embassy, he said, the officials said no student can fail to afford data in a country like Italy.
The Observer tried to reach out to the embassy but understandably, their office lines went unanswered for days since they hardly access office due to the lockdown. But even the emergency line went unanswered.
Reached for a comment, Julius Mucunguzi, the communications expert and adviser to the Prime Minister of Uganda, said he wasn’t aware of the students’ request.
“I am not aware of that. Can you share the letter they wrote? It could help in follow- up,” he wrote back in a WhatsApp message.
Raymond Moretti, a student at Politecnico di Torino in Turin, says he is hardly surprised by the silence from the embassy. He said it was shocking that the embassy did not even have a database of Ugandan students studying in Italy.
He says the embassy has been operating in a laissez-faire mode for quite some time. He recalls in 2014, when his university invited the then ambassador Grace Akello (now Uganda’s ambassador to India) and signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for academic exchanges with Ugandan universities, the embassy never followed up and on inquiry later in 2019, the new administration under Ambassador Elizabeth Paula Napeyok had no idea about the previous MOU and no known exchanges have ever taken place.
“The embassy here is not really doing their job. It is surprising that they don’t even have substantial information on the education system and operations here. They were getting most of the information from us, students. They are supposed to know more than us students but it was the way round.” Moretti said.
Asked why Ugandan students in Italy think they deserve government assistance yet even back home, not all Ugandans have received relief in form of food, Moretti says students will eventually return to the country and payback by applying their new learned skills.
He adds that some students were set to complete their studies in March and their budgets were tied to that timeline. Now studies have been extended and students are living in financial uncertainty.
MENTAL HEALTH BREAKDOWN
Moretti says the most ignored aspect of this pandemic and the lockdown is the toll the mental health breakdown is taking on people who have been quarantined in their homes.
“Personally, I am not used to staying indoors. At the polytechnic, we study a lot and we definitely need time to relax. I used to relax by officiating rugby matches where I also used to earn some money. Now all sports activities are closed.”
While his university offered counseling to its students, Moretti said it was only one session yet for counseling to work, it needs more than a session. When he sought online counseling, sessions were going for between $200 and $300, which he couldn’t afford.
Whereas Moretti, the only Ugandan at his university, lives with other African students, from Francophone countries in West Africa and in addition to the language barrier; they don't understand each other's culture.
ENTER NRM AGENTS
The students have reportedly been accused of being used by the opposition to taint the image of government. The NRM ‘spy network’ is reportedly alive in Italy as well and has gone on to intimidate students against giving other interviews to Ugandan media.
A one Aggrey who doesn’t work at the embassy has reportedly been calling various students cautioning them against giving media interviews.
Aggrey did not answer our repeated calls but students say he told them they are all known and their Ugandan families and if they want to stay safe, they should desist from further interviews.
Meanwhile, three Ugandan students in Italy have tested positive for coronavirus. The students, according to their coordinator, presented mild symptoms and are recovering using natural remedies of honey, lemon and warm water. The first one reportedly contracted the virus on March 26, the other on April 3 and the third on April 6 in Piacenza, Milan and Pavia.
Whereas the hospitals can diagnose, they are overwhelmed and don’t admit patients with mild symptoms or foreigners. More so, students only get a one-year renewable student visa. For some students, their visas have expired and the corresponding offices have closed.
“Please be patient with me. For those who don’t know me. I live in Piacenza and have been living in Italy for one year now but while I was sick, keeping in mind I have documents of this country, I went to hospital and the door was slammed in my face. As we remember correctly, one of the first hit cities in this country was Piacenza. I was told I couldn’t be helped on grounds of them not having enough space for me. Again, I thank you all.” wrote one of the Covid-19 positive students on their WhatsApp forum.