February 2016 Personality of the Month: Béatrice Okiga
Carrying on the Personality of the Month series, we have interviewed Béatrice Okiga, a 44-year-old nurse from Congo-Brazzaville.
H.A.: Thank you for the opportunity to have an interview with you. How are you today?
B. Okiga: I am fine.
H.A.: When did you arrive in the Czech Republic and what brought you here?
B. Okiga: I came to the Czech Republic in 1989 to study.
H.A.: How did you manage to adjust to your new environment without the Czech language in the beginning and what is one of your most unforgettable first impressions?
B. Okiga: There were too many new things at once: the language, the food, the winter, snow…
H.A.: What is your profession or occupation and are you working in your field of trade or studies or doing something different?
B. Okiga: I work as a nurse, which is what I studied.
H.A.: Do you feel at home here in the Czech Republic and do you still have links with family and friends in your country of origin?
B. Okiga: It is incredibly 26 years now since I have been living here. I have spent three quarters of my life in the Czech Republic but I am still in touch with my parents.
H.A.: In what way through your work are you contributing to the socio-cultural and economic development of the Czech Republic and if possible your country of origin?
B. Okiga: Well, I work in a public institution, so I don’t know what to say else.
H.A.: How do you see yourself - an African, Afro-Czech or a Czech?
B. Okiga: I feel more like an Afro-Czech.
H.A. : Thank you once more.
Interviewed by. Humanitas Afrika
