Africans adapt to Nordic chill
Rapper Al Agami came to Denmark as a political refugee
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Ellen Otzen visits Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, to see how the 45,000 Africans there have adapted to their chilly Nordic home.
In a small, white house standing in the shadow of Copenhagen's oldest churches people from Cameroon, Botswana, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Uganda meet each Wednesday night to sing in a gospel music choir.
Ugandan Joel Moses came to Denmark for love, 13 years ago.
"I was once married to a Danish woman. She couldn't stand living in Africa and so I moved to her home," he explains.
"I love to sing and so I come every Wednesday even if I am tired, physically - it builds me up and gears me up for a new day.
"To be honest, I really come to do something as an African in a white community because there's a lot of things I do that are gone, not recognised. But I think I am recognised by reaching out to my fellow Africans."
Love broke down for Joel as it did for another Ugandan, Peace Kabushenga.
Dramatic
She is a project manager dealing with HIV/Aids among the ethnic minorities in Denmark.
She arrived in Copenhagen almost 30 years ago in 1979, as a diplomat's wife. Her life then was comfortable.
But it ended abruptly when their relationship broke down and her husband returned to Uganda.
"It was a dramatic change," says Peace, who found herself as a single mother far from home.
"I had to declare myself a refugee to live in Denmark. I had to live in a refugee camp while my papers were being processed.
"Strangely, I knew no other Africans," she recalls.
"It was my Danish friends who helped me. Of course I would've survived - I am strong; but they made it so much easier for me and most importantly, for my son."
Historic links
Denmark never had colonies in Africa but ties between the sea-faring Danes and Africa's Gold Coast, now Ghana, stretch way back in history.
The Ghanaian seat of government, in the capital, Accra, is housed in the original Christiansborg Castle - a slave fort built by the Danes in the 17th century. Continued
Source: BBC - BBC News
Ellen Otzen visits Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark, to see how the 45,000 Africans there have adapted to their chilly Nordic home.
In a small, white house standing in the shadow of Copenhagen's oldest churches people from Cameroon, Botswana, Sierra Leone, Tanzania and Uganda meet each Wednesday night to sing in a gospel music choir.
Ugandan Joel Moses came to Denmark for love, 13 years ago.
"I was once married to a Danish woman. She couldn't stand living in Africa and so I moved to her home," he explains.
"I love to sing and so I come every Wednesday even if I am tired, physically - it builds me up and gears me up for a new day.
"To be honest, I really come to do something as an African in a white community because there's a lot of things I do that are gone, not recognised. But I think I am recognised by reaching out to my fellow Africans."
Love broke down for Joel as it did for another Ugandan, Peace Kabushenga.
Dramatic
She is a project manager dealing with HIV/Aids among the ethnic minorities in Denmark.
She arrived in Copenhagen almost 30 years ago in 1979, as a diplomat's wife. Her life then was comfortable.
But it ended abruptly when their relationship broke down and her husband returned to Uganda.
"It was a dramatic change," says Peace, who found herself as a single mother far from home.
"I had to declare myself a refugee to live in Denmark. I had to live in a refugee camp while my papers were being processed.
"Strangely, I knew no other Africans," she recalls.
"It was my Danish friends who helped me. Of course I would've survived - I am strong; but they made it so much easier for me and most importantly, for my son."
"You have to bear in mind that Denmark is a very small country and so many foreigners have come in. I don't think the Danes were prepared for all of us."
Ugandan Peace Kabushenga
Historic links
Denmark never had colonies in Africa but ties between the sea-faring Danes and Africa's Gold Coast, now Ghana, stretch way back in history.
The Ghanaian seat of government, in the capital, Accra, is housed in the original Christiansborg Castle - a slave fort built by the Danes in the 17th century. Continued
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