Peter

Peter / Yaw

I was born in 1966 with the name Yaw. I grew up in Kumasi, Ghana for eighteen years and we spoke the Asante language. In the beginning, I grew up with my grandad in a village but then later, I went to Accra, the city, to live with my parents and go to school. There were six children in my family, and I was the rebellious one. I was not happy to go to school because I could not read or write. Many people are Christian in Ghana and I believe in Christ and Peter is my Christian name. The church will let you know what is good and what is bad, to love yourself and your neighbours. They let you know many things and that’s why my mum and dad took me to church.

I went to Nigeria in 1985 to try and earn a living. It was hard for my family to survive in Ghana, and I am their first son, so I had responsibility. My first job in Lagos was shining people’s shoes and although I cannot read or write, I could speak broken English. I worked as a shoe-shiner, in Lagos for four years. In 1988 Ghanaian people were asked to leave Nigeria and it was dangerous there for us. Some Ghanaian people did bad things like armed robbery, killing people and they wanted us out. The day they announced it many people tried to leave, and they died. There was a ship to take people back and people were scrambling to get out. I knew a landlord who hid me whilst there was a threat, until the situation calmed down. Once things were better, they gave me money and dropped me at the border.

Back in Ghana I became a labourer and played football as that was my passion. I had a family but still the life was so hard. One of my grandads grew up in Britain and two of my siblings Patrick and Anna went to stay with him. After five years my brother then sent me the money to join him. It was twenty years ago in 2000, and I just came to visit. But when I got here, I thought I cannot go back, it’s a lovely country and things are cheap. Here too, I had the same struggle, but I decided to stay here and make my life. I vowed to never go back unless I succeed in life. I had to prove my political asylum here and in the end, I overstayed by three years and was arrested twice for being illegal. I spent a lot of time homeless and sleeping on buses. I was working in Euston Station as a cleaner and one morning on my way in and I saw the police with the dogs. The dogs jumped up on me and the officers took my DOB and said I had overstayed here by three years. At the interview I told them that people in Ghana wanted to harm me. I told them that since I was a child the people who practice juju in the village where I was from put juju on me. They wanted me to join them, but I was Christian. This means they used blades to cut my body and I still have all the scars, so I showed all the marks to them. But they gave me two options but both looked like I was going back to Ghana, so I ran from the system and the police.

After being here for a couple of years, I met my wife Jane who luckily was also Christian. At this time, I lived in Tottenham and her family would take me to church with them. We had our first boy William together. Jane worked in security but left to look after the children and I worked. We have three lovely children together. After my first child, I was arrested again but because I had a very good record and was with my then girlfriend Jane, they said we could get married, and I could stay. Then they took me to Dover and deported me back to Ghana in 2006. Jane came to Ghana with my little boy William, and we got married so I was able to return to London with them as a family. We stayed with my family for a while in Kumasi, a city in Ghana. We then came back to London, and I love it here. This country made me someone and now I have my British passport and I am proud. Africa is hard and many of my friends have passed away because if you come from a poor family, how do you succeed? If it wasn’t for my grandad, I would be dead by now. Now Ghana is not so poor, but the majority are poor, and the minority have the wealth. I miss the sunshine of Africa and my friends and family.

I still can’t read or write, and I think it’s too late for me as I need to work to support my children and send money back home. But the main thing is I am here, and I am not running any longer. If I could read and write, I would do a good job and maybe join the police or NHS but for now I cannot. I can’t get a driving licence because I can’t read or write, and I have children to care for so it’s difficult to go to college to learn. However, when I go back to Africa, people respect me a lot because they saw me grow up and I have returned from London . I am happy about being in this country because I am working and can send money back home and look after my family here.

I always visit other people from Africa on Ridley Road and see many friends there. There is freedom and I feel a sense of Africa. It’s a peaceful space that I have been visiting for over ten years and sometimes I take my speaker and play music. It feels like home.