For Africa’s queer refugees
of Africa and pretend that LGBT rights are intrinsic to them. It suits the narrative because the Western image of Africa is one of it being ‘backward’.”
For Chimbalanga, the years of being at the receiving end of various forms of violence — in her home country and the one she has sought refuge in — have become a burden she can no longer bear. “South Africa is a great country. It has great human rights. My life is better here. But I have been attacked so many times here I think it will better for me in another country. Maybe Canada. I’m tired of living here like this.”
Aware of the realities that face many like Chimbalanga, Söderstrand says: “There is a lot of xenophobia in South Africa. They have written rights, but in practice it’s reversed. It’s not something you want to go through.”
Although South Africa was not the country of choice for Söderstrand, a recent visit to the country resulted in something he and his Swedish wife, Jenny, had long wished for: a family.
“We had tried numerous times to get pregnant through IVF [in vitro fertilisation] here in Sweden, but were unsuccessful. While we were on holiday in Cape Town, we thought, ‘Well they have fertility clinics here, so let’s try it’. And boom,” he laughs, “It worked.”
The couple are now the proud parents of twin boys. “After we had the babies, my family has become more accepting. My mom is crazy about them. That’s a huge step for her.”
As to whether he believes he would have had the same quality of life he and his family now enjoy had he continued living in his country of birth, Söderstrand answers without hesitation: “Not even thinking about it twice, no.”
Smiling apologetically when he was interrupted mid-sentence by one of his twin sons — a newcomer to him, the former newcomer — Söderstrand adds: “In Namibia I was just about waiting for my time to die … I don’t think I would have been alive today.”