When I told my friends I was moving to Iceland, none of them could think of a good reason for me to choose it over other Europe nations. The name Iceland sounded so far away and so cold. I was leaving my family for a place where I knew no one, and yet I was still excited. It did not take me months to make up my mind about moving to Iceland, not after undertaking some research.
As soon as I finished my research, I knew I had to be here. One thing was clear to me; this place could not be compared to other places. I would start my own family without worrying about my children’s welfare. I would get a job and have enough to send to my people back home, I would take midnight walks without worrying about getting raped or killed and, above all, I could trust all institutions since the country was corruption free, which was not the case in Uganda.
If I were to have an opinion, I would say that Ugandans today find it easier to accept corruption since they cannot fight it. The injustice is in their faces but the responsible parties are untouchable, maybe because they have a lot of money to quiet everyone or it is something one sees but has no solid proof. Boy was I glad to leave.
Just like I thought, Iceland was promising, I could now make plans knowing I had a job that I wasn’t going to lose because my employer’s relatives needed one, or worrying about getting paid.
I now had enough for me, and even my family back home.
For a while everything seemed to be going as planned. My husband and I even bought a little apartment in Reykjavik, we had the cars we needed and still covered every bill. Life was exciting, and we could not wait to see what the future had in store for us.
Today it feels like everything I run from has caught up with me. I have watched us, along with others, lose our money because of some so-called “rich people” and it seems like no one has been able to get them to pay for what they have done. Not only are the majority of the people in this nation, including me, paying our own debts that have risen beyond what we planned but we also have to pay for the debts caused by these selfish people.
People are so angry that the crime rate is increasing, meaning I cannot take the midnight walks I used to enjoy. As it turns out, my 10-month-old son might also have to pay these debts at an older age. Ever day I pray I don’t lose my job, but my husband already lost his.
I can’t help wondering where this nation is headed, hopefully not down the same road my country took, making it close to impossible to serve it.
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