為你，心甘情愿

The restaurant that Joey and Ugo Okonkwo own was packed on a recent Saturday night， with meal-time 1）banter alternating between English， Cantonese Chinese， and Nigerian dialects among the mainly Nigerian 2）patrons and the occasional Chinese girlfriend. In this bustling southern port city， it’s not an uncommon sight. Nor is the sight of marriages like Joey and Ugo’s. In Guangzhou， just next door to Hong Kong， a growing number of African traders and immigrants are marrying Chinese women， and mixed families like Joey and Ugo are grappling with questions about race and nationality， in a country that is often proud to be monocultural and is known for sometimes harsh 3）xenophobia.

Joey， who is a native of Guangzhou， speaks English with a West African lilt， which she picked up from Ugo， who is from Anambra State in southeastern Nigeria. Joey， whose Chinese name is Li Jieyi， says people regularly look at her 2-year-old daughter Amanda and wonder about her origins. “Foreigners say she looks like me， Chinese say she looks like her father. I don’t know why，” Joey says as she bustles around the restaurant.

China is home to 56 ethnicities. 90 percent of the population belongs to the Han ethnic group， while just 0.04 percent are foreigners， such as Africans. Even in Guangzhou， a cosmopolitan city of 10 million once known as Canton， they stand out. Around 20，000 Africans—mostly Nigerians—live here， thought to be one of the largest groups of foreigners in the city. Local media reports that the true number could be closer to 100，000， counting visitors and those without valid visas. 4）émigré groups estimate there are now some 400 African-Chinese families in Guangzhou.

For Africans， settling in China can be particularly 5）fraught with problems. While Americans and Europeans gain some respect from their nations’ economic strength， prejudice results in mistaken assumptions toward African migrants， such as： “they still can’t run their own countries in Africa，” says M. Dujon Johnson， author of the book Race and Racism in China. “So Chinese people feel ‘we’re definitely better than them.’”

“As a result，” says Mr. Johnson， “when mixed marriages do happen， the Africans tend to be better educated or wealthier than the average Chinese person. Although there may be social 6）stigma， there’s still the upward mobility.”

Mixed families face unique challenges in China. Complex residency rules and tightening immigration laws have precipitated a spike in the number of Africans staying illegally， raising more questions about fake marriages. Foreign 7）spouses don’t qualify for residency unless they’ve lived in China for five years. Many Africans in Guangzhou have to renew their visas every few months， and live under the constant threat of separation from their families.

Ugo came to China 10 years ago because he was finding it impossible to run a business in Nigeria. He started exporting clothes to Nigeria， and finally made money handling manufacturing orders for Nigerian companies. He used some of his profits to start the restaurant with Joey， whom he married about four years ago. Ugo was planning to launch another business back home， but he wasn’t sure his family could cope with life there. Race was never a problem for his inlaws， he says. He speaks both Cantonese and Mandarin and respects his wife’s obligations to her parents. For other locals who didn’t know him， however， the assumption is that he can’t understand the language， and they sometimes hurl abuse at him.“You go to rent a house， and people say ‘You are a black monkey， there is no use in giving you a house，’” he says. He confronts people and while some are 8）brazen， some apologize. “Now it’s getting better，” he says， “because they’re getting used to us.”

Some Africans also worry that they’re being forced to compromise their parental rights. Some biracial children in China don’t qualify for a government-issued identification document unless they are registered under the Chinese mother’s family name. Children need that identification document to enroll in state schools， and have to pay tuition if they don’t have it.

Many Africans don’t realize this， or refuse， according to Ojukwu Emma， who heads a network of African community groups and who is also married to a Chinese woman. They end up having to pay school fees that range from 2000 to 5000 RMB a year. “The cost of education is very high， most of the children are not going to school，” Mr. Emma says. “The community has been trying to start an African-Chinese school， and even has a building， but it would take diplomatic intervention for it to be approved.”

There is a sense that interracial families are still a 9）taboo， says Elochukwu Chikwendu， head of a support group for mixed families and one of the first Nigerians in Guangzhou to marry a Chinese woman. Chinese relatives， even those with coveted Communist Party memberships， fear they will be thrown out if a relation marries an African， he says. But none of that stops people from falling in love.

“Love doesn’t have any boundaries， you do anything for someone that you love，”says Mr. Chikwendu.

喬伊和烏戈·奧孔庫(kù)沃經(jīng)營(yíng)的餐館在最近的一個(gè)周六晚上擠滿了顧客，在用餐期間，餐館內(nèi)占多數(shù)的尼日利亞老顧客及偶爾出現(xiàn)的中國(guó)女伴逗鬧著，夾雜著英語(yǔ)、粵語(yǔ)和尼日利亞方言。在這個(gè)繁華的南部港口城市，這并不是種罕見(jiàn)的景象。同樣，喬伊和烏戈這樣的婚姻組合也是見(jiàn)慣不怪了。在廣州這座緊鄰香港的城市，越來(lái)越多的非洲商人及非洲移民與中國(guó)女子結(jié)婚。在這個(gè)時(shí)常以自己的單一文化為傲而且有時(shí)頗為排外的國(guó)度，像喬伊和烏戈這樣的混合家庭正與種族、國(guó)籍這類問(wèn)題角力。

喬伊是一個(gè)廣州本地人，說(shuō)英語(yǔ)時(shí)帶著一種西非式的抑揚(yáng)頓挫，這是她從烏戈那兒學(xué)來(lái)的，烏戈則來(lái)自尼日利亞?wèn)|南部的阿南布拉州。喬伊的中文名字叫做李潔儀（音譯），她說(shuō)人們常?？粗齼蓺q大的女兒阿曼達(dá)，好奇她是哪國(guó)人?！巴鈬?guó)人說(shuō)她長(zhǎng)得像我，中國(guó)人說(shuō)她長(zhǎng)得像她爸爸。我不知道為什么，”喬伊邊說(shuō)邊在餐館里忙活。

中國(guó)有56個(gè)民族。90%的人口都是漢族，而只有0.04%是外國(guó)人，比如說(shuō)非洲人。即使是在廣州，一個(gè)曾以“Canton”之名聞名遐邇，并且擁有一千萬(wàn)人口的國(guó)際化大都市，喬伊和烏拉的結(jié)合還是很扎眼。大約有兩萬(wàn)名非洲人——多半是尼日利亞人——住在廣州，被認(rèn)為是這座城市里最大的異國(guó)群體之一。當(dāng)?shù)孛襟w報(bào)道，算上游客以及那些沒(méi)有有效簽證的非洲人的話，真實(shí)數(shù)字應(yīng)該將近十萬(wàn)人。移民團(tuán)體預(yù)估當(dāng)下在廣州大約有400個(gè)中非混合家庭。

對(duì)于非洲人來(lái)說(shuō)，在中國(guó)定居尤其困難重重。美國(guó)人及歐洲人因其國(guó)家的經(jīng)濟(jì)實(shí)力受到一定尊重，而對(duì)于非洲移民的偏見(jiàn)往往導(dǎo)致錯(cuò)誤的判定，比如：“他們?cè)诜侵奕匀徊荒苤髟鬃约旱膰?guó)家，”M·迪容·約翰遜說(shuō)道，他是《中國(guó)的種族和種族主義》一書(shū)的作者?！八灾袊?guó)人覺(jué)得‘我們肯定比他們好’?！?/p>

“這種心理導(dǎo)致的結(jié)果是，”約翰遜先生說(shuō)道，“當(dāng)出現(xiàn)跨國(guó)婚姻時(shí)，非洲人將能比普通中國(guó)人接受更好的教育，并且更富有。雖然可能還有社會(huì)污名，但他們?nèi)栽谙蛏吓逝馈！?/p>

混合家庭在中國(guó)面臨著獨(dú)特的挑戰(zhàn)。復(fù)雜的戶口規(guī)定以及越來(lái)越嚴(yán)苛的移民法律使得非法滯留的非洲人口激增，還引發(fā)了更多關(guān)于假結(jié)婚的問(wèn)題。外國(guó)配偶除非已在中國(guó)生活五年，否則將沒(méi)有資格獲得居住權(quán)。很多在廣州的非洲人每隔幾個(gè)月就得續(xù)簽簽證，并且不斷面臨與家人分離的威脅。

烏戈十年前來(lái)到中國(guó)，因?yàn)樗l(fā)現(xiàn)在尼日利亞做生意是不可能的。起初他向尼日利亞出口服裝，后來(lái)通過(guò)接尼日利亞公司的生產(chǎn)訂單而發(fā)家致富。四年前，他跟喬伊結(jié)了婚，用賺來(lái)的一部分錢一起開(kāi)了那家餐廳。烏戈正打算折回家鄉(xiāng)做點(diǎn)別的生意，但他并不確定他的家人能否適應(yīng)那里的生活。烏戈說(shuō)，對(duì)于他的岳父岳母來(lái)說(shuō)，種族從來(lái)都不是個(gè)問(wèn)題。他會(huì)說(shuō)粵語(yǔ)也會(huì)說(shuō)普通話，也很尊重妻子對(duì)其父母應(yīng)盡的孝道。但是，對(duì)于很多不了解他的當(dāng)?shù)厝藖?lái)說(shuō)，他們以為烏戈不懂中文，有時(shí)便會(huì)對(duì)他謾罵?！澳闳プ夥孔?，人們會(huì)說(shuō)‘你是個(gè)黑鬼，給你房子也沒(méi)用，’”他說(shuō)道。他會(huì)直面駁斥那些人，然而有些人厚顏無(wú)恥，有些人則會(huì)道歉?！艾F(xiàn)在好多了，”他說(shuō)，“因?yàn)樗麄儩u漸習(xí)慣我們了?！?/p>

一些非洲人也在擔(dān)心自己連做父母的一些權(quán)利也得讓渡。在中國(guó)，一部分混血兒童除非用其中國(guó)母親的姓氏注冊(cè)登記，否則將沒(méi)有資格獲得政府頒發(fā)的身份證明文件。孩子需要那身份證明文件才能入讀公立學(xué)校，如果沒(méi)有，就沒(méi)法享受免費(fèi)義務(wù)教育。

很多非洲人并未意識(shí)到這一點(diǎn)，或者說(shuō)他們拒絕接受那種規(guī)定，比如奧朱庫(kù)·艾瑪，一個(gè)非洲社區(qū)團(tuán)體聯(lián)盟的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者，他也娶了一位中國(guó)妻子。他們最終不得不每年支付給學(xué)校兩千到五千元人民幣不等的費(fèi)用。“教育的費(fèi)用很高，大部分孩子都不上學(xué)，”艾瑪先生說(shuō)道?！吧鐓^(qū)一直試圖開(kāi)設(shè)一所中非學(xué)校，甚至連教學(xué)樓都有了，但那將需要外交干涉才能獲批?！?/p>

人們總感覺(jué)跨種族家庭仍然是種禁忌，埃羅初庫(kù)·齊可溫杜說(shuō)道，他是一個(gè)混合家庭后援團(tuán)的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)者，也是廣州第一批娶了中國(guó)妻子的尼日利亞人之一。他說(shuō)，一些中國(guó)親戚，特別是那些有著共產(chǎn)黨黨員身份的親戚，還害怕因?yàn)橛H屬與非洲人聯(lián)姻而被開(kāi)除黨籍。但沒(méi)有什么能阻止人們墜入愛(ài)河。

“愛(ài)并無(wú)界限，為你所愛(ài)的人，你什么都會(huì)去做，”齊可溫杜先生說(shuō)道。