Na EKO na EBA, goes and comes from immigration: daily, identity and demands of African immigrants’ university students

Abstract

Introduction: By embracing cultural diversity, human rights, and social justice – in its practice and knowledge production –, occupational therapy has been interested in discussing the theme of Africa, problematizing different contemporary social dynamics. Objective: To understand the trajectory, the construction of identity, and the demands of young African immigrant university students. Method: Qualitative approach using semi-structured interviews for data collection and thematic content analysis. Results: The first category, “Culture, identity, and daily life: crossing the Black Atlantic”, encompasses the perception of young people about otherness and cultural differences/identifications between Brazil and Africa in their daily lives. The second, “'A country of hunters?': prejudice, discrimination and colonial imaginary” dealt with reports of discrimination in everyday life and the imaginary about Africa in Brazil; The last category, “'The house belongs to the other': institutional support/helplessness and coping strategies”, discusses the conditions of reception and permanence of the African immigrant student at the university. Conclusion: The trajectory of African students goes through institutional care, and social and relational needs, which overlap in daily life, culture, and academic performance, emphasizing the experience of racial discrimination inside and outside the university that guides otherness in the construction of subjectivity of young people. The appreciation of African themes demonstrates a tendency of the profession to seek new epistems and decolonial theoretical-methodological constructions that produce other looks for human action in the tension of culture and power relations established by the modern world system.