4 | THE VOICE DECEMBER 2022
Remittances
Making Christmas for family back home The amount of money sent abroad to relatives is set to rise by £4 billion, with families in Britain leading the way. By Leah Mahon
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S THOUSANDS of families settle down for the Christmas season in Britain, there are many others that will be making sure their families across the world also have a festive season to remember. For people whose heritage lies in Africa and the Caribbean, the practice of sending money ‘back home’ — or remittances — has long been ingrained in our culture and throughout generations. The amount of money sent by people to low and middle-income countries has grown by 4.2 per cent to £515 billion in 2022, following an almost record recovery of 8.6 per cent in 2021, according to the World Bank. World Remit, a global money transfer service, reported that global users have sent nearly £270 million to Nigeria, £170 million to Kenya, £145 million to Ghana, £100 million to Uganda and £75 million to Cameroon in the period to June 2022. SEASON OF GOODWILL: Many families in the UK make sure that family overseas also have a festive season to remember (photo: Getty Images)
The remittances market is predicted to increase by £4.1 billion by 2026 with the UK being dubbed a “major send country” after a 30 per cent growth spurt in 2021. Kenya Abaneme, 37, below, who has lived in Britain since 2011, tells The Voice that sending money to Nigeria has always been a “duty”. “I still have family back home in Nigeria, my parents are there. I have an 11-year-old son that is in boarding school. So, I have to send money to support his studies and also help out my parents, because they are retired now. Just a dutiful daughter, just to send some appreciation,” she explains. Six years ago, the now mumof-two says she was a student and already had been sending money home intermittently, but once she secured a full-time job in the energy industry, giving back to her Nigerian family became a “monthly commitment” as the biggest earner out of three
GLOBAL HELP: More than £500 billion has so far been sent to low and middle-income countries in 2022 (photo: Getty Images) siblings. Ishmael Lea South, 49, told The Voice that sending money home to Jamaica has always been a part of family life. He says: “I saw my parents doing it. My parents used to do it by post to their cousins, siblings and my mother. My father’s mother died when he was young [so needed financial
support]. When we first went to Jamaica on holiday, we would come in contact with some of our cousins [that was when I started sending money back]. And we’ve got one brother, the eldest brother who’s never been to the UK.” Over in Britain, the cost of living crisis has also gripped the purse strings of many households as energy, food and fuel costs spike. However, the sense of responsibility, Kenya admits, is a part of her personality and “doesn’t really think about it” despite expecting to send more money over during the Christmas period especially. “It does take a strain on my budgeting and savings, but I don’t really consider it too much of a burden,” she says. “I tend not to think of it as too much of a hassle, because if I do it will weigh down on me too much.” Ishamel also says that the sense of duty to provide for others less fortunate back home continues despite the rising costs to live, and especially as
millions in Africa and the Caribbean prepare to celebrate Christmas. He adds that it’s important to “send something as a family” and his reasons for doing so are simple. “Charity begins at home with your immediate family. Whether it’s your cousin or siblings. “Yes, we have it tough here in the UK. But our immediate fam-
It does take a strain on savings, but it’s not too much of a burden ily also has it tough in the Caribbean as well,” he says. Kenya admits that the “currency value” of converting the British pound in Nigeria goes a long way. The acknowledgement of this is also entangled with a complicated relationship with the Empire. Persistent economic depriva-
tion in these countries has its roots in colonialism, and that some of these countries have only existed independently for less than 100 years. For both Kenya and Ishamel, they say they have sent thousands of pounds back home over the years, and are not weighed down with the notion of adding to stereotypes about the “third-world countries” when their families deserve to “treat themselves” to a good Christmas this year like millions across Britain. “It’s a duty [to send money home]. Many of us in the UK, we do say there’s a lot of racism and discrimination, but still there’s much more benefits here than many other countires. Every time we go to Africa and the Caribbean, people are always saying they want to come to England,” Ishmael says. “Many of us here, especially from the black community, take for granted that we’re living in a first-world nation and we should use that benefit to benefit our siblings and our families in Africa and the Caribbean this Christmas.”
