African people in China are facing eviction from hotels and apartments after being suspected of having the coronavirus. According to Face2Face Africa, African residents have denied the accusations, saying officials in China, where the virus was first detected, are enforcing evictions without seeing test results. 

"They came to my house. They told me to wait after 24 hours for the result, [but] after 24 hours nobody contacted me," Lunde Okulunge Isidore, a businessman from the Democratic Republic of Congo, told the BBC.


Joel Asante Baafi, an African resident in Beijing, said his family was forced to leave without being given enough time to prepare.

“I’m here with my wife and daughter and this happened to us. We’ve been hearing about it from other provinces and this is the first time it’s happening in Beijing because it wasn’t happening here," Baafi told CITI Newsroom. "They asked us to move out and everyone got to know what was happening. We never thought it will happen here because here is the Capital of China. We were living on the same floor and they packed everything and sent us down without even allowing us to prepare ourselves.”

Hundreds of African residents in the city of Guangzhou were also forced to leave their homes. 

“They are accusing us of having the virus," said Tobenna Victor, a Nigerian student in Guangzhou.

According to BBC, Guangzhou is home to one of the largest African populations in China, with many of them coming as traders to buy and sell goods. The city has been requiring people to quarantine for 14 days after they come from abroad, Face2Face Africa reported.

Many Africans who are now being accused of bringing the virus into the country are searching for a place to stay, according to the Sahara Reporters.

One victim expressed his concerns in a video posted to Twitter. The man, walking on the street with dozens of other Africans who were carrying their belongings, said "they cannot give us house. They cannot give us hotel."

"They cannot provide a place we can stay," he said. "After we spent 15 days in the hotel, after quarantine, they cannot allow us to stay in one place." 

Residents also said the government isn't allowing Black people to access public places such as malls and restaurants, The Citizen reported.  

"Whenever we get to the shops, the shop attendants do not allow us in. We cannot buy anything and have resorted to buying online," a Ghanaian woman in China told TV3GH.

Another woman said she wasn't allowed to enter the subway.

"They stopped me and they told me that no foreigner is allowed," the woman told KenyaCitizen TV. 

The Tanzanian ambassador to China, Mbelwa Kairuki, said he has heard the residents' concerns from the social media posts.

"We have seen those photos and videos," Kairuki told The Citizen. "We are following the matter with local Chinese authorities." 

Ambassadors from African countries held an emergency meeting with China's foreign affairs minister on Thursday to discuss the evictions, The Citizen reported. 

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