Nilifikiri wanaume wa Norwei ni wanaume bora duniani, lakini hii si kweli! Kabla sijaonana na mwanaume ambaye alikuja kuwa mume wangu, nilikuwa ninafanya kazi kiwandani Bangkok na yeye aliishi Pattaya. Tulikutana mtandaoni na hatimaye tukawa wapenzi.
I thought Norwegian men were the best men in the world, but that is not true! Before I met the man who became my husband, I worked in a factory in Bangkok, and he lived in Pattaya. We met through the Internet and eventually became a couple.
Baada ya muda tukaamua kuoana. Ninatoka katika familia maskini, kwa hiyo kuwa na mume kutoka nchi nyingine ambaye atahudumia familia yangu ilikuwa ni miongoni mwa sababu za kuolewa nae.
After a while we decided to get married. I came from a poor family, so having a foreign husband who could take care of my family was part of my reason for marrying him.
Tulihamia Norwei na nilianza kwenda shule kujifunza Kinorwei. Ulikuwa ni wakati mgumu sana. Sikuwa na leseni ya udereva na mume wangu akawa ananipeleka shuleni, ananisubiri na ananirudisha nyumbani. Ilikuwa ni umbali wa saa moja. Baada ya muda, tulihamia karibu lakini alisisitiza kuendelea kunipeleka shuleni. Hakutaka nitembee peke yangu.
We moved to Norway, and I started going to school to learn Norwegian. It was a difficult time. I did not have a driver’s licence, and my husband had to drive me to school, wait for me, and drive back. It was an hour each way. After a while we moved closer, but he still insisted on driving me to school. He did not want me to walk alone.
Sikuwahi kuwa na pesa tangu nihamie Norwei. Mara moja, mume wangu alinipa pesa kwa ajili ya chakula cha mchana lakini kwa sababu ni pesa kidogo, niliweka kando. Rafiki zangu shuleni walitaka kunisaidia nipate kazi lakini mume wangu alisema haiwezekani. Hafikirii kama kufanya kazi ya usafi ni kazi inayokubalika kwangu.
I have hardly had any money since I came to Norway. Once, my husband gave me money for lunch, but since I had so little money, I kept it. My friends at school want to help me to get a job, but my husband says I cannot. He does not think working as a cleaner is appropriate for me.
Badala yake, alinitafutia kazi nyingine, kujenga gereji. Alikuwa bosi na nilifanya kila kitu. Alikuwa hawezi kufanya makubwa kwa sababu alikuwa mgonjwa. Hakuwahi kunipa pesa aliyoipata kutokana na kazi ya kujenga gereji.
Instead he had another job for me – building a garage. He was the boss and I did everything. He could not do much because he was ill. He did not give me any of the money he made from building the garage.
Siku moja alisema kuwa anahisi upweke akiwa peke yake nyumbani. Kwa hiyo, tuliamua kuwa na mbwa. Sikutaka mbwa kwa sababu nilikuwa nimechoka baada ya kutoka shule na nilikuwa na kazi nilizopewa nizifanye nyumbani. Alisema ataweza kumtembeza mbwa kila siku lakini mwishowe nililazimika kuwahudumia wote, mbwa na mume wangu mzee.
One day he said he was bored when he was home alone, so he decided we should get a dog. I did not want a dog as I was tired after school and I had homework to do. He said he would walk the dog every day, but in the end I had to take care of both the dog and my old husband.
Sielewi hata itakuwaje, mpango wangu ni kwenda shule nyingine lakini mume wangu hapendi nifanye hivyo. Ana mpango wa kuniongezea ugumu. Ninataka kupinga lakini sijui nafanyaje, si rahisi kuishi katika nchi ya ugenini na mume mzee kama nilivyofikiri.
I do not know what the future will bring. My plan is to go to another school, but my husband does not want me to do that. He is planning to move further away to make it difficult for me. I want to resist, but I do not know how. It is not as easy to live in a foreign country with an old man as a husband as I thought it would be.
