Mary’s Journey from Berekum to the UAE
Mary, a Ghanaian woman now based in the UAE, shared her emotional journey on SVTV Africa’s Daily Hustle Worldwide show.
Her migration story began when she tried to travel to Spain, but the connection man who arranged her visa scammed her with fake documents. She was bounced at the airport and decided not to return to Berekum, where she had been selling cosmetics near a car station. Life there was unsafe and stressful, especially because of rivalry with a woman she described as a “hairdresser who hated me badly.” According to Mary, this woman’s actions pushed her to leave Ghana. “If I hadn’t traveled, I would have broken down completely or even lost my life,” she said.
Mary also shared how heartbreak influenced her decision to travel. She had been in a long relationship with a man for 16 years who even performed the knocking ceremony, but he later cheated and threw her out. Ironically, the same day she was sacked, her Spain visa came through, though she never boarded the flight. Instead, she sought a new beginning elsewhere. “I decided never to return to Berekum again. My brother was in the UAE, and through him I found my way here,” she explained.
She first worked as a cleaner in a restaurant before later securing a job as a nanny for a European family, where she has worked for over three years. Despite the challenges, she is grateful for the stability abroad. Her two children remain in Ghana under her mother’s care.
Mary admitted she still feels bitterness toward the woman who, in her view, “snatched” her man and ruined her life. Yet when she later returned to Ghana, the same man asked for reconciliation—though he never married the other woman. “She just messed up my life, but I leave everything to God,” Mary said.
Reflecting on migration, Mary advised: “Those who complain they can’t find work here are usually those who don’t want to struggle. When I came, I started with bad jobs until I found a better one. Those who hustle their way here and those whose parents sponsor them are not the same.”
Her final words were a reminder: “Never think your boss needs you. The truth is, he doesn’t need you—you need the job.”
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