NEWS: African music stars face difficulties obtaining visas to Europe.

Kenyan DJ's post about being denied transit through Amsterdam has brought to light the alleged racist policies of airlines.

Coco Em, a Kenyan performer and DJ, had been anticipating the Terra Sagrada festival in Cape Verde for nearly a year. Some of her favorite African artists, such as Boddhi Satva, would be performing.

Dj Coco Em

However, Nzioka did not attend the festival last month and did not leave the country. She was told at the check-in counter in Kenya that she could not board her flight unless she purchased a return ticket with the same airline (she already had one with another airline) to "prove" she would return home. Nzioka was on her way to Cape Verde but had to stop in Amsterdam. 

"The airline staff say many people have gone to "cause problems" in Europe; they have torn their documents, refused to leave, and have had to be deported," Nzioka tweeted, adding that airline officials had openly expressed reservations about her "relationship" with her transit country.

Alright, @EGYPTAIR + Nairobi based airline staff at Egypt Air JKIA, I need a response to my formal complaint.

Hard to swallow but my set tonight at @festival_terrasagrada
a show we have been planning for over 9 months, is officially cancelled🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/Y3APv3K4to

— Coco Em (@coco_em) November 25, 2022

Her post went viral, sparking a flood of similar stories claiming that Africans are frequently subjected to unfair travel restrictions and "ritual humiliations" when traveling abroad.

Earlier this year, Nigerian Afropop star Yemi Alade's application for a Schengen visa was reportedly denied. The artist, who has performed on several world tours, was also denied a Canadian visa for the International Africa Nights festival. The co-founder of the festival, Suzanne Rousseau, told CTV news in Canada she understood that the refusal was due to "financial reasons" and fears that the artist would "not want to leave Canada".

Yemi Alade

Africans find it difficult to travel to and through Europe. The continent's top three countries with the highest Schengen visa rejection rates are Guinea-Bissau (53%), Senegal (52%), and Nigeria (51%). Most African countries rank in the bottom half of the world in terms of passport availability, and with few exceptions, citizens of African countries must obtain visas for more than 100 countries.

A slew of documents, including bank statements, return flights, addresses while abroad, and travel insurance policies, are required to obtain a Schengen visa. "The threshold rises and falls so dramatically," says Nanjala Nyabola, author of Traveling While Black.

Stories of Africans being subjected to travel humiliations or being required to meet ambiguous requirements abound, and travelers like Nzioka understand that their ability to travel is contingent on more than just their documents. The artist, who travels frequently for tours and performances, had previously encountered similar obstacles to those she encountered last month. In 2019, her passport was seized while traveling to Tunisia via Italy for another festival. She claims she was questioned for three hours about her visa and why she did not take the direct route by five different people.

She believes that as a dark-skinned woman with long braids, the officials stereotyped her. "We know what kind of things girls like you go to do there," she remembers them saying as they recounted cases of women eloping with foreign men or illegally settling in Europe.

"There is a perception that certain travelers of different racial backgrounds are inherently more risky because of who they are," Nyabola says.

African nationals seeking to visit the UK for professional or business purposes face a refusal rate that is more than twice that of other nationalities. Nzioka has missed shows in the United Kingdom due to stringent visa requirements, which include proof of home-country property ownership.

“It’s not enough to say I live here. I’m married here. I have kids here,” says Nzioka. “They’re like: ‘Do you have assets back at home’?”

According to Nzioka, such requirements can limit the visibility of African artists. "You can count the number of African female DJs touring in Europe on one hand."