We can come into a community and leave again, basically, whenever we want.
There are several very important implications in this; both the ability to provide assistance and also the ability to cause harm in these communities, the undeniably transitory nature of much of our work and the generally more lasting nature of the community. All of which will make excellent blog posts in the future.
But the first implication I want to examine is the very ability to go places- mobility, in a global sense.
I never once considered the possibility that the Senegalese embassy would deny me a visa to visit the country. This is not true of those individuals who live in these communities. There are any number of barriers to their ability to travel. First, they might not have birth certificates, which would prevent them from getting a passport. They might not be able to afford the cost of airfare, or the cost of lodging in the location they want to travel to.
However, given that an individual has a passport and can afford the plane ticket and accommodation. They still have to request a visa. The U.S. Embassy in Dakar states on their website.
Only a U.S. consular officer may issue a U.S. visa. Most visa applicants must have an interview with a U.S. consular officer before he or she can determine visa eligibility.They further state:
During your interview with a consular officer, you must demonstrate that you will return to Senegal at the end of your trip and that you will not engage in prohibited activities during your trip. You should be prepared to discuss your reasons for travel, previous international trips, and your social, economic, professional, and financial ties to Senegal. Submitting all required documents does not automatically make you eligible for a tourist and business visa.
Consular officers can consider visa eligibility only during the visa interview. Therefore, you should bring to the interview any additional information which may help to establish your eligibility, such as medical statements, employment letters, financial information, business documents and previous passports. Any documents sent directly to the Embassy will be destroyed.Lets take a look at one way we could interpret the policy above. You can only visit the States if: you are definitely not coming to stay, your life in Senegal is so good we don't see a reason you would stay, we like you, you don't seem shady, you're good at filling out paperwork, but don't send us too much paper work, you've traveled before, you have a good reason to travel to the states (in our opinion).
Further: there are dangerous people in the world, who want to visit the states (Terrorists!) they are definitely shady characters, who won't have the proper paper work, we also don't like illegal immigrants, which all you foreign visitors must be (after all who wouldn't want to stay forever once they've arrived). So stay away! We only want Europeans who definitely won't overstay their visas to come and take pictures of New York.
I know that policies such as the one above generally come about out of several very serious concerns- national security needs, immigration realities, the need to screen at least some applicants out of the pool of visitors.
(but still.)
When I filled out my visa application for Senegal I sent them 4 things: a letter of invitation, my travel itinerary, my passport with 2 spare photos, and the visa application form.Now you may be asking yourself. Why is she talking about the visa process for a Senegalese National? This weekend I had a discussion with a Senegalese lawyer. He had been invited to visit New York by an organization interested in engaging him in a mission around Human Rights in Senegal/West Africa. His visa request was denied. Twice. This is a person, with an invitation from an organization in the States, strong ties (business, family, life!) in Senegal, and legitimate business in the States.
Now, its entirely possible that his visa was denied for perfectly good reasons, which he just choose not to share - even so lets acknowledge:
an example of the startling (and yes angering) difference between my version of a global mobility (I can travel anywhere in the world I want to visit) and his version of global mobility (He can only travel to places that want him to visit).
[this is probably an overstatement but it is illustrative of my point]
So whats the point of this ramble on the already well known unfairness of the US Visa policy?
Just reaffirming this food for thought:
Any person, regardless of any other factor, who holds citizenship from the US (and other economically developed countries) automatically holds an incredible privilege - global mobility.
Any time we visit anywhere remember the best piece of advice given to a group of international social workers (and something that will appear at the bottom of many future blog posts):
the people who you are working with are part of your journey, they have to live with the consequences of your good intention.... take off your shoes- you are standing on HOLY GROUND!(shamelessly stolen quote from a favorite prof and memories of one of the best classes I've ever taken)
