By George Ngwane
In June 2005, the UN Political affairs unit invited me to a conflict prevention workshop at the UN headquarters in New York. The conference, which took place from 16-22 July 2005, was jointly organized by the United Nations Conflict Prevention working Group (U.SA) and the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict (Netherlands). The theme of the conference was “From Reaction to Prevention: Civil society forging partnerships to prevent violent conflict and Build Peace”.
On July 12 2005, I was called for a visa interview at the U S embassy in Yaoundé. After an "interview" which lasted no more than three minutes and during which no documentation was requested from me, I was denied a visa by the US consul officer. In an explanatory letter sent to the organizers of the conference in New York, the Vice-Consul, Trina D. Saha stated that:
"His application was refused under section 214(b) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, which contains the statutory presumption that non-immigrant visa applicants are in fact intending immigrants. Our general criteria for issuance is that the applicant show compelling ties to his or her country of residence, such that would cause them to return after a temporary stay in the United States. At the time of his interview, he was not able to convince the Consular Officer that his ties to Cameroon were strong enough to ensure that his projected stay in the United States would be temporary."
I was indeed outraged at the Vice Consul's insinuation that I could not provide documents proving that I will return to Cameroon, because I had indeed brought along all the documents that were required to show my "compelling ties" to my own country. In fact, I carried along all my professional, academic and family files. But I was not asked to present any document at all.
It is indeed a tragedy for scholarship when even the authority of organizations such as the United Nations no longer guarantee participation at international conferences. These days, every visa request is looked upon as an asylum alibi. I have traveled to quite a number of countries on workshop matters and I have had no problems but the US
Embassies (now imitated by its cousin-in-diplomacy, Britain) treats visa seekers with such impunity and levity that I wonder where this global village is taking us to. I see children given visas for holidays while one has to bend over to get a visa for a UN WORKSHOP. A shame!
To cut the long story short, in the end, I was unable to attend the conference in spite of the valiant efforts of the conference organizers. Weeks after the dust settled on this saga, I wrote a personal letter to the Consular Officer at the US embassy explaining my side of the visa story. I have finally decided to make the letter public in an attempt to shine the light on the treatment that Africans from all walks of life get at Western embassies in Africa.
Click here to read my letter to the US Consular Officer in Yaounde
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