Yesterday I had to go to the US Embassy here in Belize in the capital of Belmopan to pick up new passports for the children. They’ve run out of pages in there! We all went up together a couple weeks ago to fill out the applications and show nine hundred forms of identification, share family and dog lineage going back 1000 years and promise to be good US citizens. For that, we had to make an appointment. After the passport arrives, they usually only allow people to pick them up three afternoons a week. I convinced them to let me come in the morning because I had to get back to the town closest to me to go to immigration with the new passports. Stay with me. I know I’m explaining how the clock works, but I promise there’s a point here.
When I got to the embassy, there was a long line of Belizeans outside with files and folders, most of them dressed smartly, and I very quickly realized why they ask US citizens to do passport pickup in the afternoons. And it’s not because they’re too busy. There are totally different people working in these different areas. I walked straight up to the counter to pick up my passport. It took about five minutes. They’re trying to keep us apart. I haven’t quite figured out exactly why that is the case. They don’t want US citizens to see the process, perhaps?
It has always astounded me how little people know of the immigration process in their own country. Honestly it wouldn’t be weird, except so many people seem to have such strong opinions about it. It bugs me when people have strong opinions about something they know almost nothing about.
So if you want to go to Belize, you buy your plane ticket and show up. They stamp your passport when you come in and ask you where you’re going and when you’re leaving. That’s the extent of it. You do have to get a visa if you’re from certain countries, but there aren’t that many. If you are Belizean, and you’d like to go visit the US, you have to go to the embassy and undergo an incredibly thorough interview with all the accompanying paperwork and identification.
As I walked up, I could tell people were nervous. There were at least 15 people waiting. They were triple checking paperwork and shifting around uneasily. I could feel the stares as I went straight to a different window and was gone in just a few minutes. As I was walking by the interview window, I could hear a woman being asked about her son and where he went to school and what he was studying. Seriously? How in all of God’s green goodness is that relevant? And why do Belizeans need to be so thoroughly vetted? Belizeans are some of the most non threatening people I’ve ever known. One of the reasons I live here is because people are so incredibly laid back and easy going. I understand there’s a concern about them going up and not coming back, but, first of all, I think that’s dumb. Second of all I don’t see any way anyone could predict who would do this. People who have their shit together would be more likely in my mind to try to stay since they would have a better shot at actually making it and not having to live on the streets.
My good friend Emmeth, who I posted about a few months ago, is the founder of an organization called Drums Not Guns. He works with youth teaching them to drum and build drums as a way to keep them out of trouble, give them a creative outlet, and potentially give them a way to make money. It’s a truly beautiful thing he’s done, and it was started because three young people from his tiny village of 250 came home in caskets in the space of a month. A year or two ago he was invited to play at Jazz Fest in New Orleans, which many of you know is an incredibly huge music festival. Unfortunately his visa was not approved, so he could not go. Now this is a man who would throw himself off a building before he’d emmigrate to the US, legally or otherwise. His home is very clearly here. This Visa application is a long process, typically taking months, and you don’t get the fee back when you’re not approved.
Looks really dangerous, right?
It’s just disgusting to me. There are are 38 countries that you don’t have to have a visa to go to the US from. You do still have to have a Travel Authorization, but that doesn’t take as long. Guess where almost all those countries are located? I’ll give you three guesses and the first two don’t count. Here’s a hint: lots of white people.
That’s right. Europe. Things that make you go hmmmm.
Here’s the thing. I think borders are absolutely ridiculous. If I live in a community, and someone wants to come visit, that’s fantastic. If they cause trouble, we get together to tell them that’s not cool, and if it happens again, they have to go. All these people begging to go see another country, perhaps visit family, made to feel like scum as they justify their existence to officials of a government that murders men, women, and children all around the world for pretty much no reason. Then they get to pay for the privilege.
Now, as I mentioned, Belize lets in a lot of people from a lot different countries without any vetting process. Shockingly, there are not terrorists roaming the streets. It’s almost like it’s not about the strength of the immigration policy but how horrible the government is to other humans around the world. It also seems like some of the powers that be don't want people to get to know one another and connect on a human level. There's an awful lot of effort to prevent it. Something to think about.
As I walked out, I couldn’t meet any of their eyes. My country shames people for being brown, black, and/or poor instead of getting their own house in order, stopping their assault on the world and/or dealing with the terrorists growing out of the neo nazi movement. I’m not a fan of saying I feel ashamed. I find shame to be patently unhelpful and a tool of oppressors, but I don’t know what else to say. That’s how I felt.
As always, all pics are mine or pixabay unless otherwise noted.
I’m a passenger on the 
