Do we need visa wars?

By Tee Ray

The recent announcement by the British authorities to demand three thousand pounds sterling as individual Visa bonds from some selected travellers to Britain, come November and which can be re-claimed only upon such travellers’ return from that country, has sparked off a chorus of spontaneous condemnations and anger from many quarters!

In particular, citizens from Pakistan, Sri Lanka, India, Bangladesh, Nigeria and Ghana mentioned in that press release are not at all enthused about this intended British action!

Some of the raging questions of people in bewilderment include, “How can they do this to some of its own Commonwealth members?” “What happened to all the sacrifices soldiers from the former colonies, made on behalf of England in the past World Wars?” Also, is this the way to pay back countries that once believed they jointly had to share their respective “common wealth” of resources that has today brought so much comfort and development to the once Great Britain, in particular?

And for us in Ghana, “How do Her Royal Majesty’s agents here expect our ordinary citizens to be able to just cough up the equivalent of ninety-million in our local (Cedis) currency, as mere “deposits”, to be able to set foot on British soil?

All over the world, people travel abroad to seek their fortunes, including marriage and pleasure or to acquire new experiences not excluding professional education, which help them to plunge into the future with more confidence. Equally, war, political, religious or hostile economic situations also compel people to relocate to other countries, although “business”,” tourism” and “conferences,” etc.-still top the list of “normal” or intentional travelling.

In the case of Ghanaians, the country saw an unprecedented upsurge of emigrants during particularly the mid –seventies-to-late eighties following the terrible economic conditions that came to plague this nation. And for the sheer reason of seeking economic sanctuary just anywhere outside Ghana, people then resorted to “connections “or any means by which they could satisfy the whims of” unreasonable” consular and immigration officers, so as to get to such choice destinations of theirs. And therefore, in their desperation no ploy, lie or even treachery was deemed too serious or dangerous not to be tried during those times.

For some time now, however, those conditions that created such worrisome waves of mainly economic and a negligible number of political refugees, have ceased to exist, and one thought that the foreign embassies here too would start being considerate or flexible with their granting of visas! Surprisingly, it appears that in most embassies in Accra today, there is a growing tendency to still be unduly rigid to the extent of condemning most prospective Ghanaian visa applicants even before such people tender in their application forms in the hot sun or at hostile receiving points. The reason for this is largely seen as unpardonable hang-overs haunting some embassy officials, from re-told stories of former colleagues’ encounters with undoubtedly suspicious or proven shady characters who actually did attempt or might have attempted to pull a fast one on some of these embassies.

In these days of obvious improved or near- excellent relationships, however, it is very unbelievable the way the embassies themselves are unconsciously “forcing” people to tell lies in order to secure visas from them. And now, this “deposit-bond” to ensure that those lucky to get visas would return at all cost!

To begin with, why refuse all the factual information applicants willingly provide, in addition to other supplementary data or documentation only for these to be rejected by unsmiling embassy staff? All this, for no other reason than seeming prejudice based on perceived stereotyping of people by such otherwise very nice diplomats!

Please, let’s forget about “directives from home!” Who fed whatever home governments or home Foreign Ministries with such misconceptions about our nationals, to merit these “go ahead(s)”, in the first place?

Also, being the very Westerners for example who brought we Africans the Bible, why then are they now refusing to acknowledge the equality of Men by allowing their nationalistic impulses, to be controlled not by the will of God to regard other human beings as basically “good” by nature, but for them to perceive virtually everybody else as some kind of potential plague or deadly criminal, because we are coming from Ghana or someplace in Africa?

Now, just imagine what would happen if we in Ghana specifically, were also to decide to forever rake up our past memories of Europeans in particular, for example, and say or insist that since the days of Portuguese-born Don Diego d’Azambuja, virtually all White explorers and adventurists to our land have been nothing but wicked exploiters who came under various guises to plunder our rich minerals or capture our citizens into slavery! So, no newly –arriving Westerners can be said to be “good” and therefore, should not be entertained or welcomed into our country! Can you imagine that?

Well, if no foreign country expects Ghana to think about their nationals this way, then it is only natural and fair for them also to receive and treat every Ghanaian on his or her own merit. But what a pity the whole mass of our people are often lumped up as a bunch of potential mischief-makers who must be unduly grilled at certain embassies or be summarily debarred from entering their countries! Who in the world today , cannot attest to the way Ghana has systematically opened-up for some time now, starting from the country’s super-liberal Investment Code of the eighties, through our avowed “ Golden Age of Business”, to the “Better Ghana Agenda” policy of today? This is not to mention the special religious packages for foreign nationals, who themselves will be the first to admit that, indeed, entering, staying, and departing the Republic of Ghana is one of the very easiest in the whole wide world!!

And so, why don’t their respective home governments and diplomatic missions here also reciprocate this gesture? Instead, where from this £3000.00 “gargantuan deposit” idea of the British High Commission here, anyway? And, what about this latest detention of 38 Ghanaian youth at the Netherlands Embassy and the cancellation of their visas?

Fact is, the present processes of visa acquisition have already become so increasingly difficult, very expensive and terribly humiliating for many of our citizens, that something needed to have been done about it by now. Why? Precisely because, Ghana’s Embassies worldwide make things far, far easier for nationals of other countries, to literally breeze into this country of ours to start enjoying our proverbial “hospitality!”

But now… What a price to pay when it is even rumoured, that some incoming investors are nothing but confident tricksters who are merely interested in exploiting aspects of our liberalisation policy! For example, some so-called prospective “investors” enjoy the duty –free clearance of often luxury vehicles which they are supposed to use for their investment prospecting rounds whilst here. Yet many of them end up selling such vehicles locally after two years and turn tail with their profits, with the lame excuse that they couldn’t find any sectors worthy of investing in, after all! There are other similar rumours worthy of investigating!!

The truth remains, therefore, for every hard-lined Consular officer to realise how “crazy” we can all likely become if we were also to decide to attribute all manner of dubious intentions and suspicions to people approaching us for Visas including those already here or parading within our territorial boundaries as permanent “do-gooders” and “development partners”!

It is precisely for this reason, that embassy officials in our midst should endeavour to keep clean minds about everyone they don’t know until such applicants give them genuine cause to be blacklisted individually, but not to just assume that because one or two applicants did this or that, means virtually all other visa seekers too are going to behave the same way even before they are given a chance to submit their respective papers. And what makes the British High Commission in Accra think merely slapping heavy deposit bonds on people will automatically stem the tide of those who choose to go and live in Britain, anyway? So shouldn’t people be allowed to exercise their basic freedoms of choice and movement?

Instead of making it appear as if all Ghanaians, no matter their socio-political, academic and business standing, are potential rogues, why not our rather difficult diplomats start advising their respective sending –states to regard our people more rather as replica Kofi Annans, Sam Jonahs, Professor Frimpong-Boatengs, Roland Agambires, Asamoah Gyans and the like. Indeed, these are internationally acclaimed gems who are irresistibly impressive or flawless, and even surpass most foreigners themselves in competence and comportment! Oh yes…there are very good Ghanaians after all, and arguably it is neither the dunces nor acknowledged armed-robbers and hardened –criminals who embark on trips abroad, so seek Visas!

Then, let us admit that if those who travel are normally quite reasonable –to-above average citizens with proper home-training or formal education and even established businesses to boot, it follows therefore that they well deserve to be treated with reasonable civility or decorum and not contempt by embassies here.

Therefore, situations like where a whole Deputy Minister of State was some time ago asked to produce her bank statement to support an application on behalf of her child who was even being sponsored by an European professor-friend of the Minister’s family, or where other senior citizens of this country, let alone “commoners” are rudely snubbed over visa requests, must be made to become a thing of the past. Worse still, is even to hear that a foreign Embassy would order our Immigration authorities to arrest our own nationals from their premises in our own Ghana!

Again, how do you reject or still suspect a continuing student, a frequent traveller and holder of over four or more already utilised passports that display scores of different multiple Visas in them as Rudolph Boone, used to do at the U.S. consular section some years ago? What about even the Visa lottery winners? Or, when official endorsement-letters from Ghana’s Foreign Ministry itself are not respected by some embassy king-pins? Or, do they just enjoy fleecing visa –applicants by rejecting or “bouncing” them by heart? But then, one has to declare unequivocally that our citizens can ill-afford to be held to ransom for anybody.

Naturally, it is a good thing that the Vienna Convention on diplomatic practices itself ensures relativity in Visa charges, or the need for some ceilings in that direction.

The worrisome part now however, is how individual nations themselves can necessarily take the initiative of ensuring some fairness or moderation in their frequencies of rejecting applicants who suffer the added pain of losing substantial “non-refundable “amounts, in the processes of acquiring a visa. But to prophetically predict that Kofi, Ramesh or Oluwale won’t come back so should be sentenced to £3,000.00 in advance of their trips, is simply unthinkable.

And let’s face it, whether high or low, Visa charges and the drudgery of its processes in themselves cannot in anyway determine or change the propensity of applicants and that burning desire of travellers from going, wherever they choose to. So, the British authorities must come again, or completely shelve the November-idea!

In the final analysis, care should be taken not to over –stretch the patience, understanding or benevolence of Ghanaians to stoop to a kind of tit-for-tat games with others as vividly recalled in one incident that took place in, incidentally, this same Britain some time ago!

Here was a senior Ghanaian police-man who doubled as the consular officer at Ghana’s High Commission in London. After sojourning somewhere before being directly posted to our London Mission, he was equally lucky to get his duty tour extended by another four years, for which part of his family back in Ghana started missing him terribly. He, therefore, arranged to get one of his sons who had then turned 21 years to visit him. But guess what happened?

Despite providing supporting evidence from his father, the boy’s application was rejected by the British High Commission here in Accra. The gentleman in London didn’t say anything until an important British national was also scheduled to travel to Ghana with his 22-years-old son.

Our man then decided to also deny that young man a Ghanaian Visa. When the British authorities protested, our consular officer then explained to his bewildered boss, the High Commissioner, what the British mission in Accra had earlier on done to his own son! One hopes this is not what some of the diplomatic staff here are deliberately calling for. After all, what is “Visa” that it should be turned into some kind of horrible fetish in this country?

Please let the ambassadors of all “guilty” embassies or high commissions here, look deeper into their various visa sections, beyond the diplomatic niceties they display at cocktail parties or on national television when they meet our President, Ministers and top state functionaries!!

And for my country-men, Do you necessarily have to travel to Europe or someplace to succeed in life to be “joo-joed” like this??

Footnote: Tee Ray

*The Author is a Freelance Journalist