COMMENTARY: The Schengen Visa Issue Again By Bai-Bai Sesay in Freetown The debate on the Schengen visa is gaining momentum on social media. This is a clear indication that many Sierra Leoneans at home and abroad believe that the European Schengen countries will definitely accept the fact that our people are really suffering in Ghana and other African countries in terms of applying for a Schengen visa. Mohamed Sallieu Bangura, a Sierra Leonean living in Germany who recently started the campaign on humanitarian grounds, has found out that Sierra Leoneans seriously suffer when they travel to Ghana and other countries to apply for such visas. This gentleman on 25 June 2013 wrote an appeal letter to the German Foreign Affairs Office about the constraints Sierra Leoneans are facing in Ghana and other African countries on the Schengen visa issue. In response to his letter, dated 18 July 2013 which was translated from German into English, the Federal Foreign Affairs Minister Dr Westerwelle thanked Mr. Bangura for taking the bold steps on the visa issue on behalf of his people in Sierra Leone. The letter states that, “the Foreign Affairs Office is aware of the difficulties that result when all Sierra Leonean travelers are required to submit visa applications in Accra. Hence we have considered with interest your application that Sierra Leoneans who want a Schengen-Visa should apply to one of our Schengen partners in Freetown and then have the application reviewed in Accra”. The letter continues that, “a new regulation of visa laws in the European Union demands visa applicants to have their fingerprints taken. We are not able to justify (financially and organizationally) the setting up of the biometrics equipment in our Embassy in Freetown…I am aware that this new regulation poses a huge challenge to travelers especially those who before now didn’t require being personally present at the Embassy. I would however wish to appeal to you to understand that the EU regulation is meant to ensure worldwide safety as well as control migration. To reduce the challenge, each biometrics taken will be valid for a 5-year period… The German Federal Government is in contact with its European partners and the European Commission to consider every possibility to ensure an amicable solution is found for everyone. We must however consider both financial and organizational issues as we take this forward”. I do hope this issue would be taken into serious consideration among the European Union countries, even though there are certain criteria agreed upon when applying for a Schengen visa to travel to the Schengen zones. For instance, the Schengen countries agreed that people from other countries wishing to visit any of the Schengen states should have to make a Finger Biometric print in any of their various Embassies in the world. This is not an excuse, because there are French and German Embassies in Sierra Leone. The German Embassy has been operating for many years in the country where people used to obtain visas for Germany until the outbreak of the civil war. But now that the war is over and there is still an Embassy in Freetown, the German Foreign Office should consider the opening of the Consular Section at the Embassy to reduce the high cost of travelling to other countries to apply for a Schengen visa. One school of thought states that the cost of installing a Biometric Machine is too expensive. That might be a salient point. But I don’t think Germany, as one of the main European donors for African development, is incapable of installing such machines in all their embassies in the world. This is one of the reasons why I am calling on the Government of Sierra Leone, through the Foreign Ministry, to take this issue seriously because Sierra Leoneans are suffering towards securing a Schengen visa, especially traveling to other African countries to apply for this visa. Another school of thought is arguing that the European Schengen countries thought it fit to curtail the large number of immigrants, especially from the African continent. But Sierra Leone is one of the least countries with a large number of applicants who want to visit Germany, and even the asylum seekers cannot even sum up to 3% from Sierra Leone in Germany or other European countries. For instance, during the brutal civil war, many people from other African countries used the opportunity to buy Sierra Leonean passport to seek asylum in Germany and other European countries. I believe the Immigration Office in Sierra Leone, through the leadership of President Ernest Bai Koroma and his government, has taken drastic measures to stop this act. The Chief Immigration Officer recently visited Germany to identify people using Sierra Leonean passport. This again should not be an excuse but the Government of Sierra Leone should prevail on the German government to consider the reopening of the Consular Section for the benefit of all Sierra Leoneans who want to travel to Schengen countries. The Germans should also consider the current economic development in Sierra Leone, which has now created many employment opportunities and possibilities for the youth not to think of going abroad to seek greener pastures. As most of them are now being employed by many Chinese business entrepreneurs, British and Nigerian companies to name but a few who are currently investing in the country. The Germans should also consider the long standing relationship between Sierra Leone and Germany, as there are great potentials for German companies to invest in Sierra Leone in the near future. A conference of Sierra Leonean Academics and goodwill Ambassadors from Sierra Leone in Germany are among the delegates expected to attend the conference scheduled to take place on 10 August 2013 to digest the recent responses from the German Foreign Ministry on behalf of the Foreign Minister, President, government of Sierra Leone and the Sierra Leone Embassy in Berlin. I hope the outcome of the conference will bring a positive result towards the Schengen visa and other pertinent issues relating to Sierra Leoneans living abroad.
Posted on: Thu, 01 Aug 2013 10:56:32 +0000
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