I am angry, very angry....maybe a little bit sad. Well I am very unhappy. (Let me breathe!) People and governments make all these high sounding speeches that we must involved young people in issues that affect their lives. More so, for young girls in poor communities and affected by HIV. They must be at the centre of the AIDS response and policy discussions.....there is an appluase, tweets and retweets of the policy statements for an inclusive society. Well some of us spent last few years, reaching out to the girls and young women; ensuring that they are people with a voice and experiences to share and they are not victims, but citizens. We mobilise the funds for them to go for the 2014 AIDS Conference. This empowered and fully funded young woman submitted her VISA applications, with all the supporting document... (confirmation of being a registered and official conference delegate; letter of support from the organisation, travel insurance, ticket, proof that she is fully funded, university indicating that she is a student). Immigration office sends a reply - VISA Rejected, BECAUSE... - the applicants profile does not show history of travel to a country of a similar economy. - the person is coming from a country that has socio-economic factors that put pressure on citizens, not to come back unless if they have an incentive to come back. (since the young woman is not married and has no job, she has no incentive to come back?!). - The print quality of the documents is so poor, that one can not put weight on them as authentic (On submission of documents, the girl was never told that your papers are of poor print quality!). - there is no right of review of the decision! (I thought appealing an administrative decision is a matter of natural justice). What makes me this angry is that thousands of people are going to gather in this big conference and talk about this girl. She is denied the right to participate because she is poor (has no travel history); and she is from a certain country. She is penalised for an administrative detail, if the documents were not clear, why were they accepted in the first place. Next time, this young woman applies for a visa elsewhere, she will be asked whether she has been denied a visa application before. The moment she answers yes, her chances of getting a visa to any other country of a similar economy is fairly slim. The message is clear, poor girls are a risk and should remain in their village. This is what we call discrimination based on socio-economic status and place of origion. The world is so full of double standards!
Posted on: Mon, 14 Jul 2014 18:39:57 +0000
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