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Injustice Starts At Birth
There are 193+2 countries in the UN. Have a look here at "The Henry & Partners Visa Restrictions Index 2016 -Global Travel Freedom at a Glance." Holders of US and European passports can travel to about 160-174 countries and territories visa-free or with visa on arrival. That is, most of the world is open to them. Poor Syria ranks 100 on the list with only 32 countries they can travel to without a visa. Somalia, Iraq and Pakistan follow. Afghanistan comes last with only 25 countries open to them visa-free. The babies, babies... I cannot stress the word BABY enough here... are discriminated according to the geographical area they happened to be born in. What is the merit of a baby born in Europe and America, what is the crime of a baby born in the latter countries that there is a huge difference in the portion of the world accesible to them? Ahh... It's the womb lottery. Right. I see... Nothing we can do about it. (!) (Note for those who do not get it: The exclamation mark in paranthesis implies sarcasm.) To have an idea of the ridiculousness of this practice please see "A Visa Comedy- A Case for the Abolition of Visas" and please read all the way down to the "Tragedy Part of the Story." To see how wonderful it would be, making life easier for both sides if visas were removed, refer here. People may wish to go some place for different reasons, they go and come back, they move around. Mobility is a natural part of life. It is (should be!) a birthright to go anywhere one wishes on the earth you are born. Asking questions like "Why don't they go to the Gulf countries?" for Syrian and other refugees/migrants is ridiculous. Especially when nobody asks "What is McDonalds doing in Africa? Why doesn't it stay in America?" Nobody asks what all the British in Kalkan, Antalya doing there. Seriously, why don't they stick to x-colonies at least if they're going to resettle? For further analysis, see my "Oh People... Stay Put" article. Of course, people who have 160-174 countries to visit at their disposal do not care much. They do not care to visit the few that require visas from them anyway. But Freedom of movement is either for everyone or none. Europeans, Americans, that is the Western world needs to decide on one thing: Either we, I mean you, the leaders in the UN club issue a global decree saying "From now on, everybody stays put wherever they are. People are only allowed to move within a 100 km (or you may make it a 1000 km) diameter circle." OR You do the right and just thing. As it should be... You issue a decree saying "We understand and accept that requirement of visas for people to travel from one place to another on the world they were born, i.e. restriction of people's free movement, has been a most unfair and unjust practice. From today on, we put an end to this global injustice. We announce to the world that Visa practices are ABOLISHED!" And the whole world applauses with a standing ovation.* * Well... I know the whole world will not applause. Some will curse and rebel. But don't worry. They'll get used to it.** ** We wouldn't need a war to abolish slavery today, we are civilized, aren't we? We are not like some "barbaric" Middle-Easterners or "backward" Africans, we are a part of the civilized world. Or are we? |