Thursday 23 April 2009

The Unsettling Truth.

For those of us whose soujourn in the diaspora has been long and eventful, it is often commonplace for relatives and friends who remained in Africa, to ask the inevitable question; 'what has he achieved since he has been there?' It is a natural question and one that emanates from being part of a culture that earmarks an indivdual against a brutal 'success chart' that has items like 'built a house, has money in the bank, member of a renowed social club and connected to political power,' as de rigueur.

Often, these items keeps the average diaspora guy in a non-stop whirlwind of clocking inhuman hours at the workplace and in some cases a hellbent desire to be wealthy, by any means neccesary. In the ensuing chaos, those who have not managed to secure their immigration status, spend copious amount of money and time to attain the holy grail of settlement and in the process, watch from afar as those with citizenship or settlement status, 'fritter away' their oppoprtunities! Of course, this is how it appears when you are the one seeking to be regularised, although it is clear that slackers exist on both sides of the immigration fence.

Inevitably, the unregularised like the everyone else begin to raise families and in essence children, who then become a viable vehicle to reach the promised land. This then puts in motion an urgent need, to sort things out before the reverse occurs. Now, hold that thought and view below the horrible plight of a Filipino couple, who illegally entered Japan in the 90's and settled (not officially)enough to have a daughter and begin to earn a decent living. The problem though, was that the Japanese Immigration Service was still investigating their viability for entry and invariably decided they did not qualify to settle, setting a deportation date in the process. With all legal avenues expired, the couple were faced with an unbelievable choice; take the whole family back to the Phillipines or exit Japan and leave their daughter behind. View link to understand the anguish involved:

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So, having seen the above, can you ever doubt the scenario occuring in likes of UK and the US? And if it does, how many of your friends, relatives and neighbours do you think will be affected? Answers on a post card please.....

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