Here is the text of a letter I sent out a few months ago to various ministers, party leaders, and media about the issues with Australian migration systems, particularly in response to Senator Chris Evans' constant change of rules. Since it's election season and migrants are being scapegoated again, I figured I'd actually post the text here for direct reference.
This version is slightly adapted from the original; it was sent to Andrew Bartlett (Brisbane rep for The Greens) a month ago and I included a line about how I had sent this letter in elsewhere but the response wasn't encouraging. Bartlett hasn't responded.
Please feel free to pass this letter on and use it as reference for any other projects or protests.
***
I am an emerging artsworker and creative producer originally from Malaysia, of Bangladeshi heritage and citizenship, currently applying for Australian permanent residency. I have completed a Bachelors Degree in Creative Industries (Interdisciplinary) from Queensland University of Technology over two and a half years, with the assistance of a partial Dean's Merit Scholarship. I am active within the arts and youth empowerment communities here in Brisbane and across Australia, and have made very strong and fulfilling relationships and connections with people from a variety of cultures.
I desire to continue my creative and community life in Brisbane, hence the permanent residency application. However, I find that the overall process of migration and the constant changes of rules - especially with the new rules proposed by Immigration Minister Chris Evans in mid February 2010, and the proposed bill to terminate categories of visa applications at any one time - is restrictive, time-consuming, and not reflective of reality. I am writing in to share my perspective on these changes, highlight the specific issues involved, and provide suitable alternatives to improve the current immigration system.
People from developing countries, young people, career changers, entrepreneurs, and other people that do not neatly fit into pigeon-holes are highly disadvantaged by the system's unwillingness to recognise their contributions, skills, and potential. People like us hold strong resources for Australia financially, socially, and culturally, but are often confused or put off by the unnecessarily-complicated and invasive bureaucracy that is the visa application process. Our frustrations, however, go unheard - overpowered by under-informed people who use global warming, water restrictions, and the Global Financial Crisis as excuses for xenophobia and misleading statements. [1]
Most immigrants move to Australia in search of a better life - improved career prospects, financial standing, education, and social standing. Some have come from restrictive and oppressive regimes, disadvantaged by the lack of human rights or opportunities. Most immigrants do seek to contribute to the Australian way of life and be assets to the country - however, the manifold layers of the system forces us to begin as "guilty until proven innocent", requiring us to submit highly invasive documentation - bank statements, blood tests, police checks - to make sure we are not "cheating" the system. At the same time, we are considered Australian residents for tax purposes (and tax purposes only), which means we effectively subsidise plenty of Australia's public services, such as Medicare and tertiary education, while getting very limited and often expensive access to only a limited subset of these services [2].
On the 8th of February 2010 the current Australian Immigration Minister Chris Evans announced that 20,000 applications filed before mid 2007 would be rejected solely due to the introduction of new rules [3] . My application was submitted in mid 2009, so it should not be part of the churn, but the prospect of my application suddenly being cut due to the whims and fancies of whoever is in charge is frightening. The process takes many months and years to complete, and it is not fair to punish applicants with wasted time and resources for no justifiable reasons.
Evans claims that they are building a more targeted list of skills needed for the application process, with priority given to people who already have jobs lined up. However, based on my experiences and from talking to other migrants (past and present), even these suggested changes are difficult and unrealistic. Here is what I see is problematic with current Australian immigration policy:
The current "skills" list [4] isn't really a list of skills, but a list of occupations. It disregards the fact that many people nowadays, especially young people, don't just belong to an occupation - they build up a set of transferable skills, and move between occupations. Some hold multiple jobs that bear little relation to each other - or even to their initial university degree - but are still able to utilise the skills picked up from previous experience. An architect, a hairdresser, and an executive all share skills in design, problem solving, research, knowing their client, application of ideas and concepts - yet they're all treated differently by DIAC. The current system assumes that people stick to one career path from university to retirement, which is no longer a realistic proposition.
Newer industries, such as the Creative Industries, are not represented in the Skills list at all. Each occupation is given a number of points according to demand, and residency applicants need to meet a minimum number of points to have their application considered. However, there are a lot of occupations that don't give you points at all. Anything to do with the creative industries, for example, doesn't get you points - you need to already be hired as that role for that "skill" to be relevant to your application. The only Creative Industries occupations with points are related to journalism - but they favour traditional media over new media, not considering that traditional media sources are currently losing financial ground. The current and proposed updates tend to focus on healthcare and sciences, without taking into consideration the considerable contributions the creative industries [5] (or other industries for that matter) provide to the national economy, as well as to Australian culture and society. It perpetuates the notion that only certain occupations and skills are prized, which disadvantages both international migrants and local residents.
You can only claim one "skilled occupation" on the list, regardless of your abilities. If I could claim more than one skill on that list, I'd have about 300 points easy - stage management, production, journalism, marketing, all sorts. But I could only claim one, and spent ages with my agent figuring out the best occupation that encompasses both my skillset as well as my degree (the only deciding factor). As I said before, the list doesn't account for people who have worked across occupations and industries, and those that have changed careers. Wouldn't Australia be happy to have people that are flexible and can adapt? The current economic climate demands that people multi-skill and be prepared to switch careers - but the immigration system disadvantages (and in some cases punishes) people who are trying to adapt and contribute better, as they do not always fit neatly into systems or pigeonholes.
Determining your "skilled occupation" doesn't actually involve your past experience, but rather your degree (and now where you've worked for a year). If my CV had anything to do with the occupation I could choose for my PR application, I would be qualified as some version of youth or community worker. However, my CV and years of experience within the Brisbane community did not matter one bit. According to my degree, I was qualified to be a Print Journalist (while I do write, it is primarily for online indie media). A new rule has been added saying the degree wasn't enough - you need to have one year's worth of work experience to claim it. Yet how many students are actually able to get a skilled job while doing a full-time degree (until very recently international students couldn't do part-time study) continuously over a year, especially with the limitations of 20 hours a week? Volunteering does not count, personal projects do not count, ad-hoc or short-but-regular projects (like festivals) do not count. It also significantly disadvantages people who change their minds after their degree, or who took a degree in one thing but realised that their skills and passions lay elsewhere - perhaps somewhere without a degree available. As mentioned before, rules like these do not reflect the reality of the current job market.
It is extremely difficult for international students and migrants (especially people on Bridging visas) to get any sort of employment. The reasoning behind all these changes is the idea that migrants should be able to get a job in Australia to qualify as a permanent resident. This is often accompanied by cries of migrants "stealing jobs from Australians" and calls for tighter migration rules. However, it ignores the fact that migrants are already significantly disadvantaged in the job market merely for being a migrant. Here's how:
Stigma against minorities - just having an ethnic-sounding name can disqualify you from fair job prospects. [6] Having a foreign passport and an unusual visa makes this more complicated.
Company policies regarding visas - there have been a number of occasions when I was almost convinced that a company had a policy (written or otherwise) against hiring people on a Student or Bridging visa due to possible lack of permanence. QUT's Human Resources (HR) Department actually tried to tell me that they have a policy against hiring people with Bridging visas since they had no definite end date (they are valid up till a month after the final decision on a Permanent Residency application, but no date for that was available). However, a search through their Manual of Policy and Procedures [7] revealed no such policy. Their HR department did not respond to my enquiries. The Government does not want to give you a visa unless you have a job, yet from my experience many companies do not want to consider applicants with certain visas. It's a Catch-22, with the migrants being the ultimate losers.
Temporary residents are blocked from accessing job search help - despite being considered as Australian residents for tax purposes, international students and temporary visa holders (including Bridging visas) receive very little, if any, Government assistance - including programs geared towards job-seekers. Among these services are: Centrelink payments, Job Assistance, free training in childcare or hospitality, grants, scholarships, apprenticeships, traineeships, Recognition of Prior Learning, mentoring or residences sponsored by a Government agency (e.g. arts mentoring programs by Arts Queensland), credit cards, loans, permanent public service jobs, even entry into national television programs! Other avenues, such as further university or TAFE study, are priced at full-fee rates - which, at about 10x the cost for domestic students and without the option of grants or scholarships, is prohibitive.
International students must juggle study and work - international students can only work about 20 hours a week, even though most part-time jobs want at least 25 hours' commitment, often between 9 to 5 - clashing with university study. There is a misconception that international students are wealthy due to the requirement of paying full-fee; however, their entry into Australian universities has usually involved great familial sacrifices. After paying off the fees they may not be left with very much money, especially when it involves currencies that are weak against the Australian dollar. Also, the only jobs international students often get are menial jobs that hardly any local would do, paid at alarmingly low rates and utterly exploitative - to them, it's better than nothing.
Entrepreneurship is barely encouraged, and sometimes seems to be discouraged. Entrepreneurs should be welcomed by Australia - they create jobs and opportunities, and stimulate the economy. Migrants have traditionally created growth in their areas by setting up businesses to support their communities. Even people who don't make for-profit businesses, such as artsworkers or community developers, still enhance Australia's culture and lifestyle in major ways - often benefiting locals more than they are benefiting themselves or fellow migrants. These people dedicate part of their existence to the betterment of Australia - but they are not given any resources, support, or recognition for it. The focus on jobs actually discourages entrepreneurship and innovation - you're expected to fit into a mold to be approved for a visa. The process of migration gives no room for failure or experimentation - yet it is those two qualities that are greatly needed for entrepreneurial ventures to eventually succeed.
DIAC makes changes quicker than they, or anyone else, can keep up with them, and there are no recourses for people who are suddenly negatively affected. The average processing times for General Skilled Migration visas [7] range from 6 months to 2 years depending on where the visa was lodged and the priority levels. It is alarming to note that there were still a large number of applications from 2007 that were still not being processed - and now will be discarded not for any fault of their own. Migration agents, department staff, and applicants are not able to keep up with the rapidly-changing rules. It takes a lot of effort, time, and money to put in an application - not all of these can be recovered in case of an impromptu law change. Some applicants, tired by the constant changes and unable to wait any longer, simply leave the country [8] - but for many others, particularly those who have moved from war-torn countries or places where they are in significant risk, this is no longer an option.
The English language requirements completely disregard any university degree. Residency applicants are required to score well in the IELTS tests (International English Language Testing System) to prove their ability to communicate in Australia. This test was already required for entry into Australia as an international student - however, as the scores are only valid for two years, residency applicants would likely need to retake the test. The fact that they are able to complete an Australian degree satisfactorily should be be enough to prove language skills - but instead the degree is worthless.
This visa process is personally frustrating and heart-breaking, not just for me but for so many others involved - migrants, families, agents, and so on. Many people are left vulnerable and confused after trying to manage the unpredictable changes, leaving them open to exploitation by people-smugglers and human traffickers who take advantage by promising them "easier" but highly illegal and dangerous methods to enter Australia. After all, why bother putting yourself through the wringer if you're only going to end up worse than before?
Yet, other than the regular moral panics about "boat people", these issues with immigration from the perspective of migrants are hardly ever discussed. The only time mass media channels and shows like Today Tonight or A Current Affair bring up the issue is when it affects someone of European descent, or when it disadvantages an Australian. Yet this is the reality for many migrants out there, not just in Australia but in other places around there world - many of whom are unnecessarily troubled just for holding a green passport. International students and temporary visa holders are often too scared to speak out for fears of losing their visas; some have come from countries where the slightest criticism can lead to major repercussions. The Australian public is not sufficiently educated and are only exposed to the danger of allowing immigrants into the country. So this becomes a lost cause; one deemed unimportant because it is decided that no one is passionate enough to speak up.
There are a number of ways to improve the migration process, be more in line with the current job markets, and ultimately support Australian society in all its forms. Among them are:
Include documentation beyond just degrees in applications, such as resumes and references. If Australian businesses require a resume and look for skills and experience beyond a degree when considering a job application, surely a Government agency could do the same. It would not be too hard to ask for a resume, some portfolio samples, references, and maybe even selection criteria - thereby providing greater flexibility and enabling migrants to be properly certified for their best skills (and making it easier for them to be hired). The job experience considered should be taken as a whole - not just in picking one job that lasted a year.
Allow multiple occupation nominations, or nominate based on skills. Instead of concentrating a big proportion of points into one occupation, allow applicants to nominate various skills, backed up by proof such as resumes and skills tests, to create a package of their viability in the Australian job market. Once again, flexibility is encouraged, and migrants are more likely to find employment as they can prove their ability to adapt, change, and learn.
Changes should never be retrospective, and should always be include consultation with stakeholders: migrants (past, current, future), education bodies, migration agents, DIAC staff, and so on. There have been plenty of community consultations for issues such as youth & body image [9] and ratings on computer games [10]; however, none have been conducted about migration, despite the frequent changes. A thorough investigation on the realities of migration, including the experiences of migrants past and present through the different systems, as well as a look into hiring practices and obstacles, would go a long way into creating a more stable migration system - eventually benefiting Australia.
Substantially increase education around visas. There are plenty of misunderstandings and misinformation about the differing types of visas, especially with regards to work and study rights. Sometimes an applicant will ring DIAC for clarification only to be given different answers by different staffers. Having clearer information about each visa, and making sure it is consistently delivered, will help ease misunderstandings and create confidence within employers, migrants, and public service.
Substantially increase job search and financial resources. There are people and organisations who are willing to bend the rules to take in a worthy candidate who may not quite qualify due to residency concerns. However, this comes at great risk to their funding and the sustainability of the program. (This is a common concern shared by all types of non-profits and social benefit programs, trying to cater to demand that is greater than what their funding permits.) By relaxing the rules on residency for grants, scholarships, job assistance, apprenticeships, and other such assistance, more migrants will be able to skill up and equip themselves for employment - and employers will win by getting diverse well-skilled staff.
Australian immigration policies demand reforms that are realistic, humanistic, and takes into account the real-world experiences of migrants and current job-seekers. Migrants do not deserve to be taken for a ride as they try to keep up with the ever-changing rules. Many people come to Australia for the promise of a better life, and have often done all they can to contribute - however, the current restrictions only hinder them from doing the best they can, and ultimately hurt Australia as a country. A better, more organised, consultative system, based on real-world experiences and requirements, will not just benefit migrants but also bring prosperity and success to Australian economy and culture.
I call onto Senator Chris Evans, other relevant ministers, and the Australian media to open up more education and discussion on the migration system, informed by relevant and recent research into the effects and experiences of current migrants. I also call onto the Australian public to show empathy for the migrants who have worked very hard to integrate into Australian society, and to broaden their minds and be educated on the migration process.
I would greatly appreciate a response to this letter, to learn more about efforts to improve the immigration process, as well as any resources for those of us trying to thrive and contribute to Australian society despite issues with visas and regulations. Earlier this year I did a major mailout of this letter to significant politicians and media, and while I did get a few responses they weren't all that encouraging. I thank you for reading this and look forward to hearing from you soon.
It's Election Season in Australia and every party's Immigration policy is making my blood boil. They all think migrants - particularly non-refugees like myself - are somehow contributing to the downfall of Australian society, and even the Greens have hidden their xenophobia ("You can buy your way into this country if you're rich or you're highly skilled." - nonsense, Bob Brown) behind "ZOMG CLIMATE ISSUES!!".
Cr Newman told brisbanetimes.com.au the city was spending money to attract even more international students to study here because they provided a big boost to the local economy.
"I think it's a really important thing, and it's important for not just the money that's made from fees and from supplying accommodation, food and clothing and all those sorts of things," he said.
"It's important because ... these people who study here - they're going to go back home, if they've had a good experience here ... they're going to be literally ambassadors all their lives for us; they'll think fondly of Brisbane and they'll bring their families here and all that sort of stuff."
At least I can respect him for not bringing in other argy-bargy about climate change or the "Australian way of life" or other things. It's all about the money. We migrants pay full fee for everything and get nothing in benefits, even up to 2 years after permanent residency. The only reason Australia's able to afford HECS, Centrelink, scholarships, and all the other fun stuff citizens take for granted is because it comes from the pockets of migrants and students who don't even earn enough (yay visas getting in the way of work!) to get their tax return back.
I have been quite disheartened with how very little has come in the way of public support for migrants from local Australians, particularly from the left-wing side who seem to be quite fond of making themselves sound like they're better than the Conservatives (who are oddly enough mostly of the Liberal party). As evidenced above, the Australian Greens have their misconceptions, and nowhere in this debate has anyone actually ever bothered to ask a migrant. Y'know, the people affected by all these law changes and election rhetoric? But because we can't vote, we have no influence on local politics - and because historical and recent imperialism has messed up our home countries anyway we're all coerced to move to countries like Australia anyway because it's a much better life even with all the bureaucratic trouble! Silence isn't support, people.
Thankfully there are people who are calling the politicans - including Bob Brown - out on their crap. I don't know how much influence they have, or whether they will get the support of a wider voice - the xenophobic "OMGZ THE DARKIES ARE COMING WITH THEIR SHARIA BURKAS" crowd seems to be really loud and common - but they're there. We just seem to be quiet voices in the noise of rabble.
Let's be clear. If you are a refugee fleeing persecution, then a Green government will embrace you. But if you are fleeing something as banal and commonplace as poverty, economic hardship, low wages, a lack of opportunity or jobs, or if you're just looking for a better life for you and your family - then the door to Australia is closed.
The Greens are torn. On the one side, they have supporters who value Australia's role accepting more refugees and providing opportunity for migrants.
But on the other side, they have supporters who see people as the ultimate environmental problem. Each Australian has a relatively high carbon footprint. So, for some environmentalists, the goal should be to make sure there are as few Australians as possible.
That means keeping foreigners out. Poor people are better for the environment. They can't afford gas guzzling cars, or always-on-standby plasma televisions, or gaudy McMansions with heating and cooling systems.
Anyway, that's the theory. Many people holding this view say we should increase foreign aid, but they are convinced the effective path out of poverty - immigration - should be blocked.
"Overpopulation" has long been a euphemism for "the pressing surplus of non-white poor". By classifying them as "surplus", overpopulation theory denies them the very right to exist. Not only have they no right to exist, but this is presented as "scientific" fact, the operation of the "law of nature". The historical, political, economic and social reasons for poverty and environmental degradation become irrelevant.
Faced with a choice between acknowledging the need to confront the most powerful sections of society to demand that the driving force for development becomes meeting the basic human needs of all people in an ecologically sustainable way, or pointing the finger of blame at the poor and powerless, the overpopulationists take the easy and (for First World, relatively affluent, white people) more comfortable way out. In focusing on the number of people as the problem, they don't just let the existing social relations off the hook, they obscure them.
[...]
To blame immigrants to the First World (or the mass of people around the world) for the environmental crisis we all confront is not only "scientifically" insupportable, but also erects barriers to uniting the victims of the crisis in action to reverse it. If we are to truly "think globally and act locally", we will welcome more refugees and migrants to this land and, in the process, encourage and convince them to join with us in the struggle for a society which puts human rights and the environment before profits.
Developed countries, as the main cause of climate change, in assuming their historical responsibility, must recognize and honor their climate debt in all of its dimensions as the basis for a just, effective, and scientific solution to climate change. In this context, we demand that developed countries:
[...]
• Assume responsibility for the hundreds of millions of people that will be forced to migrate due to the climate change caused by these countries, and eliminate their restrictive immigration policies, offering migrants a decent life with full human rights guarantees in their countries
Five years ago I travelled with the WorldSmart Fall 2005 crew of Up with People across the US, Japan, and Europe and had the best time of my life.
This year was supposed to be my first crew reunion, hosted by the Up with People International Alumni Association. I had been looking forward to this event ever since my tour ended. I even still have my Time Capsule bag, with memories and letters from our crew (and a piece of chocolate I have to replace). The reunions are always held in Tuscon, Arizona (because it was past UWP HQ?), and while there are sometimes reunions in Europe and elsewhere, the big one is always in Arizona. It's the wone everyone goes to.
I was elected as Crew Representative. It's my job to hype up our reunion - our first one, especially - to get people to register, show up, and party. I had ideas for our reunion. I wanted to get everyone's baby photos and cast photos and put them together. I was half-considering an UWP burlesque routine. I was going to open that Time Capsule and see what was inside.
Then Arizona decides to sign in new laws that claim to be against "illegal immigration' but is really a license for thinly-veiled racism. This law allows the police to detain anyone suspected (not even proven) of being an illegal immigrant, and makes it a crime to not have your papers on you.
If you can't produce your passport, green card, or citizenship certificate on demand - and who walks around with them in their pocket every day? - the police can detain you. If you look brown, and talk with an accent - the police can detain you. If you happen to be wearing the wrong shoes - the police can detain you.
Getting to the US is already frustrating enough, given that most of our crew (including myself) come from outside the US and are either students or are in relatively low-paying jobs. Some of us went through great hassles just to get US visas for our tour; one of our crew members, a Russian girl, couldn't even join us in the US because her visa wasn't approved on time. And this was with tons of paperwork on UWP's side explaining the tour and providing an itinerary - the UWPIAA reunion crew isn't going to be that thorough. Yet for some reason, for those of us with the dreaded "green passports", a short holiday in the US means surrendering your bank statements and travel details of the past 10 years, just to prove that you won't hang around illegally (if Arizona police don't catch you).
My US visa expired last year and I wasn't sure if or how I was going to renew it in time for the Reunion, especially since it'd probably cost more than I could afford (they wouldn't be too impressed with my irregular freelancer/artist income). But the new Arizona laws directly target people like me - people who happen to look "foreign", people with weird accents and dark skin, people who don't have the privilege of looking like a white middle-class American.
I know what it's like to have your residency questioned, to be always on edge because you never know if or when you'll be kicked out due to a misunderstanding, to have to go through excruciating processes just to get permission to stay or travel. The new Arizona laws threaten my safety, and those of many of my crew members (some of whom are either Latino or can pass; I get mistaken as Mexican in the US). Our reunion might just be in jail.
Ironically, part of our UWP tour happened to be at Border Control at San Diego. We were right at the border of the US and Mexico. I poked my arm through a hole in the fence; a Korean friend managed to slide herself through the thinly-spaced poles meant to keep people out. I saw dolphins swim past the edge of the fence that went into the water. One of the border control people asked me where I was from, and when I replied "Malaysia", he said "...that's in the Philippines, right?"
There's been a disappointing lack of response from UWPIAA or UWP about the racist Arizona laws and how they relate to the reunions in Tuscon. The Boycott UWP Alumni Reunions group on Facebook has 12 members - twelve. There are more letters being passed around, mostly by older White Middle-Class Privileged American alum, about how we shouldn't boycott the reunion as it affects local businesses and it's still a fun event. And hey! It's Up with People! We're all about "bringing the world together", right? Our presence will make a difference, right?
How much of a difference can you make when you're cushioned in a bubble, the outside world thinks you're just an old-fashioned "happy clappy Christian cult", and the people who would actually make a hell of a difference get caught trying to get into your bubble because they look wrong?
How much of a difference are you making when you stay silent or promote the voices that maintain the status quo, instead of thinking about how your choice of location alienates a growing part of your membership - now that more and more people from developing countries are participating in Up with People?
How much of a difference are you making when you just take care of the people with privilege?
Below is a letter I send to the Reunions department of UWPIAA. Goodness knows if they'll read it; there's been some historical animosity and alienation between UWP, UWPIAA, and the 3 WorldSmart crews which tend to be dismissed as "a mistake". But if they're serious about making a difference and bringing the world together, they need to think about what their choices mean for their membership - and how it affects someone who had the best time of their life but can't enjoy it much anymore.
*************
Dear UWPIAA,
I am the current crew rep for the Worldsmart Fall 2005 crew, which has our first reunion this summer. Most of our crew members are from outside the USA, from a diverse range of cultures and races. I myself hold a Bangladesh passport and currently reside in Australia.
Recently the Arizona government passed laws that allowed police to question and harass anyone "on suspicion" of being an illegal immigrant. These can include the way they look, the way they dress, or the way they speak. If the person they apprehend is unable to provide their papers immediately, they are liable to further legal action. All for essentially looking "foreign".
These new laws (as well as simultaneous laws banning "ethnic studies" classes and people with strong accents from teaching English) are racist at their core. They allow for racial profiling, and do not consider that most people wouldn't be walking around with their citizenship certificate, passport, or Green Card (these items would likely be put away for safekeeping). It opens the doors for many people to be unfairly targeted just because they do not look like a typical White American.
It is for this reason that I am not attending the UWPIAA reunion this summer, have told my crew about this decision, and will not attend any other UWPIAA events for as long as they take place in Arizona.
It's already hard enough to obtain a US visa, especially when on a high-risk passport (such as passport from underdeveloped countries or Muslim countries - Bangladesh has the double whammy). The process is long and excruciating; you essentially have to give them your life story and lifetime accounts just so you can go to the US for a week or two! In my crew we had one person from Russia who was unable to join us on the first leg of the tour as her US visa was not approved, and another from Kenya whose passport, like mine, was often scrutinised closely. Also, most of our crew live far away from the USA and are either students or on low-middle income jobs (including a number of non-profit workers); we would not be able to afford the costs of heading to the UWPIAA Reunion.
I have read a number of letters from other UWP alum suggesting we do not boycott the UWPIAA reunions as they affect local businesses and UWP's presence will definitely spark change. These letter-writers come from a position of privilege; they are white middle-class Americans who would never be targeted until Arizona's new laws. They do not know what it is like to continually have your residency or citizenship challenged, to be singled out and harassed solely due to race, to be always on edge in case someone mistakes you for being an "illegal" immigrant. I nearly couldn't enter a club because my passport had hand-written details! The new Arizona laws are a threat to our safety and wellbeing, and it appalls me that more UWP alum and staff aren't openly speaking up, but instead choosing to endorse Arizona's laws by staying silent.
Will UWPIAA's mere presence in Tucson make a difference to Arizona law? That depends - does anyone else in Arizona know about UWP beyond "the super religious happy clappy group"? Will there be direct community outreach especially to migrant communities in Arizona, with something more substantial than "let's plant some trees together"? Is UWP and/or UWPIAA preparing a statement to the Arizona government strongly condemning the recent laws, including their potential to alienate a large and growing chunk of the alumni base? Or is UWPIAA content to stick to tradition and not rock the boat - even when it disadvantages their alumni?
I would like to see the following from UWPIAA:
A statement condemning the racist laws recently enacted within Arizona
Plans to bring the reunions outside of Tucson (and outside the USA)
Recognition that a lot of the newer crews, from about 2000 onwards, were majority non-American, and that more and more UWP alumni come from developing or underdeveloped countries that would end up suffering from the Arizona law
A statement reaching out to other UWP alum like myself who cannot or will not attend reunions due to these laws, with plans on how they can still be involved with UWPIAA and reunite
A stronger commitment to action to combat racism and inequality, either as UWP or UWPIAA, not just lip service or token gestures
UWP's motto is "bringing the world together". But maintaining the status quo and ignoring the massive amounts of privilege that make that possible only strives to pull the world apart. I am gutted to not be able to attend my first reunion, an event I had been looking forward to ever since my tour ended, for fear of my safety. Please recognise that many of us would like to attend the reunions if we could, and that we don't deserve to be ignored by UWPIAA just because we happen to have the wrong passport.
Thanks,
Tiara Shafiq Crew Representative, WorldSmart Fall 2005
I have been following the Constance McMillian story for a while now - the girl who wanted to bring her girlfriend and wear a tux to her prom, got denied, sued, saw her prom cancelled, got a lot of accolades for speaking up, and then on the promise of a "prom" was sent to a decoy with only 7 people (including 2 learning disabled kids!) while everyone else disappeared to a private party. Metafilter has a pretty good links roundup.
This whole thing is giving me flashbacks to primary school. Replace "being queer" with "being a racial minority" and you pretty much have my story. In 2008, I wrote an open letter to my old school - Sultan Ibrahim Girls School (Primary) Johor Bahru, come on, own up to your bloody bigotry - detailing some of the most egregious and terrible bullshit they put me through just because I was Bangladeshi ("Other" in Malaysian bureaucracy), my parents were migrant professionals closer to the "Expatriate" category who weren't diplomats nor starving labourers, and because I actually did pretty well in school. The first two may have been forgivable, but how dare I be amongst the top in the class, how dare I come to school in a chauffered company car, how dare I be the best student in English in the entire damn school the 6 years I was there! How dare I demonstrate a love for learning, an affinity to non-Malay English teachers, a keen interest in computers? Even my best friends left me after Standard 5, when most of the rubbish happened, partly due to peer pressure and partly because I was not dealing with it very well.
A lot of the racism was ring-led by the teachers and administrators, many of whom were Malay and benefited from Government-sanctioned Malay privilege (think of the White privilege in Western countries, change the dominant race, and add Government codification). My existence, and that of my parents, was an affront to them, their identity, their politics. My family was Muslim, which should bring me closer to their side, but I was a "labourer" race and not even properly a citizen (despite being born in Malaysia - another long rant), so I didn't make sense to them. I was a contradiction, I defied the labels mainstream media and the ruling parties put on me - and instead of accepting me and working with me, they decided to shun me and make me an outcast.
Secondary school wasn't that much better: there were more opportunities to get involved, so I developed a level of infamy just for being busy. I was revelling in it for a while, taking the applause as sincere, when suddenly one of the more well-known teachers told me "Tiara, they're not applauding for you, they're making fun of you." Even if she was right, why the hell tell me that?! Way to ruin my relationships and trust in humankind (if it wasn't ruined already by primary school). In Form 4 I gained controversy for skipping Pure Science in favour of Humanities, putting myself in the "last class" and being top of the class almost by default. In Form 5 I had a diagnosis of panic disorder and depression, as well as some new insoles that required wearing sport shoes instead of normal school shoes, and the students & teachers claimed that it was all in my head. I was so glad to be gone from school; it was an absolute waste of time and I wish I'd just skipped the whole malarkey.
Anyway, back to Constance. I read the story about the fake prom, the teachers joining in, the Facebook page. And I'm pretty sure that if Facebook existed in my time (and I wasn't the defacto Internet geek of the school), and if our schools had a prom culture, they would totally do the same to me. Hell, they may have been behind-the-scenes scheming without my knowledge; why else would I be denied the award for English Language skills when it was well-known that I was the best in the school? And then you have this absolutely horrible letter, where the students (and presumably the teachers) pegged her with one word:
Attention-seeker.
Attention-seeker, because she was out and proud. Attention-seeker, because she wanted to bring her girl to the prom. Attention-seeker, because she spoke up against injustice. Attention-seeker, because her mum's gay and that just made her even more undesirable. Attention-seeker, because she probably did very well at school too. Attention-seeker, because she existed and did not hide it.
Attention-seeker. The term brandied to me mostly in primary school but also in secondary school for some parts. The term that justified verbal and emotional abuse for years, sanctioned by administration, ignored by the Government.
Attention-seeker, because I did pretty good in exams and competitions while hardly trying - I loved to read and picked up stuff that way. Attention-seeker, because my love for reading (and then the Internet) meant that I was often a year or two ahead of the students. Attention-seeker, because I was passionate about what I believe in and didn't allow myself to be silenced. Attention-seeker, because I refused to participate in hazing sessions (whether as hazer or hazee) misleadingly named "orientation". Attention-seeker, because I got involved in anything interesting and so was up on stage to pick up some award or another a few times a month. Attention-seeker, because even though I was not Malay and the rest of my class was, I still was apparently the only person who knew how to fill in an exam bubble sheet right the first time (this happened in class in Std 6). Attention-seeker, because my parents were upper-middle-class Bangladeshis and my dad was head of a Government-owned company, with almost all his other staff and peers being Malay. Attention-seeker, because I declined a spot in the top-performing Science classes to study Literature. Attention-seeker, because I would speak to a teacher in English and when yelled at by a classmate for "not speaking your mother tongue" I wondered if I should break out into Bengali. Attention-seeker, for apparently making art so bad it apparently warranted taunts from teachers saying their 6-year-old does better, a demand to redo my exam piece in the middle of the text, and the teachers stopping a 12-year-old me in primary school one morning before assembly to tell me that my contribution to a poster contest was so terrible, they tore it all up. Attention-seeker, because I had random debilitating panic attacks in Form 5 and sometimes went home early, to the point of missing an entire month before exams started. Attention-seeker, because I did fine in exams anyway.
Attention-seeker, because I did not want my race to be a barrier or even a factor in being considered as a human being. Attention-seeker, because I was born in Malaysia as a foreigner and didn't get permanent residency since I was 7, because my dad wasn't a diplomat that moved countries every 5 years, because I went to school with permanent residency that required me to go to a Government school that kept trying to kick me out every few years due to my permanent residency, because I was the only non-Malay in the Malay prefects meeting and the only Muslim in the non-Malay prefects meeting when they discussed who should be Head Prefect. Attention-seeker, because I existed.
Hell I still get the same rubbish now - I recently had a big fallout with people I used to be tight with in the Brisbane burlesque world because I'm quite outspoken about issues of cultural appropriation and race representation on The Merch Girl, and that's apparently "insulting, derogatory, and pushy". People tell me that if I "cooled down on the feminism/activism" I would get more opportunities. I can't rock the boat of the people whose whole genre is all about rocking the boat, because I'm the Exotic Other and I should just accept my role as such.
Maybe Constance and I have utterly repulsive personalities, who knows. But even so, it is no excuse for absolutely reprehensive behaviour. You don't want to hang out with her at prom? Fine, but don't go deflecting her to a fake prom! You don't want to hang out with me? Fine, but don't go making me account for every single overblown news article on some Bangla crime when I'm 11. Dear God. Is there no human decency anymore!?
Maybe we're attention seekers. So fucking what?! Why is it such a bad thing to seek attention anyway? Just because we're different doesn't mean we're shrinking violets. Just because we're asserting our presence and speaking up against injustices doesn't mean we're uppity or sanctimonious.
The more I read this, the more sick to my stomach I get. For every Constance or myself there are likely more and more kids who are facing this in school and don't have the same level of support. I wish I knew how to support them. EducateDeviate was my attempt at bringing change, but my move to Australia and change of interest put that on hold. But I still want to support the outcasts, the weirdos, the attention-seekers. I want to protect them from those that would harm them, cut them down, abuse them, hurt them, and give them significant complexes that they are still dealing with many years later.
I want to protect and support them the way I wish someone had protected and supported me.
Granted, quite a number of these blogs do offer valuable information on rethinking finances, finding interesting work, and a whole manner of personal development. However, in their frenzy of preaching about how lifestyle design is the BEST THING EVAR, they're overlooking a very important point.
Lifestyle design is something that is only really possible for people with privilege.
I'm not talking about "being a rich dude with a mansion" type privilege. I'm talking about the privilege of not being considered a low-class citizen intent on terrorism because you're brown and have a green passport, the privilege of having your home currency stretch very far around the world, the privilege of still being able to access a whole host of resources if you end up rock-bottom. The privilege to be able to experiment, to have lifestyle design be optional.
Here's a very clear example of this kind of alarming privilege ignorance, from The Middle Finger Project:
What this is about is showing you that the cards you’ve been dealt do not matter. They are irrelevant. What does matter, rather, are the choices you make, and how much guts you've got.
Actually, they do matter. A lot. A lot of these cards are institutionalised - the stuff that makes up privilege, the stuff that makes a difference on whether lifestyle design is a choice or a necessity for you - and won't make a difference no matter how you play them.
Your nationality, residency, and passport make a huge difference on your ability to travel and migrate - with some passports putting you automatically in the "high risk" category for visas no matter what sort of history you have. It's not as easy to just pack up and move; if you can't prove that you have a substantial amount of money and assets beforehand, they won't let you out of the country.
You don't need to be living in poverty to make lifestyle design inaccessible. Currencies from a developing country - including relatively better-off countries like Malaysia and Singapore - do not travel well, both in terms of what it can buy and also in terms of exchange rates. A filling meal costs RM5 in Malaysia, and AUD8 in Australia - about RM24. That RM5 that got you a meal back home only goes to about AUD1.50 in Australia - not enough for a drink. It works in the lifestyle designer's favour when they travel, because suddenly everything is cheap-as, but not the other way. It's funny that there's so much love for hiring outsourced assistants, saying that it's about "US10 for a week of groceries in Bangalore" and claiming that you hiring them is some form of charity social justice work - how about dealing with the global economic inequality that makes it difficult for an Indian person to buy a week of groceries in the first place?
Many countries have restrictions on work for immigrants, and some big employers have a preference for hiring "local" - though interestingly if you come from a dominant Western White background you're usually able to avoid the "immigrant" issues and be protected in an "expatriate" bubble, courted for your money and social power. Working holiday visas are severely limited, and just having an ethnic-sounding name can hinder you from getting a job (even if - and probably especially - if you're in a country with stronger currencies and better-developed social security services). It can be hard to even launch an online-only business when PayPal restricts what you can do with your money based on where you are.
For some people, lifestyle design is necessary, because a lot of the usual options that "lifestyle designers" take for granted aren't openly available. On the surface my life could be an example of "lifestyle design" - I mostly work on my own creative stuff, I set the hours, I'm not in some 9-5. But I'm not in a 9-5 because circumstances I can't control, such as my name and my Bridging Visa, are making it difficult for me to get a job, or to get any sort of assistance. Most of those fancy consulting/education packages that are making top dollar (even though I suspect they are mostly saying the same thing) are too expensive for me, and probably wouldn't apply anyway. I'm having to be supported by my parents - a move that has gotten me called a "trust-fund kid" with disdain by some people, but normal in my home culture - and also pretty necessary, given that my dad's the one with the regular job (and he's supposed to be RETIRED by now). Lifestyle design, for us, then becomes less about how to design the life of our choosing, and more about how to make the best of difficult and challenging circumstances, usually involving bureaucracy of some kind.
Yet many lifestyle design bloggers don't seem to acknowledge how much of an impact privilege holds on their ability to do what they're doing. Instead, they rudely dismiss the concerns of non-designers, not-so-subtly denigrating them for staying in a conventional "template" lifestyle (while also ignoring that for some people, it is their choice to follow a conventional life, and that's perfectly fine.) Their dismissal and ignorance smacks so strongly of the dangers of "positive thinking", of the idea that everything in your life is merely because of your "attitude" and that everything can be solved if you just adopt the right thinking.
Never mind the condescension towards people from "third-world" countries, as well as some crazy appropriating - seriously, "protecting [something] like a father protects his daughter"? Do people still buy into those stereotypes? (And how much of a bad-ass can you really be if you ended up homeless with confusing residency and had to fend for yourself without direct response marketing to save you?)
You share discussions on possible problematic uses of cultural appropriation and call out people who are ignoring their privelege. You get people asking you why you find it problematic, and you talk about how people are still being exploited for their cultural heritage, while they themselves aren't able to fully embrace their own cultural heritage without being significantly disadvantaged or discriminated against. About how it's part of larger patterns, about how it's so ingrained many don't realise it, about how people need to be more aware and take more responsibility for what they do and say.
Then those question-askers drag you into convoluted pleas of "how dare you say I'm privileged!". They say that because you have privilege your opinions are automatically invalid. They claim that you pointing out how unfair it is that someone from a dominant class can get away with looking "exotic" while the locals still suffer is "racist and elitist". And then, because you brought up examples of how this affects you now, you get told you're "taking this personally".
It's the same old patterns, the same old arguments and derails. You find yourself resending links to Racialicious, the Invisible Knapsack, to Derailing for Dummies. People much more learned and patient than you have researched this for many many years before you even started thinking about it. There's only so much you can convey in 140 characters.
You feel like a parrot. You feel like you are a recording machine stuck in a loop. You are drained. You have gone through this exact conversation how many times now? And you're still hearing the same old, same old.
You've been living this directly since you were a child. You have been debating this for years. You're exhausted. You wish you could stop, that you could just ignore this and it will all go away.
But you know you can't wish it away. You know it will not go away that quickly, not at least when you're alive.
Not when your name and passport still affects your ability to get a job. Not when you are automatically classified as "High Risk" by government agencies just for your parents' origins. Not when speaking another language gets you told off - "hey, speak the NATIONAL LANGUAGE you fool!" Not when your self-worth and acceptance hinges on having a skin colour, size, and features that are alien to you. Not when just wearing something from your culture or having an accent gets you "go back to your country!!"...if you're lucky and escape physical harm. Not when people take your appearance as an excuse to crack stupid jokes, to subconsciously place you into pigeonholes, to deny you your voice and claim to speak for you. Not when you are denied access to welfare, to funding, to scholarships, to education, to credit - unless you can prove that you are not a dangerous dole-bludging (what dole?) FOBbie. Not when people refuse to listen to you because you sound different, but take in your words when said by someone who looks more "normal". Not when you are still judged against an arbitrary "normal".
Even if you decide to stop, even if you decide to just shut up - you will still face this. Over and over. People and structures will still take advantage. You will still be pigeonholed, be ostracised. And they will still keep doing this, because no one's told them the problems, because people are excusing them and celebrating their behaviour and refusing to look at the consequences. Because people have pride and when you tell them they're doing something problematic, instead of working out what the problem was, they accuse you of being accusatory.
And the patterns go on. And the debates are smothered because the other side is too tired to stand up for themselves. Because they're accused of "not following the rules" of discussion - rules set by the Dominant Class without any consultation on their end. Rules that disadvantage them from the very start.
If only it was that easy to say "I'll stop now". But until I stop being discriminated against just for anything that makes me "foreign", until the structures that keep these attitudes flowing are dismantled and new structures of real diversity and intergration are established, until I decide to submit to abuses of power and just accept that I will always be pigeonholed and put away and ignored -
I am currently applying for permanent residency in Australia. As a (possibly) perpetual permanent resident in Malaysia and holder of a Bangladesh passport, as well as a relative to many migrants, I am very familiar with the pains and hassles of the visa and residency process. Every country in the world makes it unnecessarily difficult for someone to be a resident (let alone a permanent resident or a citizen), especially if you come from a developing country, particularly one filled with potential migrants. Financial checks, character checks, layers upon layers of bureaucracy...the whole process is a mess, and yet the People in Charge never seem to think of the real-life effects of their always-changing policies.
Just yesterday the current Australian Immigration Minister Chris Evans announced that they are automatically rejecting 20,000 applications - all of whom applied before late 2007 under relaxed rules. My application was made last year so hopefully it won't be part of the churn, but the prospect of my app suddenly being cut due to the whims and fancies of whoever's in charge is frightening.
Evans claims that they are building a more targeted list of skills needed and basing applications on that, with priority given to people who already have jobs lined up. Just that last line shows how out of touch with reality the Australia Government is when it comes to migrants. Based on my experiences, and from talking to other migrants (past and present), here's what I see is problematic with current Australian immigration policy:
1. The current "skills" database isn't really a list of skills, but a list of occupations. It totally disregards the fact that many people nowadays, especially young people, don't just belong to an occupation - they often multitask, transferring skills between one occupation to another. An architect, a hairdresser, and an executive all share skills in design, problem solving, research, knowing their client, application of ideas and concepts - yet they're all treated differently.
2. Newer industries, such as the Creative Industries, are not represented in the Skills list at all. Each occupation is given a number of points according to demand, and applicants need to meet a minimum number of points to have their application approved. However, there are a lot of occupations that don't give you points at all. Anything to do with the creative industries, for example, doesn't get you points - you need to already be hired as that role for that "skill" to be useful. The only CI-related occupations I could think of that are pointed are journalistic skills - but they favour traditional media over new media, not considering that traditional media sources are currently losing ground. They claim to be updating this list, but I don't think they'll get out of their left-brain science/health kick.
3. You can only claim one "skilled occupation" on the list, regardless of your abilities. If I could claim more than one skill on that list, I'd have about 300 points easy - stage management, production, journalism, marketing, all sorts. But I could only claim one. As I said before, the list doesn't account for people who have worked across occupations and industries, and those that have changed careers. Wouldn't Australia be happy to have people that are flexible and can adapt?
4. Determining your "skilled occupation" doesn't actually involve your past experience, but rather your degree (and now where you've worked for a year). If my CV had anything to do with the occupation I could choose for my PR application, I'd be some version of youth or community worker. However, my CV and gobs of experience within the Brisbane community didn't matter one bit. According to my degree, I was qualified to be a Print Journalist (even though I haven't written for any Australian print media). They've now added a new rule saying the degree wasn't enough - you need to have one year's worth of work experience to claim it. Yet how many students are actually able to get a skilled job while doing a full-time degree (until very recently international students couldn't do part-time study) continuously over a year? Volunteering doesn't count, personal projects doesn't count, ad-hoc or short-but-regular projects (like festivals) don't count. It also significantly disadvantages people who change their minds after their degree, or who took a degree in one thing but realised that their skills and passions lay elsewhere - perhaps somewhere without a degree available.
5. It is extremely difficult for international students and migrants (especially people on Bridging visas) to get any sort of employment. The reasoning behind all these changes is the idea that migrants should be able to get a job in Australia. However, it ignores the fact that migrants are already significantly disadvantaged in the job market. Here's how:
Stigma against minorities - just having an ethnic-sounding name can disqualify you from fair job prospects. Then they see your green passport and visa and positively freak out.
Company policies (written or otherwise) against hiring people on student/Bridging visas due to possible lack of permanence - QUT's HR Department actually tried to tell me that they have a policy against hiring people with Bridging visas since we had no end date. It wasn't in their policy documents at all.
Temporary residents (a.k.a. not PRs or citizens) are not allowed access to options that help with their job search - no Centrelink, grants, scholarships, skills training, Recognition of Prior Learning, job assistance, mentoring programs- basically anything Government-funded. (Which means stuff like YAQ's JUMP and YAMP programs are right out too.) Any options tha are available, such as further study, still charge full-fee rates, which are prohibitively expensive.
International students can only work about 20 hours a week - most part-time jobs want at least 25, and they want 9-5 hours too (which clash with uni study).
Employers don't want to hire people without a permanent visa. They won't even interview you. But the Government won't give you a visa unless you have a job. Chicken and egg?
6. It doesn't encourage entrepreneurship. Entrepreneurs should be welcomed by Australia - they create jobs and opportunities, they stimulate the economy. Even people who don't make for-profit businesses, such as artsworkers or community developers, still enhance Australia's culture and lifestyle in major ways. These people are dedicating part of their existence to the betterment of Australia - but are not given any resources, support, or recognition for it. Sure, their immediate community may welcome them, but they're not the ones with the power of the Visa. The focus on jobs actually discourages entrepreneurship and innovation - you're expected to fit into a mold. Yet with the Global Financial Crisis, the idea of a "job" has changed so much - we need to rethink what it means to be employed.
7. The Immigration Department makes changes quicker than they, or anyone else, can keep up with them. Notice how they still had applications from 2007 that were unprocessed. A few months ago they mentioned more changes that would likely make my application only processed by 2012! At that rate I should skip over permanent residency and get citizenship on the spot! Yet they change the rules every year, less than that even - and expect everyone to change their lifestyles immediately to follow suit. Worse of all, they make it retroactive - so if you applied before the rules changed, and you followed everything to the letter, bad luck anyway. What a waste of time and resources for everyone involved - at least clear the backlog first before you start making sweeping changes.
8. There are no recourses for people who are suddenly negatively affected by the rule changes. 20,000 people are going to get a letter saying that even though they followed the rules, their applications will be denied because the Immigration Minister changed his mind. These people have sacrificed years of their lives, sources of income, family connections, possibly their passions and livelihoods, and have willingly put themselves through the gauntlet that is the immigration process - only to have all their hard work thrown away. The whole process costs thousands of dollars - sure, they'll refund the fee, but can you refund lost time? Some have started lives in Australia - are you going to help them transition? Will they be deported because they haven't left fast enough? The process is invasive and stressful - comprehensive health checks (even HIV!), bank checks, police checks, family trees, what have you. But there's nothing to compenstate for that.
9. The English language requirements completely disregard the degree. You need to score at least a 6 in your IELTS tests to qualify (the highest is 9, I got 8). The tests are only valid for 2 years, so the one you took to get to Australia to study in the first place likely won't be valid. The fact that you did an English language degree apparently doesn't mean anything to anyone. Also, if you scored pretty high on your first IELTS test, surely your English can't have deteriorated from living and studying in Australia? (I do feel that local Australians' command of the language leaves something to be desired, but that's another rant...)
Visas disgust me in general, but this especially makes me frustrated. So many vulnerable people - young people, arts and humanities, people living non-traditional lives - affected by stupid unrealistic policies. So many of us came to Australia because there were communities that supported us (I don't thinK I could do half the stuff that I do back in Malaysia). Yet, even though there are Australians who would welcome us with open arms, the Government doesn't seem to care.
You want to know why there are illegal migrants? Because things like these just show what a big sham the whole process is. Why bother putting yourself through the wringer if you're only going to end up worse than you are before?
Yet the only time the Australian public ever gets to know about things like these are when it affects someone from a developed, privileged country. Today Tonight or the Courier Mail will report about a British person that now doesn't have a visa and they make such a big deal about "how terrible!" it all is. But this is the reality for many migrants out there, especially from developing countries. Yet because we're not white, we don't get the press. We deserved it after all, filthy people fresh off the boats.
The Immigration policies definitely need a reform. However, they need a reform that is realistic, humanistic, and takes into account the real-world experiences of migrants and current job-seekers. At the very least, talk to migrants about what they experience. Don't just make up a whole bunch of rules, fail to keep up with them, and then just say "Ooops, we're sorry you're disappointed."
Ever since news of the Haiti earthquake broke out, I've heard quite a few people - friends, acquaintances, reblogs - grumble about how their local media seems to only care about the people of their country that were affected. Australian press talks about the 2 Brisbane-based aid workers who were injured and rescued; the American press talks about the Americans; and so on.
There are THOUSANDS of Haitians dead! they cry. But no one cares about them! Not the media! They often say it so smugly, as though the supposedly-amorphous "media" is beneath them and they're so much better for thinking about the Haitians.
They seem to forget, though, that this isn't a conspiracy on the part of the media - it's basic human nature.
One of the things that makes something news is relevancy. And something is relevant to us if it has something to do with our lives, our characters, our demographic. Since newspapers aren't often niche enough to cater to very specific needs, they choose items that are relevant based on broader categories - locations of their readership being one such factor.
Remember Dunbar's Number? The theory that our brain can only manage about 150 strong relationships at any one time? Same thing is happening here. Unless you're personally connected with Haiti in some way - Haitian friends, you've been there, you live very close to Haiti - Haiti is just an abstract concept. You could care about them as fellow human beings, have concern and empathy over their situation, but your brain can't really comprehend then as anything more than that.
The people that you care about, that are within your Dunbar circle of 150, are relevant to you in some way. Family, lovers, close friends, regular social circles, education, work; you interact with them enough that you know something about their life and they know something about yours. They're familiar. And one of the traits that makes someone more likely to be familiar is their location. You're more likely to be familiar with someone if they live close to you than if they live far away. (The Internet does make it very easy to make more friends online but foreign than with your neighbours, but they're "close" in spirit and contact, easy to reach.)
The mainstream media publishes all sorts of major disasters every day. Airplane crashes, earthquakes, landslides, tsunamis, terrorist attacks, what have you. People die in the hundreds and thousands. Infrastructure collapses. Bangladesh gets flooded so often that my parents aren't so fazed when they hear the news of another "disastrous" flood - compared to foreign friends who freak out on our behalf.
So much of this happens so often that it can be hard to process. If we deeply evaluated every disaster we wouldn't get out of the house out of gloom or fear. We can only deal with so much. So we take the things that are relevant, and put aside the rest. Aware that it exists, but unable or unwilling to do much more than that. Even donating money is an effort.
News reporters know this. They know that the only way to have people care is to put a face on the issue. Make it less about statistics and details, and more about the heart and spirit of the story. And one effective way to do this is to report on anyone local that may have been involved - whether as victim, lucky survivor, expert, assistance.
The local people they pick, like the Brisbane aid workers in Haiti, they could be your friends. Your siblings. Your colleagues. Your teachers. Your lovers. You could have met them on the bus, you could have sold them a cup of coffee, you could have asked them for directions. Heck, that person trapped in the earthquake could have been you.
When the Twin Towers first fell on September 11th, the only thing that got me to really realise the severity of the situation was a report on CNN on a bomb threat to the Petronas Twin Towers in KL. (It was a hoax, thankfully.) I was most concerned about my Channel [V] friends, especially Asha who was travelling on a plane that day; my family tracked down some family friends living in New York. Later on we learnt from the Savage Garden fanboards that Darren Hayes had narrowly missed being on one of the crashed planes; most of us freaked out. When the tsunami hit on Boxing Day 2004 I spent the day trying to get in touch with my friends in Penang and Indonesia (they were all fine, though I didn't hear from one last person till the end of the night and got scared). My sister and her now-husband called us from London on July 7th 2005 to tell us they were OK - just before we checked out the news to find out that the Tube and some double decker buses were bombed. The rest of the day i looked out for Asha's London-based sister (she was found safe) and sighed with relief when a close relative mentioned he'd just barely missed one of the bombed trains.
It's not that we don't care about all the other disasters in the world. It's just that we can only care so much. Sometimes it takes the involvement of someone or something close to us to make us aware of the situation, of the mess and the pain and the importance of reaching out. That's what the mainstream media is tapping into - writing up stories of people like us, people we may have known, people who could have been us.
It's part "this could have been you", part "they were one of us". It's only natural to look out for your kind. It doesn't make you racist or prejudicial - just human.
The mainstream media - both as a collective and within individual presses - have quite a few areas that need improvement and deserve scrutiny. Working by human nature isn't one of them - especially not by people who themselves wouldn't have thought about Haiti or any other disaster-prone area until their name showed up as a Twitter hashtag.
A lot of people - especially young somewhat-socially-aware people looking for Gap Year work - are really big on volunteering overseas. This especially comes up during times of international crises or natural disasters, such as the recent earthquakes on Haiti. Everyone wants to help, and they feel that actually working there and giving a spare pare of hands would be more useful than giving money, which feels impersonal.
However, as this Ask MetaFilter thread shows, volunteering from overseas can be very counterproductive if the volunteer doesn't come with significant experience and expertise. It is expensive to host a volunteer - food, shelter, insurance, travel, etc - and many volunteers aren't able to deal with the sheer amount of effort and will that is required for the disaster area. Also, there have been plenty of bad experiences of underresourced locals having to deal with well-meaning foreigners who can't cope with cultural change.
What can you do then? Donate to organisations that already have people there - money is a lot more useful than things, as it won't spoil and will be made useful quickly. Volunteer your time locally, even if it means doing grunt, non-glamourous work like handling phonecalls or folding letters - they still need to be done. Work on long-term projects that deal with the bigger issues that make things like Haiti's earthquake such a mess - poverty, water access, corruption.
Here are some choice comments from that thread that should be mandatory reading for anyone wanting to volunteer overseas.
Sidhedevil:
The unemployment rate in Haiti before the quake was something like 75%. Any Haitian adult who can physically be of assistance to their fellow Haitians is going to be a lot more use to others--and benefit a lot more by having paid work--than an untrained foreigner.
If your friend has specific skills in health care, construction, civil engineering, or public infrastructure maintenance, her professional organizations will have information on volunteer efforts. If your friend is just a nice person who wants to help, she will do better by staying where she is and organizing fund drives and blood drives.
CIDI Statement for volunteering on disaster relief:
Volunteers without prior disaster relief experience are generally not selected for relief assignments. Candidates with the greatest chance of being selected have fluency in the language of the disaster-stricken area, prior disaster relief experience, and expertise in technical fields such as medicine, communications logistics, water/sanitation engineering. In many cases, these professionals are already available in-country. Most agencies will require at least ten years of experience, as well as several years of experience working overseas. It is not unusual to request that volunteers make a commitment to spend at least three months working on a particular disaster. Most offers of another body to drive trucks, set up tents, and feed children are not accepted. Keep in mind that once a relief agency accepts a volunteer, they are responsible for the volunteer's well-being - i.e., food, shelter, health and security. Resources are strained during a disaster, and another person without the necessary technical skills and experience can often be a considerable burden to an ongoing relief effort.
Forktine:
The comments above about untrained warm bodies not being needed right now are true. However, those willing-but-unskilled people will be desperately needed a year from now, when the sexy news teams have gone home and the world's focus is somewhere else. Haiti will be recovering from this disaster for decades to come -- your friend could play a tremendously important role in some piece of that recovery.
Right now, however, Haiti needs self-contained field hospitals, search and rescue teams with heavy equipment, and the kind of large water desalination equipment carried by military hospital ships. Send money today, and make plans to go and help with long term recovery when Haiti recovers to a point where a volunteer won't be siphoning resources from the people most affected.
Nothing... and like it:
I'd like to echo what others have said above re: untrained, unskilled volunteers. When I went through disaster relief training with the Red Cross in the wake of Hurricane Katrina, they were very explicit that neither they nor any other reputable relief organizations were in the habit of deploying volunteers who didn't have extensive training and applicable skills in the various areas of disaster relief, even for domestic relief.
For international incidents, they are even more stringent; they generally only deploy people internationally with training, skills AND EXTENSIVE DISASTER RELIEF EXPERIENCE. For areas where the native language is not English, they also require some ability in the native language. I was led to understand that this is the case for all reputable relief agencies, especially for those which respond in the immediate wake of disasters.
As forktine mentions, Haiti will need assistance for a long time to come. Your friend could get the relevant training now, and be able to help in the future. This is similar to the route that I took after Katrina, which ended in my doing family service case work for the Red Cross in southern Mississippi a couple of months later, when people were still recovering from the effects of the hurricane. In case it's helpful, here's what I did:
Katrina hit while I was unemployed (and too broke to donate any money) in the Pacific Northwest. I spent the first 24 hours or so after the disaster sitting on my couch gorging on disaster porn on CNN muttering to myself that "someone should do something." Duh. I'm a somebody. I can do a something.
The phone lines at my local Red Cross chapter were jammed when I called, so I said "fuck it" went down to the office. I walked in and it was pretty chaotic, so I just walked up to someone wearing an ID that said "Volunteer Coordinator" and said "Hey, what can I do to help right now?"
They had set up a phone bank in an unused conference room and desperately needed people to answer phones and process donations and volunteer applications, so that's what I did, full time, for about a week. Most of the people who called in were like your friend. They just wanted to go where the action was. When I suggested that they could help at the local chapter, they often scoffed and hung up on me.
But I was there, every day, helping the Volunteer Coordinator process the massive influx of people and paperwork, so when the chapter set up fast-track disaster-relief training classes (Shelter Operations, Mass Feeding, Family Services/Case Work, etc.) she was able to get me into those classes.
After the classes I went back to helping out in the Volunteer Coordinator office for another month or so of paperwork, filing, and phonebanking. Now some of the calls were actually angry: "I gave you my name a month ago. Why can't I go to New Orleans yet? What the hell is wrong with you people?" After another couple of weeks of that, the volunteer coordinator pulled me aside and said, basically "Thank you so much for helping me out when I was so swamped. Are you still available for deployment?"
Less than 72 hours later I was sitting on couches and front porches in Mississippi, helping some very nice and very devastated people fill out paperwork, giving them useful phone numbers like state insurance regulatory agency's hotline (don't fucking get me started on the absolute scumbag insurance adjustors who had been spending weeks just absolutely ASSFUCKING some of these poor folks), providing them with additional relief fund debit cards, etc.
So the takeway from this should be, really, that the best way to help RIGHT NOW (if financial support isn't possible for whatever reason) is to go down to a local chapter of a relief agency who has people in the field right now and help them. Do whatever they need. They're stretched to the brink organizationally and administratively right now and they need all the help they can get. This also puts your friend in a position where she can gain some relevant experience and training, not to mention making herself known to the agency as someone who is willing to do the shitty unglamorous grunt work. This will be to her advantage in the future if she wants to do some of the less shitty and unglamorous grunt work. (Which, by the way, is much less glamorous than she is probably imagining right now.)
range:
My wife has done development work in Haiti for years, and we have friends there now who are capable, trained engineers doing field work. We're lobbying like mad to get them to come home and fight their extremely noble impulse to stay and help. Unless you have specific training in disaster relief work, you're going to be a danger to yourself -- this is especially true in Port au Prince, where we're already getting reports of increased violent crime (increased above the "normal," very high level). When you get hurt, you'll end up using resources that were supposed to go to Haitians. That's why you should send money, and not accidentally add yourself to the number of wounded.
Dee Xtrovert:
We had such people show up in Sarajevo, during the war. They were - to a person - a great drag on life there for those of us without the ability to leave. Imagine this - the war means all utilities are gone. No gas, water, electricity, phone service, etc. Constant shelling means that a great percentage of living quarters are no longer habitable. Lack of easy access to the city means basic food and medical supplies cannot easily (or at all) find their way into town. In short, Sarajevo's people are cold, dirty, miserably unhappy, starving, uncomfortable, sick, tired, homeless and psychologically drained.
But, above all else, most Sarajevans are hospitable and kind and have some class. So what happens when a good-hearted but idiotic "volunteer" shows up to "help?" My mahala (neighborhood) hosted some of these people, and I can tell you.
1) That person displaces someone else from a little corner of habitation and a humble little sleeping spot. In this way, they were a burden to us.
2) Those of us who'd been living through the war were accustomed to daily struggles. For instance, access to water necessitated a long nightmare of pushing a crude cart up and down steep cobble-stoned hills and across a river, in order to fill whatever one could with water. And then back again. Aside from being a torturous chore, this meant continual exposure to "open" areas where snipers would attempt to kill you. In my case, it meant revisiting the place where my parents were killed while waiting in line. This trip was also a tremendous expenditure of valuable calories.
We Sarajevans knew all this. Consequently, we went to the bathroom once daily (if that), because every time you had to flush the toilet, you were that much closer to having to make the water trek again. Our "heroic" visitors showed no such discretion. They often expected baths! (By way of comparison, I cleaned myself in the river.) Nor were the heroic visitors there to do something as "mundane" as spending half the day collecting water. So we made more frequent soul-crushing and scary trips. In this way, they were a burden to us.
3) Of course, they wanted to stay for months but brought food only for a couple of days. They didn't have rights to Sarajevo's meek rations (as they were not in the city by force), so we shared ours with them. They complained about the food - what we'd been eating for months or years with gratitude - and occasionally would spend some of their cash for black market goods, which they'd hoard for themselves. Then complain about the cost. They were an embarrassment to us. In this way, they were a burden to us.
4) Most of them did not know the history of our country or city or culture. They never knew the language. Frequently, we would scurry around the neighborhood to find someone who could translate Serbo-Croatian and English / French / German / whatever, just so heroic visitors could achieve some basic communication. I remember one fellow, who announced to the neighborhood a deal he'd "negotiated" with the Serbs (who were blockading the city) to feed us. Instinctively, we laughed, though some (irrationally) got their hopes up. The "plan" he worked out was that we would walk to Pale (a suburb held by the Serbs) where they would "give us everything we needed." A fair analogy here would be the Nazis telling the Jews that they'd get "everything they needed" in the ovens at Auschwitz. The stupidity of this heroic visitor only depressed us further, as did other schemes and ideas devised by heroic visitors with no experience, sense or knowledge. In this way, they were a burden to us.
The only things I (or anyone I ever knew) received from these sorts of people were the occasional article of clothing, or a weird treat like a chocolate bar. I was grateful for them, but a check to a helpful charitable agency would have been better.
Bear in mind, we adapted to the war over time. So we had an ability to "absorb" these unskilled morons with some amount of grace and humor. In the beginning, we all thought that - at the very least - these heroic visitors would go home and act as witnesses for what we were enduring. Later, we doubted this was so. I was once reunited with a self-described "freelance journalist" (no credentials, never sold a story) in America, who bragged to his friends about what he'd done for us (which was . . . nothing), and how much the trip had cost him, which was plenty. How I wish he'd spent his time and energy helping to raise funds for us, or simply educating others, or - most of all, just writing a check to the Red Crescent or a similar agency.
What just happened in Haiti was immediate. And they died so quickly - more than died in Sarajevo, and in a single day. These people cannot possibly have adapted to the "new" conditions there as we did in Sarajevo - they haven't had the time. Believe me, their problem isn't a lack of manpower (aside from those with very specific, high-level skills) - these disasters leave plenty of people with nothing else to do but try to help others. So, as much of a burden as unskilled helpers were in Sarajevo, they'd be a much, much greater burden right now in Haiti.
Everytime I see news of a large-scale disaster such as this, I have panic attacks. I know the desperation of the situation, how much help is needed right away. I speak French and even know a few Creole phrases. I have emergency medical treatment and gave aid to Bosnians injured and sick in wartime, under difficult conditions. I've got weeks of vacation time, money in the bank and a longing to help. My sympathy with these poor Haitians is boundless; I've experienced a lot of what they have, and will. So I imagine I'd be a fairly qualified volunteer, with a temperment founded in personal experience and a history of dealing with all the sights and smells of death and misery.
Will I go? Absolutely not. I'd like to; it was my first impulse. But I'd be a burden to someone there, somehow. And Haiti doesn't need even a tiny new burden. So . . . I wrote the biggest check I could afford. I'll save more lives with a shipment of shovels or some treatment for clean water or some powdered milk than I would spending twice as much going there. It's just simple mathematics.
Tell your friend to write a check. Please.
And forktine's right. Haiti's never really been in great shape. It's going to need you more in a year than it will now. So your friend can write a check today, then save up and go back in a year or two, when she will be a true hero. And that way, everyone wins.
dhartung:
The thing is, this recession is creating a lot of people like you -- smart, but idle. It would be great if all that ability could be harnessed the way the WPA and other programs did during the last job trough of this magnitude. But I don't think running down to Haiti mid-crisis is the way to do it. It's taken a while for NGOs to get people to start thinking in terms of giving money instead of, say, canned goods or blankets -- which are hideously expensive to ship to a disaster zone, and often replaceable at much lower cost in country. Giving the Red Cross a blanket and asking them to ship it to Bumfuqua is actually giving the Red Cross a burden and using money that could perhaps buy 2, 5, 10 or 20 blankets instead. Think of your desire to donate labor in these terms and you'll agree with Dee Xtrovert more easily.
* You're a body who needs to be flown to Haiti somehow. * You're taking up a seat on a plane that could be held by a person with expertise. * You're taking up weight that could haul food. * You're taking up money that could buy food. * You're taking up -- in aggregate -- landing slots that could be used by other planes, that themselves could be carrying supplies or water or food or experts. * You're burdening a broken air traffic system that needs to be jury-rigged using battlefield equipment. And that's even before you've deplaned. Once you're there, you're a body that needs to be fed and kept dry, in a country where there are perhaps millions with the precise same need. * If you replace a local worker, you will have greater needs than that local worker: cleaner water, better food. You can't live on what they routinely survive on, I guarantee it. * If you replace a local worker, you may be depriving that local worker of a wage that could support a family. In the end, you'll eventually become someone who needs to go home. Perhaps then you'll be taking up a seat that could be used by someone needing medical care in the states. And so on.
I really urge you to think long-term. Is this something you really want to do with the rest of your life? Then follow Nothing's advice. Is this just a way for you to fight feeling useless? There are a million ways you can fight that staying home. Volunteer at a homeless shelter. Help the humane society trap, neuter and release strays. And so on.
humannaire:
As you are presently unemployed and perhaps in search of direction, I recommend you seek out an agency you see giving help and work to help coordinate ground support from your present location and community. There is where your work will do the most good.
Where you live, you have infrastructure you can re-program and re-route to brilliantly switch on and consciously turn into an assistance network.
Align yourself with reputable peers, preferably people who are experienced and committed. There is no need to build something new yet. After you have some hard-earned credibility and time in, you may see something the rest of us are missing. Then perhaps we will follow you.
Helping others as a life-direction and also as a career is immensely satisfying and rewarding. This is an amazing opportunity to explore this direction. As the challenges such work brings inspire personal growth in ways that are literally indescribable, I wish you well.
As for insight, I have a program where I collect, repair, ship, and re-purpose discarded computers for Jamaica. I have been doing this successfully for two years. The program I created (and personally fund) has enjoyed success that I won't go into here.
But I would not have been able to pull it off without incredible friends who have life-long and generational roots in Jamaica. In fact, were it not for the facts that I was 1) invited, 2) escorted, and 3) bringing and giving without strings or expense, my presence would have been unwelcome. People have their own lives, their own dignity, and their own world. People appearing unannounced and empty-handed, no matter the intention or occasion, are not well-received anywhere. Well, maybe somewhere, but not somewhere I know of.
One other insight. Based on the success of the one program in Jamaica (I got lucky), I attracted the attention of others who invited me to do the same for a school in Haiti. Feeling confident based on the one success, I agreed. Somehow it turned out that I was to be taken to Gonaives. It is no place I would have been welcome or safe. It was only through the intervention of a number of friends of mine of Haitian descent, that I staved off this disaster. You see, the likelihood is high that unintentionally or intentionally I was being taken.
This is the danger of going off with good intent but without connection or means to some other place that is far removed from our experience and understanding.
I encourage you to help. I also encourage you to (presently) do so from where you are.
Moral of the story: think about how useful you would *really* be to the country - the country's not there to satisfy your need to feel useful.
This was originally posted at The Merch Girl, where I tend to post more often nowadays (Tumblr makes it easy to post snippets). I figure I'd post it here too - there's a few of you that read this site regularly, but don't know about The Merch Girl, so here's some goodies!
So Problogger recently had a list of 30 bloggers to watch in 2010, mostly in the personal development/lifestyle design/Law of Attraction area. (Man, I remember when productivity and GTD were the big blog trends.) After a couple of people made their own lists, Problogger asked their readers to make up their own lists and share.
I follow 900 (!!) feeds on Google Reader, and there's the posts I find through Twitter, Tumblr, Facebook, or even just friends emailing me things. It's difficult to create a performance-art based list, let alone a burlesque or circus-based list of blogs, as there aren't that many blogs in those areas that update regularly or have content outside of self-promotion. There are some blogs I am especially keen on though, and I think they need more attention, so here's my list (in no particular order):
Jim Munroe has been pretty busy working within the DIY scenes in Portland - he's published books, comics, even his own movies. He also provides all sorts of resources for those wanting to publish the indie way, with guides on indie publishing and indie movie-making, as well as essays on zine culture and events, non-profit counterculture shops, and a ton of other issues. My favourite thing from him is Time Management for Anarchists, an awesome guide to getting your act together that doesn't sound like every other personal development blog's 10 Ten List.
Jim's deeply motivated by indie creativity and supporting communal culture, and he demonstrates that by providing consulting and webhosting services to alternative creative productions. He graciously gave me some feedback on my site and asked for my thoughts on his too! I was looking for someone who had good project management sense but wasn't a capitalist suit, and he was just the ticket.
I found Bridgett while looking for other Tumblrs tagged "dance" and we now have a creative friendship full of reblogging interesting shows and workshops to each other. I've learnt a lot about bellydance, performance work, and being a professional both literally and in character in the arts. She is so full of passion - she obviously loves what she does and loves sharing it with the world.
Her main Tumblr is a scrapbook of inspiration and observation; the other one's for her External Oblique show at the Adelaide Fringe Festival 2010. I'm so excited for her, I wish I could be there, and I greatly recommend you follow her to learn the process and heart of true performance artists.
Marie was another person whose Tumblr I found through random Directory-hopping. Her original username/title was "girls, books, food, art, love" which pretty closely describes her Tumblr's content.
What I love about her Tumblr is her recommendations of zines, books, and other media that inspire her, as well as her personal reflections on her influences. I'm not a big fan of picspam Tumblrs, but I get a strong sense of personality from hers, and I've even bought some zines on lucid dreaming thanks to her Tumblr posts! Her posts are always delightful and inspiring and I always look forward to see what she's found next.
Natalie will say what's on her mind, and sometimes I've been guilty of enabling her by sending her articles that will make most of us go "OMG WTF". I trust her opinion on most things and know that even if we don't agree, she's thought through her point strongly. At the same time, she isn't afraid to be vulnerable or personal, sharing her challenges and downtimes (with our hugs in return).
I was shocked to discover today that Autostraddle was less than a year old. What?! They are tons more professional and entertaining than many "pro" blogs that have been running for years - and the design's top notch too! It's a pop culture webzine geared towards lesbian, bisexual, and queer women, but there's something in it for everything - from insightful commentary on the hidden dangers of the lawlessness of gay marriages, to good-natured perving at Hollywood actresses that play gay characters (or should).
It is largely US-centric, due to the location of most of the staff, but there's a vibrant community of commentors, editors, and interns from all over the place that keep Autostraddle fun, fresh, and friendly. I think this will become one of the most influential media sources for current-day young queer women - a voice that's interesting, quirky, silly, and also smart & solid. So much fun!
The Bakery, run by Jaime of Design Milk and Erin of Design for Mankind, provides consulting to creative businesses - from getting a business plan up and going to promoting yourselves. It was from consulting with them that I got this blog set up and running while I developed my site.
They're currently busy running a 6-week course, Half-Dozen, which guides you through setting up a creative business from the ground up. Because of this, their blog's a little quiet at the moment, but I feel that 2010 will be full of more great posts on business for the creatively-inclined.
Danielle LaPorte writes some great inspirational posts on rocking your creative self, especially if you're entrepreneurially minded. I like that she can empathise with those of us who don't fit the norm, and - like The Bakery and Jim Munroe - can talk about creative businesses without being all "suit"-y about it!
I would love to have a Fire Starter session; it seems like I would get a lot out of it. But if only I had $300 spare!
kSea has pretty much single-handedly managed this magazine (from when it was known as Big Top) to share his passion for circus, steampunk, and carnival culture. I'm a new reader, but I can appreciate the effort and passion he goes into documenting his subculture. The CultureFlux rebranding is very recent and I'd love to see what he has up his sleeves for 2010.
Another person whom I can't believe has only been in business just under a year. James does some funky, creative tights and leggings (I'm personally more fond of the stuff he made at the beginning - too bad they're discontinued!) and it was a delightful surprise to find out that he's based in Brisbane. He writes about his creative process, the items that inspire him, and the occasional copyright battle. He has an eye for the unusual, which I appreciate. I'm waiting for his catsuits - I bet they'll be gorgeous!
The people behind Mission Paradox (I don't know their name/s offhand) share a lot of inspirational resources for arts management and arts marketers. They're big on innovation, on moving away from stodgy old responses and rethinking the value of arts in the world. A lot of their content is more conceptual and visionary, rather than "here's how you make a budget" practicalities, but I really like their direction and I always gain a lot from their posts. While they're geared towards arts institutions - galleries, theatres, and so on - anyone who works in the arts will find inspiration from them.
Chris Guillebeau travels the world while living off the knowledge he shares with his readers - creating a sustainable online business, using frequent flyer miles effectively, dealing with money as an artist. What I love more about his work is his open, welcoming eyes to international cultures, and his pragmatic wisdom. He is very intelligent, friendly, and has given opportunities for other people to live their dreams and express themselves. Out of all the "location independence"/"lifestyle design" blogs proliferating the Internet, I think his is most earnest and sincere, and is definitely my favourite.
As you can tell, I enjoy blogs about business and project management that don't sound like typical blogs about business or project management. KPIs, asset management, quality processing...not my bag. Tara Joyce's blog deals with entrepreneurship from within - creating a business that you are personally passionate about and running it by your own principles. She's also lovely and friendly, and will give a listening ear to anyone in need of some encouragement.
I first met Rachel Hills when she interviewed me for her post-grad thesis on young people and sexuality. However, it wasn't till later that I found out that she was a pretty accomplished writer on her own right. Her Tumblr shows why - it's full of clever insights on pop culture, gender, culture and society, creativity, personal life, and anything that intersects through them.
There's so much stuff in her blog to share that it'd make this already-long post even longer - so I'd suggest looking at her personal favourites. And join in the discussion.
OK, I'm biased - Mithi's my older sister. She's finishing up her BA in Illustration, and over the past few years she's built up an eclectic portfolio of all sorts of art. It's interesting seeing her evolve; she didn't use to be confident with drawing people, and now she draws these really cute illustrations of kids and animals and people playing music & dancing.
She's also started to go pro and be internet famous (the lucky woman). I'm looking forward to seeing what she does after uni (probably go back for the seven-hundredth time). Also: SKUNK.
If you're into fashion or food blogging, and you haven't heard of Luxirare, where have you been?!? She may have way too much time on her hands, but man she makes the best of it.
I personally quite like what she does with food - everything from the ingredients to the packaging is original and inventive. Crayon granola bars (that you can actually colour with), mojito tablets, blue pyramid cake...what else will she come up with? If she ever comes up with a shop she'll make an instant million.
The Lady of the Manners's really entertaining. Her credo is that being Goth doesn't have to mean being surly and rude, and her blog is full of in-depth advice about fashion, dealing with people, and even random questions like "Is Lady Gaga Goth?" (Answer: no.) She's even got a book out - a great present for the baby bats in your life.
Megan M. is something of a multitasking powerhorse. She sings, she manages projects, she writes - and, with Ideaschema (and That Idea Blueprint Girl before that), she comes up with stacks of ideas for whatever project or dilemma you have. Right now she's selling her Idea Catalyst kit - tons of pages and audio of practical ways to come up with and implement her ideas. She's even got free ideas for random things on her blog too, if you'd like a preview.
Amelia Arsenic has a wild, crazy sense of style - macabre punk goth glam futuristic rock & roll. She's committed to her style and provides lots of tips and guides on how she achieves it - from fashion stylings to mood boards to makeup tutorials. She was on hiatus for much of 2009, but she's back and I'm greatly looking forward to seeing what other creativity she has up her sleeve.
OH MY GOODNESS! This list took a while to make. My computer's groaning from the work, otherwise I would keep going. Check out these blogs, and if you have any other favourites, tell me about them!
Always use the word ‘Africa’ or ‘Darkness’ or ‘Safari’ in your title. Subtitles may include the words ‘Zanzibar’, ‘Masai’, ‘Zulu’, ‘Zambezi’, ‘Congo’, ‘Nile’, ‘Big’, ‘Sky’, ‘Shadow’, ‘Drum’, ‘Sun’ or ‘Bygone’. Also useful are words such as ‘Guerrillas’, ‘Timeless’, ‘Primordial’ and ‘Tribal’. Note that ‘People’ means Africans who are not black, while ‘The People’ means black Africans.
Never have a picture of a well-adjusted African on the cover of your book, or in it, unless that African has won the Nobel Prize. An AK-47, prominent ribs, naked breasts: use these. If you must include an African, make sure you get one in Masai or Zulu or Dogon dress.
In your text, treat Africa as if it were one country. It is hot and dusty with rolling grasslands and huge herds of animals and tall, thin people who are starving. Or it is hot and steamy with very short people who eat primates. Don’t get bogged down with precise descriptions. Africa is big: fifty-four countries, 900 million people who are too busy starving and dying and warring and emigrating to read your book. The continent is full of deserts, jungles, highlands, savannahs and many other things, but your reader doesn’t care about all that, so keep your descriptions romantic and evocative and unparticular.
Make sure you show how Africans have music and rhythm deep in their souls, and eat things no other humans eat. Do not mention rice and beef and wheat; monkey-brain is an African’s cuisine of choice, along with goat, snake, worms and grubs and all manner of game meat. Make sure you show that you are able to eat such food without flinching, and describe how you learn to enjoy it—because you care.
Taboo subjects: ordinary domestic scenes, love between Africans (unless a death is involved), references to African writers or intellectuals, mention of school-going children who are not suffering from yaws or Ebola fever or female genital mutilation.
Throughout the book, adopt a sotto voice, in conspiracy with the reader, and a sad I-expected-so-much tone. Establish early on that your liberalism is impeccable, and mention near the beginning how much you love Africa, how you fell in love with the place and can’t live without her. Africa is the only continent you can love—take advantage of this. If you are a man, thrust yourself into her warm virgin forests. If you are a woman, treat Africa as a man who wears a bush jacket and disappears off into the sunset. Africa is to be pitied, worshipped or dominated. Whichever angle you take, be sure to leave the strong impression that without your intervention and your important book, Africa is doomed.
Your African characters may include naked warriors, loyal servants, diviners and seers, ancient wise men living in hermitic splendour. Or corrupt politicians, inept polygamous travel-guides, and prostitutes you have slept with. The Loyal Servant always behaves like a seven-year-old and needs a firm hand; he is scared of snakes, good with children, and always involving you in his complex domestic dramas. The Ancient Wise Man always comes from a noble tribe (not the money-grubbing tribes like the Gikuyu, the Igbo or the Shona). He has rheumy eyes and is close to the Earth. The Modern African is a fat man who steals and works in the visa office, refusing to give work permits to qualified Westerners who really care about Africa. He is an enemy of development, always using his government job to make it difficult for pragmatic and good-hearted expats to set up NGOs or Legal Conservation Areas. Or he is an Oxford-educated intellectual turned serial-killing politician in a Savile Row suit. He is a cannibal who likes Cristal champagne, and his mother is a rich witch-doctor who really runs the country.
Among your characters you must always include The Starving African, who wanders the refugee camp nearly naked, and waits for the benevolence of the West. Her children have flies on their eyelids and pot bellies, and her breasts are flat and empty. She must look utterly helpless. She can have no past, no history; such diversions ruin the dramatic moment. Moans are good. She must never say anything about herself in the dialogue except to speak of her (unspeakable) suffering. Also be sure to include a warm and motherly woman who has a rolling laugh and who is concerned for your well-being. Just call her Mama. Her children are all delinquent. These characters should buzz around your main hero, making him look good. Your hero can teach them, bathe them, feed them; he carries lots of babies and has seen Death. Your hero is you (if reportage), or a beautiful, tragic international celebrity/aristocrat who now cares for animals (if fiction).
Bad Western characters may include children of Tory cabinet ministers, Afrikaners, employees of the World Bank. When talking about exploitation by foreigners mention the Chinese and Indian traders. Blame the West for Africa’s situation. But do not be too specific.
Broad brushstrokes throughout are good. Avoid having the African characters laugh, or struggle to educate their kids, or just make do in mundane circumstances. Have them illuminate something about Europe or America in Africa. African characters should be colourful, exotic, larger than life—but empty inside, with no dialogue, no conflicts or resolutions in their stories, no depth or quirks to confuse the cause.
Describe, in detail, naked breasts (young, old, conservative, recently raped, big, small) or mutilated genitals, or enhanced genitals. Or any kind of genitals. And dead bodies. Or, better, naked dead bodies. And especially rotting naked dead bodies. Remember, any work you submit in which people look filthy and miserable will be referred to as the ‘real Africa’, and you want that on your dust jacket. Do not feel queasy about this: you are trying to help them to get aid from the West. The biggest taboo in writing about Africa is to describe or show dead or suffering white people.
Animals, on the other hand, must be treated as well rounded, complex characters. They speak (or grunt while tossing their manes proudly) and have names, ambitions and desires. They also have family values: see how lions teach their children? Elephants are caring, and are good feminists or dignified patriarchs. So are gorillas. Never, ever say anything negative about an elephant or a gorilla. Elephants may attack people’s property, destroy their crops, and even kill them. Always take the side of the elephant. Big cats have public-school accents. Hyenas are fair game and have vaguely Middle Eastern accents. Any short Africans who live in the jungle or desert may be portrayed with good humour (unless they are in conflict with an elephant or chimpanzee or gorilla, in which case they are pure evil).
After celebrity activists and aid workers, conservationists are Africa’s most important people. Do not offend them. You need them to invite you to their 30,000-acre game ranch or ‘conservation area’, and this is the only way you will get to interview the celebrity activist. Often a book cover with a heroic-looking conservationist on it works magic for sales. Anybody white, tanned and wearing khaki who once had a pet antelope or a farm is a conservationist, one who is preserving Africa’s rich heritage. When interviewing him or her, do not ask how much funding they have; do not ask how much money they make off their game. Never ask how much they pay their employees.
Readers will be put off if you don’t mention the light in Africa. And sunsets, the African sunset is a must. It is always big and red. There is always a big sky. Wide empty spaces and game are critical—Africa is the Land of Wide Empty Spaces. When writing about the plight of flora and fauna, make sure you mention that Africa is overpopulated. When your main character is in a desert or jungle living with indigenous peoples (anybody short) it is okay to mention that Africa has been severely depopulated by Aids and War (use caps).
You’ll also need a nightclub called Tropicana, where mercenaries, evil nouveau riche Africans and prostitutes and guerrillas and expats hang out.
Always end your book with Nelson Mandela saying something about rainbows or renaissances. Because you care.
A week or so ago I was ranting to Mark and his family about my inability to get very far in jobhunting despite trying for over a year. Most of the time I’d get rave reviews about my resume (“we love the stuff that you do! you seem outstanding!”) only to be denied job offers or interviews because
“You don’t have enough experience”
“You don’t have enough specific experience”
“You didn’t tick all the right boxes”
A few times the job I’ve wanted has gone to a friend of mine. Knowing their CV and experiences, it’s baffling how they could get the job and I couldn’t even score an interview – the same excuses lobbed at me could very well be used on them. I was denied a job interview as the website & social networking person for a council youth agency – something I already did on my own for free; also, I was friends with the original job holder (who had no say in HR). I was told that I didn’t have enough social work or youth work background, despite my many years of working with youth communities worldwide. The person who got the job, a friend of mine, doesn’t have “enough” social work background either – she’s a journalist by trade! She absolutely deserves the job, but it’s odd that she got considered when the council won’t even give me a chance to sell myself.
Yet when I ask how I can improve my chances, or what they mean by “enough”, I get vague answers. Often I get no reply. Sometimes I get people rejecting me because I didn’t include something in my resume that was clearly there. (Do they even read these things?) My university HR tried to give me the runaround about not hiring people with Bridging Visas – but at least one of the actual departments gave me an interview.
Today I found some blog chatter about Men with Pen’s James Chartrand revealing that she’s a woman writing under a masculine name . She says she did it because she was not getting anywhere as a freelancer under her female name, but things magically got a lot easier with a male name. Same skills, same resume, different name. The name made all the difference. (Figleaf and the Washington City Paper call possible shenanigans, and I’m starting to wonder if this is a publicity stunt, but that’s a digression from my main point.) It echoed cases of people like the Bronte sisters or J.K. Rowling who only got success and recognition under an ambiguously male name.
This reminded me of my rant with Mark’s family. One thing we thought may have been a big factor is my name. There’s been research (in Australia, even) that shows that people with ethnic names have a far harder time getting jobs than similarly-qualified people with Anglo names . A friend told me about a Middle Eastern colleague of hers that got nowhere with Salleh [Lastname], but when he sent out resumes as Sam Milton people jumped at the chance to hire him. Same resume, drastic difference.
“Tiara Shafiq”. It’s part of my real name (I have another first name that I hardly use which is even more ethnic sounding). It’s the name I’ve done a lot of work by – writing, community work, education. It’s the name on the resume, on the email address, on this website. There are some national and international guides & websites with that name associated with me. Googling that name gets a whole page of sites by or about me.
“Tiara” is unusual, but an English word. It doesn’t twig people’s Foreign-Meter. People tend to think it’s Kiara or Chiara or Kara – it takes a while for me to correct them. “Shafiq”, however, is highly Foreign – not just that, it’s Arabic, which means OMGTerrorist. I don’t think I’ve ever heard the name pronounced right. It takes a while to spell. People are surprised to learn that I am a near-native speaker of English (the only reason I’m not ‘native’ is because I’m from Malaysia); foreign students are surprised to learn I’ve only been in Australia 3 years and I haven’t been raised in an English-majority country.
Should I change my name? Is my name really the deciding factor in whether or not I get jobs, the thing that doesn’t tick people’s boxes (despite my “great experience”), the thing that’s “not enough”? Do people not trust my experience and skills and assume I’m some dodgy foreigner who has no idea what’s going on?
I’ve been thinking of getting an Anglicised name for months, mainly out of frustration at still not getting a regular job. I’ve been pondering on “Tiara Gill” – Gill is the last name of my Eurasian best friend, it’s ambiguous, but it’s also the name of a character in an action fiction story so anyone Googling me will get confused. I’d lose out on all the work I’ve gained through being “Tiara Shafiq”. My references wouldn’t have a clue who “Tiara Gill” is if asked – but do they even know my last name? It could be “Tiara Stephanopolizkytek Chin” for all they care.
Take this website. TiaraShafiq.com. Would I lose out on all the hard work if I start sending out resumes as Tiara Gill? Or something as banal as Tina Smith?
Then again, given that even my best appearances on the web and my wide body of work apparently isn’t enough to even convince people like the Brisbane City Council or QUT (who have people who are very familiar with me) to even give me an interview, does it matter? Are people even reading the resumes and selection criteria, or are they just scanning?
Mark was wondering if it could be considered as fraud since they’d be having preconceived notions based on the name. But isn’t the whole point that they’re building preconceived (yet inaccurate) notions based on my name anyway? How would I deal with paperwork and official material once they work out I’m not Tina Smith or Ms Gill?
Would I be buying into a system that demonizes people for being “ethnic”? That was a major criticism with Chartrands – that not only was she posing as male, she built a hypermasculine online identity that sometimes degraded women. I’ve written plenty about cultural issues and racism both on here and The Merch Girl , but if you read my more neutral posts would you have worked out that I am South Asian born & bred in Malaysia? Would that knowledge affect how seriously you take me, how capable you think I will be? Some people think I’m being too Westernised anyway, what with my taste in performance and my tendency to be more of a loudmouth individualist. Am I already playing within the system that oppresses me over something relatively insignificant?
A lot of young people (from teens to mid 30s) worldwide are regular globetrotters, travelling internationally for purposes as diverse as self-enrichment holidays, study abroad, worldchanging conferences, and the pursuit of performance art. With greater and cheaper options for international travel (budget airlines, youth hostels, couchsurfing, etc), young people from most countries are able to explore the world without needing a huge investment.
However, for young people in developing regions – such as Asia, Africa, or Eastern Europe – their travel pursuits are often blocked by stringent and overly-strict visa regulations. Countries and regions such as the US, Australia, or the European Union require high levels of income, concrete plans for travel and return, and plenty of paperwork to prove legitimacy – more than many young people could reasonably prove or afford. Even countries such as Singapore are making it difficult for people from ‘high-risk’ areas to legitimately arrive in the country for relatively casual purposes.
These young people bring with them foreign income, new cultures and experiences, and plenty of shared resources. Their travel creates bridges of understanding and respect between countries and cultures, replacing the idea of The Other with the idea of a World Neighbour. Youth travel is a growing, strong means of developing international economy, culture, and diplomacy. Yet unfair and difficult visa regulations treat these young people as ‘illegal immigrants’, ‘aliens’, and basically unwanted gatecrashers. The truly desperate use dangerous and illegal means to go international; the rest get stuck where they are, limited by their lack of privilege and by societal assumptions.
There are groups of young people actively protesting visa regulations and proposing special visa considerations for young people (especially those travelling for conferences or youth events). One such initiative is GETVISAble , aimed at Eastern European youth frustrated by their inability to access most youth projects in Western Europe due to visa issues. But more needs to be done.
As a young person and traveller myself, holding a Bangladeshi passport and requiring a visa to just about anywhere, I would like to see the following happen for young travellers:
Visa-free travel for young people, especially to popular regions like North American and Europe
Acceptance of alternative, unconventional, and non-accredited educational/employment opportunities for visa purposes (such as the Scandinavian social enterprise school KaosPilots, which is held in high regard by the design & entrepreneurship world but can be a pain for visas because they’re not formally part of the Danish education system)
Short-term residency permits (about 3-5 years) with the same privileges as permanent residents – access to public welfare and health, scholarships & grants, representation in politics
Grants and funding to support young people travelling for various purposes
A shift in tourism and immigration/migration from requiring absolutely stable and conventional lifestyles before migrating to encouraging young people to experiment and invest their time & energy in other countries
Visas to be obsolete!
Instead of treating young people as potential terrorists and criminals – which is what the current visa system does through its mounds of bureaucracy – treat them as esteemed guests: the New Diplomats, agents of change and development.
What was originally going to be a proposal for The Edge at the State Library of Queensland to hire me became a somewhat extended CV about getting involved with the Brisbane Creative Industries. (Not just Brisbane either but that’s a starting point.)
Do come by, check it out, and please pass the link on to anyone you feel will benefit. Thanks so much!
There is a substantial group of people whose contributions are being overlooked by many people – most notably The Powers That Be – in the Australian arts and creative industries. These people bring with them tons of experience, perspective, creativity, skill, and often money – but are often blocked from participating fully in local arts and culture by factors beyond their control.
This group? Recent migrants and international students.
I was one of many people who came to Australia from overseas because I felt that I would have better opportunities here. My hometown was in the middle of nowhere, where public transport was almost non-existent and the only social activity possible was shopping. Youth were often vilified by Government reps and the State-owned media for having any sense of culture, and so many people were either too afraid of creating challenging honest work in case of jail, or too apathetic to care. The arts are not valued in Malaysia; the only creative school subjects offered in the National curriculum are Literature, Music, and Art, taught very basically in most schools and left to “underachievers”; when I opted for Malay Literature instead of Science I was told many times that I was “wasting my grades” and I was making a big mistake.
In many ways it has been a lot easier for me to express my creativity in Australia. I’m not under threat of deportation or arrest, even if I wanted to mock any politician. I spoke up at a No Internet Filter rally and didn’t face any political trouble! Even more risque work like burlesque has an air of respectability to it – there are passionate people spearheading the subculture, working hard to provide opportunities to all that are interested. There’s not as much stigma in the arts, andt here are a lot more obvious opportunities.
That said, the local arts scene is quite an echo chamber – the same bunch of people over and over again. And it’s very Western/Euro-centric. It’s surprising how often I stick out like a sore thumb amongst my peers just because I’m brown and Asian, especially since Brisbane is very multicultural and where I live I’m often in a bus with 80% foreigners or migrants. After a few years of being in Brisbane and interacting with both the arts scene and with other international students, I have found a few factors in play for the arts’ relative lack of diversity:
Education
It’s hard enough being able to pursue a Creative Arts (or, Heaven forbid, Fine Arts) degree overseas – the stigma is still there and there are often expectations of “will this get you a job?”. Also, outside of the UK and Australia, “creative industries” isn’t a known term – often leading to confused questions about doing multimedia, graphic design, or mass communications.
QUT, the university I was in, brands itself as a “university for the real world” – however, I found most of the content in the Creative Industries degree heavily Australia-centric. Many subjects sprung off assumptions about art and society that were not shared by many of the students, which led to gaps in understanding and appreciation.
One of our required subjects was Staging Australia, or Australian Theatre History – a lecture-only class with a room filled with 3rd-year Drama students and a bunch of confused first-year CI Management students, including at least 3 foreigners. None of us three had come from a drama background, or ever had the opportunity to learn the basics of drama theory – no such thing existed where we came from. The lectures were very dense and it was hard for us to catch up with both theatre theory and Australian history in very little time. Another subject, CI Events and Festivals, ran from the assumption that festivals were mainly a way for the community to assert themselves and to rebel against the higher-ups of society. My experience of festivals were that they were big marketing and commercial exercises for corporates, since that made up the bulk of festivals in Malaysia (anything rebellious got you in trouble), so it took me a long time before I could understand and appreciate her point of view.
Most egregious were the treatment of Asian art in the curriculum – the only countries worthy of highlight were Japan, China, and India, and every lecture on Asian art centered around the Japanese concept of “ma”. My Taiwanese friend took Asian Art and Architecture as a subject; her group was the only country that selected something other than Japan for their group assignment. I sometimes feel that I got an unfairly bum grade for my report on youth culture in Malaysia because I didn’t mention “emos”. The subject that stood out for me in this regard was Performance Innovation: from day 1 “innovation in performance” was basically defined as “White director steals Asian culture, jumbles it up, gets all the glory; Asian cultural performers still can’t get respect”. How could I take the subject seriously when everything being cried out as “innovative” were things people around me grew up with for centuries – my tutor/lecturer couldn’t even get the meanings of colours in Indian dance right!
Many of us who are international students are often made the unofficial “ambassador” of all things foreign. “So, as an international student, what do you think?”. My opinion doesn’t always rely on me being foreign; I’m not even representative of my own culture! Pretty often if there’s a group project we’re all expected to do something related to multiculturalism. Hardly ever would our ideas and perspectives be appreciated who we are, not how foreign we are. The paradox though is that if you do decide to tackle issues of race or culture, you’re branding as being “too involved with race” (as I was a few days ago) and often being oto politically-correct and self-stifling!
I watched the new version of Fame last night and loved it; I spent most of my life trying to make up for the fact that no such performing arts school existed in Malaysia. It was, and still is to some extent, one of my biggest dreams – to be in such an immerse environment that was both educational and creative. It reminded me of schools like NICA and NIDA, as well as Fine Arts degrees, where you spend years honing your craft. I would love to audition for such schools, and indeed many years ago my dad found brochures from NIDA-like places in an attempt to get me to do a degree. I would have loved to do it, but realistically I knew there was no chance in hell I’d ever get a looksee by any of those institutes. I never had the chance to do drama in my childhood and school years, so I don’t have any training or experience; I would be up against people who have been living and breathing this their whole life. I wouldn’t even know how to audition! My clear inexperience will show, and I don’t know if I have the raw talent to make up for it (as well as my obvious ethnic-ness – a point for another day). There didn’t seem to be a middle ground or avenue for people like me who were dying to learn how to be on stage, how to act, how to perform – but never had the head start.
Some Solutions
Expand university curricula to include perspectives from other countries – not just what an Dead White Guy from Australia thinks about Asian art (for example) but what the people there feel about it, with some explanation of their cultural context.
Stop making assumptions about foreign students – we’re not here as spokespeople. Treat us like any other member of the class in terms of valuing our arguments, and understand that we are often coming from a different perspective.
Reconsider when and how your subjects are delivered – Staging Australia would have worked better as a non-required subject offered later in the year; by that point you would have picked up more on local culture and history and can give more educated responses. Also, it didn’t have a lot to do with CI Management. The actual CI Management subject itself (as taught by Zane Trow) made a good overview of the business of the arts, which was transferable anywhere around the world – currently though you can only take the subject after doing 96 hours of credit. If anything, that subject should be one of the prerequisite first-year subjects.
Accept that your perspective isn’t always representative – Not every youth culture hinges on emos, not every country uses festivals as a means of political expression. Sometimes it feels like if you’re not writing what the lecturer is used to hearing, you get shot down. Welcome perspectives from other backgrounds and make an effort to understand where they’re coming from.
Offer bridging programs for people who want to get into the arts but never had the opportunity to do so – pitting enthusiastic but under-resourced people against those with the privilege of attending drama school 5 days a week for 11 years in will eventually lead to this privilege being reinforced throughout all levels of the art world. There’s often an assumption that if you haven’t been training for ages you’re not really passionate about it; for many of us it’s not for lack of trying! Some, like myself, didn’t even consider the option a possibility until they left their original hometown (a degree for CIRCUSART? Blew my mind!). A bridging program gives such enthusiastic people the opportunity to step into their dream world without punishing them for where they were born.
Offer more scholarships and funding for international students – International students get hardly any grants or funding as it is. They’re not eligible for Centrelink, Government or Council grants, or HECS/HELP. Many of us come from places that don’t offer funding to students of the arts because of the stigma. Art school is expensive. By providing funding options, it’s easier for creative international students to explore their fascination further without worrying about being a burden.
There are more factors into migrants in the local arts scene; I’ll write more in this series soon. In the meantime, please feel free to share your thoughts and pass this on to others.
I got linked to this list by a Facebook friend (on Racialicious of all things) and apparently it’s become something of a meme. Since I’ve recently been writing about privilege, I may as well give this a go – the idea is that you bold anything that applies to you. (It’s American-centric)
When you were in college:
If your father went to college, take a step forward.
If your father finished college
If your mother went to college
If your mother finished college
If you have any relative who is an attorney, physician, or professor.
If you were the same or higher class than your high school teachers
If you had a computer at home
If you had your own computer at home
If you had more than 50 books at home
If you had more than 500 books at home
If were read children’s books by a parent
If you ever had lessons of any kind
If you had more than two kinds of lessons
If the people in the media who dress and talk like me are portrayed positively
If you had a credit card with your name on it
If you have less than $5000 in student loans
If you have no student loans
If you went to a private high school
If you went to summer camp
If you had a private tutor
If you have been to Europe
If your family vacations involved staying at hotels
If all of your clothing has been new and bought at the mall
If your parents bought you a car that was not a hand-me-down from them
If there was original art in your house
If you had a phone in your room
If you lived in a single family house
If your parent own their own house or apartment
If you had your own room
If you participated in an SAT/ACT prep course
If you had your own cell phone in High School
If you had your own TV in your room in High School
If you opened a mutual fund or IRA in High School or College
If you have ever flown anywhere on a commercial airline
If you ever went on a cruise with your family
If your parents took you to museums and art galleries
If you were unaware of how much heating bills were for your family.
As a Permanent Resident I had to go to public (government) school, or else I would likely have gone to international school. Our version of prep courses tended to be compulsory when arranged by the school; I boycotted private tuition centres. I don’t have a car and my parents were antsy about letting me out of the house!! (I did go to short weekend camps.) The private tutor was a family friend. And Bangladeshis were definitely not represented well in the media.
So apparently my aunt – one of the sisters of my dad – is an Australian citizen. I did not know this before. This changes everything, as she is now able to sponsor me for Permanent Residency. So I may not even have to get the Temporary Grad visa – I can jump straight to a PR, and live on the Bridging Visa while I wait for that to show up.
Even on the Bridging visa, I can only go overseas for 3 months max. As my Student visa is no longer valid (because I am not a student anymore), if I go home now I’ll need a tourist visa to come back – and there’s no guarantee I’ll be approved of a tourist visa, Bangladesh passport and all (“getting another visa” is a bad reason for a Tourist visa). So to make my sister’s wedding in July I can’t really leave too early.
My flight ticket has been changed (for the gazillionth time) to mid-May. This gives us enough time to apply for the visa(s), head to my sister’s wedding, and come back within 3 months.
I am flat broke. I only saved enough to last me to this week, and I haven’t found a job yet. I do have the option of casual work (depending on whether ICTE need more Aussies) and there’s also opportunities to sell ads for the Burlesque Magazine and/or do VA work. But nothing that’s enough for living expenses yet. I’ll need to find a job that covers my expenses and lets me bugger off for three months (or at least doesn’t get offended when I have to quit in the middle of May).
I also may need to find new digs at least till May, or work out something with Mark so that we’re not on each other’s toes for the next couple of months.
I don’t even know what’s going on with my visa anymore. Every other moment there’s a twist. If visas weren’t so fundamentally boring this could be a movie!
OK. So I’ve just received some new information about the Temporary Graduate visa I was going to apply for, and now my head’s in a tizzy.
1. The Temporary Graduate visa takes at least SIX months to be processed. This made me yelp because I do not want to be in Malaysia (well, Ulu Tiram) for six months. There’s nothing to do and I’ll stagnate in there. I’d lose half a year of circus training and just end up atrophying in front of my computer like I usually do.
HOWEVER
2. Apparently once you lodge your application you are NOTALLOWED to leave Australia. You are given a Bridging visa that lets you stay in Australia legally while the other visa’s being processed. I’ve heard “you can’t leave” to “you can only leave for compassionate reasons” to “you can stay, or you can leave”. I don’t know if you are given the Bridging visa immediately or if you have to apply for it and wait (hopefully not for months). Some bridging visas give you working rights, but I have to check that too.
I’m cool with remaining in Australia for as long as I need to. I can continue circus training, learn burlesque and pole, do fun stuff, get involved (there’s TONS of things happening in the next couple of months), and actually apply for jobs without wondering about whether I’d be around long enough to start work. However, there are a few issues here:
I am running out of money. I have less than $200 in my account, which is just enough to last me until the 27th – the date I was supposed to fly out to Malaysia. I have been looking for jobs, but without luck – I haven’t had an interview, and people are generally reluctant to hire folks with immigration issues (like myself). I’ve been doing casual and part-time gigs here and there, but they haven’t been enough to cover major expenses.
I need a place to live. Currently I’m sharing a room with Mark (in the same apartment with Nikki, who has her own room). While we generally get along, being in the same small room as Mark 24/7 has really taken a toll on our relationship. The room’s only meant for one person, so there’s not enough space for our clothes, our computers, and so on. We end up being pissed off at each other, or feeling cramped. We had a long conversation about this last night where we came to the conclusion that we work better with having our own working spaces (or at least a working space that’s separated from the bedroom) but sharing a bed, instead of having everything “on top of each other”. Any longer in our current situation, though, and things may get really ugly. (Those of you who received a message from me saying “We all live and die alone” – this was part of the impetus.)
My parents will be pissed off. They’ve been wishy-washy about me being in Australia – a few months ago, when I was going through a deep depression and just wanted to get out of everything, they were so eager for me to be a PR that they even got all the forms and hired agents before I was ready. Now, though, they keep dropping anvil-sized hints about “taking a break” by coming back to Malaysia, forgetting about Australia because we’re apparently getting Malaysian citizenship anyway (after waiting my whole life!), and besides circus doesn’t give you a future so why bother. (There’s a looooooooong story behind this.) They were willing to support my visa costs, but were more willing to pay for everything if I lived in Johor. Even my dad says on the phone, “You know, we’re allowing you to apply this visa to make you happy…” and doesn’t get it when I say it’s not a question of me being allowed or not allowed to do something. When they find out the quagmire I’m in, they’re likely going to conclude that I’m so disorganised and it’s such a hassle that they’re not willing to cover the AU$3000+ cost for the visa and paperwork – “just go home!”
The factor that complicated this is my student visa. It’s valid till the 30th of August, but due to credit transfers I’m graduating a semester ahead of schedule. I called up DIMIA a few months ago asking about my visa and they told me that my student visa stops being valid as soon as I graduate (this Tuesday). With this understanding, my parents booked tickets for the 27th – graduate, put in application (even though I can only apply around the 7th of April because I have to wait for my IELTS results to be released), go home, wait for approval. But if my new information is correct, I can’t go home at all. Not a loss for me – but a big source of trouble for them. I had already delayed my return date twice.
I sent an email to the migration agent I visited in February asking for clarification, and CC’d my family. If they read the email they’ll hopefully see my side of the situation. My parents are currently in the Middle East and will be in Australia just before my graduation – I don’t know if they’ll get the chance to even read the email beforehand. And we have 3 days between the graduation and someone having to go back on the flight. Or something.
ARGH!
I’d love to remain in Australia; I just need the following:
A job, or enough money to live on
Somewhere to live – cheap or free rent, good people, utilities included, not dodgy (I’ve had two renting experiences that didn’t go so great; I’m worried to go renting now!!). Hell, I’d go live with my burlesque teacher and be her apprentice if she’d let me. Or something.
My expenses and needs taken care of
Some way of going back legally (there’s a Bridging Visa variant that lets you do this) – my sister’s getting married in July! Ironically she’s more supportive of my plan than my parents are!
Less stress – I already had such a stressful night talking with Mark about our future, starting over, whether we cope well together, and so on. I couldn’t sleep at all. Now this is just giving me a greater headache.
A guardian angel
I was doing so well. I had dreams! There were things I wanted to do! There were people here who wanted me around! I found the people that care for me and want me back here! And now this?
I’m running out of things I can do in the mundane world. I’ve asked for advice, I’m getting the paperwork sorted, I’ve told my parents. Sometimes I wonder if my parents are praying for me to just come back to Malaysia and drop this Australia thing – they are in the holiest Muslim place in the world. Can prayers override each other? If I asked all my spiritual and magical friends to pray and spellcast and wish and who-knows-what for my visa success, for my dream life to be true, for my wave of joy and good fortune to return – will it work against the wishes of my parents which seem to be conflicting? (If you are a magical person, feel free to do whatever ritual you want towards my aid. Or pray for me. Whatever works for you. You have my eternal gratitude.)
URGH! I hate visas. Hate them so much.
EDITEDITEDIT! POSSIBLESOLUTION!
I just took a shower and I think I’ve come up with a solution that suits everybody.
1. Graduate on the 24th. Get degree cert to apply for VETASSESS. Go talk to immigration agent to see if this plan holds water.
2. Go back to Malaysia on the 27th.
3. Receive IELTS results by mail around mid-April. (This is the main thing stopping me from making an application now.)
4. Go back to Australia either on the student visa (risky, but it does say “valid till 30 August 2009” on it and apparently people have done this before) or on a tourist visa (a bit of a hassle, and costs a bit, but it only takes a day and there are cheap flights) by end of April with IELTS results and other paperwork stuffage.
5. Apply for Temp Grad visa.
6. Get Bridging visa. Possibly ask for modification to go overseas in July.
7. Live in Australia for as long as I need to.
8. Rock on.
!!!!!
The main things here are the flight back to Australia and the visa to come back. A little bit of extra cost, but possibly worth it?? My parents will have me back (though I hope they don’t kick up a fuss that it’s not as long as they’d like), I get to come back to Australia early, and I get to liiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiive.
Last week I went to see Sylvia Arroyo at No Borders about my visa options. Basically we worked out the following:
I could get the Occupational Trainee visa, but it does mean that I’m highly limited in the work I can do – and unless I win the lottery or get a massive grant, I won’t be able to solely support myself on circus training.
I’m 10 points short for a General Skilled Migration PR – but that’s not a big concern
The Graduate (Temporary) Skilled visa is best for me – 18 months, non-restricted, and it gives me the 10 extra points I need if I ever want to get a PR
To get that visa, I have to nominate myself in a skilled area on their Skilled Occupation List (which doesn’t include every job under the sun, just a select few). After some review, I find that I’m most “qualified” as a Print Journalist.
This means that if I want to apply for PR after 18 months, I should have at least one year’s work experience in print journalism or something closely related. It doesn’t have to be all at once or all with the same company. I could work wherever I wished if I wasn’t concerned about the PR.
This is a basic breakdown of the costs and materials needed to get this visa:
Item
Cost
Notes
IELTS Tests
$280
Paid for – I have a test on the 21st of March. However, I can’t lodge the application until I get my results – it takes two weeks and I’m meant to be out of the country then. Trying to get an early date, or check whether I can lodge this by proxy.
VETASSESS Assessment
$319
Can only do this once I get the degree cert – so after 24th March. I can lodge the app while this is being processed.
Medicals
$271
Don’t need to be finished when app’s lodged; just having them booked is fine.
Police Clearance (Australia)
$49
Since they take a while, just having them booked is fine – AFP mails them over.
Visa application
$190
Together with this, I need to attach the IELTS test results, proof of booking (medicals, VETASSESS, police clearance), and whatever other paperwork they want.
Police Clearance (Malaysia)
???
Not sure how to get this done – apparently it’s tricky for non-citizens. I’ll only need this when the visa’s ready to be issued.
Translation (Birth Cert)
???
Also only need this once visa’s ready.
Migration Agent
$2200
This lets her deal with everything. We can do it alone also if we wished.
Minus the migration agent and the Malaysian stuff, this comes up to just under $1000. I’d like the assistance of the agent though (even if it’s more than double the visa price!!) – it’ll definitely help get some clout with getting paperwork done early (especially the IELTS test!!) and managing the application while I’m in Malaysia.
Since even the non-agent visa costs are way out of my budget, I asked my parents for help. My mum’s not really saying much about it, but my dad went ballistic.
“You spent $20,000 on a degree! Why don’t you use that degree for a job? Why do you want to go to the circus?!”
“How long do you want to live in uncertainty? THEREARETOOMANYIFS!”
“If we get Malaysian citizenship (my dad’s been hinting about this for months) do you still want to apply for PR?”
“You spent some time camping and got sick and didn’t enjoy it (Woodford; I left halfway due to illness and being overwhelmed). Do you think you’ll be physically capable for circus?”
“I think to get the 10 points you should apply for a master’s course that can get you points.” (This coming from the same person that said “if you can find any way to get Aussie PR I’ll support you, to the point of hooking me up with another agent months ago! Appreciated the help, but that agent was borderline useless.)
I understand and acknowledge that they’re worried. That they just want me to be safe, healthy, happy. What I don’t get is why they don’t understand that this makes me happy. The circus thing is a dream come true – why are they letting their own prejudices and misconceptions cloud what I’m doing? So they don’t think it’s worthwhile. I think it is. Shouldn’t that matter?
Why are my parents worried about me being in “uncertainty” when I’ve at least found something I’ll be certain for the year? My dad keeps asking “after that 18 months and your circus thing, what would you do?” I can’t give him a concrete answer now – things change, people change, I change. All I could tell him is that I’ll cross that bridge when I get to it.
My dad wants all sorts of official information from Sylvia. Apparently he’d rather believe her than me. I asked him to call her; don’t know if he has. Sylvia isn’t responding to my emails. I really want her help. I just can’t afford it on my own right now.
I’ve been applying and looking for jobs to support myself in the meantime. Not many purely about writing; quite a few marketing/communications which aren’t exactly my thing (I’m useless at selling things) but could try for anyway. And a few somewhat left-of-center ones that sound pretty cool. There are some other cool projects here too, but they’re voluntary – and voluntary don’t pay the bills.
Then I’ll probably have to find a place to live – right now I’m bunking with Mark (boyfriend) and Nikki (close friend) because it helps all of us afford rent and it was meant to be a short-term thing. (Nikki used to have her ex as her roomie before they broke up recently.) However, Mark and I have the smaller room, and neither of us are particularly keen at this moment in time to keep sharing a room 24/7. Sleeptime’s great, but we both need our personal space (especially since we both have overflowing collections!) and I don’t want us to end up like Nikki & Ex who ended up resenting each other. On the other hand, my past experiences with private rentals haven’t turned out too well.
I’d like to find a creative circusy or performancy house, with enough space to practice & train, and some space to be private, go into prayer, etc. Mark and I were thinking of us having separate rooms but coming together in the evenings; that could work. I know friends that are in “theme houses” – circus, Pagan, etc. They seem to get along great. Where do those friends find each other? Do they meet first and then househunt, or the other way round?
If I do end up in Brisbane longer, I’d like to continue burlesque dancing. I’d like to choreograph some routines, and perform them at smaller intimate (ha!) events. I’d like to do some long-term volunteering projects, such as a coordination role in Backbone Youth Art’s 2high Festival . I could get a head start on the 1000 True Fans business idea (seriously: this is a standard website for solo performance artists . I could draw better than that, and I can’t draw.) I could go for Aspirant training with my coven . I could risk going for the long-term stuff. And of course, I could whip my way around the circus and live my dream.
But I can’t really even commit to anything until I know where in the world I’ll be.
So some time ago I applied for an artsworker position with Vulcana Women’s Circus . The year-long program involves intense training in the circus arts, followed by community arts and outreach work.
I wrote an email to them talking about my lifelong dream to learn circus arts (or at least gymnastics of some sort), how I enjoyed my beginner’s circus class a LOT, how even though I’m not very technically competent I’m willing to learn and I love community work anyhoo. I didn’t expect to get shortlisted even: I figured they’d want someone with more arts and circus experience and ability.
I just got a call from Chae (who trained us in our beginner’s class). She said my application was lovely, and that they want me in their artsworker program!!
OMG!!
I’ve been harbouring a dream to be trained in circus skills (to a competent level) for a year. Intense circus. I wasn’t sure how to make it possible but I wanted it to be made possible. And now it’s coming true!!
Well, maybe. The trick now is dealing with visas. Which could be a bit more complex. Chae’s husband in Dutch so she’s familiar with immigration issues, but this is a slightly different situation.
I’ve looked around and there seems to be two visas that suit my situation well:
1. The Occupational Trainee Visa which allows you to be part of a workplace training program for up to two years in Australia. Pros: Very specifically applies to situations like mine, so shouldn’t be a problem. Employer (Vulcana)‘s willing to help, and they do most of the work (which shouldn’t be too hard). Relatively easy to apply – no need to futz around with skilled occupations or English tests or whatever. Cons: I can’t work elsewhere while doing the training; Vulcana however can only offer casual work at the most, so I’m not sure where I’m going to find money to live on. I could do online work, but again I’m not sure what work I could do online that would help me pay rent and living expenses.
2. The Skilled – Graduate (Temporary) Visa which is especially designed for recent international graduates of Australian universities, to spend 18 months in Australia with no restrictions on work, study, or whatever/ Pros: I can do whatever I want, so I can work part-time or even study part-time if I wished. Longer period, so I can spend some time before/after to rest and travel around. Cons: I have to do all of the legwork. Timing will be an issue – I need to have ALL my paperwork sorted before I can apply. One of them is the IELTS English language test, which I’m only taking at the end of March. (My current visa expires soon after.) I need to nominate something from the Skilled Occupation List which is slightly difficult for my degree – also, I’m not sure whether what I plan to do has to exactly match up with my nominated job (if it doesn’t, this becomes a LOT easier).
I’ve contacted No Borders Migration about it but I haven’t heard anything yet. I’d like to get the Temporary Graduate visa anyway regardless of Vulcana happening; it’s more timing that I’m worried about.
I really hope the visa issues get sorted and that I get to be in this program. It’s my dream come true. Good vibes and energy please!!
I actually have a few ideas related to making visas less sucky, but let’s deal with them one at a time.
So I’m a young person, and I wish to go overseas for a while. Let’s say I want to go to San Francisco to check out life there. I’ve heard quite a few good things about it, it seems like my kind of place, and I’ve only been in the airport so it’ll be a new experience. (This is true, BTW; I’d like to hang out in San Francisco one day if given the chance. I nearly got to, for university exchange, but that fell apart on me unexpectedly.) I don’t have any set plans; I’d like to make them us as I go.
As I am a young person from a developing country, I don’t exactly have gobs of money. I am supported mainly by my parents, am currently seeking jobs/business ideas, and am mainly in transition. I do have a degree, which is broad and interdisciplinary by nature; I also have lots of experience in diverse but related areas. Oh, and I hold a passport from an area known for illegal immigration.
Traditionally all those factors would count against me. No money, no strict itinerary, nothing tying me down to where I am at the moment. I can’t even get a letter saying I’m from XYZ University and I’ll still be a student there when I return, because I’ve already graduated. I don’t fit a specific skill. And my passport country’s reputation precedes me.
Let’s reframe my experience with the US Embassy here:
I go to the US Embassy and I’m greeted cordially by the staff, made up of a mix of people from around the world, locally and otherwise, with experience of American culture. I head towards the Youth area, where there are the latest youth media (mainstream and indie), computers with free Web access, lounges and sofas, water coolers, American candies and fruit. (mmm candy corn) There are posters around the place with descriptions of cool things young people can do in the US, as well as stacks of flyers and brochures for festivals, classes, schools, whatever. On one side is a noticeboard with clippings from Americans and locals (Apartment for Rent! Petsitter Needed! Be my travel buddy!).
A peer consulate person, roughly around my age, dressed smart casual comes up to me and introduces herself. Her name is Annie, she’s American, has travelled the world as a backpacker, and uses her consul job to meet even more people overseas. She chats to me about what I like, who I am, what I’d like to do in the US.
Annie writes down all her details, and brings me to the flyer section, pulling out a few things about San Francisco. She tells me about an alternative media symposium happening in the next few months, about the organisation that runs the yearly Gay Parade and how they need volunteers. A social change startup has set up base in San Francisco and needs employees – Annie could arrange an interview. We build a file of possible leads, and leave with more information and follow-up tasks.
The interview with the startup goes well; the Gay Parade organisers sends me an email after an introduction from Annie. Annie emails me some information on places for rent – would I like to live in a university dorm and take classes? We keep in touch, discussing options for raising money and building my life in San Francisco.
I get the job at the startup – a role I get to define myself. The US Government supports the costs of them sponsoring my entry. I receive a US$2000 start-up grant, given by all Youth Support Visa grantees. to establish myself in San Francisco. Partners such as Virgin America and T-Mobile provide me with discounts and special offers for my arrival.
I am given a quick Youth Support Visa. It states that I am there to support and experience American culture. I may not have a lot to offer financially, but I have spirit and energy and I am willing to build bridges between cultures. My Bangladesh passport is not a barrier. The process is collaborative, easy, and engaging. I feel welcome before I even arrive at San Francisco.
After a long airline ride (predated by more communication with Annie and contact with offices in San Francisco) I go through the special Youth Support Visa line and receive a warm welcome from immigration. No glares, no sneers; all smiles. I am welcomed by a young man, Ricky, with flaming red hair and enthusiasm to match. He brings me in his van to my room – in a simple apartment just off the city centre – and explains the facilities his office provides. There are support networks, advice, job listings, social activities, legal assistance, permanent migration assistance…all sorts of things. If I’m in trouble, if I’m homesick, if I want to chat, Ricky and his team (including Annie from home) are available.
I hang out with local San Fran residents and with other Youth Support Visas. One’s here on a research jaunt into pollution in different American states; one’s here on holiday after high school; a couple are here to stake out the place for possible permanent migration. We get involved in the local community and get to chat with the Mayor. We keep in touch with our home countries, and help build a link between the two.
None of us are particularly exceptional; we all have different interests and reasons for being in the US. But we are considered valuable, an asset into building global connections through travel and community participation. We don’t have to worry about being deported or detained. Our presence is welcomed, no matter who we are or where we come from.
A few years later I receive an opportunity to live with a family that owns a Buddhist temple in Murou. The Japan consulate in San Francisco greets me with open arms, and a young man named Hiro helps me sort out my jaunt in Murou, organising language lessons and guiding me through Japanese culture. I get another Youth Support Visa, another grant (Y150000), another great journey.
There are non-governmental organisations that do similar things – British Council deals with all things UK (especially for young people) and IDP Education works with higher education in Australia. However, none of them directly work with Government and their Migration/Immigration visas. None of them have a direct effect on visa approval (not that I know of anyway). They don’t actually issue visas.
Supporting young people (who are often keen travellers and explorers) will go a long way into encouraging integration, diversity, and smooth international relations. Welcoming them as part of the community would integrate people more than isolating them and decrying them from not joining in. We give what we can, and they help us use our skills and gifts for everyone’s benefit.
The massive sticker you get in your passport that allow you to visit countries and (hopefully) not get deported.
I hate them.
Being a holder of a Bangladesh passport means that I need visas for almost every country in the planet. Usually I’m placed in a “high-risk” category, which means I have to surrender my financial documents (and that of my parents, since at the moment they’re my main source of money), my education and work history, letters from who knows what about who knows where, my last few addresses in the past 5 years…everything. And I have to wait a lot longer.
Being a Malaysian resident means that I’m usually dealing with visa offices in KL that aren’t used to dealing with SO MUCH paperwork from one person. (Well, except for the US office, who seem to collect paperwork like it’s going extinct.) Many questions about when I migrated to Malaysia (never; I was born in Malaysia), about why I don’t have a Malaysian passport (because permanent residents don’t get passports), about why I’m not a Malaysian citizen (because your lack of a jus soli policy and convoluted citizenship process means that I have to wait forever to even apply for citizenship. And we’re still waiting.).
My family tries to get long-term multiple-entry visas whenever possible. 5 years for the US. A year or so for the UK. 5 years for Australia. That way we won’t have to deal with the paperwork hassles more than once. We’re all keen travellers – I first flew when I was 40 days old and have been overseas an average of 1.5 times a year since – though we would be keener travellers if it wasn’t such a pain in the arse!
In late 2007 I was accepted to the admissions workshop for KaosPilots Stockholm . I had one week to get there. I knew if I asked my parents for permission it’d be too late. The morning I heard the news, I raced to the Swedish visa office for help.
She looked at me sceptically. Young student, third-world passport unrelated to Australia, last minute? I begged and told her my circumstances. I brought as much paperwork as I had on me. She said that even Australians need at least two weeks for a tourist visa, but she’ll call the Sydney office and check.
To the surprise of both of us, the Sydney office said yes. On one condition: I had to get a plane ticket, bank statements, and university letter sorted by 2pm that afternoon.
I had about $4000 in my account. I had 4 hours. No time to hesitate.
In a big flurry of activity (and quite a bit of time sitting in front of a Flight Centre lady working out the cheapest routes that won’t require me getting another visa) I dropped over $2000 on a ticket to Stockholm, got my bank accounts sorted, and got a letter from the university saying that I was a full-time student. I rushed them over to the Sweden office with the rest of my paperwork and my passport. In the hours after, I contacted KaosPilots with plenty of requests for faxes and official letters.
And I waited. And waited.
Two or three days before I was scheduled to leave, I got a phonecall from the office saying that my visa has been approved and that my passport was ready for collection. Record timing.
Oh god.
I called my parents. They didn’t know whether to laugh or cry. “What? You got a VISA? You’re going WHERE? You spent HOWMUCH? That money was for YOUREDUCATION!!!” Too late to object; I was off.
I spent a crazy winter week in Stockholm, Copenhagen, and Aarhus (hey, while you’re in the other side of the world, might as well check the rest of the place out). I rode a ferry and an interstate train. I lived in a hostel boat and with someone from Couchsurfing. I lived on crispbread and salmon on tubes for breakfast.
On the flight(s) back I had two 10+-hour layovers – Tokyo and Sydney. In Tokyo I heard that I was rejected from the KaosPilots. In Sydney my flight was cancelled and I had to fight to get a flight home.
It was crazy, it was stressful, and at the end it was heartbreaking, but I’m so glad I did it. Mainly because it showed that I could get a visa on my own legitimately.
All those examples involve US immigration, which have some of the most fucked-up immigration policies in the world. However, this doesn’t mean I’m immune everywhere else. No matter where I go, I’ll always face visa issues. I can’t even get a visa to Singapore most times because “just visiting” isn’t a “legit” option – and I live right next door! Whenever I fly back to Malaysia I’m quizzed about my lack of visa and my PR card flummoxes them. Sometimes I get asked a lot of questions. However, I get it easy. If I were male, I would be detained as soon as I arrived.
I’m interested in conferences and alternative education programs, but there’s no easy way to get visas for them mainly because you’re not really a student (in the conventional sense) or an employee or a trainee. Most places can’t really be bothered to help beyond an “official invite letter”.
There was a campaign by young European activists about having visa-free options for young Europeans, or at least “youth visas” that are easy to apply for – I support that idea. A lot of young people travel but visas hamper their journeys so much. How can a young person necessarily hold at least $50,000 cash? Why limit world travel to just the privileged few, when opening up borders will result in better integration and understanding of multiple cultures? There are the working holiday visas, which are a great idea – except that they’re limited to certain countries. I can’t even get a special visa to work as a camp counsellor in the US because they’re not offered to Bangladeshis. Whoopdedoo.
I am considering being an Australian permanent resident, working my way up to an Australian passport. I like Australia and it’d be nice to have my base here. However, Australian immigration doesn’t make it easy for me to even get a general migrant visa. You need to nominate a “Skilled Occupation”, and that depends solely on your degree – nothing else. All those volunteer and work experiences? Count for nothing. My degree is Creative Industries (Interdisciplinary). That doesn’t really fit most, if any, of the Skilled Occupations with points. Most jobs I’m best suited for don’t have strict titles and may not pay the minimum. And again, my experience doesn’t count.
The experience that does count require me to get training that allows me to legally pursue those lines of work (such as working with children). To get the training I need a visa. Catch-22!
If I had it my way, visas would never exist in the first place. Everyone gets a UN passport and has freedom to travel. We can’t have a global community if we keep fencing ourselves from each other.
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