Our U.S. Embassy’s vice consular was here at the hospital compound yesterday to discuss a wide variety of topics. A former marine with a Master’s Degree in political science from a University in Moscow, he was a very effective communicator with a broad perspective and I am glad I and my older boys could learn from him.
The Embassy includes a much bigger contingent of Americans and Togolese workers than I realized with a primary mission of serving Americans who happen to be here. I really appreciate their efforts.
His outreach topics included passport services, certificates of birth overseas, etc. that apply more to the long term folks here (like our friends the Nattiers who have a baby on the way). He covered security and the processes that the embassy uses to monitor the political situation here and keep us updated. He also addressed visas and immigration services which I found so interesting, particularly in light of the fact that the diversity visa program has been a focus of the news back home.
This lottery program has become very popular here in Africa and he stated that last year, our neighbor Ghana set the per capita record when 5% of the population registered for a random chance to immigrate to America. Of course the program is a set up for all kinds of fraud where cybercafe owners charge people to register online an then extract additional fees if people actually win the lottery. But basically, for a small fee and with an internet connection, anyone in the world can register for a chance to win one of the 50,000 annual immigration visas to America.
In his explanation of his office’s task of safe guarding the integrity of the passport application and renewal process, the vice consular said the U.S. Passport is the most sought after document in the world. It struck me that everybody in my family gets one, just for being born.
There are so many mysteries in life. Each time we come home after dark and see our guard sitting on this bench by our driveway these questions surface in my mind. I think he get’s paid about $60 per month to watch our house and the others on our little road at night. At their school, our boys learned that during the day our guard works in nearby fields. Life just seems hard for so many here.
I read in another blog recently that privilege shouldn’t make us feel guilty but it should make us feel responsible.
This is interesting....the boys are getting an education outside of the classroom!
ReplyDeleteSo great that your kids are learning these unique perspectives about privilege and the responsibility it carries. It is an easy lesson to see missed or skewed if not for good parenting. Thank you for all you are doing.
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