An August Rant

I did lots of crazy things this month. I looked up immigration a million times. To the United States, to Canada, to New Zealand, to Denmark, to Sweden, to Australia, and then back to New Zealand. No, I’m not going to immigrate to NZ. I wish I were, but I won’t. I was just sick and tired of being sick and tired of the European visa crap every time I have to apply to a European visa. It is very ridiculous that somebody can head to a country and obtain a visa at the airport, while someone else has to go through painful procedures and humiliating rounds in order to obtain the same visa, just because they have different pieces of paper really when you come to think of it. I hate that logic. But that logic is what governs the world. I would love to be able to say I am very content with my Lebanese passport. But the truth is I am not. I am sick of it. I am also sicker of the fact that Lebanon grants lots of foreigners visas at the airport and allow them to treat us in such a horrible way when it comes time for us to go to their airports. Why??

If somebody comes from UAE and gets a visa at the airport I want to be able to go to the UAE and get a visa at the airport. What prevents our government from demanding reciprocal treatment? Aren’t we bragging ALL the time that the Lebanese are building Dubai? Why can’t they ask for the right to enter Dubai?

And what’s the deal with Lebanese employees treating people like sh*t just because they are applying for a visa? And what’s up with the No-Option-For-Human-Service over the phone so that people can only listen to machines repeating what you read on the website? And if you email the embassy you get a reply that is a copy pasted paragraph from the same damn website.

I don’t like the suspense I always find myself in because I was born with a Lebanese passport. I get enough suspense from the chaos in the country. And all this makes me hate the guts of the war criminals who still are in power in Lebanon. When I wonder what is my fault, I directly answer, I am part of the people who allow war criminals to rule them. The war brought us here. THEY brought us here.

But of course they don’t have to wait at the doors of Embassies and struggle to get appointments there. The doors are open for them wherever they go. We are the ones who have to pay hundreds of thousands everytime in order to get the much anticipated humiliation interview. 3ishtom wa 3asha Lobnan.