It’s been a while since I’ve felt really motivated to write a blog post.
But this morning I had the kind of moment that hit me like a bus. That made me the angriest and the saddest I’ve felt in months. And for the first time in a while, felt like I really wanted to share it.
I think when you’ve lived in a place like Northern Ghana for a while, things that should shock and outrage you just become the norm. I see kids every day that I know should be in school and aren’t. I see adults with mental disorders not getting the social support they need. I have friends who can’t afford a university degree, and friends who can’t find a job.
It does make me sad, angry, and outraged by the injustice. It does motivate me to be here and create change. But day-in and day-out, how could you get by, letting yourself be constantly so affected by it? I think we cope by coming to accept things as a norm more than we should. Kids out of school, farmers without a market… These broken systems shouldn’t be the norm.
Well this morning I was catching up on emails after a couple weeks of traveling for work and pleasure (an amazing visit with my mum!). I had happily offered a few weeks ago to help with EWB’s African Leadership Program and had a pile of emails waiting for me to finally look at. The ALP will have some of our amazing African counterparts participate in a leadership development program, traveling to Canada to attend EWB’s National Conference, workshops and short-term placements in Canadian workplaces.
I was excited to help with the ALP to get to work more closely with these individuals who were selected on the basis of their demonstrated leadership. Who doesn’t want to spend more time with people committed to changing their country? When I checked my email this morning I was excited to see where things were at with plans for their pre-departure leadership retreat, but instead the majority of messages were related to one logistical item: visas.
I’d always heard that getting a visa to visit Canada was hard, but I’d never really looked into what was actually required. Today I witnessed firsthand the kind of hoops a Ghanaian has to jump through.
A letter of invitation by a host, with evidence of their income, proof of their employment, and proof of their existing funds. Letters detailing the purpose of the trip, itinerary, length of stay and contacts. Provisional airline tickets…
Letters confirming your employment and your salary. Your bank statements, your pay stubs, your proof of any assets such as land titles, vehicle registrations… Your proof that you will, indeed, go back to the country you came form.
Reading through the checklist hit me like a bus. Because just last week, I landed in Uganda, where all I needed was my passport, a yellow fever vaccination certificate, and 50 USD.
I have the luxury of being able to go just about wherever I want, with minimal difficulty. Meanwhile my amazing friend Selase – educated, responsible, employed, absolutely committed to returning to Ghana and working to see this country develop – has to run around filling form after form. Canada says jump, and he has to ask how high. As a Canadian, no one even asks me to jump. And my stomach drops at the thought that after all this effort, he could still be denied.
I know there are reasons why the process is so stringent. I know temporary visas get abused and illegal immigration is a problem. But today I couldn’t just pass it off as the norm.
In the kind of world I want to live in, this shouldn’t have to be the norm. I want to live in a world where your birthplace doesn’t prescribe the opportunities that will or will not be available to you.
Today was just one reminder of why it matters to me to work on expanding opportunities further than they’ve reached before.
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