Archive for the 'Passport Report' Category

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Hey, it's Eid

Published on 2009/09/28 in Passport Report. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , .

It is. That magical time of the year that ends a 40-day 12-hour fast observance. Though I didn’t partake this year, I’ll be sure to be celebrating Eid. Especially since North America seems to be going mental over H1N1. Islands in BC are scared about the disease spreading far to thoroughly through the populace. Tourists have cut short their vacations.

Not so in countries with visibly large Muslim populations. Across the globe, people are pouring out to eat and be merry regardless of the hype. Celebrations in Indonesia, the UAE, Syria, Egypt and elsewhere have already been seen as some of the largest ever. It’s also been a time of inter-faith dialogue. IslamOnline had this excellent story about Hindus in India celebrating with Muslims.

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Kleptocracy and Immigration

Published on 2009/08/17 in Passport Report. 0 Comments Tags: , , , .

palestinianmourners-420x0The Guardian is pointing to Japan’s new economic recovery signs like it’s the coming of the Messiah. Not to be outdone, Kin Jong is planning to reopen his country’s border with South Korea. It all goes quite nicely with Obama’s sight on world economic recovery on the horizon. And, a Saudi man bought a solid gold penis enlarger. But recovery for who(m – tsk tsk Real News), ask a few of my unemployed friends:

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The Police and the Private

Published on 2009/07/27 in Passport Report. 3 Comments Tags: , , , , , .

al-287x300This city is unnaturally calm. A friend told me that he had never seen a single fight break out here in all his years in Vancouver. I have to agree with him that even though I occasionally hang around areas that invite violent acts, I have seen few actual altercations.

Well, one so far in the past five years, over space that spans the many kilometers from Abbotsford and Chilliwack to West Vancouver.

Even walking through the supposedly deadly area of East Hastings and Main St., the worst thing that has happened to me is the accosting of an old woman who said that I looked a lot like her son. Myths of hookers that lure you into alleyways where you’d get beaten up for your wallet, and junkies running at you with infected needles – these I have yet to see.
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The real cost of slave labour

Published on 2009/05/31 in Passport Report. 7 Comments Tags: , , , .

7510435-d4f_displayI get this feeling every time the plane touches down at Dubai Intl. Airport. A sort of “I’m home” thought that just involuntarily runs through my mind. It’s hard not to feel this when you’ve called one country your home for 19 years.

This time, that feeling was strangely absent. Perhaps not too strangely. A number of my friends are, like myself, planning to bid goodbye to the country and leave for better futures. My parents, nearing retirement age, are planning to move to India where they have rights and a far more relaxed life free of the constant threat of deportation.

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Elections of Fire and Rage

Published on 2009/04/10 in Passport Report. 0 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , .

vaisakhiparadeapril2006It’s election time, almost, in British Columbia. This means that representatives will be pandering for the vote throughout the province, at restaurants, malls and pretty much anywhere there might be a crowd.

They’ll definitely be pandering at this weekend’s Vaisakhi Festival. They did in 2007, with hilarious results. One of the martyrs honoured on a float that year was Air India bomber Talwinder Singh Parmar. The politicians that day had a lot of egg that needed to be wiped off their stunned-but-still-smiling faces. Adding to the apprehension of the oncoming media nightmare was the fact that some people at the festival that day were seen wearing International Sikh Youth Federation T-shirts (promoting a group that is banned in Canada under the Anti-Terrorism Act).

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The movement of the people

Published on 2009/03/23 in Passport Report. 2 Comments Tags: , , , , , , , , , .

outsideLast week I received the call for which I’d been waiting a year. If I were more dramatic, I’d write that I’d been waiting for the call my entire life.

Life with a passport from a country like India is interesting. A couple of friends told me that getting a visa to India, unless you’re going with a hoity-toity tourist group, is quite hard. Getting visas to other countries if you have an Indian passport is even harder.

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