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Al-Ahram Weekly 26 Aug. - 1 Sep. 1999 Issue No. 444 
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Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Al-Ahram Weekly 26 Aug. - 1 Sep. 1999 Issue No. 444
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| Published in Cairo by AL-AHRAM established in 1875 |
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Egypt Region International Economy Opinion Focus Culture Features Profile Travel Living Sports People Time Out Chronicles Cartoons Letters Undesirable foreigner
By Fatemah FaragKadria Mohamed Daoud is a university student with a horrific story to tell. She arrived at Los Angeles Airport on 10 August and took her place in the passport control queue, only to find herself eventually handcuffed and stripped of her personal belongings. No explanations were given for what turned out to be a 15-hour detention in a dirty motel room. She was also denied the right to make telephone calls. The nightmare ended with the return of her belongings and prompt deportation. It seems those rights police are always reading dangerous criminals after they batter them into submission in most American movies and TV serials are privileges denied to "foreigners".
Upon Daoud's return, an Arabic-language newspaper picked up her story and the high profile it received prompted action by both the Foreign Ministry and the US Embassy.
"Any complaints published in newspapers, presented in any form by the media or brought in by citizens are dealt with with great concern, are investigated and, when necessary, legal action is taken," explained Essam Megahid, assistant to the minister of foreign affairs. "Kadria Mohamed did not submit a complaint to the ministry as she should have done. The ministry found out about her grievances [from the press] and took the initiative of calling her."
The next step was for the ministry to ask the US consul to investigate what actually happened. He came up with a report on 24 August explaining that Daoud had obtained a student visa from the US Embassy in Cairo, yet had informed the immigration officer at the airport that she had come to the United States for tourism.
Kadriya
In a brief press release issued on 19 August, the US Embassy said it had completed its investigation, but did not divulge details. The public was simply informed that "it appears that Ms Kadria's experience was not routine and, in fact, quite negative, during her recent trip to Los Angeles." The embassy took the opportunity to "express its regrets to Ms Kadria and her family" and assure them that "we have written a letter to the Immigration and Naturalisation Service of the Los Angeles International Airport asking that they review their procedures and take the necessary steps to avoid similar situations in the future."
In an interview with Al-Ahram Weekly, an official at the embassy's press office insisted that efforts were being made to simplify visa procedures despite the large number of applications received every year. "We have made a strong effort to make the process easier, like launching a visa payment programme through the Commercial International Bank [CIB] this year, a home page on the Internet which answers frequently asked questions and we go to Alexandria once a month so that people do not have to come to Cairo," the official said.
The consul general informed the Foreign Ministry that in certain cases US law allows the handcuffing and detention of foreigners attempting to enter the United States without proper documents.
According to the US Embassy statement, over 37,000 Egyptians received entry visas and travelled to the United States "without incident" during the past year. But what does this mean? Does it mean Egyptian citizens are not mistreated in any way -- kept at passport control for longer periods compared to non-Arab nationals, questioned more thoroughly than others or confronted with difficulties in obtaining a visa to start with?
For sure, the procedures and treatment of an American coming to Egypt do not compare. Megahid pointed out that "this [Daoud's case] is not the only case, and not the first one either, in which Egyptians have faced problems at American airports." He added, however, that the ministry had received no complaints about mistreatment whether at the embassy or airports.
"It is like I am a liar until proved otherwise," complained a young man who recently applied for a US entry visa.
The US Embassy official acquiesced that there has been an increase in security considerations, "but this has not affected the number of visas issued or the amount of work that goes into processing the applications. You know there is the issue of language. Many names may seem very similar... a name may ring a bell and so the application must be looked into."
Another issue seems to be compliance with regulations. Megahid explained that the ministry has an administration responsible for giving out information needed by citizens planning to apply for visas prior to travelling abroad. The information is available by telephone or fax, but it seems that sometimes the guidelines are not heeded. "In this case, Egypt cannot ask any country to bend their rules," said Megahid.
In conclusion, Megahid emphasised that "Egypt is careful to ensure all the legal rights of its citizens and guarantee that these be provided in a way which does not affect the friendly relations between itself and other countries."
