The visa is not a right, is a privilege!
As child I stayed hours in my born city railroad station saying to my neighbors one day a train would take me to US. My lucky train arrived bringing me over here. The day I became citizen and I came out of the ceremony holding the US flag remains always the day my life rotated into a new dimension of pride and confidence into future.
I like to share my happiness with my parents, with my friends telling them about America being wonderful and not anymore the monster designed by the communists.
In December 2000 I sent an invitation to my father hoping he could take the first time in this life to take a plane. He worked all his life; he was poor and grew up under Stalin era in terror and misery. That is a nice present offered a father:
A flight to NY! A humble old man in a front of US embassy and not understanding a word of what they have said to him in English, tired and thinking the Americans know what they do. The embassy employee yield on my father, he was so proud having the unique son in USA. The officer was asking him very rude: since when didn’t he see me, like when you love your own child is necessary to have a certain date or appointment to see him.
Now my father is very sick. He l die without seeing the places where I live now, without meeting my American friends and not eating once from a giant turkey he always had admired in one of my pictures taken by a thanksgiving dinner .
On 05 of December 2005 a good friend of mine had applied for a non immigrant visa at the US Embassy in Bucharest. As her sponsor during her visit in USA, I sent my friend an invitation a/k/a “Affidavit of Support” INS Form I-134.
The invited person is employed by the “Liberal Arts University, Sibiu, Romania of the American Library where she is in charged with the entire American books section that was donated by the US Embassy of Romania in Bucharest. My friend, who is a person in good standing, she is preparing for her master degree in multiculturalism /science of languages. Her main goal during a pending visit to USA is to primarily work with the American books; secondly she is interested to see and compare some situations and aspects of the American multi cultural success and to write with me a book on this subject.
I find unfair from the Embassy representative to raise the voice and to treat my friend so rudely. It is not the first time when people complain about being treated badly by the US Embassy and the applicants feel like downgraded and pushed down by certain official employees. I know it is very hard to believe and to accept it, but people are truly mistreated and right now it is not fair for our country reputation to appear as a black spot to the world. After she was waiting in line outside for three hours, in cold weather, after she had traveled 5 hours by train a night before, it is not justified the officer’s behavior. I also understand we have to protect our country, the constitution, our name but ultimately it should not allow the diplomatic officials to act abusively and inappropriately to any persons and anywhere in the world.
The administrative clerk who interviewed my friend does not speak Romanian well and on the same token applicant ‘English is not the best so the confusion was already there.
I know she had tears in her eyes when I called her and I felt so bad. I wonder why someone who loves touching everyday Walt Whitman, Robert Frost, Mark Twain, W Faulkner books and keeping them like her soul has to be mistreated in such a way by an US employee?
She is shocked about the downgrading and about the way the employee treated her. At this point it is nothing it could wipe off the sadness and I feel very ashamed myself.
Condoleezza Rice arrived on December 6th 2005 in Bucharest. She declared: “It is fitting that the United States and Romania are not just friends but our forces are brothers and sisters in arms, we know we have a great and committed partner in Romania.” It seems that fact mean nothing for some embassy employees.
Draga Florin Predescu,
cred ca materialul acesta al tau, cu tristetile romanului, din Romania, respins de cei care pun sau nu pun viza americana, merita publicat, tot aici, si in limba romana – doar este o rubrica numita „international” – nu cred ca romaneasca este exclusa din capul locului, cu atat mai mult cu cat portalul este in romaneste, iar textul nu li se adreseaza exclusiv celor ce nu il citesc decat daca li se atrage expres atentia.
Ce spui?
Cu amicitie, mihai posada
ABSOLUT DE ACORD CU PRIMUL ECOU…
Sa nu ne fie rusine sa scriem si sa vorbim în limba noastra originara, limba româna, atunci când ne adresam în mod expres românilor, limba româna fiind de ginta latina.
„DULCE-I LIMBA ROMÂNEASCA, LIMBA CE-O VORBIM, ALTA LIMBA MAI FRUMOASA CA EA NU GASIM”.
Sunt de acord cu cele doua ecouri numai ca exista dovada scrisa si publicata ca articolul prezentat in engleza la rubrica International are si o varianta in limba romana(vezi Merry Christmas). Acesta a aparut a inaintea variantei in engleza. In plus cei ce traim in tarile de adoptie, zic eu, ne straduim sa deprindem si limba tarii in care traim si in care ne castigam existenta. Consider ca a scrie si in alte limbi nu ne dezonoreaza. De la Cantemir si pana la scriitori mai recenti s-a acordat importanta cunoasterii limbilor straine. In plus RLIV este un portal deschis nu numai romanilor, ci si altor cititori…Faptul ca exista o sectiune in limba engleza semnifica libertatea si dreptul la expresie a fiecaruia, altfel ne am intoarce la timpuri de interdictii.