Strangely enough, one of my areas of expertise is musicology. At one time, I was poised to become a leading researcher in the American White Gospel movement, and editor/composer Charles Gabriel (whom you might know for songs such as “His Eye is On the Sparrow”).
Aren’t you glad I gave that up?
I have been out of the research loop for a number of years now, and so it is only today that I became aware of the sad and Kafkaesque story of “Nalini Ghuman, an up-and-coming musicologist and expert on the British composer Edward Elgar.” Apparently, she was detained in the San Francisco airport last year, where she was questioned for 8 hours. During this time, her visa was ripped up in front of her, her passport defaced, she was searched and told if she moved she would be prosecuted for “assaulting” the officer searching her, and she was told to get on a plane out of the country that day or go to a detention center.
As nearly as I can tell — and nobody can tell — the only thing she did was claim to speak Welsh when she looked “Hispanic” to immigration officials. Brown people don’t speak Welsh, right?
She has lawyers and scholars and elected officials on both sides of “the pond” working on the problem but over a year later she is still unable to get a new visa to enter — let alone work in — the United States. This situation is absurd. In a nation where we are arguing about if/how we should normalize the status of illegal immigrants, we are preventing a noted scholar who already has a job at an American university from entering the country. If she were really a dangerous woman, she would have and should have been arrested at the airport. Instead, this has all the hallmarks of the State Department covering for an overzealous immigration official who broke the law by destroying her visa and defacing her passport and illegally detaining her.
Be careful what languages you claim to speak. Especially if you happen to be Brown.
In closing: background reading on maternal health; I am not sure you can consider maternal health without considering domestic violence;the always insightful Ezra on business and health care reform; one last insurance item, “insured but not covered”; now there’s as arctic passage through the sea; Real Money gives us the Real problem with Chinese imports; speaking of Chinese imports, a follow up, Wal-Mart has decided to pull those toxic flip-flops…. now that it’s September and there’s a lawsuit afoot; a White House divided against itself cannot stand (I hope) on Iran; Ted Rall expresses why many people are frustrated with Democrats in Congress (and on the campaign trail, Hillary!); and AmericaBlog points out that Gingrich is calling foul on the Petraeus report (why doesn’t that make him a traitor too, Mr. McCain?) and is threatening to run for President.
Have a great week. Be careful, it’s crazy out there.
Brazil (the movie)… But that doesnt even cover it. this i story about Dr. Ghuman is frightening. Unfortunately, I don’t think the sheeple of this nation are prepared or capable of changing it. Have a good day in der fadderland comrades. ” Do you haff seinen papersss?”