How My White Country Privileged Passport Allowed Me To Travel The World
As a black and brown person, you need to have a privileged passport to be able to travel the world. I figured that out and got myself one.
I am from Sierra Leone in West Africa but have lived most of my life in Switzerland and Canada. For the longest time, I only had one passport, my Sierra Leonean one.
For me, it was a matter of love and pride. I love my native country, and in my eyes, my Sierra Leonean passport is as good a passport like any other. That was until I started traveling extensively.
Quite quickly, I realized that my Sierra Leonean passport had lesser value than say for example a UK, US, or French passport, and this made it extremely challenging for me to travel.
I remember my first business trip to London in the UK. I had to apply for the entrance visa two full months in advance. I literally received it a day before travel and had to jump through hoops to even get there.
First, the consulate requested a police report stating that I had never been in trouble with the law. If I had ever so much as shoplifted in my youth, the visa would have been automatically declined.
