All-Africa passport is now a reality!
The disgrace of applying for a travel VISA may soon be over — All-Africa passport is now a real thing.
Every African (who is not wealthy) knows all too well the thousand steps that come before we can set foot anywhere outside our European-given borders. Even for Swazi people, nominally able to visit about 75 countries without requiring a pre-requested visa, the ability to actually exercise this freedom is greatly limited because there are still permits required before your travel — such as an international passport which you have to endure a process of proving that you will actually use it to travel outside of Southern Africa. Additional to these are the health and travel identity requirements they’ll need to satisfy for most of the countries they can visit “visa free”.
I believe it is time that all Africans get to take “impromptu vacations”, nah mean?
The “north” with its claim on human righteousness and impeccable legal standards of equality is an easy target to accuse of hypocrisy. However, we already knew mother u*kers never loved us. We already knew that “freedom of travel” is for white kids and not us. It is a fact that they can just roll in while we have to stand in lines, asked to justify our travels to our former slave masters. Because a negus needs justification. A negus cannot just work, make some moula and go to Milan for a weekend. A white kid can. Reciprocity and freedom of travel mean nothing if you were born in the commonwealth.
The economic and cultural rapport between north and south has no grounds to negotiate a better deal. They’re richer and have strong democratic regimes. We have Robert Mugabe.
So Let’s move on. This here article is not about them, it’s about us negus.
I actually feel ashamed that most African countries don’t practice any reciprocity in terms of travel visa regimes. But there is light.
I was astonished to read this African Union press release about the unveiling of the all Africa E-passport!!! You read right young blood. An African passport. Electronic and modern too. Wow.
+Africa is huge. Opportunities are bigger in the continent and. Economic strife is abound- 6 of the top 10 growing economies in the world are in Africa!!!
Africans don’t meet in Africa. They meet in college campuses in the north. We always meet in Babylon G. Let’s supersede that. All Africa passport is the beginning of Nkrumah’s Africa in any realistic sense.
+Internationally, such a move would dignify and alleviate travel restrictions on Africans. The less we need the north, the more the north will brown nose us. We got sun, riches, giraffes and spirits. Babylon’s got nothing on us.
However!
- It’s the AU, reminiscent of Gaddafi and mostly a bunch of the world’s most corrupt governments. So they are issuing All African passports for “diplomats” -literally a bunch for themselves only. Fuck that man! Diplomats and their families did not have trouble travelling.
- There is low proactive effectiveness in the AU generally. I know, I hate saying it too.
SO:
--> A democratized Africa E-passport should be on all Africans’ political radar. National parties have to answer to their youth for the miserable state of “freedom of travel” for them. And National politics has to be lobbied into implementing the AF E-passport.
--> We should support this idea (even though the bearer is flawed). The more popular, the more it will be shaped to the people’s ambitions.
G! Share this and believe it: One day even African people will have “freedom of travel/movement”.
Till then, Assalamou Alaykom to all people of all origins that do not endorse the apartheid Travel visa regime.
Love,
