By Kevin Stoda, USA
As most readers have noted, until June 2010 I lived in Germany. For the entire time of 17 months when I was there in Europe working legally, Germany's local community of Wiesbaden, Hessen--and subsequently the German Foreign Affairs Ministry--refused to allow my wife to join me.
In short, my wife had the wrong citizenship. She is from the Philippines.
Although no German Embassy will put the simple fact on its website, for several years now, Germany has determined to not allow Filipinos--and numerous other nationalities--to arrive in Germany or in the European Union. To ensure this generally secretive prohibition, local townships across Germany are always given the final (or next-to-final decision) say on whether to allow a new immigrant to settle there.
http://eslkevin.wordpress.com/2009/11/08/germany-likes-to-build-walls%E2%80%94or-chancellor-merkel/
To understand this phenomena, let us imagine if the townships across the State of Arizona were given a blank check by the USA federal government to prohibit any potential immigrant from a list of particular countries, for example from Mexico, from settling there.
Imagine if communities across the USA could determine to arbitrarily forbid settlement from foreigners from a secret (or unspoken) list of countries, including Filipinos, Mexicans, Chileans, Sri Lankans, etc.!!! (In short, imagine any American local community being given visa-prohibition rights by the federal government in such manner to prohibit people from specific nationalities?)This is exactly what Germany and the European Union permit.
In May 2010, I finally wrote my main complaint in an open letter to Germany's Ombudsman in the European Union. (The Ombudsman has never answered my letter. Now wonder I have little faith in ombudsman.)
If only, Germans and Europeans had advertised this sleazy set of prohibitions and sleazy anti-Filipino practices!
Meanwhile from March 2009 onwards, Germany's foreign ministry and the local community of Wiesbaden, Hessen continued trying to apply the "Chastity Belt" practice to my wife and I. By "chastity belt" procedures, I mean that the Foreign Affirs and local community offices in Germany have a strategy of keeping foreign brides out while allowing their men to come and work in Germany.
The Family Minister and her offices (whom I wrote to) agreed that this was a very anti-family practice.
Due to this "chastity belt procedure" performed in tandem with German cities and Germany's foreign ministries in 2009, I flew to my wife no less than 4 times at my own expense. God then blessed my wife and I on May 8, 2010 with wonderful baby girl in Palawan, Philippines.
http://eslkevin.wordpress.com/2010/05/11/kenzenia/
Now, I have given up on Germany. I am currently working on my wife's visa and on trying to get my baby girl's American passport approved through the American Embassy in Manila. For this reason, I will fly from the USA later this month.
Meanwhile, I will share this thought with my loved ones and for those concerned friends and readers. The thought is really from a song that I love. It is from the classic, WEST SIDE STORY. It is called, "Somewhere".
http://www.westsidestory.com/site/level2/lyrics/somewhere.html
SOMEWHERE
"There's
a place for us,
Somewhere a place for us.
Peace and quiet and open air
Wait for us
Somewhere.
There's a time for us,
Some day a time for us,
Time together with time spare,
Time to learn, time to care,
Some day!
Somewhere.
We'll find a new way of living,
We'll find a way of forgiving
Somewhere . . .
There's a place for us,
A time and place for us.
Hold my hand and we're halfway there.
Hold my hand and I'll take you there
Somehow,
Some day,
Somewhere!"
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BQMgCy-n6U
Finally, I love you.
