Dar Es Salaam Part III: The American Embassy

I woke up bright and early on Tuesday
and headed down to the free breakfast. I talked my way into a breakfast of toast, fresh mango juice, sausage, and a cup of tea. I also realized my phone was running out of money and asked the waiter where I could purchase more money for my phone. I’ll explain more about this later, but he asked exactly what company and how much I wanted and reappeared 2 minutes later with my phone voucher. I’m learning to feel less uncomfortable with this (although by no means comfortable) since the children at Chumbageni are expected to run errands for the teachers on a regular basis.

The Bank
After breakfast Halifa came to pick me up and we went to the bank to pay the fee for his visa application before heading to the embassy. I couldn’t figure out why he was picking me up at 7:30 am for a 10:00 appointment at the embassy until I saw the insane traffic jams of the morning rush-hour in Dar. Anyway, we made it to the bank and generously gave them the $131 fee (which by my exchange rate calculations was actually $141). As we left I was thinking about how clever the American Embassy is for separating the payment from the visa interview since our trip to the embassy afterwards felt like an entirely different errand.

In any case, as we left the bank we passed the Holiday Inn where I stayed my first night in Tanzania. It was a very strange feeling remembering how small and alone I felt on my first day. I was previously scared to walk out of the hotel doors for fear of being eaten alive by the city, but here I was walking down the streets, greeting people, grabbing a Taxi, and heading to the American embassy with Halifa and loving life.

Embassy Security
We arrived at the American Embassy early to go through security. It was pretty funny because even though I was technically on American soil, all of the guards were Tanzanian and very excited when I spoke to them almost entirely in Swahili (which of course means I didn’t say very much besides good morning :).

Anyway, their version of security was a metal detector, taking your bag in exchange for a number, and asking you to turn off your cell phones before going inside. The final step pertained to the water bottles we were carrying. The guard said to me in Swahili, “Kunywa!” which means “Drink!” in Kiswahili. I thought he was giving me very useful advice given the crazy weather here, but when I laughed, smiled, and kept walking he didn’t seem impressed. I asked him in English if he was really asking me to take a drink for him, and he told me that he was serious. Apparently it would be more entertaining to watch me suffer a violent death as a result of trying to sneak explosive liquid materials disguised as water into the embassy than it would be to tell me to just throw it away. I repeated this exercise as necessary at all of the security checkpoints.

The Interview
When we arrived at the visa application area Halifa was given a visa and asked to sit and wait. They let me come by but made sure to tell me I wasn’t allowed to talk or go up to the counter with him when it was time for his interview. There were panels blocking the people waiting from seeing those who were at the counter, but certainly no sound proofing devices. I got to hear a variety of different cases as we waited, and found it hard to hide my interest as I pretended to read some pamphlets on the table in front of me.

One person applying for a visa was trying to come study at an American university. He was quizzed on why he wanted to study English in America when he could learn the same things in Tanzania. Another woman was threatened to be permanently suspended from applying for an American visa because the random guy at the counter was suspicious that she had forged her marriage documents or that the person who issued them was a fake. Yet another woman asked for a translator and was asked why she needed one if she was planning on visiting the US. Another woman was quizzed on how many brothers she had and then reminded that she had told someone else in the building a different number when they asked her earlier and then quizzed on why she was lying. The list went on and on and person after person was told, “Thank you for applying for an American visa. We’re sorry that you have been denied” and given a form letter with further explanation. The only person I actually saw get accepted when I was there was an old retired man who spoke perfect English, had travelled to the States many times before, and wanted to go to his cousins graduation for a week. It took him less than two minutes to be approved.

As I sat there I myself was uncomfortable by the interrogation that everyone underwent. If I had to undergo such a thing in a non-native language I think I would certainly cave under the pressure. The crazy thing about it is that as intense as the interview itself is, the denial is pretty gentle. They make it sound really nice as if you’ve been accepted, but what has really happened is that you have given them $131 for the privilege of filling out some paperwork with your personal details on it and being handed a letter that is undated, unsigned, and otherwise left entirely blank in the space where they are supposed to provide specific details for your approval. Quite a different beast than my process for getting a visa to be here!

The Library
After the interview I wanted to see more of the embassy so we went to visit the library. It is open to the public and offers services such as educational advising, internet access, the ability to check out books, and a decent amount of books. I was very entertained by the Princeton Review books, Fiske Guide and many other pre-college favorites. There was also no shortage of pro-democracy propaganda to be had, but I think it’s a great service that is open to anyone who can get through the security checkpoints.

All in all I found the American Embassy to be a very interesting place. Beautiful buildings and landscaping, very friendly people with the exception of the interrogators (who I must admit were only doing their job) and great resources for citizens and foreigners alike.