We sure love our foreign passports! We seem to rise socially as we accumulate “high-value” travel documents and somewhat demean others ‘less-fortunate’ with our “oh, you need a visa? Tsk, tsk” comments. Michael Karam has written a tongue-in-cheek article for The National on the issue. Here are a few excerpts:
…having a foreign passport is generally quite an asset. Indeed a man’s eligibility can soar once it is learned that he has such a passport, as can his employment opportunities. It is, if you like, an economic tool of sorts.
[…]
But Lebanon would not be Lebanon if there wasn’t a nationality hierarchy. I was recently having lunch with a friend whose family owns one of the largest car dealerships in the country. She bemoaned the fact that her foreign husband could only deliver her a Canadian passport.
“I mean, why not a British or a French passport?” she sighed. “I could even live with a US passport, just. But Canadian! I might as well be Australian.”
I can see the personal ads now:
25 yr old male looking for Lebanese woman from a good family for marriage. Have US passport.
Lebanese are proud and boast they are Lebanese but feel the need to nitpick around the benefits (or lack of it) attributed to their nationality. So instead of ‘begging’ at an embassy for a visa, they’d rather ‘beg’ at an embassy for immigration only to come back a few years later, new nationality in hand, while having no real connection or allegiance to their new found country. Here’s a typical conversation I would have with a dual nationality-holding Lebanese.
Me: So where are you from?
Other: I’m Canadian.
Me: Oh, really? Who’s Canadian, your mom or dad?
Other: No man. They’re Lebanese, I have the Canadian passport.
Me: Right, silly me. Just a question, if Lebanon and Canada were to declare war against each other, which side would you be on. [Now this can go two ways]
Scenario One
Other: Lebanese of course!
Me: So you’re Lebanese.
Other: That’s what I said!
Me: My mistake.
Scenario Two
Other: Canada!
Me: Why is that?
Other: Because they’d kick Lebanon’s ass!
Me: Of course they would.
It’s great to be Lebanese 🙂
Lebanese Passports: A Citizen's Scarlet Letter?
Why is it when i meet a Lebanese for the first time, they seem so passionate about their country that i feel so caught up in all the love and then when i meet them for a second time, they always mention a want for another country’s passport. I dont get this craze! Love your own country Lebanese people and be proud of it!
I met a Lebanese once and by all means she looked Lebanese, to be sure i asked her about her ethnicity and she said Canadian. I replied “alright so you have a Canadian passport but where are you from?” hesitantly she replied Lebanese. I thanked her for accepting that other than a 20 page booklet (passport), she is Lebanese.
When i ask people why they want passports of the caucasian world , – Some say you don’t need visas to travel. are these people $100 dollars too cheap? – Some say for financial benefits, i say don’t be beggars; work hard for your money and your country. – Some say the economy of Lebanon is weak. i request you to invest a little in your land, work and bring up the economy of your own country rather than contribute to the economy of another country. Whatever your reason, there is always a way. Find it!
I have been to Canada and to Lebanon and i would rather live and retire in Lebanon than in Canada. Infact, that’s what me and my husband plan to do. Now all i need is my Lebanese passport. yes Lebanese, not Canadian or British or American….. Lebanese. I love Lebanon and i want to be a part of it. And even when in do, Im still Indian (with a Indian and Lebanese passport).There is no other country like Lebanon. Wake up and see that and stop being superficial!
Why is it when i meet a Lebanese for the first time, they seem so passionate about their country that i feel so caught up in all the love and then when i meet them for a second time, they always mention a want for another country's passport. I dont get this craze! Love your own country Lebanese people and be proud of it!
I met a Lebanese once and by all means she looked Lebanese, to be sure i asked her about her ethnicity and she said Canadian. I replied “alright so you have a Canadian passport but where are you from?” hesitantly she replied Lebanese. I thanked her for accepting that other than a 20 page booklet (passport), she is Lebanese.
When i ask people why they want passports of the caucasian world , – Some say you don't need visas to travel. are these people $100 dollars too cheap? – Some say for financial benefits, i say don't be beggars; work hard for your money and your country. – Some say the economy of Lebanon is weak. i request you to invest a little in your land, work and bring up the economy of your own country rather than contribute to the economy of another country. Whatever your reason, there is always a way. Find it!
I have been to Canada and to Lebanon and i would rather live and retire in Lebanon than in Canada. Infact, that's what me and my husband plan to do. Now all i need is my Lebanese passport. yes Lebanese, not Canadian or British or American….. Lebanese. I love Lebanon and i want to be a part of it. And even when in do, Im still Indian (with a Indian and Lebanese passport).There is no other country like Lebanon. Wake up and see that and stop being superficial!
Hilarious – the struggle of juggling patriotism and a burning desire to be better than one’s peers.
Lebanese never cease to amaze!
Hilarious – the struggle of juggling patriotism and a burning desire to be better than one's peers.
Lebanese never cease to amaze!