DONATE HERE

United States and Brazil Plays Tit For Tat And Immigrants In Both Countries Bear The Consequences

Richard Nixon has been my answer when asked what first entered my consciousness when thinking of this country. I relish the facial reactions ranging from shock, surprise and bewilderment. We all know the role of the United States of America on the legitimization of my birth country’s three plus decades of brutal military – oligarchy.

I must admit my conflicting feelings towards this country as a young man. However, soon I learned to distinguish the differences between the values of the people and its government’s policies towards Latin America and the rest of the world. The Watergate Scandal made me realize that the great achievement of the US was its democratic constitution writ large “We the People.” Democratic values resonated louder than Washington’s decrees. The Nixon Affair had a great impact all over the world, possibly more so than in this country, and embodies an inherent and remarkable duality. While for many it was a sad episode in the history of the nation, it also provided an example for others around the globe of the power of the voice of the people. The world understood that in a democratic society, citizens have the capability to remove a leader who violates the laws and the trust of its people. Its people had the power to make changes. That’s when my perception of the United States altered to a more nuanced notion of a nation that also upheld the laws and protected democratic principles and values.

Nixon might have been the catalyst, but the people’s power to rid the country of a corrupt leader deeply affected my young mind. Subsequent to my arrival, I slowly became actively involved with community based organizations which gradually evolved into larger social and political matters relevant to contemporary life. After much reflection, I became a naturalized citizen. Like other immigrants of generations past, I sought to fully participate and contribute to the future of my adoptive country.

Quite unexpectedly, upon my mom’s recent passing, I discovered that I needed a visa to fly for the funeral. I had discarded my Brazilian passport, unaware of a recent law granting dual citizenship to those of us who left the country for a brand new life abroad. The problem, I soon realized, was that the Brazilian government does not issue visas to Brazilian born citizens who hold a US passport. If I ever wanted to visit my family, I had to apply for a new Brazilian passport. Without it, I would be immediately be deported back to the US on entering Brazil. What makes it impossible is that some of the required documents can only be obtained in person in Brazil. Apparently, this policy exists as a form of diplomatic retaliation, to put it mildly – a tit for tat. Curiously, the US government also does not issue visas to its 30,000 born citizens who have decided to adopt Brazil as their own. Individuals born here who became naturalized Brazilian citizens must have an Uncle Sam passport to enter this country.

India, on the other hand, has it right. In 2006, an Overseas Citizen of India card was unveiled, offering foreign citizens of Indian origin visa-free entry for life. This enlightened policy makes it possible for both born citizens and their descendants who hold a foreign passport to not only visit family, but also to ease work permit entry. India and Brazil both, are apprehensive about the depletion of their best brains to richer nations. So far, India is the only country which has taken measures to entice them back. Regardless of our motivation to immigrate, we foreign types have unique perspectives of cultural differences and have much to contribute to this inevitable and encompassing new global world; we have not shed our values and replaced allegiances. Instead, we have furthered our ideals and expanded our loyalties. We represent the multi-ethnic, multi-religious, multi-cultural peoples of the world whom Dr. Martin Luther King Junior saw from the mountain top. Creating travel barrier works against the fundamental ideals of globalization.

Friedrich Wilhelm Nietzsche asserts the duality in life. He affirms the dualistic morality and belief that there are opposite forces in constant conflict with each other and man ought to reconcile with both forces. The German philosopher informs us among other things that a man is not just his shadow side. Nixon was not just the Watergate Scandal, he was an accomplished pianist. He was the only president who tripled the budget for the unfairly embattled National Endowment for the Arts since its inception in 1966. In a nod towards globalization he established the US relationship with The People’s Republic of China, two nations believed to possess irreconcilable differences; a mission considered at that time impossible.

The US and Brazil are equally facing this duality. The challenge for both countries with a long tradition of cooperation is abolishing travel restrictions and allowing their compatriots to use the passport of the country they choose to immigrate. Would the leadership and diplomatic skills of a disgrace leader provide a template to end this game of tit for tat? Richard Nixon – again… comes to mind.

Deley Gazinelli is a founding member of the Gay and Lesbian Anti-Violence Project and is on the Hudson River Park Trust’s Advisory Council representing Chelsea Cultural Partnership. Currently he is Vice-President of the Village Independent Democrats. Mr. Gazinelli is also the founder and executive director of Chelsea Sculpture Park, a non- profit 501(c)(3) organization.

Leave a Reply