Questions asked of an apostate from Oman:
1. show me your passport! what was your last address in your country?
2. what was your job in your country? what did you do all day?
3. to get your tourist visa, what was the conversation at the US Embassy? what did they ask you, and how did you answer? you filled out a form? the Embassy mailed me that form two weeks ago?
4. why did you want to come to USA? what was your plan upon arrival? when did you change your plan? did you buy round-trip airplane tickets?
5. when did you begin to study Christianity? what did people in your country think and feel when they found out your brother was a Christian? how was that accepted? what did your father think? how did you feel yourself, about your brother?
6. did you attend a mosque here in USA? when did you stop attending?
7. when did you first attend a church in usa? when did you start to explore Christianity?
8. when did you decide to become a christian? are you baptized? why not?
9. why did you convert from Islam to Christianity? what does it mean to you, to be a Christian?
10. what is the difference between Islam and christianity? why is one better than the other?
11. what do you fear, if you return to your country? who do you fear? you fear what, exactly?
12. who would kill you? how do you know that?
13. is there anything else? yes, OK, what?
14. is there anything else?
Thursday, February 21, 2008
what does your passport say? why did you suffer?
Questions asked of a pro-democracy activist from Burma:
1. show me your passport! when did you enter the USA the first time? when were you last in your country?
2. why can't you be a monk? why did you quit your job?
3. what is date of birth of your wife? where is wife today? why isn't she here, in USA?
4. was it difficult for you to get a new passport? you had to pay a bribe of how much?
5. what was your job in 2001? in 2002? what did you do all day, at your job?
6. where does each brother, and each sister, live today?
7. did you go inside the US Embassy in Rangoon? go alone, or with someone else?
8. what questions did they ask you; and how did you answer? what was your plan, at that time?
9. did your wife ever try to get a visa? didn't she go inside the Embassy and answer questions in writing? do I know more about your wife's activities than you do? did the Embassy send me papers signed by your wife?
10. did you ever join a political party in Burma? why not?
11. did you engage in any political activities in burma? did you ever march? ever attend meetings? rallies? distribute pamphlets? ask people for money? ask people to attend a march or rally?
12. did you suffer physical harm? were you detained? for how long? did anyone hit you? with what weapons? a] belt b] stick c] open hand; any other weapon? did you bleed? did you see any of your own blood? where did you see it? on your hand? on your shirt? on the floor?
13. why did they arrest you? where were you, at the moment of your arrest?
14. why were you released?
15. why were there uprisings in burma?
16. why did you come to USA? why not bring wife with you? was it a difficult decision for you, to come to the USA?
17. when was your first protest here in USA? why did you protest? what views did you express? did anyone notice? how do you know they took your photo?
18. did you need an exit visa to leave your country? was that easy to get?
19. why did you apply for asylum? when did you decide to apply for asylum? why not apply earlier?
20. how can you prove the Military Intelligence knows about your activities?
21. why was wife arrested? why was she released?
22. is there anything else?
1. show me your passport! when did you enter the USA the first time? when were you last in your country?
2. why can't you be a monk? why did you quit your job?
3. what is date of birth of your wife? where is wife today? why isn't she here, in USA?
4. was it difficult for you to get a new passport? you had to pay a bribe of how much?
5. what was your job in 2001? in 2002? what did you do all day, at your job?
6. where does each brother, and each sister, live today?
7. did you go inside the US Embassy in Rangoon? go alone, or with someone else?
8. what questions did they ask you; and how did you answer? what was your plan, at that time?
9. did your wife ever try to get a visa? didn't she go inside the Embassy and answer questions in writing? do I know more about your wife's activities than you do? did the Embassy send me papers signed by your wife?
10. did you ever join a political party in Burma? why not?
11. did you engage in any political activities in burma? did you ever march? ever attend meetings? rallies? distribute pamphlets? ask people for money? ask people to attend a march or rally?
12. did you suffer physical harm? were you detained? for how long? did anyone hit you? with what weapons? a] belt b] stick c] open hand; any other weapon? did you bleed? did you see any of your own blood? where did you see it? on your hand? on your shirt? on the floor?
13. why did they arrest you? where were you, at the moment of your arrest?
14. why were you released?
15. why were there uprisings in burma?
16. why did you come to USA? why not bring wife with you? was it a difficult decision for you, to come to the USA?
17. when was your first protest here in USA? why did you protest? what views did you express? did anyone notice? how do you know they took your photo?
18. did you need an exit visa to leave your country? was that easy to get?
19. why did you apply for asylum? when did you decide to apply for asylum? why not apply earlier?
20. how can you prove the Military Intelligence knows about your activities?
21. why was wife arrested? why was she released?
22. is there anything else?
Wednesday, February 13, 2008
what percent of asylum applicants are big liars?
The Home Office of the United Kingdom, in 2007, stated that 80% of applicants from Cameroon were not credible.
In 2007, the US Embassy in Cameroon wrote a cable which said that 80% of asylum applicants from Cameroon were not credible.
In 2007, the US Embassy in Togo wrote that a "large number" of visa applicants and asylum applicants are liars.
In January 2008, the Assistant Chief Counsel [U.S. government lawyer] said in the hallway that 90% of asylum applicants are liars; that the Judges only deny 60% of the cases; the Judges should deny 90% of them. So, in other words, the government lawyer assumes that any given case has a 90% chance of being fake.
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So, what should the asylum applicant who is telling the truth do?
1. give all originals to the Assistant Chief Counsel three months before trial.
2. Tell his father, mother, and brother to visit the US Embassy in the old country and ask to be interviewed and cross-examined in the old country.
In 2007, the US Embassy in Cameroon wrote a cable which said that 80% of asylum applicants from Cameroon were not credible.
In 2007, the US Embassy in Togo wrote that a "large number" of visa applicants and asylum applicants are liars.
In January 2008, the Assistant Chief Counsel [U.S. government lawyer] said in the hallway that 90% of asylum applicants are liars; that the Judges only deny 60% of the cases; the Judges should deny 90% of them. So, in other words, the government lawyer assumes that any given case has a 90% chance of being fake.
=
So, what should the asylum applicant who is telling the truth do?
1. give all originals to the Assistant Chief Counsel three months before trial.
2. Tell his father, mother, and brother to visit the US Embassy in the old country and ask to be interviewed and cross-examined in the old country.
reasons why Judge said lady from Cameroon loses
Ms. C told the Judge she was from Cameroon, and that she had been imprisoned because of her political opinion. The Judge ruled against Ms. C, in part because:
1. C claims she joined the political party in 2001; however, her membership card was issued in the year 2002.
2. C wrote an affidavit that was six paragraphs long, attached to her I-589. However, C was too busy to read it before she testified in court. So, what she said in court was different from what she had written in her affidavit. As she testified in court, the Judge looked at her affidavit. The Judge wrote down each time that Ms. C testified differently; and then asked her about her affidavit.
3. The Judge knew more about the affidavit than Ms. C did. Even though the Judge hears 500 cases per year, and Ms. C went to court only this one time, the Judge knew more than Ms. C did.
4. Was Ms. C embarrassed that the Judge knew more about her case than Ms. C did?
5. Ms. C asked her busy friend to prepare her I-589 Application for Asylum. The friend was a nice person, but very busy, and did not want to spend very much time on the application. Ms. C told him many details, but the friend did not write them down. The friend was not a lawyer, and did not really know the rules about I-589 applications. He did not know what was important, and what was not. Ms. C. talked to the friend for perhaps 30 minutes, total. Ms. C should have talked to him for five hours, and had everything translated into a language she could understand, but she didn't.
6. The translations provided to the court were incomplete. Even someone who did not know French could easily see that the English translation was missing numbers, was missing sentences, and was missing endorsements. By comparing the translation side-by-side with the original, it was easy to see the translation was incomplete
1. C claims she joined the political party in 2001; however, her membership card was issued in the year 2002.
2. C wrote an affidavit that was six paragraphs long, attached to her I-589. However, C was too busy to read it before she testified in court. So, what she said in court was different from what she had written in her affidavit. As she testified in court, the Judge looked at her affidavit. The Judge wrote down each time that Ms. C testified differently; and then asked her about her affidavit.
3. The Judge knew more about the affidavit than Ms. C did. Even though the Judge hears 500 cases per year, and Ms. C went to court only this one time, the Judge knew more than Ms. C did.
4. Was Ms. C embarrassed that the Judge knew more about her case than Ms. C did?
5. Ms. C asked her busy friend to prepare her I-589 Application for Asylum. The friend was a nice person, but very busy, and did not want to spend very much time on the application. Ms. C told him many details, but the friend did not write them down. The friend was not a lawyer, and did not really know the rules about I-589 applications. He did not know what was important, and what was not. Ms. C. talked to the friend for perhaps 30 minutes, total. Ms. C should have talked to him for five hours, and had everything translated into a language she could understand, but she didn't.
6. The translations provided to the court were incomplete. Even someone who did not know French could easily see that the English translation was missing numbers, was missing sentences, and was missing endorsements. By comparing the translation side-by-side with the original, it was easy to see the translation was incomplete
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
good sources of information, according to U.S. gov't
In January 2008, the Office of Chief Counsel submitted these documents, so that an asylum applicant from Togo would lose:
1. inf9rmation from the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada: "country of origin research" "response to information request about the UFC party"
2. the application for a tourist visa, submitted years ago in Togo: it contained questions and answers. Does applicant remember the questions, and what answers were given when she asked for a tourist visa? Are her answers today, years later, the same?
3. information from "IRIN" which is a newspaper of the United Nations: www.irinnews.org
4. a cable from the US Embassy in Togo: a] students seeking F-1 visa often present fake documents from banks, and present fake high school diplomas. Sometimes the banks in Togo give information to the US Embassy upon request. b] many marriage certificates are fake: the filing number of the certificate does not exist; or it pertains to a different certificate c] sometimes, a medical certificate is issued by a clinic which does not exist! Sometimes, banks and Togo government offices cooperate and give information; sometimes they do not.
1. inf9rmation from the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada: "country of origin research" "response to information request about the UFC party"
2. the application for a tourist visa, submitted years ago in Togo: it contained questions and answers. Does applicant remember the questions, and what answers were given when she asked for a tourist visa? Are her answers today, years later, the same?
3. information from "IRIN" which is a newspaper of the United Nations: www.irinnews.org
4. a cable from the US Embassy in Togo: a] students seeking F-1 visa often present fake documents from banks, and present fake high school diplomas. Sometimes the banks in Togo give information to the US Embassy upon request. b] many marriage certificates are fake: the filing number of the certificate does not exist; or it pertains to a different certificate c] sometimes, a medical certificate is issued by a clinic which does not exist! Sometimes, banks and Togo government offices cooperate and give information; sometimes they do not.
get photographs and letters to document your case!
The Judge denied asylum to Mr. Lin, from China.
Lin claimed government officials came to his store and accused him of promoting Falun Gong, and then forced him to close his store. Asylum was denied because:
1. Lin wrote certain dates on his I-589 ["they came to my store in June"] but in court he gave different dates ["they came to my store in December"] The Judge asked him, "you were too busy to read your I-589 before coming to court?"
2. Lin did not prove he ever owned a store, that it was ever open, that he had a business license; that the store was closed; that his license was revoked. Why not give the Judge a photo of the store when it was open, and another photo when it was closed? a Photograph is worth 1,000 words!
3. Not one member of his family wrote a letter which said,"Yes, Lin had a store in the year 2003: I walked inside it myself! Then, in 2004, it was closed. Lin told me he was depressed and worried about supporting his wife and child."
Lin claimed government officials came to his store and accused him of promoting Falun Gong, and then forced him to close his store. Asylum was denied because:
1. Lin wrote certain dates on his I-589 ["they came to my store in June"] but in court he gave different dates ["they came to my store in December"] The Judge asked him, "you were too busy to read your I-589 before coming to court?"
2. Lin did not prove he ever owned a store, that it was ever open, that he had a business license; that the store was closed; that his license was revoked. Why not give the Judge a photo of the store when it was open, and another photo when it was closed? a Photograph is worth 1,000 words!
3. Not one member of his family wrote a letter which said,"Yes, Lin had a store in the year 2003: I walked inside it myself! Then, in 2004, it was closed. Lin told me he was depressed and worried about supporting his wife and child."
Monday, February 11, 2008
pro-American from Iraq
The Asylum Officer wanted to know:
1] what is your current job at the Embassy? you are in charge of what? what is a "dedication"?
2] you were in Army? so, you received training in weapons? you were given a rifle? you fired it in target practice? you fired it in the war against Iran? where were you stationed? who did you shoot at?
3] what is a "curfew mission"? what does "curfew enforcement" mean?
4] why don't you answer my simple questions with simple answers? you are sure that my "simple" question is really a complicated, indirect, tricky question? why are you so sure, and [so wrong]?
5] what was your job in 1991? did you sit at a desk? talk on the phone? send emails? or, did you stand outside and help a balloon go up 500 feet? did you use a computer? did you write essays/summaries/ do research? about what?
6] where do the Shia militias get money from? they steal oil, and sell it?
7] who owns the house at #234? is there a "deed"? is there a piece of paper that says you own it? is the original of that paper in a government office? can anyone find out who the current owner of #234 is? or, is it confused? is there a mortgage on the house? does someone make house payments? does someone pay utility bills? water goes to the house, and no one pays for the water? must the owner pay real estate taxes on the house? are there annual real estate taxes? or, just pay taxes upon sale?
8] does the government of Iraq take "income tax" out of your paycheck?
9] whatever your problems were, why not report them to the police? who says it is a waste of time to report to the police? why wouldn't the police want to help? what is the salary of a police officer? if the salary is low, how does he get extra money? how often is he paid? does he actually get paid every two weeks?
10] are you a low-level person? you are not famous, correct? you are not well-known, correct? so, why would the bad guys care about you?
11] what have you done here in the USA to make the bad guys hate you more? nothing? so, the bad guys have forgotten about you, haven't they?
1] what is your current job at the Embassy? you are in charge of what? what is a "dedication"?
2] you were in Army? so, you received training in weapons? you were given a rifle? you fired it in target practice? you fired it in the war against Iran? where were you stationed? who did you shoot at?
3] what is a "curfew mission"? what does "curfew enforcement" mean?
4] why don't you answer my simple questions with simple answers? you are sure that my "simple" question is really a complicated, indirect, tricky question? why are you so sure, and [so wrong]?
5] what was your job in 1991? did you sit at a desk? talk on the phone? send emails? or, did you stand outside and help a balloon go up 500 feet? did you use a computer? did you write essays/summaries/ do research? about what?
6] where do the Shia militias get money from? they steal oil, and sell it?
7] who owns the house at #234? is there a "deed"? is there a piece of paper that says you own it? is the original of that paper in a government office? can anyone find out who the current owner of #234 is? or, is it confused? is there a mortgage on the house? does someone make house payments? does someone pay utility bills? water goes to the house, and no one pays for the water? must the owner pay real estate taxes on the house? are there annual real estate taxes? or, just pay taxes upon sale?
8] does the government of Iraq take "income tax" out of your paycheck?
9] whatever your problems were, why not report them to the police? who says it is a waste of time to report to the police? why wouldn't the police want to help? what is the salary of a police officer? if the salary is low, how does he get extra money? how often is he paid? does he actually get paid every two weeks?
10] are you a low-level person? you are not famous, correct? you are not well-known, correct? so, why would the bad guys care about you?
11] what have you done here in the USA to make the bad guys hate you more? nothing? so, the bad guys have forgotten about you, haven't they?
Wednesday, February 6, 2008
do Christians suffer in Indonesia?
The Judge ruled that Christians still have problems in Indonesia, as indicated by:
1. DOS says 8 churches were closed last year; and churches closed in previous years are still closed;
2. There have been almost no prosecutions of the bad guys: people who earlier bombed churches were not arrested and were not convicted;
3. Three Christian school girls were beheaded; some bad guys were arrested, but are still not convicted; whereas, three Christians who did crimes were not only arrested, and convicted; they were executed!
4. The JI network is active
5. the Bali bombers were released
6. In September 2007, a church near Jakarta was attacked; pastor was wounded.
The Government of Indonesia cannot control these groups of bad guys.
However, isn't there somewhere safe where a Christian can live? Isn't "internal relocation" possible? You had problems in City #1. OK, too bad. So why don't you go live in City #2?
1. DOS says 8 churches were closed last year; and churches closed in previous years are still closed;
2. There have been almost no prosecutions of the bad guys: people who earlier bombed churches were not arrested and were not convicted;
3. Three Christian school girls were beheaded; some bad guys were arrested, but are still not convicted; whereas, three Christians who did crimes were not only arrested, and convicted; they were executed!
4. The JI network is active
5. the Bali bombers were released
6. In September 2007, a church near Jakarta was attacked; pastor was wounded.
The Government of Indonesia cannot control these groups of bad guys.
However, isn't there somewhere safe where a Christian can live? Isn't "internal relocation" possible? You had problems in City #1. OK, too bad. So why don't you go live in City #2?
Friday, February 1, 2008
good authorities according to Chief Counsel
In January 2008, the Office of Chief Counsel in Baltimore submitted four documents to demonstrate the problems Christians have in Indonesia:
1. Dept. of State "International Religious Freedom Report" of Sept. 2007
2. Dept. of State: 'Country Reports on Human Rights Practices" of March 2006
3. Christian Science Monitor news article
4. Freedom House report: "Freedom in the World (2007)"
1. Dept. of State "International Religious Freedom Report" of Sept. 2007
2. Dept. of State: 'Country Reports on Human Rights Practices" of March 2006
3. Christian Science Monitor news article
4. Freedom House report: "Freedom in the World (2007)"
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