how hard did you try to get corroboration?

The Judge denied asylum to the Christian who said the bad guys 1] burned her farm; 2] killed her husband; and 3] beat her daughter.
-The Judge asked: where is the proof that you even owned a farm? where is the title? who says you owned it? where is the proof it was burned? why not a photo? can't a neighbor write a letter saying it was burned?
-you say husband was killed? where is death certificate? photo of his grave? photo of his dead body? funeral service?
-you say daughter was beaten? where are photos? medical bills? letter from daughter?
-you say it is hard to get letters from your country? who says? don't people from your country fly back and forth to the USA each week? why can't one of them be a courier?
Why didn't you try harder to get corroboration? did you spend one hour on this? did you spend even ten dollars?

who exactly do you fear, and why?

The Asylum Officer asked this of the activist from Liberia:
can you repeat everything on page one of the I-589? can you repeat everything on page 2?
what was your last address in your country? when did you last leave your country? when did you last enter USA? what is your ethnic group?
-When the bad guy hurt you with his gun, what did he say? did he say anything else?
what was the bad guy wearing? did he work for the government?
what would happen to you if you return to your country?
why is the bad guy angry at you?
-do you know someone who did testify in court, and who later was hurt?
do you know someone who did protest in USA, and who later was hurt?
-in the last three months, did members of your family back in your country have any problems?
is there anything else? did you receive any weapons training?
what does your passport say? is there another country where you could apply for residency?

questions asked of a Christian from Bangladesh

The AO asked: tell me the bio details from page 1 of the I-589; now, tell me about each member of your family: DOB; POB; current immmigration status, where did they travel, and when?
-what was your last address, outside of USA?
-when did you leave your country; when did you enter USA?
You say you suffered in Bangladesh; you want asylum in USA; isn't there a third country, somewhere, where you can live? can you prove with a piece of paper that you can't live in France? what does the embassy of France say? did you ask?

-do you own land in your country? do you own a house there? is it empty? who lives in it right now? whoever lives in it, has your same religion and ethnic group? how come no one kills them? you say you suffered because you were a Christian? isn't your mother a Christian? how come no one hurt her? Oh, you say she lives in fear? she stays inside as much as she can?

Let's talk about the bad guys. What did they wear? did they have any weapons? what language did they speak? is their accent different from yours? what words did they say? can you repeat each word? what "exactly" did they say? when they said that, where was your wife? did she hear it too? how come she did not say that in her letter?

what did they say as they left? did you report this to the police? why not? what religion are the police? how did the bad guys find you? your house is on a street without a name? there is no number on the house? so how do the bad guys know where you were? do people gossip in your neighborhood? everyone knows what everyone else is doing? so, just ask a guy on the street, "tell me where this family lives?"

-has your family back in your country had any problems, since you left? NO? everything is OK? so, go live with them. They have no problems? go live with them; you do not need asylum here in the USA.
is there anything else? Yes? what?
Did you read your two-page Declaration before the interview? why not? did the Asylum Officer read it? did your lawyer read it? do both of them know more about your Declaration than you do? does that make you feel embarrassed, that the two Americans know more about you than you do? What emotions does the Asylum Officer have, right now, watching you be unable to repeat your own story? does he think you are a moron?

Inconsistencies of Mr.K, from Burma

I suffered injury to my right eye in July, except it was in January
I did not even try to get a letter from the sister of Mr. MMM
I protested on September 23, 24, and 25; except that I protested on September 23&24; except that I protested on the 23rd, 24th, [25th was a day of rest] and again on the 26th
I was never arrested; except that I was arrested once; except that I was arrested twice
I learned of the arrest of MMM from an in-person visit from his sister; except that it was from a phone call from his sister;
When I protested, I did see government agents take my photograph with cameras, except that I did not see any cameras
I was punished because of church work, and also because I protested; however, letter from wife says I was punished only because of church work
I say I was arrested; but the letter from pastor does not mention arrest
I did not even try to get a letter from the sister of MMM, because I was too busy here in USA doing other things

why can't you repeat your own story twice in a row?

Mr. K, from Burma, was denied asylum because he was inconsistent. He told one story to the Asylum Officer [AO], then he told a slightly different story to the Judge. The Judge knew exactly what K told the AO, because the AO wrote it down. Before the hearing with the Judge, the Judge read the AO report. Mr. K was too busy to read it; K forgot what he told the AO. So, in court, everyone was bored and they listened to K mumble and be inconsistent. The Judge was bored, the government lawyer was bored, K's own lawyer was bored. They all knew more about K than K!

The Judge, the government lawyer, and K's lawyer were all thinking the same thing: "we know more about K than K himself! What a moron! K is too busy to read his own story? Isn't he embarrassed that the three Americans know more about him that he does himself?"

K's lawyer can tell K's story backwards and forwards; he can say it without notes, five times in a row. What can't K do that?

What does "arrest" mean in English?

Mr. K, from Burma, was denied asylum:

Mr. K's church was not given a permit to build, so, K complained loudly and in person. As a result, government agents, armed with guns, forced K to go to a small room where they punched him. In other words, in the English language, K was "arrested." He was forced to go to a small room and stay there, by government agents.

There are many other words in the English language that mean almost exactly the same thing: K was "detained," K was "imprisoned," K was "jailed." Or, he was "arrested."

A government agent is a government agent. It is not important if the agent was part of the "police" or if he was part of the "Military Intelligence." The man with a gun worked for the government of Burma; that is what is important.

A small room, that you are locked up in, and which has an armed guard outside, is a bad place to be. In English, we do not care if the room is in a "jail,' in a "prison," in a "detention center," or in a "correctional facility." Does the person in the locked room care what kind of building he is in? NO; what is important is that he cannot get out. He is locked in. He is in a room with four walls and a locked door.

Some Burmese people think it is very important to distinguish between being held by the police versus being held by the military. They want to say, "I was arrested by the police;" or, "I was detained by the military." We do not care about that here in the USA. Whether it is police or the military, we do not care. Each man with a gun is an agent of the government.

Some Burmese people think it is very important to distinguish between "jail" and "prison." We do not care about that here in the USA. A locked room is a locked room.

Mr. K decided he was an expert in the English language. Even though the military forced him into a small room, Mr. K said he was NOT arrested, because he thinks the military does not "arrest" people; it "detains" them.

man from Pakistan was asked about his passports

The AO wanted to know these things about Mr. P, from Pakistan:
-what is your ethnic group? what is your religion? what do you mean, "liberal" muslim?
-tell me about your international travels: what was your immigration status when you arrived here in USA? did you maintain your status? what applications did you file, before the application for asylum?
-what was your last address in Pakistan? when did you last enter the USA?
-why are there errors on page 4? if you were too busy to fill it out correctly, maybe I am too busy to interview you, and come to the correct decision?
-when was your passport issued? where did you travel next? and then? when does passport expire? did you try to re-new it? what happened when you asked at your Embassy?
-when did you decide to apply for asylum?
why did you apply? who do you fear? why?
-show me all originals! show me the envelopes the letters came in!
-did you suffer economic harm? they seized your land? worth how much?
-you say a fatwa was issued against you? how does government know about it? how does family of Mr. X know about it?
-did you bring all of your papers here to the interview? why not?
-Mr. X found out about your activities? how? how did he find out? what is the motive of Mr. X?
-there is no date on the fatwa? why not?
"does the church issue fatwas?"
-if you return to your country, who do you fear? what do you fear? why?
-did you ever fire a weapon? did you receive training with rifles or pistols?
-is there anything else? yes, what? now, is there anything else?

will you talk to your witness before the hearing?

The Judge denied asylum to Mr. Sholla, from Albania, because Sholla testified he was beaten three times in 1997, whereas his brother testified that Sholla was beaten once in 1997, and twice in 1998.