The Asylum Officer asked: When you helped the US Army, what were your duties? did you live inside the Green Zone?
-where did you live in Baghdad? where did you sleep at night? why did you move around so often and stay at so many different places?
-who lives now at the house on 39th Street? who owns that house?
-who lives now at the house on 3rd Street? who owns that house? how is rent paid? rent is paid to whom?
Tell me about all of your passports: when was passport #1 issued? when does it expire?
-when does passport #2 expire? where is it, physically, right now? in Baghdad? in whose hands?
=
when you saw the death threat, how did you feel? what thoughts went through your mind?
-your daughter was missing for two days? when you finally saw her, what did you notice about her? what did she tell you?
Who kidnapped your daughter? why? why did they let her go?
Did you report her kidnapping to the police? why not?
After the threat, why not move immediately? why not report it to the police? did you tell anyone about it?
Are you still receiving threats? NO? OK, so maybe the bad guys have forgotten about you?
-January 6th is an important day in Iraq, because it is the "birthday" of the Army?
what would happen if you returned to your country tomorrow?
is there anything else?
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Saturday, November 14, 2009
democracy activist from Bolivia
The Asylum Officer asked:
-tell me the dates of birth of each of your 3 children
what was your last job?
who prepared your application
why are you applying for asylum?
pl. show me all originals, all envelopes, and all passports
When did you first start having problems?
was your father politically active?
was your mother politically active?
Give me more details about her activities! [what would a movie camera record: she sat at a desk and made phone calls? she stood on the sidewalk and shouted slogans?]
When did you get politically involved? why?
what was your motive?
You wrote articles? give me an example of one article!
what kind of response did you get to your article?
Tell me your emotions when the bad guys walked into your house
You received phone threats? from whom? give me an example: what did the man say?
You believe they were agents of the government? why do you believe that?
What was their job/position in the government?
what was the worst threat over the phone?
Tell me as many details as possible! tell me your emotions!
What thoughts went through your mind at that time?
When did you move out of the house? where did you live during each month of the past five years?
Were you able to move around freely?
Why did you continue your activities, even though the threats were getting worse?
What was your husband doing all this time? was he able to continue to work?
Did he have any problems?
Why did your children visit you, if things were so bad in your city?
How did you get this letter? from the mail? from the hand of someone who flew here on an airplane? where is the envelope?
You received threats in January? but you only left your country in December? why the delay?
did it take time to get a visa, and to get money for airplane tickets?
Upon arrival here in USA, why not apply for asylum immediately? why another long delay?
was it hard to find a lawyer? did you have other problems here in USA, such as getting a place to live?
What emotions did husband feel about your activities?
What organizations did you join in your country? what is the purpose of each one?
What organizations did you join here in USA? why did you join? why have you still not joined?
How did you find out about the last threat? who callled you on the phone? how did that person find out?
What would happen if you return?
You lived in the city of La Paz? so, why don't you go live in another city?
You have been gone from your country for two years? they have forgotten about you, haven't they? after your arrival here in USA, you have been quiet and you have done nothing, correct?
If you have such strong political views, how come you are not active here in USA?
Is there anything else? Yes,?what?
is there anything else?
-tell me the dates of birth of each of your 3 children
what was your last job?
who prepared your application
why are you applying for asylum?
pl. show me all originals, all envelopes, and all passports
When did you first start having problems?
was your father politically active?
was your mother politically active?
Give me more details about her activities! [what would a movie camera record: she sat at a desk and made phone calls? she stood on the sidewalk and shouted slogans?]
When did you get politically involved? why?
what was your motive?
You wrote articles? give me an example of one article!
what kind of response did you get to your article?
Tell me your emotions when the bad guys walked into your house
You received phone threats? from whom? give me an example: what did the man say?
You believe they were agents of the government? why do you believe that?
What was their job/position in the government?
what was the worst threat over the phone?
Tell me as many details as possible! tell me your emotions!
What thoughts went through your mind at that time?
When did you move out of the house? where did you live during each month of the past five years?
Were you able to move around freely?
Why did you continue your activities, even though the threats were getting worse?
What was your husband doing all this time? was he able to continue to work?
Did he have any problems?
Why did your children visit you, if things were so bad in your city?
How did you get this letter? from the mail? from the hand of someone who flew here on an airplane? where is the envelope?
You received threats in January? but you only left your country in December? why the delay?
did it take time to get a visa, and to get money for airplane tickets?
Upon arrival here in USA, why not apply for asylum immediately? why another long delay?
was it hard to find a lawyer? did you have other problems here in USA, such as getting a place to live?
What emotions did husband feel about your activities?
What organizations did you join in your country? what is the purpose of each one?
What organizations did you join here in USA? why did you join? why have you still not joined?
How did you find out about the last threat? who callled you on the phone? how did that person find out?
What would happen if you return?
You lived in the city of La Paz? so, why don't you go live in another city?
You have been gone from your country for two years? they have forgotten about you, haven't they? after your arrival here in USA, you have been quiet and you have done nothing, correct?
If you have such strong political views, how come you are not active here in USA?
Is there anything else? Yes,?what?
is there anything else?
Thursday, November 5, 2009
"pro-Western" person from Iraq
The Asylum Officer asked this of Mr. Z, a Shia from Iraq, who supported the USA and advocated for "Western" values:
-you arrived in USA when? what was your last address in your country? Tell me your last four addresses in your country
-why are you applying for asylum today?
-when did you get your first passport? how get it? when did you get your second passport? where is it today? do the stamps inside the passport give us more information than you can?
=
did your family ever live in the Green Zone? why not? there was space, or there was not?
-what day were you kidnapped in June 2006? you were held for how long? how many hours?
When were you released? why? why weren't you killed?
-You say the taxi driver delivered you to the bad guys, because he "knew"you were Shia?
how did he know you were Shia?
-you were driven to a "check point"? what does "check-point" mean? you must stop there, or not?
-is a Shia accent different from a Sunni accent? yes? no? it is different or not? what is the difference?
=
why did the bad guys let you go? why didn't they kill you?
-some people have a "Southern" accent? some people have a "Baghdad" accent?
-don't Shia people and Sunni people both live in Baghdad? so their accents are the same or different?
-is your last name Shia? if a person looks at your I.D., he knows your last name and can guess that you are a Shia? the driver did not look at your I.D., did he? so, he did not know your last name, did he?
-here in the USA, accents do not reveal religion, do they? if someone has a "New York" accent, do you know what religion he is?
-do Shia people use certain words and phrases, but Sunnis do not? like what?
=
what were your injuries at the time of your release? a head wound, with stitches? but Dr. X wrote a letter and does not talk about your stitches?
-You gave me a letter from Dr. X, but you did not actually read it? I, the Asylum Officer, know more about his letter than you do? I read it, but you didn't?
-did you return to school, or were you too traumatized? what does page 4 of your asylum application say? something different from what you just said? I, the Asylum Officer, know more about your asylum application than you do?
-your uncle's letter says you returned to school? yes? No? you don't know? you gave me his letter, but you did not read it?
-you say you were kidnapped. Did you tell anyone that you had been kidnapped? did you tell them very soon after the event? or, did you wait a long time and then tell them?
-when did someone paint a slogan on the wall of your house? what year did that happen? what was the address of the house?
-what would happen if you return to your country?
-you arrived in USA in early 2008, but you only applied for asylum in mid-2009? why the delay? was it hard to find out about the asylum process? was it hard to find a lawyer?
-have you had any contact with police here in the USA?
-ever had any training with guns? have you ever held and shot a gun?
-is there anything else? YES? what?
OK, now, is there anything else?
-you arrived in USA when? what was your last address in your country? Tell me your last four addresses in your country
-why are you applying for asylum today?
-when did you get your first passport? how get it? when did you get your second passport? where is it today? do the stamps inside the passport give us more information than you can?
=
did your family ever live in the Green Zone? why not? there was space, or there was not?
-what day were you kidnapped in June 2006? you were held for how long? how many hours?
When were you released? why? why weren't you killed?
-You say the taxi driver delivered you to the bad guys, because he "knew"you were Shia?
how did he know you were Shia?
-you were driven to a "check point"? what does "check-point" mean? you must stop there, or not?
-is a Shia accent different from a Sunni accent? yes? no? it is different or not? what is the difference?
=
why did the bad guys let you go? why didn't they kill you?
-some people have a "Southern" accent? some people have a "Baghdad" accent?
-don't Shia people and Sunni people both live in Baghdad? so their accents are the same or different?
-is your last name Shia? if a person looks at your I.D., he knows your last name and can guess that you are a Shia? the driver did not look at your I.D., did he? so, he did not know your last name, did he?
-here in the USA, accents do not reveal religion, do they? if someone has a "New York" accent, do you know what religion he is?
-do Shia people use certain words and phrases, but Sunnis do not? like what?
=
what were your injuries at the time of your release? a head wound, with stitches? but Dr. X wrote a letter and does not talk about your stitches?
-You gave me a letter from Dr. X, but you did not actually read it? I, the Asylum Officer, know more about his letter than you do? I read it, but you didn't?
-did you return to school, or were you too traumatized? what does page 4 of your asylum application say? something different from what you just said? I, the Asylum Officer, know more about your asylum application than you do?
-your uncle's letter says you returned to school? yes? No? you don't know? you gave me his letter, but you did not read it?
-you say you were kidnapped. Did you tell anyone that you had been kidnapped? did you tell them very soon after the event? or, did you wait a long time and then tell them?
-when did someone paint a slogan on the wall of your house? what year did that happen? what was the address of the house?
-what would happen if you return to your country?
-you arrived in USA in early 2008, but you only applied for asylum in mid-2009? why the delay? was it hard to find out about the asylum process? was it hard to find a lawyer?
-have you had any contact with police here in the USA?
-ever had any training with guns? have you ever held and shot a gun?
-is there anything else? YES? what?
OK, now, is there anything else?
Tuesday, November 3, 2009
protestor from Cameroon
The Asylum Officer asked these questions of a protestor from Cameroon who suffered no physical harm:
1. what was your address in Douala? if the street has no name, and the house has no number, how would the police find you? they would ask a man in the neighborhood where you lived?
2. do you have a political opinion? what is it?
3. you say you "supported" the SDF? what is the difference between being a "supporter" and a "member"?
4. why weren't you a member?
5. what kind of difficulty did you have with the government?
6. how did you protest? what did you do, specifically? you parked your truck on road, and then stood by it and shouted slogans?
7. what did the other protestors do?
8. do you know the names of the other protestors?
9. did one of them write a letter of support for you? not even one? why not? did you even ask one person to write a letter of support?
10. In March 2009, what did your wife tell you? what thoughts went through your mind when she told you that?
11. why is the Government looking for you? are you important?
12. is the government still interested in you, even now, two years later?
YOUR VISA
-how did you get the tourist visa? did you fill out a two-page form? was it form DS 156?
-did you answer in writing? is this a copy of what you filled out two years ago?
[how did the Asylum Officer get a copy of that form?]
-did you go in person to the U.S. Embassy? how many times? what was the conversation? what did the man ask, and what did you answer? did you tell lies? why did you tell lies?
=
-if you return to your country tomorrow, what would happen? why do you think they would arrest you at the airport?
-after you left your country, did your wife suffer? how? why?
-did the other drivers suffer? how? why?
-let's look closely at your driver's license: what does each date mean? what city were you in at each time?
-does the driver's license "know" more about you than you do?
-does your passport "know" more about you than you do?
-is there anything else? yes, oK, now, is there anything else?
1. what was your address in Douala? if the street has no name, and the house has no number, how would the police find you? they would ask a man in the neighborhood where you lived?
2. do you have a political opinion? what is it?
3. you say you "supported" the SDF? what is the difference between being a "supporter" and a "member"?
4. why weren't you a member?
5. what kind of difficulty did you have with the government?
6. how did you protest? what did you do, specifically? you parked your truck on road, and then stood by it and shouted slogans?
7. what did the other protestors do?
8. do you know the names of the other protestors?
9. did one of them write a letter of support for you? not even one? why not? did you even ask one person to write a letter of support?
10. In March 2009, what did your wife tell you? what thoughts went through your mind when she told you that?
11. why is the Government looking for you? are you important?
12. is the government still interested in you, even now, two years later?
YOUR VISA
-how did you get the tourist visa? did you fill out a two-page form? was it form DS 156?
-did you answer in writing? is this a copy of what you filled out two years ago?
[how did the Asylum Officer get a copy of that form?]
-did you go in person to the U.S. Embassy? how many times? what was the conversation? what did the man ask, and what did you answer? did you tell lies? why did you tell lies?
=
-if you return to your country tomorrow, what would happen? why do you think they would arrest you at the airport?
-after you left your country, did your wife suffer? how? why?
-did the other drivers suffer? how? why?
-let's look closely at your driver's license: what does each date mean? what city were you in at each time?
-does the driver's license "know" more about you than you do?
-does your passport "know" more about you than you do?
-is there anything else? yes, oK, now, is there anything else?
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