Losing the World One Student at a Time

HOW TO WIN A FRIEND

Zarqa is one of the largest and poorest cities in Jordan. Located about 12 miles northeast of Amman, the predominantly Palestinian city tops the US embassy's list of places for Americans to avoid and is most famous in the West as the home of the notorious terrorist leader Abu Musab Al-Zarqawi. This New York Times article about Jordan's Islamist politicians paints the city in an unflattering light: "Shoddily built neighborhoods here blur into Palestinian refugee camps, with narrow, poorly maintained streets. The smell of backed-up sewage clouds the city because the government will not improve the inadequate drainage system." Poverty, lack of social services, and hostility to American foreign policy have led to strong support for Islamist militants and political parties. The NYT article states, "This crammed slum of four-story concrete housing blocs has given Jordan some of its biggest headaches..."

Zarqa is also the hometown of my best friend in Jordan, and it's a fascinating place to explore the ways that the US can or should influence perception in strongly anti-American places of the world.

My friend's father is among the most important and well-respected leaders in Zarqa. He has enormous wasta--the currency of respect and influence in Jordan. He is active in business and politics, and in a culture where interpersonal relationships mean everything, he is the kind of guy neighbors and colleagues go to when they are in trouble and need help. He's exactly the kind of guy, in other words, that the US would love to have on its side. Until a few years ago, he and his entire family were vehemently anti-American. Then something happened: their son, my friend, met an American student at the University of Jordan, where they both studied. They struck up a friendship, then their families became friends. Over months of sharing dinners, exchanging cultures, and discussing politics and ideas, the family totally reconsidered the way they view Americans. Although they loathe many American policies, they have tremendous respect for Americans now and see the possibilities for Americans and Jordanians working together in the future.

It gets better. The American student helped my friend apply for a work visa to the US. He visited the United States twice, both times for summer work programs. He fell in love with the country and the people. He had wonderful experiences, was treated as an honored guest by most people he met, and returned to Jordan both times with his English significantly improved. His Facebook page is a testament to his American experience, packed with photos of places he visited and friends he made. He is the most pro-American Palestinian I've ever met, is devoted to peace, and hopes to get a job in the Foreign Ministry someday so he can help work towards that peace. I don't know how you measure such intangibles, but I suspect my friend's experience--and the ripple effect among his family--has done more for perception of Americans in Zarqa than all the money the US government pumps into broadcasting "its message" across the airwaves here.

This is how America wins friends. Now, here's how it loses them.

HOW TO LOSE A FRIEND

Ever since he returned from his last US visit, my friend has talked about going back. He wants to work for a summer and look at universities, because he's interested in earning a doctorate in the States. He has friends he wants to visit again, and a diverse list of places he wants to go so he can return to Jordan as an "expert" on America. He applied for his third visa in early April. The consular officer told him everything looked good and that he could expect the visa soon. My friend--an optimist to a fault--borrowed money to pay for a $1400 non-refundable plane ticket, an amount that he could easily pay back after working in the US but that is a small fortune in the economy here.

A few weeks ago, he got an inexplicable note from the US embassy which read something to the effect of "Your visa requires additional processing. Don't call us, we'll call you." As the departure date approached and my friend began to sweat, I did some research. I learned that something had flagged his visa application and triggered a security investigation. When I asked where the paperwork was--hoping I could expedite it along--a shadow fell over the consular officer's face when she checked her computer. "DHS has it," she said in a tone of voice loaded with dread and disdain. Here's the fallout in a nutshell: my friend's visa paperwork is being held by Homeland Security for an investigation that could take 6 months or more. Nobody has any idea why, and we can't find out. There is nobody to call, nobody to check for updates with. My friend cannot get a refund on his plane ticket, and he also sank hundreds of dollars in application fees for his visa and his work-abroad program. Because he will not be working in the US, repaying the debt will be an enormous burden on him and his family. Orwellian bureaucracy has swallowed my friend's dreams whole.

THE VISA PROBLEM

I don't know a thing about the visa process, and I understand how difficult it must be to balance homeland security with some level of openness to foreigners. There comes a point, though, when our efforts to board up the gates become counterproductive and actually undermine our long-term national security. Openness builds relationships, interdependence, and trust; isolation breeds misunderstanding and fear. Everywhere I've traveled, the difficulty of obtaining a visa to America--especially since September 11th--is a common theme. I've been in Jordan less than two months and I've already met a half-dozen people who dream of visiting the US but told me they have no hope of obtaining a visa. Those who try quickly get burned out. Visa applications are expensive: the processing fee listed on the State Department's website is $131. My wife has a friend in Kazakhstan who dreamed of studying in America and traveled 40 hours by train to the capitol for an interview with the consular office. Her visa was denied. After investing so much time and treasure in a process that is at turns bewildering, frustrating, and frightening, students aren't likely to repeat the process.

John P. Naden and Peter W. Singer addressed this issue in a 2003 Foreign Affairs article titled America Slams the Door (On Its Foot): Washington's Destructive New Visa Policies. At the time hard numbers about visa rejections were not available, but the authors wrote, "Surveys of college administrators support the widespread belief that the number of students being denied permission to enter the country has radically increased over the last two years." The problem is not just rejections, but plan-altering delays--like my friend encountered. The difficulty of obtaining a visa to the US is driving more and more students to look to Europe or Australia as alternatives, and is causing serious consequences with US universities.

The damaging effects of the new system have already begun to be felt across the U.S. educational system and beyond. According to the Association of American Universities, the unintended consequences of the new visa screening requirements have included a massive decrease in the number of foreign students from Muslim states, scores of foreign faculty being unavailable to teach courses, scientific research projects becoming delayed or derailed, and businesses moving trade elsewhere. Meanwhile, the selective registration program for Muslim males inside the United States has had little success in finding actual terrorists, even while causing great distress and offense to Muslim visitors.

Naden and Singer believe the difficulty of obtaining visas is a serious national security issue. They write, "The new measures have had such damaging implications for the conduct of foreign affairs that they should no longer be viewed in isolation." That was in 2003. Have things improved since then? I don't have hard numbers or any inside perspective, but the people in Jordan would tell you no. You can ask my friend.