[FA Worldmusic] immigration woes part 2: who will be next?!?

[Steve Hochman]

Boy George has had so many legal woes in recent years that I wouldn't  
be so sure he has a lot of cash around these days.... And the fact  
that he's involved in a pending case that the authorities can't  
discuss in public does put a different spin on the matter, making it  
an entirely different thing than the sadly run-of-the-mill denial of  
visas to artists.



Around the World
http://www.spinner.com/category/around-the-world/


On Jun 25, 2008, at 10:58 AM, Gerald Seligman wrote:

> A case like Papa Wemba's, in which, as Mark reports, he used artist  
> visas to
> smuggle in illegal immigrants for personal profit, has made it more
> difficult for honest artists to get their visas. No one interested  
> in an
> equitable visa system should weep over Wemba's fate. He's earned it.  
> As for
> Boy George, sure there are debatable issues, but with so many  
> artists of our
> own underrepresented in the debate, surely we can be a bit more  
> selective.
> Ol' Boy George has got the money to defend himself. Kasai Allstars and
> Konono don't. The financial strain of the last-minute denial of  
> their visas
> and the cancellation of their tour might well spell financial ruin for
> Michel Winter's Divano Production, one of the best, most committed,
> longest-running agencies around.
>
> Gerald Seligman
>
>
> On Wed, Jun 25, 2008 at 7:35 PM, Bill Smith <bill at eyefortalent.com>  
> wrote:
>
>> To put this into perspective, I am aware of numerous European and
>> Canadian denials of visas\/entry for less serious criminal
>> activity/accusations than the two mentioned. My concern is the
>> bureacratic ineptness/procedure of the USCIS and the simple fact  
>> that if
>> your petition falls off someone's desk onto the floor, there is no  
>> one to
>> speak to about  their carelessness. That petition can remain on the  
>> floor
>> for months. The only way to inquire into that situation is to pay   
>> $1000
>> to speak to the live, nude woman in the window. The USCIS calls that
>> personal touch Premium Processing. Bill
>> Smith                                     www.eyefortalent.comPOB
>> 280786                                 650-595-2274San Francisco, CA
>> 94128               fax  585-6810USA Skype
>> Bsmith178                           UK tel
>> 44-20-800-29364-----------------------
>> Original Message ----------------------- From: "Mark D. Moss / Sing  
>> Out!"
>> <mark at singout.org>To: fa-worldmusic at folk.orgDate: Wed, 25 Jun 2008
>> 13:10:31 -0400Subject: Re: [FA Worldmusic] immigration woes part 2:  
>> who
>> will be next?!? At 08:28 PM 6/24/2008, Timothy Bisig wrote:
>>> http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/europe/06/24/boygeorge.visa/index.html
>>>
>>> will the madness never end?
>>
>> I've just gotten my 6th press release about Boy George's visa
>> troubles, and I've got to say that I'm less than enthused by the
>> prospects of having our *very* real and serious barriers to cultural
>> exchange adopt this story -- or, for that matter Papa Wemba's visa
>> trouble following his conviction for illegal immigrant smuggling --
>> as any kind of cause celeb. I do get that Boy George is innocent
>> until proven guilty, but the charges against him ("imprisoning a man
>> in his home") certainly seem pretty serious, and I *can* understand
>> why he could be seen as legitimate cause to deny him the visa. (It's
>> certainly not "madness." Please.)
>>
>> Doesn't taking up this argument empower the isolationists who can
>> easily brush this off with a chuckle and a simple "of course"? I'd
>> rather focus the discussion on the serious artists -- without pending
>> criminal charges -- who are being denied visas or who are being
>> extorted for crippling processing fees, etc. Is it just me? Or do
>> others agree that we lose every time we let the story shift to
>> examples where reasonable people likely couldn't figure out why
>> denying such a visa is a problem?
>> _____________________________________
>> Mark D. Moss / Sing Out!
>> P.O. Box 5460 (for UPS: 512 E. 4th St.)
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