RE: Comment catcher: Preparing: A To-Do ListfabrisseNovember 18 2016, 20:34:10 UTC
On point 2, be aware that some places may require lead time for visas or even that you have held a passport for a given length of time (I've seen 3 months, 6 months, and 1 year when looking at visiting different places). And I finally renewed mine this past summer, but DAMN is it expensive these days in both money and time.
I am not quite sure what you're trying to do. Under a totalitarian system (Soviet Union) you had to live a double life if you could afford it: pledge allegiance to the communists but prepare escape or guerrilla-like lifestyle in case they go for you, and in that case you had to rely on your extended family.
I talked to somebody whose family had fled Somalia. She pointed out that 'fled' gives the wrong idea. The normal pattern, including for her family, was to go on 'holiday' with some friends out of the way of whatever-is-happening. Then to decide to extend the stay, with an eye on what is happening back home.
The crucial point is it's not a sharp break, it's a gradual shifting of your life. Make sure you have people who will take you in, even if the army isn't yet at your door -- because you want to have got clear well before things get to that stage.
[relatedly: work out how to be a good guest. At some point, you may really need to be]
Was about to suggest something like this, but without the benefit of experience---just looking at the immigration rules, it is much better for getting out quickly to be a tourist (like, honestly be a tourist) and then realize it's not safe to go back and ask for asylum, vs. trying to enter as a refugee or other sort of immigrant. US citizens can enter lots of places visa-free and then, if they end up deciding they want to stay, the options for what to do next are incredibly variable
( ... )
Think of the clothes you're standing up in. What do you carry in your pockets?
Some of it is useful, some of it is a liability, some of it is useless clutter; and some of it is so damn' useful that losing it would be godawful.
My coat carries my inhaler, antihistamines, paper napkin, pocket diary, shoelaces, a biro, a sticking plaster and a cute little button torch.
I carry my wallet and my phone in my trouser pockets.
A small wad of cash - train or taxi fare home - and a post-it note with the essential phone numbers lives in a liner pocket of my coat. So street robbery or being 'briefly detained' and not getting my wallet and phone back would be very inconvenient, but not disastrous, even in another city.
Patio door keys to my apartment live in my laptop bag: I'm not locked out: and I have people close by who have a spare key.
Do you?
...One day I will find out what I should be carrying, and don't.
Don't I know you from somewhere? hairyearsNovember 19 2016, 00:57:01 UTC
Cultivate friends in the next town over. Or the next country over.
A writing circle, a fandom, a choir that does a lot of visiting, a minority pastime like Aikido or model railways - whatever builds links to a working community of acquaintances and a few closer friends - is something you need to start doing. And make damn' sure it isn't a bunch of middle-aged white suburbanites: if you're ever labelled 'other' they will turn you away.
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I talked to somebody whose family had fled Somalia. She pointed out that 'fled' gives the wrong idea. The normal pattern, including for her family, was to go on 'holiday' with some friends out of the way of whatever-is-happening. Then to decide to extend the stay, with an eye on what is happening back home.
The crucial point is it's not a sharp break, it's a gradual shifting of your life. Make sure you have people who will take you in, even if the army isn't yet at your door -- because you want to have got clear well before things get to that stage.
[relatedly: work out how to be a good guest. At some point, you may really need to be]
Reply
Reply
Think of the clothes you're standing up in. What do you carry in your pockets?
Some of it is useful, some of it is a liability, some of it is useless clutter; and some of it is so damn' useful that losing it would be godawful.
My coat carries my inhaler, antihistamines, paper napkin, pocket diary, shoelaces, a biro, a sticking plaster and a cute little button torch.
I carry my wallet and my phone in my trouser pockets.
A small wad of cash - train or taxi fare home - and a post-it note with the essential phone numbers lives in a liner pocket of my coat. So street robbery or being 'briefly detained' and not getting my wallet and phone back would be very inconvenient, but not disastrous, even in another city.
Patio door keys to my apartment live in my laptop bag: I'm not locked out: and I have people close by who have a spare key.
Do you?
...One day I will find out what I should be carrying, and don't.
Reply
A writing circle, a fandom, a choir that does a lot of visiting, a minority pastime like Aikido or model railways - whatever builds links to a working community of acquaintances and a few closer friends - is something you need to start doing. And make damn' sure it isn't a bunch of middle-aged white suburbanites: if you're ever labelled 'other' they will turn you away.
Reply
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