A Day In The Life Of Someone Traveling On An African Passport - The Passport Undesirables

I should be traveling again quite soon – in 2-3 months actually, but that is soon enough for me as a holder of an African passport. This means I need to start gathering all the documentation: bank statements, letter from employer, confirmed accommodation, booked flights, etc, that will be needed for my visa application. With time, the excitement of traveling battles more with my dread of getting into the country I plan to visit. Yes, I could have a wonderful time there, but before that I might need three to eight humiliating embassy visits and a few days off work in order to run up and down trying to prove I'm not trying to disappear into the 46th country in the world that I will be visiting on my Kenyan passport. 

It would be easier if I had not chosen the life that I have – that of an adventurer, a travelblogger, a writer who plans to travel to every single country and territory in the world. All 196 countries, all 63 territories on my one and only passport, my Kenyan passport. 

When I wrote this article a few months back, I was inspired by the conversations it sparked among us "passport undesirables". The shares, retweets and mentions showed solidarity among a group that felt we have every much a right to see this world as anyone else from another country. 

I also valued the comments from those who were shocked, surprised and disgusted that this is the reality of travel for the majority of us. It should be shocking. We should be disturbed by unfair treatment – no matter what the basis of that discrimination. 

So I recommend this article as you might discover something new, get comforted by the fact that you are not alone in your travel struggles or you might just get inspired enough to ask why we can't do better.