Anxiety Awaits (Tunisia)

I obtained the Libyan transit visa in Tunis after waiting for a week. It was a surprising development, especially given that Libya and Taiwan have neither diplomatic nor economic ties. In fact, it is not uncommon for Taiwanese to be restricted or even barred from entering certain countries, such as Pakistan, Tunisia and Lebanon, simply because Taiwan receives so little international recognition.

Moreover, independent travelers of various nationalities are routinely turned down from visiting General Gaddafi's al-Jamihiriya (Arabic for "state of the masses"), a country that has been isolated by the West for over a decade and only recently been removed from the State Department's list of state sponsors of terrorism. How could a Taiwanese backpacker enjoy relative ease of access when others do not?

But what surprised me the most was the fact that I was never questioned as to the status of my Tunisian entry visa, which was affixed on my U.S. passport. If they had known I was also a US citizen, I would never have been given the green flag.

Finding a way to go by land to Libya was not as straightforward as I had assumed, but by the word of mouth I eventually found the street not far from Bab al-Bahr where minivans were lined up and destined for the Libyan capital Trablous (Tripoli). We waited for more than five hours before the shared minivan was fully occupied and departed late at night. On the bus, everyone was curious as to why I, an Asian, was going to Libya. It seemed rather amusing to the two drivers and my fellow passengers, mostly businesspeople, that I was willing to pay 30 dinar ($25) just to cross into Libya. For many of the women and men on board, it was unthinkable that Libya had anything interesting to see. After all, Libyans are widely considered by Tunisians to be uncouth and backward "rural pumpkins," notwithstanding their common heritage as Arabs. A man next to me even asked why I was not spending more time to tour Tunisia, which had far more interesting attractions.

The journey to the border at Ras al-Jedir was 9 hours long. At 5 a.m., traffic came to a screeching halt as hundreds of vehicles awaited the opening of customs. We descended the van, had our bags checked after a 1-hour hiatus, and presented our passports. But I was singled out to stay behind while others were quickly granted stamps of approval. A Tunisian official took both my passports away, after I was forced to show him that I had the requisite visas on different passports.

For half an hour, my companions and I were anxiously looking for the official who had confiscated my passports and disappeared without a trace. When he reemerged, he did not have my passports with him. I was told I had to stay alone at the border. My protests fell on deaf ears as I defended my rights to leave Tunisia for Libya.

--"Monsieur, j'ai des visas pour entrer la Tunisie et la Libyie. Pourquoi je ne peux pas partir maintenant?"
(Sir, I have the visas for entering Tunisia and Libya. Why am I not allowed to leave right now?)
--"Il est interdict d'avoir les visas sur deux passports."
(It is forbidden to have visas on two passports.)
--"Mais il n'y a pas de probleme avec mon visa tunisien!" I retorted, You could simply stamp my U.S. passport and let me leave Tunisia and never have to worry whether I could enter the other side of the border!
--"Vous ne pouvez pas entrer la Libyie comme ca...We have an agreement with the Libyans whereby foreigners without Libyan visas are not permitted to go."
--"But I have a visa for Libya; you know it! It says very clearly that I am permitted to enter the country. Just give me the exit stamp, and everything will be fine."
--"No, it is not possible. Il faut que vous restiez ici." (You must stay here).

My companions could not help; they left my rucksack and bag behind and departed for Tripoli. The next hour and a half was a gruesome wait, as I nervously contemplated whether I would have to return to Tunis and purchase a ridiculously expensive intracontinental flight to Cairo.