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POWER AND CREATIVE STRATEGY

nwadike2@gmail.com
Tokyo, Japan


My first intuition was to head this treatise "How Not to Help a People" or "How best to Assist a People" but I ended up following other instinct probably because the discourse is about financial muzzle in one hand and begging for arms in another, hence, "POWER and CREATIVE STRATEGY" {apology to Prof. Wole Soyinka}.
Japan boasts of being probably the highest donor in terms of charity to developing and under-developed countries. Such benefits are in the areas of structure, education, scholarships, manpower provision, training and splinter offices constructed with the aim of sensitizing the people of what has been done and what is being done.
The country or nations that enjoy these benefits are ever willing to return cap in hands asking for more year on, the psychology of asking, not withstanding. We live in a practical world and therefore it serves no need wondering why such countries cannot sustain themselves in the first place. It serves no purpose to mention corruption as the bane in such societies. It will serve no purpose to state how endemic the issue of corruption has become to the extent that those who peddle it do not care if qualitative education is provided. After all, enlightenment will create awareness and reduce or out rightly, challenge the purse of the corrupters. Therefore, why repeat what has been obvious; fact that has graduated from the margin of secrecy, that is, if there was ever any in such environment thriving on support and charity. Fact on ground is that many countries are lacking in human endowment being enjoyed by others, for instance, basic needs and therefore goes hands in begging. The human endowment, mind you, has its abundance in natural resources. It's only that…, that…, that…
Japan as stated has positioned itself to assist. What are the benefits if any to Japan? What satisfaction do they derive?
Japanese citizens can take a glimpse and see how better they are than those other people from those other countries.
Japanese citizens in noticing how other people lives can therefore be eternally grateful and loyal to its government for providing means and materials that those other countries government had failed to make available or can simply not make available and for whatever reason.
The super-ego factor; some Japanese getting news of large amount of fund being budgeted and disbursed feels either proud or superior or both., that is, "my car is bigger than yours" mentality, and therefore, I am better than them.
I must add that the above benefits are not exhaustive as other factors may exist but they are a needed psyche in the goblets of the Japanese and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that. Japan doling out handsome money yearly has been most benevolent, no doubt.
Arguably, an agency like Japan International Cooperation Agency {JICA} covering Africa should be concerned about final disbursement and application in respect of effectiveness and sustenance. Japan need to take an in-depth look on what has been achieved in concrete terms and not just on paper. Japan looking in, will find ways to fashion how best to apply resources, plenty but scarce at this time.
In other words, what initiative can one proffer so that the begging and giving will be more effective? I have discussed this point while meeting with JICA, May 2008 and I mentioned it again on my meeting with staff of International Developing Economies-Japan External Trade Organization {IDE-JETRO}, December 25, 2008. For want of elaboration, I have proffered some suggestions here in respect of assistance to Africa.
1. All INCLUSIVENESS:
The unspoken and unofficial idea that "East Africa is Heaven, West Africa is Hell" should change. Branding a particular area as prone to danger, uninhabitable or rather trouble-some to deal with is highly selective…especially, when the trickles that gets to the West of Africa is hardly effective in terms of benefiting the people such help was originally intended for.
2. EDUCATION:
Many researches are undertaken by government and its agencies. Most times Lecturers are invited to research and speak on different subjects. Where it concerns Africa, Africans should be directly involved with such researches for effectiveness. By Africans being directly involved, they will provide on the ground information that researchers ordinarily could not have known or that could have escaped them. Researches should be conducted both through existing government agencies or bodies and other blocs like organizations that are not directly leaning on government. By getting Africans involved in their affairs and dealing with organizations other than government, balanced and in-depth information will be handy for decision making and implementation.
The issue of education through research cannot be over-emphasized. Suffice it to say that government need to be properly educated in order to serve better who they are assisting and in this subject matter, Africans. Besides, the history of a people, the nuances existing in a SOULFUL place like Africa can best be cracked and understood by Africans. Simply put, Africans should be involved while making researches and lectures or paper points on Africa.
3. INFORMATION:
Japan MOFA {Ministry of Foreign Affairs} has lots to do in terms of information dissemination. MOFA through its agencies and bodies like diplomatic channels should be able to give sound information on Life in Japan. Many times, probably out of need, people from Africa, Nigeria for instance, look at Japan as a place to be, a place to go and settle down. The feeling is that work can easily be found here and life is "bread and butter". They are more encouraged by Japanese electronics and cars in Africa markets. It is now obvious that they are far from the truth and therefore, it is now important that apart from this wavelength of technology mentality, Africans should be informed about family and social life in Japan, including what can be available on landing; tax systems, business ownerships, stocks and in fact what is permissible and what is not. I stress this because much as many probably will like moving over to Japan, I know a few people who would not have choose Japan had they the information of what is obtainable here. Had they elementary information on the rudiments of life here, I am quite sure that such persons having alternative {which they had} would not have made Japan their choice. In fact, I have met people who refused to come and settle in Japan because of one or more reasons. For instance, they felt that they cannot internalize in Japan social and family system. I also know people who are ready to come and settle no matter whatever negative information they have.
While there is nothing potentially wrong with Japan, my point is that value system and culture differs and some people based on these would have made their choice elsewhere or rather, even remain where they are. MOFA, JICA, etc, should therefore act faster with utmost alacrity in this area. Of course, this, like I mentioned will not stop Africans from coming. While a few people will not arrive to settle, people who want should be made abreast with elementary but important information.
4. INTEGRATION:
In line with information dissemination is integration. Most times, information disseminated on Japan TV or aired by NGO's/ NPO's that has visited Africa depicts Africa as not just poor but retarded. Accepted that most of Africa "is at the very nadir of human degradation", that most of Africa is in the "Ninth world", accepting that there is nothing wrong in reporting that, it is also right to highlight the good sides of Africa, the cities, the vegetation, the abundant talents and brain and so forth. For one, this fosters better information and pulls people not only along but bonded. Absence of this creates in the minds of Japanese that all of Africa are a people that need sympathy or even pity. It often reflects on immigrants while dealing or relating with their hosts. MOFA and its bodies, for instance, Japan Foundation, JICA, should do its best to change or at least, down-play this stereotype.
Added to integration is the issue of Africans who are already living and legally so in Japan. This has to do with acceptance. In my comments to Asia Leadership Fellow Program Symposium held October 31, 2008 at International House of Japan and hosted by IHJ/ Japan Foundation, I stressed that more than passport and place of birth, acceptance is important to make a people feel part of a nation or have a sense of belonging to a country. Japanese government through its ministries and other human service bodies like Japan Foundation, JICA, NGO's/ NPO's and designated government ministries should therefore do its best to identify talented and educated Africans. The idea should be to channel them into fields or discipline they can contribute. More too, initiative should be created so that those with less than qualitative education can go back to school or do some courses or training. This will upgrade their intellect and or worldview. On qualification, there should be ways to manage what has been learned or acquired for productive purposes. While Africans are not the representative of crime in Japan, a few who indulge may choose such opportunity and better themselves. Chances are that some may even return to their home country to impact on what has been learned or acquired.
JICA has already taken the right step in having foreigners take Japanese Language Test if they choose to but this is not enough. Language, important as it is will not replace knowing and understanding where you are, the people, their heartbeat, the mindset and you do not need language to know these; all immigrants need is acceptance embedded with balanced information and germane initiatives that will see them getting involved with better tasks.
5. PUBLICATIONS:
The last but not the least is publications. Researches carried out on Africa often end up being published only in Japanese language. Attempts should be made to print copies in languages other than Japanese only. Africans need to know what is being published about them and need to participate in information sharing. There should be freedom to access information in more than one language. Since information denied is knowledge denied, publications on researches carried out should include English and French, at least.

March 24, 2009 | 7:57 AM Comments  0 comments
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Top Hamas leader’s son converts to Christianity
Related to country: Palestine
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic



Top Hamas leader’s son converts to Christianity

By Dan Wooding
Founder of ASSIST Ministries
UNITED STATES (ANS) -- The son of a top Hamas leader has converted to Christianity and prays some day his family will also accept Jesus Christ as their savior, according to an Israeli newspaper.


Mosab Hassan Yousef (Photo: Fox News Channel)

Mosab Hassan Yousef, son of West Bank Hamas leader Sheik Hassan Yousef, revealed for the first time in an exclusive interview with Haaretz newspaper that he has left Islam and is now a Christian. Prior to the interview’s publication last Thursday, Yousef’s family did not know of his faith conversion even though he is in regular contact with them.

This news was revealed in a story written by Ethan Cole for the Christian Post (www.christianpost.com).

“[T]his interview will open many people's eyes, it will shake Islam from the roots, and I'm not exaggerating,” said Yousef, who now resides in the United States. “What other case do you know where a son of a Hamas leader, who was raised on the tenets of extremist Islam, comes out against it?”

The Christian Post story says that Yousef, who is now 30-years-old, was first exposed to Christianity eight years ago while in Jerusalem, where out of curiosity he accepted an invitation to hear about Christianity. Afterwards, he became “enthusiastic” about what he heard and would secretly read the Bible every day.

“A verse like ‘Love thine enemy’ had a great influence on me,” Yousef recalled. “At this stage I was still a Muslim and I thought that I would remain one. But every day I saw the terrible things done in the name of religion by those who considered themselves ‘great believers’.

“I studied Islam more thoroughly and found no answers there. I re-examined the Koran and the principals of the faith and found how it is mistaken and misleading.”

The story by Ethan Cole went on to say that with Christianity, Yousef said he could understand God as revealed through Jesus Christ. He said he could talk about God and Jesus for days, but Muslims are not able to say anything about God.

“I consider Islam a big lie,” said Yousef. “The people who supposedly represent the religion admired Mohammed more than God, killed innocent people in the name of Islam, beat their wives and don’t have any idea what God is.

“I have no doubt that they’ll go to hell. I have a message for them: There is only one way to paradise – the way of Jesus who sacrificed himself on the cross for all of us.”

Four years ago, Yousef decided to convert to Christianity but did not let his family know. He still helped his father with his political activities, and his father only knew his son had Christian friends.

“I felt responsible. It was better for me to be there rather than a gang of fools who would poison his mind,” Yousef explained. “I tried to understand those people, their thoughts, in order to change them from inside by means of a strong person like my father, who admitted to me in the past that he does not support suicide attacks.”

Cole went on to say, “Yousef described his father as a moderate Hamas leader. But even before his encounter with Christianity, Yousef had already become disenchanted with Hamas and Islam after being imprisoned at the age of 18 years old for heading a youth Islamic movement at his high school.”

Yousef the Hamas leaders he met in prison as people with “no morals” and “no integrity”, although they hide their corruption better than Fatah party members.

“Nobody knows them and how they operate as well as I do,” Yousef said, recalling how the family of Hamas members killed by Israel were forced to beg for financial assistance while the leadership “abandoned” them and “wasted” tens of thousands of dollars a month only on security for themselves.

“Then (in prison) I understood that not everyone in Hamas is like my father. He's a nice, friendly man. But I discovered how evil his colleagues are,” Yousef said. “After my release I lost the faith I had in those who ostensibly represented Islam."

Cole went on to say that Hamas is considered a terrorist group by the United States, Israel, and many Western countries. The group has publicly vowed to destroy Israel.

He added, “Now Yousef, the eldest son of Sheikh Yousef, says he ‘admires’ Israel.”

"You Jews should be aware: You will never, but never have peace with Hamas,” Yousef stated. “Islam, as the ideology that guides them, will not allow them to achieve a peace agreement with the Jews. They believe that tradition says that the Prophet Mohammed fought against the Jews and that therefore they must continue to fight them to the death."

He denounced the “entire” Palestinian society as one that “sanctifies death and the suicide terrorist.

“In Palestinian culture a suicide terrorist becomes a hero, a martyr. Sheiks tell their students about the ‘heroism of the shaheeds (martyr)'.”
Yousef highlighted that Hamas was the first to use suicide bombers as weapons against civilians.

"They (Hamas) are blind and ignorant. It's true, there are good and bad people everywhere, but Hamas supporters don't understand that they are led by a wicked and cruel group that brainwashes the children and gets them to believe that if they carry out a suicide attack they'll get to paradise,” he said.

Cole went on to say, “The Muslim-turned-Christian says he does not think Islam will survive for more than 25 years because the truth about Islam will be exposed given the mass communication available in the modern age.”

For his part, Yousef says he hopes to “open the eyes” of Muslims and “reveal the truth” to them about Islam and Christianity with the goal to “take them out of the darkness and the prison of Islam”.

“In that way they'll have an opportunity to correct their mistakes, to become better people and to bring a chance for peace in the Middle East,” he said.
Yousef, who has taken the biblical name of Joseph, said he dreams of one day becoming a writer to tell his personal story and about the Middle East conflicts.

“But at the moment, at least, my ambitions are only to find work, a place to live,” admits Yousef, who left behind properties in Ramallah to find true freedom. “I have no money, I have no apartment.

“I was about to become one of those homeless people [in the United States],” he confessed, “but people from the church are helping me. I'm dependent on them."
He also dreams that some day he can return to his homeland and his family will accept Jesus Christ.

"I know that I'm endangering my life and am even liable to lose my father, but I hope that he'll understand this and that God will give him and my family patience and willingness to open their eyes to Jesus and to Christianity,” Yousef said. “Maybe one day I'll be able to return to Palestine and to Ramallah with Jesus, in the Kingdom of God.”

August 14, 2008 | 12:44 PM Comments  0 comments


Nigerians are dying
Related to country: Nigeria
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic


NIGERIANS are in distress. Buffeted by hunger, poverty, illiteracy and diseases for years, they have entered the terminal consequences of decades of neglect by governments that profess to serve the people.

Most recently, strange illnesses that defy their resources have joined the siege against the Nigerian. Malnourishment, one of the excruciating effects of poverty, has pushed the Nigerian to food sources that cannot protect his body. He is at the mercy of all types of illnesses.

The evidences abound. From those who die in the rural areas where deaths are still attributed to the anger of gods that demand unattainable sacrifices to the strange ailments that some people display on the streets of Lagos, while soliciting assistance, it is clear that Nigerians are grinding out their last phase of meaningful existence. Some with cancers are on the street asking for money to treat themselves. Where would they get the money? Children, some still suckling, are down with illnesses that their parents do not know.

Among the factors held responsible for these illnesses are poor diets, foreign foods that do not pass proper inspection, junk foods that are gaining acceptance in the urban areas, environmental pollution, especially in the oil producing areas and places close to industrial estates.

Whatever the causes are, governments have done little to assess the plight of Nigerians. Assistance to all those involved is impossible without knowledge of them and their predicaments. Some have kidney, heart, or liver failures. Others have ailments that defy diagnoses within their means.

The pathetic sights on the streets of Lagos of women exposing cancer ravaged breasts or of men showing off their elephantiasis blighted scrotum to gain sympathy of passers by are indication of people who have declined from being hopeful to sheer desperation. They have lost a big chunk of their humanness.

It is dehumanising to behold these sights. It is worse to imagine how long these people had agonised in silence before conquering the shame to show off diseases in their most private parts, hoping they can elicit the public’s sympathy.

Where can Nigerians in need get help? What really is the essence of governments, if after all these years, hardly anything is done to improve the welfare of Nigerians? How do governments intend to tackle these problems that are becoming national fixtures all over the country?

The helplessness of the Nigerian is obvious. The rich, with all the resources available to them, cannot get good medical services in Nigeria. How the poor survive leaves little to the imagination.

What makes this an emergency is the fact that these deaths cast debilitating effects on the survivors. In the absence of medical insurance, whole families pool their resources into rescuing one of their own, who invariably dies, leaving debts that trap the living in further despondency.

immediate intervention is required to arrest these situations. They are getting worse. Nigeria cannot continue to ignore these concerns.


-vanguard newspaper nigeria

March 26, 2008 | 6:33 PM Comments  1 comments
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NIGERIANS IN THE U.S. ARMY: LET TRUTH BE TOLD
Related to country: Nigeria
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic


fkizito1@yahoo.com
Pennsylvania, USA

NIGERIANS IN THE U.S. ARMY: LET TRUTH BE TOLD
he headlines struck me like a punch to the jaw- blinding lights and all. According to the piece, Nigerian citizens, on a path to quick American citizenship, have played the wrong hand and found themselves in the world's number one hotspot- Iraq. Delving further into the meat of the story, I discovered that although the exact population of these soldiers were unknown, there major motive for 'going green' was the quest for the enviable dream of becoming a U.S. citizen. This supposed piece of news took just four lines of print before giving way to plagiarized stuff from either Yahoo, CNN or BBC online news sites about information that were no longer newsworthy , except to our unnamed and misinformed journalist from the Daily News.

To anyone familiar with the U.S. military and the current situation in Iraq, that story may well be described as sensational junk journalism stemming from 'unresearched and unverified pepper soup joint' sources. That piece, at best, is a figment of the writer's disjointed imagination. Are there Nigerians in the U.S.Army? Yes, of course. Are some of them currently deployed in Iraq? Again the affirmative; and that's where Mr. Anonymous and the truth part ways. Here are a few facts that the reader should know in order to see the full picture. Fact one: The U.S. Army is not the only branch in Iraq, but also the Air Force, the Navy, the Marine Corps and the National Guard units. Fact two: There are Nigerians spread across all these branches. Fact three: they all offer chances to U.S. citizenship. Fact four: there are also citizens of other African countries in the US military and currently deployed in Iraq as I write.

Nigerians have a passion for the military way of life. Judging from the number of applications the Nigerian Defence Academy (NDA) receives each year; as well as the number of those who show up for the annual recruitment exercises across the states of the federation, one can see that the quest for a life of service, discipline and regimented way of life is part of our national psyche. Reasons Nigerians join the military include a chance for an adventure, an opportunity to work towards a secure pension, an escape from poverty and hardship; a chance to receive an education and a chance to travel as well. Openings in the Nigerian military are few compared with the available applicants and so the way to get in is often tainted by the Nigerian factor aka the godfather phenomenon.

The love for the uniform does not always die when a Nigerian migrates abroad. Be it the U.S., U.K. or any country that will accept the, Nigerians dash at the opportunity to be in the military and serve with pride. An interaction with many of these men and women will reveal that citizenship was often the last thing on their minds when they made the decision to serve in uniform. This author has met service members who enlisted in the military in order to have money to pay for college (bet your reporter never knew that,) travel, have a career, and strange as it seems, to experience war. Few, if any would cite a quick path to citizenship as a motive for joining the military. Ironically, many Nigerians who enlist in the US armed forces are 'stones rejected by the Nigerian military.' Not counted as good enough for the Nigerian side (or no godfather), these men and women will go on to prove themselves in the world's greatest military, occupy more professional positions and earn a hundred times more than they would have in beloved naija.

It must be pointed out that the minimum requirements for wearing the uniform in any branch of the US military is that the applicant must be a permanent resident (green card holder ) of the US. A green card holder is 99.99% sure of becoming a US citizen already, so where is the wisdom in joining the military in order to obtain citizenship? The expedited citizenship process did not come into action until the year 2003 when President Bush signed an executive order, opening the way for those who so desire, to apply for citizenship as soon as they enlist. It will amaze our reporter that there are Nigerians in the military who have no wish to become American citizens despite the fact that Nigeria accepts dual citizenship. Consequent upon this, one can then ask: if the expedited citizenship process came into being in 2003 and there had been Nigerians serving in the US armed forces since God knows when, then how can anyone in their right mind soil their names by saying that their service is a cheap gambit aimed at obtaining American citizenship? What ignorance!

The United States military is a kaleidoscope of races; whites from Europe; blacks from Africa, the Caribbean, Indians, Chinese, Cubans and even Australians. There is no country on Earth that has not contributed a few citizens to the greatest war machine in modern times. These various countries support their citizens and value them as 'exports' that will bring much needed publicity and exposure to their lands. This author has met many an American service member who has been to Nigeria because a buddy of his had invited him to see his home. This is the sort of exposure our tourism industry so desperately needs. Nigerians serving in the US military or any military, for that matter, are ambassadors.

Our reporter could have put his time to better use, like trying to chronicle the actions of Nigerians serving in foreign militaries so that their stories will not be lost like those of their fathers, who served in world wars One and Two; or in Vietnam (there must be 1 or 2 Nigerians who fought in that war,) or in any global conflict. Who is telling the stories of Nigerian soldiers in peacekeeping efforts in Beirut in the 70's, or ECOMOG soldiers in Liberia and Sierra Leone? How about the Nigerian soldiers who kept the peace in the Balkans (Yugoslavia, Bosnia and Serbia); or the African Union soldiers keeping the peace in Sudan and elsewhere? Let me guess, we must wait on BBC to produce its own version of half truths to record the heroism of our brothers and sisters in these foreign lands. These are the stories that our historians and journalists should give life to, and not who is in Iraq for a free lunch and a quick citizenship.

When expelling the Indians in the '70s, the dictator Idi Amin, accused them of 'milking the cows but not feeding it,' a phrase that summarized the keep-to-yourself mentality of Indians in Uganda at the time. Nigerians are not a people with such a mentality. Wherever they are, they involve themselves with the affairs of their host countries to the largest extent permissible. We can be found in government and private sectors, be it health, manufacturing, information technology, education, religion; arts, commerce, agriculture, the good and unfortunately, the bad as well. Being in the military is just another way by which they involve themselves with the affairs of their host country, why should they catch flak for that? In the deserts of Iraq, this writer has had the honor of meeting Nigerians who view their being out there with a sense of duty; their reasons for signing up in the first place being far from the citizenship quest. There were also other Africans from Ghana, Sierra Leone, the Sudan and even South Africa just to mention a few. One noble thing about this men and women stands out: none of them gave the feeling of regret that our reporter had implied in his story.

On a personal note, this author joined the US military as a matter of personal choice. It was more for fun and adventure than for any citizenship, and it has not been a bad decision so far. In this military, he has almost completed his second degree in aeronautical science; in this military he has met a President of the United States; and in this military, he has traveled in worlds that would otherwise have been impossible- for free. Finally, I volunteered to go to Iraq, a decision that was made freely and without any compulsion. I returned safely and arrived at the same conclusion as everyone else who has ever been in a war zone: only those who have never seen a war clamor for one. All I can say to the saber rattling interest groups in Nigeria is this: never stray from the path of dialogue and peaceful ways of resolving your differences. It is way better to jaw jaw than to war war

March 26, 2008 | 8:48 AM Comments  0 comments


Nigerians,others gets posthumous us citizenship
Related to country: Nigeria
Translations available in: English (original) | French | Spanish | Italian | German | Portuguese | Swedish | Russian | Dutch | Arabic

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Nigerian, others bag US citizenship for dying in Iraq

By Waheed Bakare with agency report


Nigerian-born Justin Onwordi, who fought on the side of America and was killed in Iraq was among over 100 foreign-born American soldiers who earned post-humous American citizenship for dying in Iraq.

Onwordi died when his vehicle was blown up in Baghdad on August 2, 2004. He left behind a wife and baby boy.

Onwordi, who came to the US from Nigeria in July 2000, started his military training six months later. The 6-foot-4 Nigerian was later assigned to the Army’s 2nd Battalion, 12th Armoured Calvary Regiment, 1st Calvary Division, and was stationed at Ford Hood Texas.

He started his tour duty in Iraq in January. When his wife gave birth to a baby boy, he got two weeks’ leave on June 23 to visit his wife, Monique, and baby named Jonathan on July 7, 2004.

According to the Associated Press, certificates of citizenship were presented to the families of the victims at a memorial service conducted by a Roman Catholic Cardinal on Sunday in Lomita, Carlifonia, US.

Jose Gutierrez was one of the first to fall, killed by friendly fire in the dust of Umm Qasr in the opening hours of the invasion.

In death, the young Marine was showered with honours his family could only have dreamed of in life.

His sister was flown in from Guatemala for his memorial service, where a Roman Catholic cardinal presided and top military officials saluted his flag-draped coffin.

And yet, his foster mother agonised as she accompanied his body back for burial in Guatemala City: Why did Jose have to die for America in order to truly belong?

Cardinal Roger Mahony of Los Angeles, who oversaw Gutierrez’s service, put it differently.

“There is something terribly wrong with our immigration policies if it takes death on the battlefield in order to earn citizenship,”

Mahony wrote to President George W. Bush in April 2003.

He urged the president to grant immediate citizenship to all immigrants who sign up for military service in wartime.

“They should not have to wait until they are brought home in a casket,” Mahony said.

But as the war continues, more and more immigrants are becoming citizens in death — and more and more families are grappling with deeply conflicting feelings about exactly what the honour means.

Gutierrez’s citizenship certificate — dated to his death on March 21, 2003, — was presented during a memorial service in Lomita, Calif., to Nora Mosquera, who took in the orphaned teen after he had trekked through Central America, hopping freight trains through Mexico before illegally sneaking into the U.S.

“On the one hand I felt that citizenship was too late for him,” Mosquera said. “But I also felt grateful and very proud of him. I knew it would open doors for us as a family.”

“What use is a piece of paper?” cried Fredelinda Pena after another emotional naturalisation ceremony, this one in New York City where her brother’s framed citizenship certificate was handed to his distraught mother. Next to her, the infant daughter he had never met dozed in his fiancee’s arms.

Cpl. Juan Alcantara, 22, a native of the Dominican Republic, was killed Aug. 6, 2007, by an explosive in Baqouba. He was buried by a cardinal and eulogized by a congressman but to his sister, those tributes seemed as hollow as citizenship.

March 26, 2008 | 8:45 AM Comments  0 comments
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