International Marketing Review #61

International Marketing Review – Passport Problems

There are stories in the news about President Obama and what passport he traveled on during a trip in 1981. This blog is not about politics, and I am not American. I have lived abroad all my adult life and can appreciate the problems that people can have related to passports. Some people can not imagine living without a passport while others can happily live their entire lives without ever needing one.

If you travel internationally there is a reasonably good chance that you will either have a passport story, or know someone who does. Leave a comment and tell me what your passport story is. Jordana Huber, from the Canwest News Service presents Woman in passport case gets DNA test posted at National Post saying “A woman stranded in Kenya accused of using someone else’s Canadian passport says she is “relieved” Canadian officials have agreed to DNA testing. Suaad Hagi Mohamud, 32, was returning to Toronto from Kenya on May 21 when she was stopped by a Kenyan immigration official who told her she did not look like her four-year-old passport photo. Canadian officials in Kenya investigated and confirmed she was not the rightful owner of the passport. She spent eight days in a Kenyan jail and faces charges of possessing and using a passport issued to another person and being unlawfully present in the country.”

Arab News presents Saudis warned against pawning passports posted at Arab News saying “The Passport Department has launched an awareness campaign — entitled Your Passport Is Your Identity, Its Protection Is Your Responsibility — calling on Saudi citizens to look after their passports while abroad. The campaign has been launched to inform Saudis to keep away from visiting dangerous locations when abroad and to never pawn their passports. The campaign began at the start of the school vacation when thousands of Saudis head abroad to enjoy summer holidays”

Maria Carroll presents The Difficulty of Getting a Haitian Passport posted at Live From Haiti saying “A Haitian passport can be very difficult to procure. We have a patient, 16-year-old Ronald, who has been accepted for heart surgery in the United States. Ronald is very sick and getting sicker each day. Ronald was accepted by the hospital two months ago. His American advocate hears various excuses when she attempts to get his passport in Port-au-Prince. Or she is told to come back another day and the passport will be ready, and then it isn’t. We have heard that Haiti is out of the blue books that are used to make the passports.”

Debbie Schlussel presents Another Brilliant Post-9/11 Bush Move: Passport Printing Outsourced to Foreign Countries, Including Target of Chi-Com Espionage posted at Debbie Schlussel saying “More than 6.5 years since 9/11, I’m wondering just what President Bush has done . . . other than create a giant bloated bureaucracy (DHS), a disgusting national policy of sycophancy to Islam, and making us less safe.
Well, Washington Times investigative reporter Bill Gertz, gives us yet another example of what President Bush has “done for us” to “make us safer.” Printing U.S. passports–yet another “job Americans just won’t do”: The United States has outsourced the manufacturing of its electronic passports to overseas companies – including one in Thailand that was victimized by Chinese espionage – raising concerns that cost savings are being put ahead of national security.”

Alison Kroulek presents Best Lost Passport Story Ever: Parrot Steals Tourist’s Passport In New Zealand posted at RushMyPassport saying “The New Zealand tourist has to have one of the best lost passport stories ever-his passport was nabbed by a kleptomaniac parrot! The native New Zealand parrot, called a kea, spotted the man’s passport as his tour bus was stopped along the road, snatched it and promptly flew away into the dense rainforest. Fortunately, the gentleman seems to have a sense of humor about the whole thing. He’s quoted as saying “My passport is somewhere out there in Fiordland. The Kea’s probably using it for fraudulent claims or something.”

What have these stories inspired in you? What passport issues have you heard of, or have you made? I would love to hear your comments.

More International Marketing Reviews:

• #59 – Cultural Faux Pas
• #58 – Disproving Cultural Generalizations
• #57 -A Different Night Out
• #56 – Culture Shock
• #55 – World Maps
• #54 – Interracial Relationships
• #53 – Multi-cultural Cities
• #52 – International Social Networking
• #51 – Mothers Day 2009
• #50 – Cross-Cultural Management
• #49 – Holidays Around The World In May 2009
• #48 – Earth Day 2009
• #47 – Easter 2009
• #46 – G20
• #45 – UN-Earth Hour Events On Earth Day
• #44 – World Water Day
• #43 – Flat Stanley travels the world
• #42 – English Tweeting Women to follow from Europe
• #41 – English Tweeting Women to follow from Europe
• #40 – Intercultural Encounters
• #39 – International Valentines Day 2009
• #38 – The White Paper Summit 2009
• #37 – Social Media Changes and President Obama
• #36 – Social Media and the President
• #35 – Globalization and the Global Economy
• #34 – Cross-Cultural Encounters
• #33 – Cultural & International Links
• #32 – 2009 Predictions
• #31 – Christmas Meals Around The World
• #30 – Christmas Trees Around The World
• #29 – Santa Claus In Different Cultures
• #28 – International Christmas Shopping
• #27 – On Multicultural Matters
• #26 – On International Sales
• #25 – On Cross-Cultural Communication
• #24 – On Translations
• #23 – On Email Marketing
• #19 – International Business

Here is a complete list of International Marketing Reviews Technorati tags:

the international marketing review, blog carnival, international sales best practice.

Tagged as: Obama passport problem, Passport Problems, Saudis pawn passports, Woman in passport case gets DNA test