It is very educating to read about war on terror from the point of views of experts on psychological, political, and sociological perspectives or international relations. But it is a totally different flavor to personally live its sequences and consequences and to have some time to reflect from a personal level.

The other day I went to apply for a visa for Tanzania where my wife and I are supposed to have 21 days training in preparation to be posted in Nepal for a job in development work with a Danish international organization. We went to the consulate of Tanzania in Copenhagen to apply for visas.

My wife presented her Danish passport, then she was asked to pay fees and she got her visa in less than two minutes. I was fascinated by the efficient and decent Danish employee, I watched her performance of her job with a sense of jealously about the conditions of civic service in our developing world. Then I submitted my Egyptian passport with its lovely distinguished king size and the optimistic green color to the receptionist in the consulate who immediately felt unease about this unexpected and out of place passport in lovely Copenhagen.