By Atlas Al
Two Passports
I went out drinking with some friends and their friends. I love to meet new people and ask all sorts of questions to get a feel for who they are. One of many standard questions that comes up is, “Where are you from.” Most people say the country first followed by the city. Everybody has to come from somewhere. This girl said her city (in Norway), and then mentioned that she’s from Chile and Norway. Obviously she didn’t know who she was talking to.
“You can’t be from two countries at the same time!”
“Why can’t I? I moved to Norway from Chile when I was 7 years old.”
“I have Two Passports too – American and French – but at the end of the day I’m American.”
“You’re white with blue eyes, you don’t stand out. Look at me – I have dark eyes, dark hair, unlike the average Norwegian. Your differences define you more than you think.”
“Just because you might look Chilean, doesn’t mean you aren’t more Norwegian.”
“You don’t understand! Norwegians see me as Chilean, and when I go back to Chile to visit family and friends, they see me as Norwegian!”
She makes a good point in that people define you by your differences, the things that make you stand out among your peers. When I was growing up, people would call me Frenchie because I was half French. I was still American, but being half French made me unique, at least when compared to the average American.
“What do you consider yourself to be more,” I asked. “Chilean or Norwegian?”
“I don’t have to answer that.”
“Yes, you do. You have to be something, can’t be both. What I want to know is from which pair of eyes do you view the world? With which kind of cultural mental hard-wiring do you process information?”
Then she excused herself to smoke. I would’ve followed her to have one as well, except I knew she didn’t want to be pushed anymore. It’s a hard question to ask oneself, but it’s a question worth asking.
Dual Citizens
I told all this to my friend Chris. He agreed with my argument, but took her side to bother me. According to him, some people are perfectly fine with the idea of going through life as neither one nationality nor the other.
“It’s like wearing a pair of bifocals; two different views, same pair of glasses.”
I strongly disagree. People should ask themselves these difficult questions. One might think that a Dual Citizen with Two Passports meant they were two nationalities, i.e. two flags. However, it shouldn’t be fair to claim two flags from the same person; one person = one flag, or as I like to say, “One flag per shag.”
Even babies are passed down more genes from one parent than the other. If physically we are more like one of our parents, then surely a Dual Citizen must think/act/behave more like one country’s culture.
Chilean girl has to choose, no one is exactly half-half. If she moved to Norway when she was 7 years old, we can assume she’s out of touch with Chilean culture, as a result making her a Chilean-looking Norwegian.
When it comes to Dual Citizens and multiple passport holders, all I want to know is this: with which cultural mindset do they process/absorb information, and from which nation’s eyes do they see the world with?
