Before you get into a relationship, make sure they have an ID
July 14, 2019 7:43 AM Subscribe
The One who are but don't exist: Being Nubian and Kenyan.
I never thought much about national identification cards until it was time to get my own so I never imagined that it would be an experience that would change my life forever, or one that I would be writing about five years later.
( From The Elephant via a friend.) A little more about the Nuba peoples and Previously.
I never thought much about national identification cards until it was time to get my own so I never imagined that it would be an experience that would change my life forever, or one that I would be writing about five years later.
( From The Elephant via a friend.) A little more about the Nuba peoples and Previously.
Wow, civilized, non-violent passive-aggressive ethnic cleansing. If it weren't real, it would make a great Eddie Izzard riff.
posted by zaixfeep at 10:58 AM on July 14, 2019 [2 favorites]
posted by zaixfeep at 10:58 AM on July 14, 2019 [2 favorites]
See this just makes me mad. Like, government, you have ONE JOB. We can argue about how to run the country all day, but you gotta know who lives here to even begin to function.
I hope one day the nations of the world come together and decide to put ID's in the hands of the UN. Far too much awfulness goes on because governments deny people ID's and passports. I don't think I'm the only one who believes national governments have proven themselves to be horrible stewards of citizen documentation.
posted by saysthis at 3:17 PM on July 14, 2019 [2 favorites]
I hope one day the nations of the world come together and decide to put ID's in the hands of the UN. Far too much awfulness goes on because governments deny people ID's and passports. I don't think I'm the only one who believes national governments have proven themselves to be horrible stewards of citizen documentation.
posted by saysthis at 3:17 PM on July 14, 2019 [2 favorites]
See this just makes me mad. Like, government, you have ONE JOB. We can argue about how to run the country all day, but you gotta know who lives here to even begin to function.
This is not governmental incompetence, they're not doing this accidentally.
posted by atrazine at 1:13 AM on July 15, 2019 [4 favorites]
This is not governmental incompetence, they're not doing this accidentally.
posted by atrazine at 1:13 AM on July 15, 2019 [4 favorites]
This is not governmental incompetence, they're not doing this accidentally.
Yes; even if they had "UN IDs" that wouldn't help them. The whole point of Kenya issuing Kenyan IDs, and the reason there are so many gatekeepers, is to allow them to exclude people like the author.
posted by Joe in Australia at 1:58 AM on July 15, 2019 [1 favorite]
Yes; even if they had "UN IDs" that wouldn't help them. The whole point of Kenya issuing Kenyan IDs, and the reason there are so many gatekeepers, is to allow them to exclude people like the author.
posted by Joe in Australia at 1:58 AM on July 15, 2019 [1 favorite]
Without an ID, one cannot register their sim card, therefore access to M-Pesa or any other form of mobile banking is impossible.
To give context to this for those unfamiliar with M-Pesa, "mobile banking" doesn't mean the buggy app a western bank app begrudgingly released because all of their competitors have one. This is like Venmo or PayPal...expect that 1 in 3 people have it and a year's worth of transactions total up to be half of the GDP. You might get paid for work through it, you can use it to pay at the store, and you definitely use it to send money to other people.
Skipping over landlines and moving straight to mobile networks gets you some futuristic cyberpunk sci-fi stuff that western cities aren't even close to having: Every city or small village has numerous staffed kiosks to exchange cash to and from mobile credit.
Even in the areas most removed from urban cities, a nomadic shepherd will likely have a cell phone. Not for travel to the big city - odds are that you can get a decent signal in the savanna even when you're a several hours' drive removed from any sign of urbanization.
A ban on mobile banking would be like telling a westerner they can't use plastic to pay - a huge hassle a few years ago, and these days a defacto ban from entire industries and businesses.
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 1:14 PM on July 15, 2019 [5 favorites]
To give context to this for those unfamiliar with M-Pesa, "mobile banking" doesn't mean the buggy app a western bank app begrudgingly released because all of their competitors have one. This is like Venmo or PayPal...expect that 1 in 3 people have it and a year's worth of transactions total up to be half of the GDP. You might get paid for work through it, you can use it to pay at the store, and you definitely use it to send money to other people.
Skipping over landlines and moving straight to mobile networks gets you some futuristic cyberpunk sci-fi stuff that western cities aren't even close to having: Every city or small village has numerous staffed kiosks to exchange cash to and from mobile credit.
Even in the areas most removed from urban cities, a nomadic shepherd will likely have a cell phone. Not for travel to the big city - odds are that you can get a decent signal in the savanna even when you're a several hours' drive removed from any sign of urbanization.
A ban on mobile banking would be like telling a westerner they can't use plastic to pay - a huge hassle a few years ago, and these days a defacto ban from entire industries and businesses.
posted by Nonsteroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drug at 1:14 PM on July 15, 2019 [5 favorites]
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posted by lazuli at 8:25 AM on July 14, 2019 [5 favorites]