olushowunm:
Angry Ghanaian surgeon's letter to the Spanish Embassy
The Deputy Head of Mission
Embassy of Spain
Accra, Ghana
26th April 2015
Dear Sir:
I applied for a short-term visa to attend a medical
conference in Barcelona from 26th April to 29th April 2015
and by your response dated 22nd April 2015 I had been
denied an entry visa to your country. As was written in your
rejection letter, I have an option of lodging a contentious-
administrative appeal at the High Court of Justice of Madrid
(Spain) within a two-month deadline counting from the date
of serving. Since it is nigh impossible for me to get myself
to Madrid and lodge my appeal I have decided to personally
write to you for some clarification.
The reasons for denying me an entry visa were that the
information regarding the justification for the purpose and
conditions of the intended stay was not reliable and also
that my intention to leave your country before the expiry of
the visa could not be ascertained.
I know it is your prerogative to decide whom to grant a visa
to but I feel personally insulted for the reasons you have
given for the denial.
I am a highly trained orthopedic surgeon with specialty
interest in orthopedic sports medicine and complex joint
reconstruction. I have been a doctor for the past 20yrs. My
current positions are:
1. Consultant Orthopedic Surgeon at the KorleBu Teaching
Hospital.
2. Lecturer at the University of Ghana Medical School
3. Fellow of the West African College of Surgeons
4. Consultant for West Africa Rescue Association WARA. (I
treat patients from the expatriate and diplomatic community
including quite a number from Spain) I am sure if you were
to injure yourself, am the most likely surgeon that you will
be referred to.
I have attended medical conferences in Germany,
Switzerland, South Africa, Japan, Canada, USA and Norway.
Incidentally all these countries found my purpose for
travelling justifiable except you. The letter of invitation I
presented to you was written by a renowned surgeon in
Madrid who trained in the same institution as I did in the
United States. But I guess you did not find a letter written by
such a person credible enough.
I find it laughable that you think I will not return to Ghana
and end up as an illegal immigrant in Spain where people of
my skin tone are treated as second-class citizens. I have a
wife and children whom I do not intend to abandon.
Although I do not consider myself wealthy, I am very
comfortable economically and have investments in property
and other assets in Ghana. How did you ever come to the
conclusion that I was a flight risk?
May I kindly remind you of some basic facts about your
country?
1. The unemployment rate in Spain presently is 25% and
youth unemployment tops 50%. Why will I leave a stable job
and to go and join the unemployment ranks in your country.
2. From January 2009 to end of 2013, 400,000 Spaniards
emigrated to look for work outside of your country. And this
is expected to rise in the coming years.
3. Doctors in Spain are the least/worst paid in the whole
Euro zone. Why will I want to go work in a country where
my counterparts are leaving in droves for economic
reasons?
4. In the year 2012, it is on record that 2405 medical doctors
applied for certification to work abroad, according to The
Medical Spanish Association – a 75% increase compared
with 2011. 83% of doctors seek jobs in Europe (mainly the
UK and France) and 7% America.
5. In 2009, the Health Ministry warned that there was a
shortage and that the country needed around 3,200 more
doctors. By 2025, at the present rate the shortfall will be
around 25,000. The Spanish government has talked of
increasing the number of university and medical school
places, as well as making it easier for overseas personnel to
work here.
Sir, as a representative of the country of Spain you have
failed woefully in your responsibility to promote the interest
of your country by denying me a visa. My skill, knowledge
and experience will be invaluable to the Spanish people even
if I decided not to come back to Ghana. Furthermore my
budget for this conference topped € 5000. This is the
amount of money that would have been injected into the
Spanish economy in a week. Can you imagine the economic
loss if all the doctors from all over the world attending this
conference were denied entry into Spain? I was due to
present two papers and since I was not able to go I have
informed the conveners of the conference of my inability to
attend. This is an international conference and can you
imagine the embarrassment your compatriot doctors will
feel when it is announced that I could not present my
scientific papers because you denied me a visa? Never mind
that I cannot get a full refund for my ticket and my total
booking for the hotel is not refundable.
Given the reason for visa rejection, a detailed explanation on
which aspects of my application did not provide sufficient
evidence that I will return to Ghana is most welcome. I am
particularly curious to know of the lofty economic standards in
set for Ghanaians to visit to Spain when Spaniards
themselves barely meet these standards.
Yours truly,
Dr. Agbeko Ocloo MB.ChB FWACS
Consultant Orthopaedic Surgeon
Cc:
The Ambassador
Embassy of Spain
Accra, Ghana Great one from him. Mod take it as requested to front page. |
Properties › Re: Cost Of Putting Tiles In My Apart by OOSB(m): 9:47am On Sep 18, 2016
