IMPORTANT PETITION to ease visa regulations

[SWH6204 at aol.com]

I believe the fiddler was Mairi Rankin. I'm not sure who the driver was.  
please correct me if I'm wrong. It wouldn't be the first time.     Steve 
Horvath
 
 
In a message dated 7/26/2009 11:52:16 A.M. Eastern Daylight Time,  
RICH at franklinpierce.edu writes:

Does  anyone know who the fiddler and driver this petition mentions  are?

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PLEASE SIGN A PETITION to ease visa regulations that are choking off  
cultural exchanges:

Recently, a Cape Breton fiddler was interrogated at  the Maine border for 4 
hours and then banned for life from visiting the US;  all her events were 
cancelled. Same with her driving companion, who was banned  for "attempting 
to smuggle an illegal alien" into the US. The guards had  searched her laptop 
computer to find contacts with people about workshops and  small 
performances -- she had no contracts, just an expectation of earning  something for 
sharing her expertise here. She was told she could apply for a  waiver but 
Homeland Security informed her they only give waivers to convicted  criminals.

This is not a new situation, and things have gone too far:  festivals such 
as Boston College's Gaelic Roots Festival have died due to  increased 
difficulty in obtaining visas. Cultural exchange is being  choked--Irish, 
Hispanic, Asian, African-- because visa regulations focus  entirely on commerce--no 
one is permitted to earn a penny including pocket  money or accommodations 
without a work visa. Musicians are treated like major  security risks. The 
problem is that cultural exchange is not about commerce;  it's about 
demonstrating and teaching cultural traditions across borders. It's  often 
prohibitive to pay visa fees, provide a firm itinerary with no  permission to change 
it more than 95 days in advance of visa approval, or pay  $1000 rush fee if 
approval is needed sooner than 95 days. This is not a  problem for big bands 
doing tours, but impossible for short visits by experts  to schools, house 
concerts, music camps, community dances, and small  venues.

You can help--sign the petition for CEFTA, the Cultural  Exchange Free 
Trade Agreement, which I have written in consultation with  people on both sides 
of the border and plan to present to Sen Snowe and  others. The more 
signatures, the more seriously they will take  this.

You can read info and sign the petition at  
http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/cefta -- Thanks and please pass the  word!

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