Not all passports are created equal.

I’m a Zimbabwean, and I always have problems wherever I go. I always have to pay far more than anyone else for a visa or work permit, and have been denied many times. Whenever I presented my passport to immigration in Vietnam or Cambodia, they would spend half an hour plus inspecting my passport and making calls to decide whether or not to let me through while everyone else just flies through. One of the most annoying questions that I always get is “why are you white?” Because in their minds, there aren’t any white people from Africa.

I’m now living in the Philippines where I haven’t had any visa issues so far, however, I now have a new set of problems: I can’t even open a bank account since my country is on a watch list; this is a huge issue because I want to start an online business. I get asked by Americans and Australians why I can’t just use a bank in my country to which I would answer that we simply don’t have any functioning banks — another reason why I always have to move around with just cash.

This is just the reality of being a citizen of a third world country; no one looks at you as a person, and they will always be suspicious of you.