i can attest that i've never chosen to come here. neither did my parents or even the few generations before that. my mother's ancestors crossed the atlantic on the same boat that carried jeanne-mance before she founded schools and hospitals and a street eventually was named after her. my irish ancestors, god knows really when they came.

there was a story this morning in the newspaper, a 16 year old girl born in ivory coast who came here at the age of 6. her father had met a quebecois woman who later married and sponsored him and his daughter. only, he was already married in ivory coast - which respected the traditional polygamous values of the land he comes from. the marriage with his quebecois wife was broken off a couple of years later and the woman reported her ex-husband saying he should not have been granted citizenship because he was married more than once at a time (polygamy is illegal in canada). now, i really don't want to argue whether or not it is fair for him to be deported on that sole basis, that is another story and i'm not entirely sure where i stand on that issue.

so, bring it back to the daughter. there was an error in handling her case and it was eventually written in her file that she had been sponsored by her father. it is wrong. since her father came on false pretenses (he had not told anyone he was already married in his home country) she should also be denied entry. she was granted citizenship years ago, has no relatives in ivory coast, goes to a private school where she's involved in choir, drama, improv. her life is here.

her father's case is still pending and she'll most likely be deported before he is.

i have not chosen to live in this country, yet i enjoy everything it has to offer and i never question the fact that i deserve all of this. i am most often cynical and critical about government policies, yet no one ever thinks of looking up my file and proposing to ship me off back to france or ireland. it would be ludicrous to do so.

what i find shocking, however, is that citizenship can be granted and revoked because of omissions and errors from people who *chose* to come here. people who made a conscious decision about wanting a better life for themselves and also about wanting to countribute to our society.

again, i can't help but think of martha nussbaum's argument about the 'luck' that allowed us all to be born here. we are simply, to some extent, luckier than others. and, if that wasn't enough, we use these trivial circumstances as a way to exert power over less fortunate peoples.