Zimbabwean Man goes Hungry for Wife

PR Log (Press Release) – Feb 27, 2009 – A Zimbabwean man is going on an indefinite fast till he can be reunited with his wife. Fungai James Tichawangana of Harare said in a blog post that he applied for a Norwegian family reunification VISA in October 2008 and was told that the VISA would be out in two months time. However, five months later, he is still waiting.

In the post, made on a Zimbabwean community blog, www.zimbablog.com, Tichawangana says that the Norwegian Directorate of Immigration (UDI) has told him that they “do not know” when he will get his VISA.

“Will someone please tell me, how a country, which has year after year been said to be the best place to live in the world, cannot process a VISA application in five whole months?” Tichawangana asks in the post where he claims that he emailed the King of Norway among other people seeking expedition of the VISA.

“Can someone tell me how in an age of online transactions that take five seconds to process, it should take so long for a man to get the paperwork so that he can be with his wife?” He goes on.

Tichawangana’s wife is studying in Norway and he has visited her once before, in December 2007. He works as a web developer.

He says that as from 2nd March he will drink only water and won’t eat anything till he gets word from UDI about when the VISA will come out.

He also says that he hopes his actions will bring attention to this issue and will “urge the UDI and other immigration departments around the world to fast track family reunification VISAs.”