A woman who has been identified as being part of demonstrators of the US edition of #OccupyJubileeHouse that occurred in October 2023, Yaa Tabby, has shared what she describes as a ‘horrific experience’ when she visited the Ghanaian Consulate General (Ghana Embassy) in New York on Wednesday, March 27, 2024.
In the series of tweets breaking down all that she said happened, she described how she was deliberately overlooked and made to wait for so long, even after people she came before were given preferential and quick treatment.
Just like her, she said she had gone to the Ghana Embassy in New York to pick up her brother-in-law’s visa after it was not mailed to them, but she was made to wait while others were served.
Yaa Tabby, sharing this on X, said she then got agitated at a point when someone who was unauthorized kept going in and out of a ‘Staff Only’ room to bring passports out for some people who came to meet her there.
“Upon arriving, I wrote down his name and number and was asked to take a seat, which I did. A lady came out and started calling out names for the visas. Three gentlemen were there to pick up other people (one for his daughter and the other two for a group). She called out the names and asked who she was missing, so I politely told her my brother-in-law’s name again. She asked if I had written his name down, and I said yes. She told me to wait for the next batch of names, and I obliged.
“As I sat down again to wait for my turn, a young lady came in and asked if they had mentioned her mum’s name because she had missed it, and she was asked to wait for the next round of names like I was told to. Five minutes later, a guy with dreadlocks came in and spoke… to the young lady waiting (they seemed to know each other well). This guy proceeded to go into the office that read STAFF ONLY (DO NOT ENTER UNLESS AUTHORIZED), so I assumed he worked there when he entered. No wahala! He came out and spoke to the same young lady again and went back in the second time. This time, he returned with a passport in his hands and handed it to the girl, and she said, “Oh, thank you, anka mɛtena ha akyɛ.” Sis got up and left. A guy who also came to meet me was…” she tweeted.
Yaa Tabby added that she immediately confronted the man with dreadlocks, after which she found out that the gentleman was not authorized to do so.
Further incensed by this, she said after some time and some of the officials there trying to calm her, she went back to her seat and waited to be called.
When she got called to the counter, she said she got the shock of her life, although what she was asked to do only made her laugh.
“I calmly sat down and waited to be called, and finally, the short, chubby lady (the one that calls out names) called me to the window. I got up and walked there, thinking I was just picking it up like THE REST OF THE PEOPLE DID. Still, no, this lady looked me in the eye and said, and I quote, “I need an authorization letter from the person you are picking it up for and let him send it to ghanaconsulate@aol.com” I just started laughing out loud because, ma’am, please make it make sense!
“Several people walked in here and picked up passports and visas on behalf of other people, but you didn’t even ask for an ID! I went out and called my brother-in-law, and he wrote the letter and sent it to the email. 2 minutes later, I walked up there and told the other gentleman that the letter was sent, so if they can check and verify it, I can get out, please. That was when this short, dark lady (according to my investigation, she’s called Mimi) came to the window and said I should go and print out the letter because they don’t have printers in the Embassy. She said ‘watɔ printer wɔha sɛ yɛmfa printi papers ɛmma wo, sɛ wokaasɛ wo nkoara na wonim mmara.’
“That was when I lost it, so because I spoke up about something bad that I have witnessed, you are trying to frustrate me. The ladies at the back were speaking Ga and laughing, and I know damn well they were talking shit about me, so me too. I gave it to them! She even told me it wouldn’t go anywhere when I said I would file a complaint,” she added.
She tagged the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in her tweets and demanded that they respond to how it is that its officials can behave in such an unprofessional way.
Following her tweets, some other Ghanaians shared their experiences from the same Ghana Embassy.
See those reactions and reviews below:
Read the full tweet by Yaa Tabby below:
