On a recent business trip to Atlanta, my cab got stuck in traffic for an hour. The cabbie and dispatcher were conversing in a foreign language, and the driver informed me that it was Ethiopian. He said he came to this country four years ago and was already a citizen. What a land of opportunity this was. He had a job waiting for him when he arrived because, as he proudly informed me, Ethiopians always hire one another.
I asked whether any native-born Americans drove cabs in Atlanta. He told me that out of 1200 cabbies, only 3 or 4 were Americans. “Americans are no good, “ he said. “We are better workers.” He made no attempt to conceal that Ethiopians favored their own kind over native-born Americans.
I asked the cab driver whether he had a favorite presidential candidate. “Rubio’s my guy,” he told me. “He’s the friend of immigrants. I have many friends and family in Ethiopia who want to come. Rubio’s our guy.” I asked what he would do if the election came down to Trump and Clinton. “Trump is very bad,” he said. So would he vote for Clinton? He said he would never vote for a woman, he would not vote at all if it came to that.
Seems impossible when most have to wait five years after applying to prove their being a good citizen.
Wonder if there are folks in the Atlanta area, working at State Dept, that accept tips to speed up the process?
well, Ethiopians bring in extended families — so a cousin will work for a cousin for very little money and they can share the small amounts and the risk.