The fixer
Subtitle: visa lottery chronicles
By: Charles Piot with Kodjo Nicolas Batema
Contributors: Batema, Kodjo Nicolas (Visa broker), author; Duke University Press
Series: A theory in forms book; Theory in forms
Published: 2019
Language: eng
Number of pages: 212
ISBN-13: 9781478001911; 9781478003045
Subjects: Government policy; Migrations; Emigration and immigration law; Visas; Togolese; African diaspora; Emigration and immigration; History
Description: In the West African nation of Togo, applying for the U.S. Diversity Visa Lottery is a national obsession, with hundreds of thousands of Togolese entering each year. From the street frenzy of the lottery sign-up period and the scramble to raise money for the embassy interview, to the gamesmanship of those adding spouses and dependents to their dossiers, the application process is complicated, expensive, and unpredictable. In 'The Fixer' Charles Piot follows Kodjo Nicolas Batema, a Togolese visa broker-known as a "fixer"-as he shepherds his clients through the application and interview process. Relaying the experiences of the fixer, his clients, and embassy officials, Piot captures the ever-evolving cat-and-mouse game between the embassy and the hopeful Togolese, as well as the disappointments and successes of lottery winners in the United States. These detailed and compelling stories uniquely illustrate the desire and savviness of migrants as they work to find what they hope will be a better life.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references and index.
Table of contents: title: Border practice; title: The interview; title: Kinship by other means; title: Trading futures; title: Embassy indiscretions; title: Protest; title: Prison; title: America, here we come; title: Lomé 2018.