Open Borders: Rania's story

Interwoven with a seductive album of engaging family photos, Rania Hafez shares her story of moving across the world, war in Lebanon, Israel's invasion and rising religiosity. The glamorous Lebanese women in her family remind us that Beirut was once the Paris of the East and not shorthand for war-torn hell-hole that the phrase 'like Beirut' conjures up to today. For Rania aeroplanes were like taxis and she hopes cheaper flights will mean more people see more of the world and that she points out, requires ending visa restrictions.

[@Sarahk150]

It does raise the broader question on whether you can separate equality and freedom. We need to be equally able to travel anywhere without restriction but we also need the cash to do it, in my view this is an example of why equality & freedom are inseparable.

[@vjrnarang]

As opposed to a lot of immigration stories, Rania is refreshingly different in that she paints a picture that it doesn't revolve around the difference between developing and developed. It considers the world on an even playing field as she even comments that her first impression of life in England was that it was "backwards," which is not something one hears everyday. Rather than addressing the issue on an economic level, she argues for the cultural value in being globally aware.

[@peterson17able]

Even though she has been able to travel internationally due to her fairly wealthy upbringing, I’m glad that Rania thinks we should all be able to travel freely. I'm actually very sympathetic to her but I remember some people having to fight quite a lot more against the Home Office.