
Afghanistan's All-Girl Robotics Team Can't Get Visas to the US - fazkan
https://www.forbes.com/sites/hilarybrueck/2017/06/29/denied-afghanistans-all-girl-robotics-team-cant-get-visas-to-the-u-s/#6901a058367f
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teej
This is certainly disappointing to see, but it's not new and it's not
surprising. It is incredibly difficult to get a travel visa from Afghanistan
to the US, last year's refusal rate was 74%.

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pasbesoin
If Canada wants to jump on situations like this (attendees can't get in), they
should simply stop the grilling of U.S. professionals traveling to Canada for
conferences and meetings.

Determine and tell Border Patrol that this is _not_ work or a form of work
they need to hinder.

Make this clear to the public, including the U.S. public.

Market the amenities and relative affordability of Canadian venues. And the
coincident "tourism" appeal for many U.S. attendees.

Profit.

I don't know. I don't participate in these things, for many years. But, it
seems attractive to me...

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mcv
Why do organizations still organize international events in the US? I've heard
of to many events hangstrung because their attendees were denied entry into
the US these past couple of months. Move these events to Canada, Mexico or
Europe until US border policy becomes a bit saner again.

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vorg
There's a picture of the 6 girls in this link:

[http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&obje...](http://www.nzherald.co.nz/world/news/article.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=11885450)

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egwynn
previously
[https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14673603](https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=14673603)

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arthur_trudeau
Why in the world should we care, especially when the overwhelming majority of
their countrymen don't believe they should be engaged in the activity at all?

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theGimp
What an ugly thought. I don't know where to begin addressing you.

First, why must we help the oppressed when their local oppressors aren't
concerned? Is this what you're asking? You can't possibly be serious.

Second, just because a majority of Afghani men believe something doesn't mean
they all do. Those girls presumably had some support in pursuing robotics.
It's more than likely the men in their family are supportive.

If there's one thing I would expect everyone to agree on, it's that helping
those girls is a noble goal. They are competing on an international level
despite living in an environment that stifles their creativity and freedom.

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arthur_trudeau
I _definitely_ can be asking why the US apparently has an interest in spending
vast amounts of money and lives, mostly from flyover country or Afghanistan
itself, in the interest of changing Afghan society in a direction most Afghans
aren't down with. It's extremely non obvious to me.

I'm guessing you have some moral premise about it being virtuous to spend
other people's lives and money to help "the oppressed", by some construction,
but I'm not sure how explicit you're willing to be about that premise, and I'm
fairly sure I and many others don't agree with any plausible formulation along
those lines.

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theGimp
You can ask and claim whatever you want. That was never in question. What I do
question is whether you're serious or just trying to bait a response.

As for the moral premise you're presuming I hold, please spare me your
intellectual gymnastics.

Explain to me how Afghan society would be changed by allowing a small group of
girls into the United States for a few days -- so they can participate in a
robotics competition.

This veneer of non-interventionism and pragmatism is no more than a facade you
hide behind.

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arthur_trudeau
I am in dead seriousness not interested in playing just-the-tip with social
engineering in central Asia; nor am I interested in wielding one segment of
their population as a weapon against another in an attempt to "reform" their
society, which is _exactly_ what PR exercises like the story in question are
aiming to support.

You owe me an explanation as far as why we should be messing around with their
society in any respect, not the opposite.

