Letero de Dafydd Iwan

…de la Caernarfon Denbigh Herald:

Three things have happened recently which have distressed many people in Wales, not to mention the distress caused to the individuals involved.

The first was the refusal of the immigration authorities to allow Evelyn Calcabrini and Shirley Edwards, both from Patagonia, to come to Wales to study Welsh and English, and Shirley also to visit her sister at Tremadog.…

The case of Arfon Gwilym, refused a visa to the United States because of his part in the non-violent campaign for a Welsh TV channel almost 40 years ago, is another example of bureaucracy gone mad. …

The third was the inexcusable bad manners shown towards Cefin Roberts and the singers of Ysgol Glanaethwy by a small part of the audience at Llandudno’s Venue Cymru.…

Surely, these three examples prove that we have some way to go still until Wales and the Welsh language are given the respect and status they deserve.

If anyone would like to show their support for Shirley and Evelyn, there will be a concert at Rehoboth chapel, Nant Peris on Saturday, July 11, the proceeds of which will be used to secure their return to Wales to finish their studies.

Vizo: Returniĝo ĉe la Fina Horo

…de la BBC:

Mae'n ymddangos bod llysgenhadaeth America ym Mhrydain wedi gwneud tro pedol yn achos canwr gwerin o Gaernarfon.

Yn wreiddiol roedd Arfon Gwilym, 58 oed, wedi methu a chael fisa i deithio i ŵyl fawr y Smithsonian am iddo dorri'r gyfraith fel ymgyrchydd gyda Chymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg dros 40 mlynedd yn ôl.

Ond nawr mae o'n dweud ei fod e wedi cael clywed bod y gwaharddiad wedi ei godi ar apêl.

Ond nawr mae o'n dweud ei fod e wedi cael clywed bod y gwaharddiad wedi ei godi ar apêl.

Digwyddodd hynny'n rhyw hwyr i alluogi Mr Gwilym i deithio o Heathrow gyda'i wraig Sioned Webb ddydd Llun i berfformio yn yr ŵyl yn Washington.

Rheswm Llysgenhadaeth America am wrthod y cais yn y lle cynta oedd "gwarthusrwydd moesol".
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Viza Sagao de Arfon Gwilym Daŭras

...de Golwg360:

Mae cylchgrawn Golwg wedi datgelu fod yr awdurdodau wedi cael blwyddyn gron i sortio fisa i Arfon Gwilym.

Ac mae Rhodri Morgan wedi dweud wrth y cylchgrawn ei fod e’n synnu na chafodd mwy o Gymru eu gwahardd rhag teithio i wyl y Smithsonian yn Washington.

Rhybuddiwyd Llywodraeth Cymru fis Mawrth y llynedd y gallai problemau godi gyda fisa rhai o gynrychiolwyr Cymru yn y Smithsonian yr wythnos hon.

Er hynny, dim ond fis Ebrill eleni y cyfeiriwyd y cynrychiolwyr at y broses o ofyn am ganiatad i deithio i’r Unol Daleithiau.

Pe byddai’r cynrychiolwyr wedi gofyn am fisas ynghynt, mae’n bosib y byddai Arfon Gwilym wedi cael mynd i America...

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Dankon, Amy!

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Mesaĝo de Arfon Gwilym

Many thanks for this.In fact, there is now another twist to this story.

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On Friday I was informed that the US Embassy had made a U-turn on this.

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My "ineligibility" had been "waivered". The whole story had caused uproar in Wales and many messages of protest had gone to the US Embassy in London.

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Nevertheless, it is a single visit temporary visa only, which in effect means a lifetime ban thereafter, because the only reason this was waivered this time (apart from the public pressure) was "the importance of my visit".

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If any future visit was deemed not so important (e.g. a holiday) then the chances are surely slim - even if I wished to go through the expense and hassle all over again.

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But what made me sick was the timing. I got the message Friday lunchtime. The plane was due to fly early on Monday morning. I would need to get my passport to London and get it back to North Wales with all the paperwork by the following day, Saturday, in order to travel to London on Sunday. Impossible. As I write, the plane is mid way over the Atlantic, and I'm feeling quite sick.

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I could travel later on this week, of course, by which time I would have missed half the festival, and the organisers would once again have to reorganise the programme for my sake. The American authorities refuse to regard me as nothing more than a common criminal, guilty of "moral turpitude" for campaigning for things in Wales which are now taken for granted.

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all the best,

ARFON GWILYM

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Demokratio Nun!

...de Democracy Now! :

The Welsh folk singer and language activist Arfon Gwilym has been forced to cancel an appearance at the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington after he was denied a visa by U.S. officials.

Gwilym is a prominent campaigner for the preservation of the Welsh language.

He was denied the visa because he has been arrested several times while campaigning for bilingual road signs in Wales and for a Welsh-language television channel.

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Letero pri Arfon Gwilym

…de letero de Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg al Sro. Mark Rosenshield, la Kimraj Aferoj Oficiro de la Usona Departemento de Eksterlandaj Aferoj en Londono:

I am writing to you on behalf of Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg concerning Arfon Gwilym, a Welsh folk singer and language activist, who has been banned from entering the United States of America, to attend the Smithsonian Folklife Festival in Washington, because of his so called 'criminal record'. We are an organisation that campaigns for the rights of Welsh speakers in Wales and Arfon has played a significant part in our campaigns.

We should like to emphasise that Arfon Gwilym is a man of great integrity who is highly regarded in Wales because of his stand on matters of principle and basic human justice. He is also an outstanding entertainer who has made an enormous contribution to Welsh folk singing tradition.

His criminal record was acquired because of his involvement in campaigns to win equal status in Wales for Welsh language speakers. He has fought energetically to secure such things as bilingual road signs in Wales, a Welsh language television service and a Welsh Language Act ensuring that Welsh speakers have the same linguistic rights as English speakers in our country. These campaigns did involve a certain amount of law breaking activity but those who participated also took full responsibility for their actions and voluntarily gave themselves up to the police. Historians in Wales refer to this kind of activism as 'non violent direct action' since those who took part always confined their activities to a limited destruction of property.

Great care was always taken to make sure that people were not harmed in any way because of these activities. Gandhi and Martin Luther King were the inspiration behind this kind of activity. It is interesting that local authorities in Wales are now erecting plaques to commemorate some of the earlier campaigns with which Arfon Gwilym himself was very much involved.

Over the years, over 2,000 people have been arrested in Wales for taking action similar to that taken by Arfon Gwilym. Many of them by now are prominent figures in Welsh society and like Arfon Gwilym himself held in very high regard. I am also quite sure that many of them have visited the USA over the years without any trouble at all.

To refuse Arfon Gwilym the right to enter the United States would be equivalent to the British government refusing Martin Luther King entry into Britain in the 1960's because of his political activities.

We ask you to reconsider your decision not to allow Arfon Gwilym to enter the United States because that is the just and honourable thing to do. It is also what one would expect from a country that puts such an emphasis on freedom, equality and human rights.

Yours sincerely
Dafydd Morgan Lewis
Administrative Officer
Cymdeithas yr Iaith Gymraeg

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Mesaĝo de Mark Rosenshield

Thank you for your concern in this matter. I cannot speak about the specifics of a particular person’s case, though I am happy to provide you with some general information to help you better understand the issue.

If an applicant has ever been convicted of a crime, he/she must come to the Embassy to have an officer determine whether a visa can be issued. If the conviction was of a serious nature (i.e. it involved “moral turpitude” because it stemmed from damage to people or property), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) makes the final determination on whether the person is admissible to the United States. This is a system of checks and balances. By having two government agencies vet the applicant, we seek to avoid making mistakes and allowing someone into our country who should not come in. It does not mean that a particular person is undesirable. There is a vast range of legal systems throughout the world, with different procedures for documenting a criminal record. In order to ensure fairness and consistency, these decisions are made centrally at DHS in the U.S. This can take a number of weeks, so we advise applicants to apply early. We have explained this to the Welsh authorities and they have on multiple occasions urged those participating in the Folklife Festival to apply for their visas early enough to allow time for our processing.

Many applicants with minor convictions or a record that proves they are now law-abiding citizens get visas from the U.S. Embassy in London, after approval from DHS of course. I noticed that at least one article about this case referred to a “lifetime ban.” Only a few specific circumstances actually result in a lifetime ban. In most cases, the person simply must have a valid visa in order to enter the United States. We routinely issue visas for extended periods of time and for multiple visits, so many applicants need to come to the Embassy only when their visas expire, not every time they want to travel to the U.S.

Let me reiterate that the discussion above is a general one and privacy concerns prevent me from commenting on the specifics of a particular case. I hope this helps you understand the process at work here, which requires that we apply U.S. immigration law in a consistent fashion.

Mark Rosenshield
Welsh Affairs Officer - Swyddog Materion Cymreig
Embassy of the United States of America - Llysgenhadaeth Unol Daleithiau America
24 Grosvenor Square, London W1A 1AE
Email/E-bost: RosenshieldMS@state.gov
Tel/Ffon: 020 7894 0131
Mobile/Ffon Symudol: 078 0167 0693

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Arfon Gwilym

...de WalesOnline:

A former Welsh rights campaigner has been denied a visa to take part in the biggest-ever US exhibition of our culture over offences committed decades ago.

Music publisher Arfon Gwilym was invited to take part in Smithsonian Institute’s exhibition as a folk, penillion (harp accompaniment) and plygain (carol) singer.

But after a seven-hour wait at the US embassy, in London, his visa was refused because of his activities as a former member of Cymdeithas yr Iaith (Welsh Language Society)...

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[Skibu Sron Mark Rosenshield, la Kimraj Aferoj Oficiro de Usona Departemento de Eksterlandaj Aferoj protesti kontraŭ ĉi tiu maljusto!: RosenshieldMS@state.gov]

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