Image captured during fieldwork
Anonymous, "Certificate of Identity ", contributed by Tenzing Wangdak, Platform for Experimental Collaborative Ethnography, Platform for Experimental Collaborative Ethnography, last modified 13 December 2024, accessed 21 December 2024. https://worldpece.org/content/certificate-identity
Critical Commentary
Qatar flight QR 737 from Doha lands at San Francisco International Airport. Walking towards the Immigration Counter, I hold on to my Identity Certificate (I.C), its bright yellow cover screaming anomaly in contrast to the blue passport of India possessed by most of my fellow travelers.
“Yes! Yes! I am. I got separated from my husband who is in the other line for US citizens. I don’t know what to do.”
“ཨ་ལེ་ (a le)![1] Don’t worry. Do you have your I.C. and immigration documents?”
“I have them here, but I don’t know what they will ask me. I didn’t think I would be in a separate line from my husband.”
[1] ཨ་ལེ་ is a Tibetan colloquial term, which roughly translates to “ Ah Okay!”