If you are to believe Hollywood's portrayal of the Egyptian city of Cairo, then you would think of it as being the center of international intrigue. No other non-European city has been portrayed as much on the silver screen as being such a busy nest of espionage activity as Cairo. Perhaps it is the location, perhaps it is because of the political nature of Egypt, whatever the reason, in popular fiction as well as film, Cairo has always been the center of espionage and other clandestine activities.
During my three year tour of duty in Cairo, from 1994 to 1997, I saw and witnessed some very unusual and interesting activities that would make good material for fiction or film. Some were right out of a Hollywood script, others were more subtle, more tame. But all in all, with the exception of my tour in Paraguay where I encountered various characters ranging from Nazi fugitives to Chinese triad members, no other place had as many unusual and interesting characters and incidents as Cairo. One such incident took place in early 1997, before my departure from Cairo that summer.
In the 1990s, our policy towards Russia and the various countries that were a part of the former Soviet Union, were quite different from what they are today. Russia, and all the former Soviet Republics were struggling. All of them had gained independence only a few short years earlier back in 1991 when Soviet Union fell apart. Boris Yeltsin was the Russian President and we had very friendly relations with Russia. In fact, we were instructed to extend a helping hand to our Russian and former Soviet Republic colleagues, whenever we could. Times were sure different then, and all those countries were in desperate economic situation! It was rather interesting to see the switch, considering that only a few years earlier, we were constantly on the watch for KGB activities and for the most part avoided contact. Now we were encouraged to make contact!
One particular day in January of 1997 I received a call in the morning from the Charge d'affairs of the fledging Ukrainian Embassy in Cairo. He said that he wished to have a private meeting with me to discuss a personal matter. So I invited him to come to my office at his convenience. The Ukrainian Charge d'affairs showed up that very same afternoon. He was a tall, scholarly looking man that I had met earlier at a reception. Without any preamble, he immediately told me that he was concerned about his son who was presently visiting in Cairo. His son, it seems, had graduated from the University of Washington, in fact, he had just completed his Masters in Computer Science. He said that his son was immediately hired by a well known company with a lucrative salary, and that he had come to visit his parents before returning to Seattle to start his new job. I asked him what his concerns were, and he said that his son left Seattle before he had solidified his status in the U.S. He said that his employer had filed a petition with the immigration service for him to receive a "work visa." Actually it was an immigrant visa that would make him a permanent resident and eventually a citizen of the U.S.
I asked him if his son had all of his documents in order, and he said that as far as he knew, everything was in order. I told him that if that was the case, then his son had nothing to worry about, that he should enjoy his stay with his parents and when he was ready to leave, come to the US Embassy and submit his documentation for an immigrant visa. My Ukrainian friend was visibly relieved. He said he was concerned that his son may have somehow broken our laws by leaving the U.S. before he had his status changed from student to resident. I told him not to worry, that you can change status in-country or if you have all the proper documentation, leave the country and re-enter as an immigrant. Much relieved, he proceeded to tell me about his son and himself.
Prior to the break-up of the Soviet Union, my friend was a member of the Soviet Foreign Service. He had spent almost his entire career being assigned to either the U.S. or Canada. His son had attended all his schooling, K thru 12 in the U.S. or Canada, graduating from an American high school. He had just completed six years at the University of Washington where he received a Bachelors and Masters degrees. According to the father, his son was more American than he was Russian/Ukrainian. When Soviet Union broke up, his son had just started college. Former Soviet diplomats who were from other republics were given an option to stay and become members of the new Russian Federation Foreign Service or join their newly formed foreign services in the former republics. My Ukrainian friend chose to go with the Ukrainian foreign service. He said that it was more or less a lateral move. He said his country was struggling, but no different than it was with Russia!
About a week later a young man came to our embassy and requested to see a consular officer about a visa. The receptionist at first thought he was an American, because his American English was flawless and directed him to the American Citizen Services! There it was discovered that he was in the wrong office and redirected to the Visa Branch. One of our visa officers interviewed the Ukrainian and issued him an immigrant visa without a hassle. The visa officer told me that he thought the young man was an American! They chatted about the Seattle Supersonics NBA season because both of them were basketball fans. The visa officer was very impressed and made a remark to the effect that, "We should have more immigrants like him!"
I am sure the young man, who is now middle aged, has done well and is an American citizen now. I hope his parents are doing well too. When all that mess was taking place with Putin taking over the eastern part of Ukraine and Crimea, I thought of my friend from Cairo often. That particular incident certainly did not involve any international intrigue and was not somthing for a spy movie! It was one of the more "tamer" incidents that I remember from Cairo.
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