The threads that bind us

We're all connected, even we we can't see it yet

The truth is, no one of us can be free until everybody is free. — Maya Angelou

This is a famous quote that I have often heard in social justice spaces or amongst activists.

The sentiment resonates with me — I think I’ve always had a vague sense that it doesn’t make sense for some of us to be free and others of us to be constrained, usually because of factors beyond our control.

As someone who loves travel, who travels a lot, who has interacted with hundreds of people from all around the world, I have often brushed up against this idea in terms of visas and border controls.

I hold a Singaporean passport. In 2023, it is the most powerful passport in the world, granting its holder (me) visa-free access to 192 destinations. On the other end of the spectrum, people who hold a passport from Afghanistan are permitted visa-free access to only 27 destinations.

Simply by virtue of where we were born, someone who shares identical or near identical characteristics as me faces a much more restrictive e…