Scars and Stripes

A Journey through the U.S. Immigration System


by Bruce Wm Stewart
with Dianne Stewart


           





 

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Paperback Edition also Available at Park Road Books in Charlotte NC



Synopsis

From the Southern tip of Africa to the East Coast of the USA, and from the silence of Capitol Hill and House Judiciary to the aggression of the US Embassy in Ireland, Scars and Stripes is a family's 20-year journey through the US Immigration System. From the flames of 9/11 to corrupt and incompetent attorneys and a dysfunctional immigration system, a new American family is challenged by inconsistent immigration rulings and forced to self-deport to Ireland,where they become embroiled in a scandal involving U.S. diplomats and allegations of Irish passports being copied and supplied to Mossad hit squads. 
 

About the Authors


Bruce and Dianne Stewart are South Africans who started their emigration to the USA in 2001 with two small children. Their journey through the United States Citizenship & Immigration Service lasted 20 years. Bruce provides advanced reading skills and intelligence training to corporate executives, business schools and various branches of the US Military. Dianne runs a successful Public Relations and Social Media Consultancy. Together, Bruce and Dianne offer a concierge relocation educational and advisory service to prospective immigrants to the USA through PathwayUSA to assist future immigrants to do it the "right" way and to avoid the minefields, pitfalls and aggravation they experienced.

 

Excerpts from the Book

July 2012

"This is not an easy family meeting. It's not easy, as a parent, to tell your child that his dreams have been shattered, that he will not finish his schooling in America, or go to university in America to get his engineering degree, that he will not see his friends again, and that he will not see his girlfriend again. Neither is it easy to admit to your wife that you can no longer support her, that all is lost. And we talk for hours and hours. Sometimes angry and shouting. Sometimes just weeping in frustration. Then peace and acceptance. We talk through our anger, frustration, sadness and hatred for a country that took us in, allowed us to fulfill our dreams and then took it all away and threw us out. We take stock of what we have. A solid family. Intelligence. Health. Love. And Faith. Everything else is clutter. It's almost a liberating feeling. We are free, without ties to any country, any place or any material possessions. Free to do whatever we want, to go wherever we want."

August 2012

"Dianne and I spend our days walking the streets of Dublin, sitting for hours watching the street-musicians, the hawkers and peddlers, street-artists, window-shopping, and taking hours to enjoy a pint of Guinness and a plate of Irish fish and chips with loads of salt and vinegar. We stand on the Bridge of Locks over the river Liffey and read the inscriptions on the thousands of padlocks placed there by lovers over the years. For us, time has stood still. We have nowhere to go and nothing to do. We've been married for 24 years, but are closer now than ever before. We have nothing but one another. No country, no home, no jobs, no possessions, no obligations, nothing to do. Just us. From our meager funds we buy a padlock and add one more to the Bridge of Locks over the river Liffey."


 


 

Reviews

"The story was fascinating and also shocking. One cannot read it and not look at our country in a completely new way. Brilliant!"
Alexander Wade Stick, Author of "Her Little Angel" and "The Unentitled".

"WOW!!! I finished your amazing, heart-wrenching, painful, exhilarating, tortuous, and emotionally draining saga!! The beginning read like a James Bond thriller - I re-read it so I could capture all the significance of your later encounters, and still couldn't believe what I was reading!!"
Anonymous - Director of Constituent Services for a US Congressman

"A total roller coaster and a horror story. A jaw-dropper of a book."
Peter Terry, South African Actor & Playwright

"Reading this book, (at least the first part before The Storm) I continue to laugh. Your writing is so straight forward and to the point - such a skill. This is one of the most enjoyable books I've read in a long time. It's REALLY good. Thank you for sharing your story."
Daniel Ryan - Atlantic American Partners.

"A must-read for anyone coming to America."
Juli Treadway-Lawson, Author of "So You've Networked Now What?"

"Riveting account of one family's dramatic quest for the American Dream." 
Peter Hegarty, British American Textile Manufacturing Executive
 
"A shocking tale of a family trying to navigate the US Immigration System the "right" way, and how that broken system sends them to hell and back." 
Byrn Hinton Immigrant, American Chief Technology Officer

"Brutal and inhumane. At times I felt embarrassed to be an American."
Anonymous, Senior Officer US Marine Corps

"I am overwhelmed, exhausted, depressed, angry over your ordeal!"
Street Brewer, Charlotte NC

"I devoured Scars & Stripes and was exhausted just reading it!  A cross between a roller-coaster and a rodeo. You deserve a marching band at your citizenship ceremony! "
Colleen Ingram, South Africa.

"A mind-blowing exercise in perseverance & tenacity."
Guki Fichtenbauer, South Africa / Austria

"What a great read! In part laugh out loud and in part just unbelievable!"
Alex Largatzis, UK

 


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