With only three weeks until I depart for China and the second leg of the 4Deserts Challenge, my visa application has been rejected. Apparently, according to the embassy it could be because there is 'something' going on in the Xinjiang province of Western China, or it could also be because there 'something' wrong with my actual application itself. Government officials have such an incredible knack for specifics.
'Something' wrong with my actual application huh? Ok, so should I have not used the glitter pen or did I misspell Al-Qaeda again? I always get confused...Al Kaeda, Al-Qa'ida...? (As of the last sentence I've just added Interpol, the NSA, CIA, MI-6, and the FBI as blog followers...Google Adsense is going to be so confused).
Obviously getting rejected once is an issue, however getting rejected a second time would be catastrophic. Two rejections = black ball status in obtaining a visa for a year's time and more importantly will end my chance at being one of three people to ever complete the 4Deserts Challenge in one calendar year. So far, one competitor, Sandy Gordon of Scotland has received his second rejection while Lucy Rivers-Bulkeley (attempting the be the first woman to cross all 4 in one year), Diego Carvajal, and even Course Director, Dave Annandale, have all received an initial 'no-go'.
At this point, RacingthePlanet is working in conjunction with the Foreign Commonwealth Office and the Chinese Tourist Board to find a solution, however as you can imagine we're all a little reluctant to be the next one to make a second attempt without any clear indication or guidance as to what will or should happen. The FCO has advised us that the reason could stem from each of us listing Urumqi as our destination which in 2009 was the location of civil and political violence.
China has so far convicted 198 people for involvement in deadly ethnic violence last July with more sentencings to come. Nearly 200 people were killed and up to 1,600 injured when the situation exploded into street riots in the Xinjiang regional capital which happened to be some of the worst ethnic violence in China in decades.
I might come down with a complex soon. A week before the Sahara race in 2008, 9 tourists in the Sahara were taken hostage in the same region as the race. Two days before I left for the Atacama race, Chile was struck by one of the strongest earthquakes ever recorded. And now, after I enter the Gobi race, China is still battling unrest in the region where I am planning on running. Perhaps it's just a byproduct of the areas where the 4Deserts are held or maybe it's me, but either way it makes me nervous for what could await us in Antarctica: Rebellious penguins? A third Ice Age? Misplaced Somali Pirates? (after that last sentence I've just added the United Nations, Greenpeace, Al Gore, and the Discovery Channel as blog followers...poor Google Adsense).
Diego Carvajal is going to make his second attempt on Monday so stay tuned. I will probably follow him around Wednesday. Fingers crossed.
In the meantime, as always, good running.
Rp
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