The Appeal Letter

We all have been through that stage of life when we were rejected for something or the other. I too went through a denial a few months ago. 

Nothing less than a visa rejection just a week before the departure!! 

Never knew I might even go to that extend of sending an appeal letter to the embassy. 

Here is the Appeal Letter I wrote to the Embassy:

Respected Concerned officer,

Greetings,

I am writing you this letter with a heavy heart. To be honest, I don’t know if at all you would spare your valuable time to go through this letter, putting aside the priorities. Maybe this kind of an informal letter would find its place in the trash bin at the very moment it is being seen. However, intimating you on the psychological trauma my friends and I endure is the need of the hour. Most certainly, it is you who could make the first-time church group trip from the first Christian church to the Holy Land a reality.

My name is Meritta Joy, a 27 year old highly devout Catholic from St. Thomas Syro Malabar Catholic Church, Palayoor (Kerala, India). It is indeed a privilege to let you know the legacy and historical significance of our Church. Our Church is believed to have founded by St. Thomas, the Apostle in 52 AD and is apparently, the first Christian Church in India. The place, Palayoor was a Jewish settlement earlier. 

Months ago, a few pious parishioners of my parish (St. Thomas Syro Malabar Catholic Church, Palayoor, Kerala, India) shared their urge to visit Holy Land. As I maintain close relationship with Jesus Christ and strictly adhere to the Mosaic Covenant, I began to dream of visiting the Promised Land very soon with my father and mother (one of my dreams right from childhood). The Priest-in-Charge of our Church contacted a reliable tour group which has a record of organizing Holy Land group tours since sometime. Having browsing over the tour package itinerary, we learnt that Holy Land tour comprises stopping over in Jordan, Israel, Palestine and Egypt. The tour manager hinted that the visa issuance to the State of Israel for the candidates under the age of forty is a herculean task; thus exposing the harsh reality of undocumented immigrants in Israel. I was flabbergasted when he put forth the incidents (that he heard through the grapevine) of Indians (especially young men) illegally living in Israel arriving over there on a B2 Tourist Visa in a way putting their respective tour manager and co-travelers in great trouble. Since we were quite sure that none of us would be engaged in such offensive and punishable acts, we moved forward with applying for Group Visa more enthusiastically. Plus, all fifty of us prayed so hard that our Visa never gets rejected. I remember waking up early morning on a day to day basis for nearly 4 months, stretching my arms and kneeling before Holy Eucharist and plea the Lord Almighty so that we would be blessed to visit Holy Land between November 5 and November 14, 2019.

In course of time, the tour manager collected the documents such as travel ticket booking, tour program including hotel reservation, photocopies of Aadhaar Card, Passport, photographs etc from all of us in order to apply for the Visa. It seems the Visa processing began on 19/09/2019 and the file number of our application is (43032696)    46753. On 28/10/2019, the Visa application both approved/rejected list was sent to us. Out of fifty, seven of us (including me) are rejected from the list while my father and mother are allowed to enter Israel. The rejected candidates are all under the age of forty. Although I was literally shattered seeing our names on the rejection list just a week before our departure, I regained my senses and went through the webpage of Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs. It appears to me that, we were rejected the Visa as there were not much additional documents as proof that the people in the rejected list do not intend to be illegal immigrants in Israel. None of us are having a record of overstaying visas, illegal immigration, criminal background or any of that sort. We hail from financially sounded backgrounds and are employed.

In my case, I had been granted Tourist ETATS Schengen Visa for a period of one month from 17/10/2017 to 16/11/2017 and completed travel to five Schengen countries. Perhaps, our tour manager failed to notify us the requirement of documents for the processing of Visa. It is really distressing for other group members as well seeing that seven of us cannot make it to Holy Land for some unknown reasons. 

 I would also like to bring to your attention that a personal appearance at the Embassy to verify the details mentioned, if required is very much possible for us.

Also, all of us are willing to report at the Consulate General of Israel in Bengaluru when we come back to show that, we, in fact, came back to India on time. 

Our scheduled departure date is on Tuesday, November 5, 2019. I along with the other visa rejected candidates, hereby, take up this opportunity to appeal to you grant us emergency visas in two days. My family would be really grateful to you if you allow me to travel on November 5, 2019 with my parents (who have already got their visas approved) to Holy Land.  

I understand that illegal immigrants are on a rise in Israel and necessary steps have to be taken to put an end to the same. But, curbing the people under the age of forty from entering Israel turns out to be visiting Holy Land a distant dream for innocent and pious people like us.    

Thank you so much for considering my appeal and I hope to hear a positive response from you.

The following documents are attached:

1. My passport, ETATS Schengen Visa stamped, Entry to and Exit from Schengen Countries

2. Cover Page of Israel Entry Permit for our Tour Group

Sincerely,

Meritta Joy

P.S: The response I received from the officer-in-charge came as a bolt from the blue. Yet, things didn't turn out as I aspired because The Man on the Cross had something interesting in reserve for me..