1963 Immigration and Pass laws

Colchester Landing police check the pass book of a native man.

The 1963 Immigration and Pass laws were a series of laws in Colchester Landing, passed from 1963 to 1997, with the primary aim of ensuring colonial control and state security following the rise of anti-colonial sentiment among Jafalans throughout the early ‘60s. Such anti-colonial ideas, which propagated ethnic struggle for independence, resulted in the creation, by the then Praetonian colonial governor Thomas Hacket Levensee, of the initial draft for the Immigration and Pass laws. With the onset of full-scale armed conflict against colonial rule in 1964, the laws were amended to allow for far stricter control and surveillance of the native populace. Colchester would remain subject to these latter laws until their removal in 1997, following the independence of Colchester from both Praetonia and the Empire of Exponent.

Background

The political environment which existed prior to the creation of the Immigration and Pass laws was one of uncertain peace. The native populations of eastern Hesperidesia had long lived under the rule of colonial powers, and many groups began to form among them which saw this state of affairs as unjust. Such anti-colonial sentiment began slowly, but steadily grew both in popularity and distribution.

These sentiments came to a head in 1961, when in Cote d'Cuivre, numerous rebel cells began open armed assaults against Imperial interests in the region. In time, the ideas of ethnic struggle espoused by the Cuivrans spread across the border into Jafala, which had already possessed a sizable but silent undercurrent of displeasure at colonial control. After the introduction of Cuivran ideas of rebellion, as well as the example of such in fact being possible in Cote d’Cuivre, many self-made “politicians” and native demagogues seized upon the opportunity to make a change, and bring greater support to the movement. It was this initial wave of anti-Imperial, anti-colonial sentiment which forced the hand of the Praetonian colonial government of Colchester at the time to act.

Then, as now, Colchester relied heavily on the work provided by the Jafa people, and as such, many Jafa travelled into and out of the microstate on a day-to-day basis. With the rise of anti-imperial sentiment among the Jafa, and the largely ethnic nature of the struggle it called for, it became a real concern that simply allowing Jafa to enter and leave the city as they pleased put the local colonial government at risk of insurgency. For this reason, in 1963, the then colonial governor, Thomas Hackett Levensee, instituted a series of laws aimed at controlling and limiting the movement of local people.

Laws

The initial 1963 Immigration and Pass laws were somewhat mild in comparison to what they would later become. It legislated that all natives (particularly the Jafa) wishing to enter, leave, or dwell within the city be noted and given a special pass, upon which could be found all pertinent information of the individual, such as their name, age, ethnicity, place of residence, place of work and the length of time which they were permitted to remain within the city. The law also divided the city into several “permissible” and “impermissible” districts, in this way ensuring that certain areas of key importance were off limits to possible insurgents.

Protestors objecting to the implementation of a tightening of the Pass Laws in 1964

With the outbreak of open conflict between Jafa rebels and the Empire of Exponent in 1964, it was deemed necessary to impose even stricter limitations upon the Jafa people by way of the so-called 1964 Addendum. Now, not only were Jafa required to carry a pass at all times, but their freedom of movement was even more restricted. Whereas before they were capable of moving from one permissible district to the other as long as they carried a pass, now they were permitted access to a singular district for a certain amount of time. Many Jafa who sought to immigrate into Colchester Landing also found themselves placed in special neighborhoods outside the city limits for a period of several weeks, after which they could cross the border, though some remained semi-permenently. The reason for this period of “quarantine” was to slow the spread of information. If any native was found to behave in any manner deemed “suspicious” he or she would be arrested and jailed. What constituted “suspicious behavior” could be anything, from being a part of large gatherings, loitering, and the passing of messages, to being without a pass or speaking ill of the government. Individuals were also subject to random searches, both of their person and their homes.

While this state of affairs did little to engender the Jafa people to colonial rule, resistance to said law was impossible due in large part to the presence of Praetonian forces, and for this reason, the laws remained in place, little changed, for the next 32 years.

Repeal

When Jafala attained independence in 1988, it was hoped by many that the Immigration and Pass laws may no longer be necessary. However, seeing as Colchester remained under colonial rule, and from the year 1988 onwards was subject to the joint rule of both an Exponential and a Praetonian governor, it was deemed safer to leave the laws in place. However, the joint government would stand only for another 9 years, before the Empire of Exponent’s collapse and the vote for Colchester Landing’s independence.

With Colchester no longer being subject to colonial rule, and neither Jafala nor Colchester having any real reason to fear one another, the 1963 Immigration and Pass laws were finally repealed on the 22nd of March, 1997.

Controversy and Modern Criticism

Today, the Immigration and Pass laws are a somewhat controversial subject. Some believe that they were inherently racist in their assumption that all Jafa must be contained due to the views of their countrymen, that the laws were unnecessarily harsh and that they were generally a blight on the city’s history. Others hold that the whole affair was a regrettable but necessary event in the city’s history.

In 2003, Abideli Tunza, a local activist and daughter of the Jafa freedom fighter Kumangi Tunza ka Odunayo, began a campaign hoping for reparations to be paid to those directly affected by the Immigration and Pass laws. While her case was eventually dismissed on the grounds that the actions of the colonial government did not reflect the current government and thus need not be paid for by it, she was able to raise a sizable amount of money, with which she founded the PIAP Foundation (Post Immigration And Pass Foundation) aimed at giving support to those negatively affected by the law.