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The Pasporta Servo (Passport Service) is a publication in Esperanto. Within the Esperanto movement it is considered an important publication, possibly second only to the Plena Ilustrita Vortaro (Unabridged
Illustrated Dictionary). It is a directory of people from countries in every continent who are willing to host other Esperanto speakers in their homes for free. As of 2004, there are 1227 hosts in 79 countries. However, the geographical distribution is somewhat uneven; for example, in 2004:
- 119 - France
- 98 - Germany
- 78 - Ukraine
- 64 - Russia
- 52 - United States
- 42 - Netherlands
- 34 - China
- 29 - Japan
- 28 - Iran
- 3 - India
- 67 - Africa
- 78 - South America
Hosts specify how many days and how many guests can stay along with a short comment with other restrictions or interests (no smokers, bring a tent, young people especially welcome, etc). The hosts enjoy having people from various countries stay at their homes while the guests enjoy free housing in the
locations listed (although hosts may ask for reimbursement of incurred expenses). Also, guests may feel more at ease because many hosts are willing to assist with transportation and local information etc, and some also provide meals, although the only actual commitment on hosts is to offer overnight accommodation.
Using the Pasporta Servo you get to meet all kinds of people. The author of this paragraph once used the Pasporta Servo to stay with a certain Esperantist and his girlfriend. The girlfriend did all the cooking for them, but she couldn't speak Esperanto so the Esperanto-speaking host forbade any conversation beween her and the guest because it would have been in a language other than Esperanto. The meal was very good, but it was not possible to thank the cook because of this restriction.
The Pasporta Servo is published every year by TEJO, the World Organization for Young Esperantists. Although the concept of offering hospitality to the traveler dates back to early cultures (notably ancient Greece), the idea of applying it specifically to Esperanto speakers began in 1966 in Argentina when Ruben Feldman-Gonzalez started the Programo Pasporto. Pasporta Servo in its current form was first published in 1974 with 40 hosts, under the guidance of Jeanne-Marie Cash in France. Both are still hosts in the Pasporta Servo.
The Pasporta Servo has enjoyed much use in the Esperanto movement as a means
for promoting Esperanto, and is one reason why people start learning Esperanto. The official web site currently (April 2004) states: "While providing a service to Esperanto-speaking hosts and guests, at the same time it demonstrates, easily and clearly, to the outside public that Esperanto is useful and that it works in practice. [...] Many people learn Esperanto only because they want to travel by means of Pasporta Servo."
See also: Hospitality Club
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