A friend sent this earlier – this almost happened to her Italian husband (before he was her husband.) A very scary experience! Although I was a little offended at the remark from the “well-off Washingtonians”: "We have a lot of government people here and lobbyists and lawyers and very educated, very savvy Washingtonians," said Jim Cooper, Ms. Cooper's father, a businessman, describing the reaction in his neighborhood, the Wessynton subdivision of Alexandria. "They were pretty shocked that the government could do this sort of thing, because it doesn't happen that often, except to people you never hear about, like Haitians and Guatemalans." Hopefully we will hear about the people that are detained for a year for no real reason!
The line in the story that really got to me was, "Also, who on earth would ever seek asylum from Italy?"
NO KIDDING! Highly unlikely that this chap said any such thing. What a travesty...
Chiocciola, I had the experience of watching a Guatemalan man being deported on my last trip to Guatemala. The alarm went off at my gate here at LAX and a few minutes later the man was escorted by officials, in handcuffs, onto the plane before boarding began. The man sitting next to me explained what was happening. It was surreal...
If I ask for asylum in Italy will the government put me up in a nice place? How about Venice? House arrest with a modest stipend- lets say 5000 Euro/month, and freedom to travel anywhere in the country of course.
That story is scary. I hope I never end up in some awful foreign prison. RR
Immigration people have no humor. The ones in this story seemed more defficient than most. I feel indignent that a law abiding visitor could be treated this way.
I never chit-chat with Immigration people or make small talk, either abroad or on my return home. I just greet them and answer their questions.
Stories like this are the reasons I pay any traffic fine received abroad, and keep records of it for a long time. On my last couple of trips, I have even carried copies of the paperwork. Maybe I'm too much of a contingency planner, but this story illustrates that "things that can't possibly happen" sometimes actually do happen.
Originally posted by Chiocciola: I was a little offended at the remark from the “well-off Washingtonians”: "We have a lot of government people here and lobbyists and lawyers and very educated, very savvy Washingtonians," said Jim Cooper, Ms. Cooper's father, a businessman, describing the reaction in his neighborhood, the Wessynton subdivision of Alexandria. "They were pretty shocked that the government could do this sort of thing, because it doesn't happen that often, except to people you never hear about, like Haitians and Guatemalans."
I also find it offensive that these "very educated, very savvy Washingtonians" seemed to have known all along that innocent people from other countries had been victims of such treatment but these cosmopolitan sophisticates - from which subdivision again? - have obviously considered it ok.
Originally posted by Chiocciola: I was a little offended at the remark from the “well-off Washingtonians”: "We have a lot of government people here and lobbyists and lawyers and very educated, very savvy Washingtonians," said Jim Cooper, Ms. Cooper's father, a businessman, describing the reaction in his neighborhood, the Wessynton subdivision of Alexandria. "They were pretty shocked that the government could do this sort of thing, because it doesn't happen that often, except to people you never hear about, like Haitians and Guatemalans."
I also find it offensive that these "very educated, very savvy Washingtonians" seemed to have known all along that innocent people from other countries had been victims of such treatment but these cosmopolitan sophisticates - from which subdivision again? - have obviously considered it ok.
I think its a matter of interpretation. It could mean that they know that everyone is not treated equally based on income,education and class in the US (as well as in Europe) . They may be just simply recognising that fact and not claiming superiority.
If you know a society were everyone is treated the same regarless of their class,race or ecomomic status let me know. what were the riots in France all about? RR
