Sadly, even 'con papeles' gets you the same treatement especially if you have to deal with racist civil servants. The story below makes a bleak reading because it seems that on entering Greece you are automatically guilty just because you are a wrong sort of foreigner.
The Chinese Embassy in Athens told Kathimerini yesterday that the detention of 58 Chinese tourists for more than a day by police at Athens International Airport was a cause of “deep dissatisfaction” because all the members of the party had valid visas.
The tourists arrived in Athens on Monday in two groups and were detained at the airport. Police said yesterday that they had initial information which indicated the travel agencies with which the tourists were traveling were suspected of being linked to illegal immigration.
Officers said that they could also not confirm bookings for the Chinese group at any European hotels. A call to the Greek Consulate in Shanghai, however, confirmed that all 58 members of the group had been granted visas to enter Greece.
Chinese Embassy officials said they could not understand why “Chinese tourists with valid visas had been detained at the airport for 25 hours.” Greece has been trying to encourage tourism from China since last year’s Athens Olympics.
It´s sad, but things are like this. Greece seems to still be unable to understand that it´s part of the European Union, with all the positive and negative consequences. It´s still unable to create a realistic imigration politic, and is paying a high social price because of it. Greeks think themselves to be victims, and even tend to racist attitudes, although they don´t seem to realise it. There is always somebody else to blame for the own insufficiences, politicians abuse the public sentiment of disconformity, and to make it even worse: the police is asked to give the answers which politicians don´t dare to...
check out here http://www.balkans.eu.org/ for more facts, open the Gazi Kaplani blog, but don´t forget that the problems are rather due to ignorance than to racisme. If only people could remember that greeks themselves have been imigrating throughout decades,... (unfortunately Spain, France or Italy are not better off,...an imigrant has to be not only good, but a SAINT to have a chance of integration)
True what you say Niko but the incident highlighted by 'Kathimerini'is not an 'immigration' issue but rather one which has to do with tourists having been given the legal enty visas by the Greek consulate in Shanghai, (having been previously lured to Greece by smart advertising campaigns for which the Greek state itself presumably paid) then effectively taken the piss off them. The reward for having booked a trip to 'welcoming' Greece as tourist was to being detained for 25 hours at the Athens airport.
A while ago, I remember, I've read about the tourism minister (and former Mayor of Athens) Dim. Avramopoulos who embarked on a grand tour of the Far East (China, Japan etc.) in order to promote 'hospitable land of Gods and sunshine' Greece to these lucrative markets. There's an emerginig high-earning middle class in the double digit GDP Growth China too. Now take these Chinese who, bored probably of the Great China Wall wanted to see Akropolis instead. Yes, even the Chinamen dream of seeing the 'craddle of civilization'. After a 12 hours exhausting flight they landed to 'Europe' (having the visas stamped on their passports by the Greeks:not an easy thing to obtain!) only to see themselves treated as criminals. What I'm bothered is not the fact that they were detained (I harbour no ilusions as to the sheer evilness of the officials) but by the hypocrisy of the Greek government. So we want 'tourists' but in order to acknowledge you as tourist you might, by the way' have to be detained for a day or so before we make up our mind as to your status.
It's at the end of the day Greeks disrespecting/and not trusting other Greeks. The Chinese were just victims of this 'Greek against Greek' lack of trust: Greek border police not trusting their colleagues from the Greek consulate in Shanghai. I don't want to single out Greece (after all similar stuff might happen elsewhere too) but as well as the images of your cartoon 'speak', there are similar and sadly real life-stories to be told too.
The story with the chinese tourists reminds me something Gilbert Shelton said : Real life stories are to unbelievable to be brought into comics. But the idea is the same, you are right: people travel to meet their dream, but instead they find themselves in a nightmare.
4 Comments:
Sadly, even 'con papeles' gets you the same treatement especially if you have to deal with racist civil servants. The story below makes a bleak reading because it seems that on entering Greece you are automatically guilty just because you are a wrong sort of foreigner.
Kathimerini English edition: Chinese angry with detention
Chinese angry with detention
The Chinese Embassy in Athens told Kathimerini yesterday that the detention of 58 Chinese tourists for more than a day by police at Athens International Airport was a cause of “deep dissatisfaction” because all the members of the party had valid visas.
The tourists arrived in Athens on Monday in two groups and were detained at the airport. Police said yesterday that they had initial information which indicated the travel agencies with which the tourists were traveling were suspected of being linked to illegal immigration.
Officers said that they could also not confirm bookings for the Chinese group at any European hotels. A call to the Greek Consulate in Shanghai, however, confirmed that all 58 members of the group had been granted visas to enter Greece.
Chinese Embassy officials said they could not understand why “Chinese tourists with valid visas had been detained at the airport for 25 hours.” Greece has been trying to encourage tourism from China since last year’s Athens Olympics.
5/12/05 17:39
It´s sad, but things are like this. Greece seems to still be unable to understand that it´s part of the European Union, with all the positive and negative consequences.
It´s still unable to create a realistic imigration politic, and is paying a high social price because of it. Greeks think themselves to be victims, and even tend to racist attitudes, although they don´t seem to realise it. There is always somebody else to blame for the own insufficiences, politicians abuse the public sentiment of disconformity, and to make it even worse: the police is asked to give the answers which politicians don´t dare to...
check out here http://www.balkans.eu.org/ for more facts, open the Gazi Kaplani blog, but don´t forget that the problems are rather due to ignorance than to racisme.
If only people could remember that greeks themselves have been imigrating throughout decades,...
(unfortunately Spain, France or Italy are not better off,...an imigrant has to be not only good, but a SAINT to have a chance of integration)
5/12/05 22:09
True what you say Niko but the incident highlighted by 'Kathimerini'is not an 'immigration' issue but rather one which has to do with tourists having been given the legal enty visas by the Greek consulate in Shanghai, (having been previously lured to Greece by smart advertising campaigns for which the Greek state itself presumably paid) then effectively taken the piss off them. The reward for having booked a trip to 'welcoming' Greece as tourist was to being detained for 25 hours at the Athens airport.
A while ago, I remember, I've read about the tourism minister (and former Mayor of Athens) Dim. Avramopoulos who embarked on a grand tour of the Far East (China, Japan etc.) in order to promote 'hospitable land of Gods and sunshine' Greece to these lucrative markets. There's an emerginig high-earning middle class in the double digit GDP
Growth China too. Now take these Chinese who, bored probably of the Great China Wall wanted to see Akropolis instead. Yes, even the Chinamen dream of seeing the 'craddle of civilization'. After a 12 hours exhausting flight they landed to 'Europe' (having the visas stamped on their passports by the Greeks:not an easy thing to obtain!) only to see themselves treated as criminals.
What I'm bothered is not the fact that they were detained (I harbour no ilusions as to the sheer evilness of the officials) but by the hypocrisy of the Greek government. So we want 'tourists' but in order to acknowledge you as tourist you might, by the way' have to be detained for a day or so before we make up our mind as to your status.
It's at the end of the day Greeks disrespecting/and not trusting other Greeks. The Chinese were just victims of this 'Greek against Greek' lack of trust:
Greek border police not trusting their colleagues from the Greek consulate in Shanghai.
I don't want to single out Greece (after all similar stuff might happen elsewhere too) but as well as the images of your cartoon 'speak', there are similar and sadly real life-stories to be told too.
7/12/05 13:44
The story with the chinese tourists reminds me something Gilbert Shelton said : Real life stories are to unbelievable to be brought into comics.
But the idea is the same, you are right: people travel to meet their dream, but instead they find themselves in a nightmare.
By the way. Do chinese tourists smoke?
;)
7/12/05 19:00
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