Irish national police probe snub of 3 Plano travelers
An investigation is pending for the Ireland national police as to why three Plano men were denied entry into the country Friday.
The three friends landed in Dublin to begin a backpacking trip across western Europe. They did not expect to get sent directly back to the States.
They were told they could not enter Ireland because they could not provide an address where they planned to stay or produce a bank statement showing they had enough funds to afford the trip.
Ireland's national police, Garda Siochana, released a statement saying how it was quite rare for U.S. citizens to be denied entry into the country because the majority know the regulations and requirements.
The police press secretary highlighted the point that only a very small number are refused entry at entry ports in Ireland each year.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/nation/stories/070709dnmetirish.191a4a5c.html
This story is a wake-up call for ignorant Americans. Just because we are Americans doesn't mean we can get away with not having an idea of rules in foreign countries. Name dropping doesn't always work. It is sad that these guys got there and had to come back. That would be very frustrating, but at the same time, if it were the other way around and three Irish men tried to come here under those circumstances, I am sure they would be denied and it wouldn't seem like a big deal. It's all about perspective.
That is not the best way to start off a trip. On websites like couchsurfing.com, where there are free places for people traveling Europe to stay throughout Europe, many people will not accept applications from Americans. I guess we tend to be arrogant. It seems like some of this is just not planning ahead for the trip.
ReplyDeleteThe idea of some people do things while other people plan things does not apply in this case.
There's the arrogance thing -- and there's the terrorist thing. Because of the 9/11 attacks here and the subway bombings in Europe and the UK, governments really don't feel warmly to people who can't say where they're going to be.
ReplyDeleteI am surprised, though, that the "gotta have an address" thing didn't come up when the guys applied for a visa.