chucke

LAST Friday three clean-cut young American backpackers arrived at Dublin airport from Texas. They were setting out on the first international leg of a yearlong trip around Europe.



However, they were ordered to return to US by an immigration official at the airport. "She treated us like we were criminals," Colin Zwirko, 21, said later.

They were not admitted because they lacked an address where they planned to stay and they did not have bank statement to prove they could afford to travel.

Zwirko said he offered to show the official his bank balance online. He had $10,000 dollars in his bank account and was certainly not indigent. He had sold his car back home to help pay for this trip of a lifetime.

Zwirko and his two friends, Ben Whitehurst, 21, and Gavin Sides, 19, were compelled to spend €1,360 each buying tickets to fly back to the US immediately.




Read more: http://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion...xzz0LJyTbHRR&C



http://www.irishexaminer.com/opinion...out-96105.html

AdobePinon

And your point is.... ?

lapin_windstar

I feel bad for the guys but it's so predictable that someone always makes that comment, and it's nothing like being treated like a criminal!

Walkingman

Given that the EU has become the destination of choice for every indigent and refugee in eastern Europe, Western Asia and Africa, EU countries - as a condition of entry - require travellers to show evidence that A) they have a place to live while in the country or that they are in transit to another destination and B) they are not going to be a burden on the state after entry to the country.

Telling the immigration official - in whatever country is your port of entry to the EU - that you have no address in the country in which you are a guest (try that at immigration in the US or Canada!) and, thereafter being unable to prove your financial status (and, no, bringing up a website that might be entirely bogus won't do it) is a sure way to get invited to return from whence you came.

Of course, if the visitor was able to read and had taken the trouble to find out the conditions of entry before travelling to a foreign country, they could have avoided this.

Duncan Roberts

So if 3 Irish kids turned up at JFK and announced they were traveling around the US for a year and had no visa and nothing to show they had money or an address to stay the immigration officer would let them in no questions asked? The exact same thing would have happened. Biggest difference is that no one in NY would give a toss and offer to fly them out again, put them up and give them spending money. I highly doubt they were treated like a criminal either.

Leslie

In this scenario they would have actually been treated like criminals at the POE.

Gorgieboy

It's great to see so much human compassion on this board! Give the guys a break for goodness sake! They made a mistake!

Englishtart

If you read a few of the 'nightmares' that have happened to foreigners, expats etc going the other way (into US) you wouldn't be so quick to judge imho!

meauxna

What response are you looking for? I don't see a lack of compassion shown here. When people don't plan appropriately, these things happen. It's not the end of the world. Although they are out their flight money, that's too bad.

But did you read the article?
They've made out OK it seems.

Irish tourism interests then got involved.

"Tourism is, and always has been, a major part of our economy, and Ireland has always been one of the premier destinations in the world for American tourists," Anthony Kelly of D4 Hotels told Newstalk Radio. "We need them to continue to come to Ireland and we enjoy it when they come here."

The company, which owns the Ballsbridge Inn, the Ballsbridge Tower and the Ballsbridge Court Hotel, announced it would fly the three men back to Dublin, give them room and food for a week in one of their hotels and provide them with $1,000 each in spending money.

"I was just blown away by the offer," Zwirko said. "I really wasn’t expecting something so great."

..

The three lads have acquired celebrity status because this is the kind of horror story with the promise of a happy ending. "It seems like we won the sweepstakes or something," Zwirko told the Dallas Morning News.

Leslie

How exactly can we help them ?

Leslie

Oh nevermind ... meow-na got there first and with much greater cogency.

meauxna

You won't need to pay for their lunches, I can tell you that much.

scrubbedexpat097

You could have rounded up the Dallas Cowboy Cheerleaders when they arrived back here to welcome them home or you could have met them off their plane and thrown abuse at them and tormented them for being utter dipsticks.

Leslie

Then I'll just fret and wring my hands.

Leslie

I could spit on my own kitchen floor in disgust !!