No Guns No Drugs And Not A Terrorist

I t can be a bit of a gruff       speed. Somehow rather than         experience trying to enter      greeting holidaymakers with        the United States as a          outstretched arms, the US seems    tourist, and there’s one thing        to have gone to the other extreme  certain on arrival at New York’s      and it’s easy for the infrequent   JFK airport – a surly welcome         traveller to feel unwanted or      awaits the visitor.                   even guilty for no reason                                                whatsoever.                        And unless you’ve been lucky                                             enough to make it off the ‘plane      Without doubt September 11 has     at double-quick speed, the            left its mark – not that           chances are the first sight of        immigration and customs was a      the good old US of A will be from     cakewalk beforehand. Now however,  the back of a mighty queue            there’s a tinge of the slightly    agonisingly snaking its way back      offensive - at least to            from passport control.                continental Europeans used to                                            having their individual rights     There’s no chance of line             enshrined in data protection laws  hopping. This is democracy at its     - all in the name of Homeland      most intense. Everyone seems to       security.                          be a potential alien and is                                              treated with the same suspicion.      The procedure is fairly            Young, very young, old, very old      straightforward, but be warned,    and of course all those in            these guys are not ones to be      between, patiently awaiting their     messed with. Clearly one           turn.                                 prerequisite for becoming an                                             immigration official is to have a  Odd really for a country that         low humour threshold.              prides itself as a cultural                                              melting pot and service at a          Not even a winsome smile or        tapping into the charm factor can                                        raise the glimmer of good intent      All these regulations certainly    from these guys. They are serious     made the news when they were       with a capital “S”, so it’s best      introduced, but it has been        to say as little as possible and      fairly easy to dismiss them as     follow the posted instructions to     just another daft US idea - along  the letter.                           with the constitutional right to                                         own a firearm, which is basically  “Left index finger on the digital     just unfathomable to most the      fingerprint screening pad,            other side of the Atlantic.        followed by right index finger.                                          Look into the camera and don’t        But when confronted with them for  smile too hard. And when asked        the first time, the realisation    the purpose of your trip, don’t       hits home as to just how           even think about a clever reply.”     seriously they’re being taken                                            here.                              And woe betides if there’s an                                            error on the visa waiver              While getting in to the States     application form or the customs       might require a struggle with      declaration. No mistakes, no          patience, leaving is in wonderful  crossed-out corrections –             contrast made so much easier.      otherwise it’ll simply be                                                rejected; no questions asked no       Is the traveller being told        appeals accepted.                     something here or is that just                                           paranoia setting in? But there     Everyone has been forewarned          was just a tad too much pleasure   before disembarking from the          from the ground staff as they      ‘plane and there have been            checked passports and boarding     several chances to check and          passes. Smiles all round and a     double check just in case.            delightful “Y’all have a good      day” send-off.                        When all is said and done, even                                          though the security checks –       Of course the security strip-off      especially on arrival - might be   check is a bit of a palaver – no      a real pain and not an entirely    shoes, no belt and laptop, coat       pleasurable experience to say the  and carry-on all shoved through       very least, there is a point to    the scanner. Then with trousers       them. And this is one visitor at   making their own way southwards,      least, who’ll bite his lip and     it’s a hasty stagger through to       patiently wait in line next time   the other side.                       around.                                                                   About the Author Johnny Summerton is a broadcaster, writer and journalist based in Paris. Visit his site for a look at some the stories making the headlines here in France http://www.persiflagefrance.com or for his travel pieces log on to http://www.urlswurld.blogspot.com Published At: www.Isnare.com