When enough is enough!

[Falang]

Enough is enough, I completely have it!

 

Last night I spoke to 3 other people who had travel to Thailand last February and March. We all had flights that pass by United States (we are from Canada) and the 4 of us had a very bad experience with security and immigration. First thing first, politeness is not at the agenda of security and immigration officer, by the way I don?t have the Middle East look since I have a very pale skin and blond hair so they can?t mistake me with a terrorist. The nightmare began at the Montreal airport because they have US immigration border at the airport. They ask us all kind of questions about why we are going to the US, very stupid annoying questions since we only have connecting flight there but since we are in the after September 11 era they act with us like we are going there. The immigration officer ask me what kind of relation I have with the guy waiting behind me at the line, I tell him it?s my best friend and he shout at me that he don?t want to know if he is my friend he only want to know if it?s a relative, I?m maybe not very fluent in English but relation and relative doesn?t sound the same for me. I didn?t reply to his comment but I was clearly annoyed by this, he saw that I didn?t like the way I was shout at and he give me a sermon about the fact that he can put my name in his computer so that I will be a unwanted person in United States. I stood there and calm myself and didn?t said anything because he was only waiting that I reply to him or loose my control. He check my passport in the computer and ask me and my friend to go at a table where to officer were waiting, hand bag search and body search. They found nothing no pocket knife no metal object of any kind so they let us go. Nothing to say about the flight to JFK. We arrived at terminal #9 at JFK and go strait away to terminal #1 to get our boarding pass at Korean Airlines, our luggage were already check to Bangkok at the Montreal airport. After having our boarding pass, we go for the security check before the boarding and big surprise, 3 Boeing 747 are boarding at the same time so we had to wait 2 hours in a queue to pass the security check, metal detector, body search, X-ray of hand luggage, search the hand luggage. It?s not that I am against security but they should put more people to do the job so we don?t have to wait 2 hours. After that only had time to go to the ong nam, and we are going to board the plane. I could not believe that, the gate was 200 feet from the check point and hand bag search again before boarding the plane so fuck the flight schedule we takeoff 30 minutes late. We were thinking it was only a bad experience for the first time in the US but we saw nothing compare to what we were going true when returning.

 

We came back from Bangkok by the Incheon airport in Korea and when we were going to board the plane hand bag search again and no metal knife on the flight to New York for security reason. Let me say something to the security people in United States, a metal fork in the neck is has bad a metal knife would be so why not a plastic fork also, maybe I know why, they are waiting to have a fork attack on a plane to act (sick). During the flight we had to fill visa paper to United States and a declaration on import goods to United State, I said to the flight attendant that Canadian don?t need a visa to go to United States and we are not importing goods in US because we only have a connecting flight at JFK, she told us that it was mandatory to all passenger to fill those papers and that was a order from US immigration. Arriving at the immigration desk, the officer took my passport, visa and declaration paper and he put the visa in the waste basket and said to me very rudely that I should know that Canadian don?t need a visa to go to US, he ask me the reason to enter to US and I answer back that I was there only for a connecting flight to Montreal, he took the declaration of import goods and put it in the waste basket telling me with the same tone that I don?t have to fill up the declaration because I am not going in US, trying to understand bureaucracy is a waste of time. And than came the annoying questions, why did you go to Thailand, why are you going there so often, do you know people there, did you go to the north, all kind of stupid questions for someone who don?t enter the US and going to my passport he saw the stamp of my Laos visa, why did you go to Laos, do you know its a communist country, where did you go in Laos, where did you stay in Vientiane in a hotel or at a private house and after those questions he enter my ID in the computer, the time I was in Laos just because I had go to this communist country. Hey! Wake up American immigration! We are in 2002 not in the 60?s or 70?s the cold war is over, did someone told you that! You have to remember that when we check our luggage in Bangkok they check it to Montreal and they stick a luggage receipt on our ticket that is saying so, we pass the US immigration and change terminal to go to the #9. By the time we pass the immigration, take a bus to terminal #9 our time was running away so we go the American Airlines desk to have our boarding pass the clerk there start to whine at us because we are late at what I answer that we lost over a hour waiting and passing the immigration. He give us the boarding pass and we go at the check point, and there a other nightmare, hand bag search, body search, hand bag and shoes check for explosive, shoes in the X-ray and a lot of questions about the fact that we were so late for our flight (shit happens again). By the time we got to the gate we almost lost our flight. Land in Montreal, go for the luggage but no luggage, go to the American Airlines lost luggage, explain what kind of trip we made, the lady there told us that our luggage were at JFK because we had to pick up them and put them on the other conveyor so the immigration officer can see if the luggage is connect with a passenger. I told her that anybody care to say that to us and they didn?t put any sign saying that at the airport. By the time we fill up the papers, 5 other passengers came for the same reason. I told the lady that on my receipt it?s clearly saying that our luggage are check to Montreal not JFK at what she respond that it?s now mandatory to do that. She arrange thing so that we wait for the other flight and we will have our luggage. We wait three and a half our at the airport for the next flight and finally our luggage were there but when she give us the luggage 2 out of 3 suitcases had their zip broken. Explanation, since our luggage were left unattended at JFK the security had to search the luggage and since they were pad lock they had to broke the pad lock for the search. In fact, they cut the pad locks on the first one but broke the zip on the 2 others instead of only cutting the pad locks for god who knows why. Complain about that but they are not responsible because it was done for security reason.

 

 

 

Conclusion, by speaking about those experiences me and the 3 others went through in New York and Chicago now I know it was not a random incident so we all decided that enough is enough, next year we only take flight that are not going by US and by chance we can go by Cathay Pacific from Toronto and never have to put a feet in United States, it may cost us a few hundred more (CAN) but it will save us a lot of pain in the a.. .

 

For myself I cancelled my trip to New York schedule next June because I can?t think of what nightmare I will have to go through at the JFK airport.

 

 

 

Falang

 

 

 

? Some people manage by the book, even though they don't know who wrote the book or even what the book is about.?

 

 

[thalenoi]

Sorry to read you had much trouble travelling to/from LOS.

 

Sure it was LOS you went to, not Ben Gurion airport, Israel?

 

 

 

Hope you had a nice stay in LOS and please forget about the troubles getting there and coming back, it's just part of the game. You were right to shut up with that US customs guy.

 

 

 

I once flew into Montreal from Europe for 4 days, canadian customs lady could not grasp I was NOT transitting to US and I was supect by getting into Montreal on a friday with a monday ticket back to Europe. I was put aside and my luggage was checked to the last item. I enjoyed the work I gave them, no solly.....

[Guest]

I regret to inform you that the U.S. has conceded to the demands of a few crazed cult members. By just one insane act these people have managed to bring this great country to its knees. Under the guiese of "security" many and soon most of the fredoms in the U.S. will disappear. This type of event is just the kind of thing that oppresive governments long for. It gives them justification to further control the populace and ecomomy. If you where to consider the cost of fredom in terms of lives. I think you could come up with an average number of about 10,000 a year. It strikes me that those brave souls who lost their lives on 9/11 are in fact are part of that number. They where living free lives and I am sure if they knew that their deaths would sound the end to fredom in this country they would be deeply saddend. I am sorry to hear that you had such a hard time of it, but remeber that for the moment the imigration people are really under a lot of pressure. If you consider the number of terrorist who have come in through Canada, maybe you can understand how over reactive they are. It just seems that a lot more communication between the airlines, the airports and the imigration service would go a long way. Also lets get rid of those fast food reject people at the airport security checkpoints and train some professionals. Part of their training should be in courtesy and common sense. Well I have on my fire proof suit so lets hear from you on this subject. Whew! havent had a rant like that in a long time. LOL Ks sorry if this is too political

 

 

[Guest]

Wouldn't mind inconveniences and understand during the transition to security procedures that work there will be some excesses.

 

 

 

Perhaps more than ever, the arrogance and rudeness of a lot of those people is what I find most objectionable about the whole process.

 

 

 

If they're going to do it fine, just be civil and professional. A little courtesy would go a long way.

 

 

 

Reminds me of a new hall monitor when I was a kid in school. The only difference, you get in more trouble if you try to "smack" them.