Overhyped Security
What a place phew! I’m back! I got back yesterday from this coffee obsessed nation.
OK I’ll write up my experience in pieces, because there is so much!
OK well my flight to New York was via Chicago. I travelled with my mate who is a Sikh (who does not have a beard who wear a turban) and we joked about how we could get harassed at the airport by the authorities. As soon as we stepped off the flight we had to show our passports to three homeland police security staff. We went to the male security guy. My mate was fine they let him go. Then my turn… He looks at my passport and then straightaway asks me for my visa waiver form. As soon as he gets it he says ‘ Come follow me please’ without even looking at the form. When he realised I was with my mate he asked him to join us. I looked behind and saw the other two women officers following: one each assigned to us watching our body language like hawks. Well this was so blatant that this was planned by looking at the passenger list; they were after me.
They took us through a back door to a quieter part of the airport straight to a passport terminal desk to check the passports. Along the way so many questions….. directed at me may I add. ‘What do youdo? When I replied electrical engineer, the response was ‘how many volts?’ lmao big time hahahhaaha I went what do you mean how many volts how long is a piece of string I’m in consultancy hahahaha!!!!!!! ‘Who you visiting, how do you know her how long for when did you ring her last etc etc. At the passport desk more questions….. and here I noticed he was scribbling my answers on the back of my visa form in bright red ink. Where do you live, who do you live with, how long you here for blah blah blah… And then they accompanied us to the luggage retrieval area and waited for us to reclaim our bags. It took ages and all the time they were there like hawks – eyes fixed on us…….. me being me was laughing big time lol! I hadn’t seen anything like it!
When we got our luggage we got taken to a less busy area of the airport where or baggage was searched. I noticed that my mate’s bag was hardly searched, whilst mine was searched with a fine toothcomb – every single item, even my underwear! On hindsight I think they only questioned my mate to project an image of them not racial profiling against muslims.
And then the bombshell. The guy flicks through my passport and finds I have been to Pakistan 3 times in less than two years. I knew I was in for it then. Oh dearrrrrrrrrr.
Lets just say I had a hard time justifying why I had been. They wanted to know where I was born, who is in pakistan, where my parents are from where they live where were they born etc etc etc arggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggh! Then he says go take a seat I’ll be with you shortly…. And to give an indication of timescales, tells us where the toilets - sorry I meant restrooms - are.
We waited ages. Occasionally we’d see him appear, talk to some staff see him looking edgy and disappear again. Within 10 minutes he came to return my mate’s passport. ‘You’re OK,’ he says to him. ‘I’m still waiting on a fone call for you,’ he says to me. And promptly disappears after reminding me about the restroom AGAIN!
Woah did he make me sit tight….. he would make an appearance now and again…. I’d see him shaking his head with my precious passport in his hand. And at this point it hit me: these guys aren’t gna let me in. I haven’t done ought. Why? I don’t wanna go work tmw! Damn. Bastards. ARgggggggggggggggggggggggggggh!!!!!!!!!!
It was after about half an hour that he returned and gave me back my passport. ‘You’re free to go,’ he calmly announced. Have a good holiday. Again, me being me, I asked him for the red inked paper as a souvenir. He just laughed it off.
I didn’t really know what to make of all that. I’m pretty sure they were expecting me because I’ve never seen homeland security police as you walk off the plane before! I was just grateful I had been allowed for my holiday to continue otherwise I would’ve been one AAAAAAAAAAAnGGrYYY person.
Incidentally, on my return boarding to the UK flight, no one was asked until the very end when one cheeky airport steard staff who wasn’t even security was swiping our passports and stamping our bording tickets as part of the exiting procedure. She swipes my mate’s and its kool. She swipes mine and its horror. Did you pack your bags yourself? I was like eh? She repeated the question a lot more sterner to get my obvious answer and then asks if I am carrying any sharp objects in my hand luggage. NO! You silly woman just stamp my ticket and let me on the plane, I was so pi$$ed off at her – teri himmat!!!!!!!!!!
OK I’ll write up my experience in pieces, because there is so much!
OK well my flight to New York was via Chicago. I travelled with my mate who is a Sikh (who does not have a beard who wear a turban) and we joked about how we could get harassed at the airport by the authorities. As soon as we stepped off the flight we had to show our passports to three homeland police security staff. We went to the male security guy. My mate was fine they let him go. Then my turn… He looks at my passport and then straightaway asks me for my visa waiver form. As soon as he gets it he says ‘ Come follow me please’ without even looking at the form. When he realised I was with my mate he asked him to join us. I looked behind and saw the other two women officers following: one each assigned to us watching our body language like hawks. Well this was so blatant that this was planned by looking at the passenger list; they were after me.
They took us through a back door to a quieter part of the airport straight to a passport terminal desk to check the passports. Along the way so many questions….. directed at me may I add. ‘What do youdo? When I replied electrical engineer, the response was ‘how many volts?’ lmao big time hahahhaaha I went what do you mean how many volts how long is a piece of string I’m in consultancy hahahaha!!!!!!! ‘Who you visiting, how do you know her how long for when did you ring her last etc etc. At the passport desk more questions….. and here I noticed he was scribbling my answers on the back of my visa form in bright red ink. Where do you live, who do you live with, how long you here for blah blah blah… And then they accompanied us to the luggage retrieval area and waited for us to reclaim our bags. It took ages and all the time they were there like hawks – eyes fixed on us…….. me being me was laughing big time lol! I hadn’t seen anything like it!
When we got our luggage we got taken to a less busy area of the airport where or baggage was searched. I noticed that my mate’s bag was hardly searched, whilst mine was searched with a fine toothcomb – every single item, even my underwear! On hindsight I think they only questioned my mate to project an image of them not racial profiling against muslims.
And then the bombshell. The guy flicks through my passport and finds I have been to Pakistan 3 times in less than two years. I knew I was in for it then. Oh dearrrrrrrrrr.
Lets just say I had a hard time justifying why I had been. They wanted to know where I was born, who is in pakistan, where my parents are from where they live where were they born etc etc etc arggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggggh! Then he says go take a seat I’ll be with you shortly…. And to give an indication of timescales, tells us where the toilets - sorry I meant restrooms - are.
We waited ages. Occasionally we’d see him appear, talk to some staff see him looking edgy and disappear again. Within 10 minutes he came to return my mate’s passport. ‘You’re OK,’ he says to him. ‘I’m still waiting on a fone call for you,’ he says to me. And promptly disappears after reminding me about the restroom AGAIN!
Woah did he make me sit tight….. he would make an appearance now and again…. I’d see him shaking his head with my precious passport in his hand. And at this point it hit me: these guys aren’t gna let me in. I haven’t done ought. Why? I don’t wanna go work tmw! Damn. Bastards. ARgggggggggggggggggggggggggggh!!!!!!!!!!
It was after about half an hour that he returned and gave me back my passport. ‘You’re free to go,’ he calmly announced. Have a good holiday. Again, me being me, I asked him for the red inked paper as a souvenir. He just laughed it off.
I didn’t really know what to make of all that. I’m pretty sure they were expecting me because I’ve never seen homeland security police as you walk off the plane before! I was just grateful I had been allowed for my holiday to continue otherwise I would’ve been one AAAAAAAAAAAnGGrYYY person.
Incidentally, on my return boarding to the UK flight, no one was asked until the very end when one cheeky airport steard staff who wasn’t even security was swiping our passports and stamping our bording tickets as part of the exiting procedure. She swipes my mate’s and its kool. She swipes mine and its horror. Did you pack your bags yourself? I was like eh? She repeated the question a lot more sterner to get my obvious answer and then asks if I am carrying any sharp objects in my hand luggage. NO! You silly woman just stamp my ticket and let me on the plane, I was so pi$$ed off at her – teri himmat!!!!!!!!!!
posted by Seabrook Crisps at 4:02 PM
1 Comments:
its gna be teh same for you in canada i bet bongi, and frank it didnt deter me i had a great time!
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