My Great Big Photographic Hero ...
People, Photography, Wandering My Great Big Photographic Hero ... David du Chemin, posted news that rocked my world. In a bad way.
David is a talented photographer, a man who wanders the world, capturing scenes, telling stories, and sharing his wisdom in ways that delight me.
I've just come from reading his blog, a post where he tells his story of being denied entry to the United States of America. But I'll let him tell it: '
But after 5 hours of questioning, an extensive vehicle search, and a second interrogation, I was told I was being denied entry to the United States of America, because “we have no proof you’ll return to Canada and we worry you’ll try to live here,” which nearly had me on the floor with laughter because, ahem, how do I put this? I like living in Canada. I have no desire to live in the United States. I want to travel the U.S., I want to photograph it, but I have no desire to leave my home. Which, as it turns out, is good, because they aren’t letting me. God knows they wouldn’t want a Canadian stealing the job of a Mexican. I just wanted to visit, man, not invade.
I was finger-printed, photographed, and made to sign transcripts of the interrogation on top of the line that said, “Signature of Alien,” which made me want desperately to sign, “E.T.”, “Mork”, or “Spock.” I couldn’t decide, so I signed my name on the form, and got back into the Jeep, grateful they’d only used the latex gloves while they searched the trunk of the Jeep, and not the trunk of, uh, ahem, me.
He will, and is, handling this with grace but he has planned this roadtrip for a long time, he'd already started out on it before his accident and now, it's over.
There's nothing more to say ... is there?
Reader Comments (7)
To be honest, when I read his post, my reaction was that the behaviour of the border guards wasn't entirely ridiculous. The issue seemed to be that he had no fixed address in Canada. If I want to travel from New Zealand, I don't think I could even get a passport without a fixed address.
It seems that he will still be able to travel to the US, once he has established a Canadian address. It may seem like a valid lifestyle choice to wander without a fixed abode - but then, you have to accept the consequences of that choice, surely?
He has to buy or rent a place he's not going to live in so that he can go to another country????? That's insane. The whole point of this second part of his tour ... very much written up on his blog, was to be free of all the 'stuff' that ties us down. He's been wandering the world for years. We shouldn't accept, as normal, this rule about having a fixed address before we can leave?
But the most ironic thing, and I have this issue with New Zealand too, is that both countries were severely colonised. Most of us come from that background of illegal alien-ness. The extreme level to which these constructed rules regarding the restriction of movement are reaching is terrifying to me because that's how NZ and America became what they are.
You only need to take a look at America's national anthem to feel ill about how it is there in the 21st century.
:-) I have quite strong feelings about it all. I just can't believe they'd do that to a famous Canadian. 5 hours interrogation, a thorough vehicle search, before being turned back ...
Well - the US has gone bonkers. I hate to bring my British husband to the states because of the way he's dealt with at immigration. It's the finger-printing and the retina scan and the questioning... All we want to do is visit my family. One time AP actually became violently ill on the plane just before we landed in NYC. When he got to immigration, for some reason, he started blathering on and on to the official about how he got sick on the plane and how traumatic it had been for him. I laughed so hard. The immigration guy just looked so taken aback and couldn't wait to get rid of us. Hey -- I think this could be a blog post for me.
Hey, I think it is a blog post, Kim :-) I hated it so much that, despite loving the friends I have there, I can't bear the thought of passing through immigration again. Maybe it's silly to feel like that but I've never been so badly treated on arrival before.
I have to go through the immigration thing once every three months or so. Once you know the rules, it's not so bad; you stick to the rules and hardly you spend more then the time due with the officer. Well, sometime the CBP personnel do not seem to be dramatically smart, but they have a procedure code and they cannot do without it. Instead, It would be quite naive of me showing up at the passport control declaring that I have no address in the USA because I am a romatic wanderer. There is no kidding or fussing around while passing the border, no matter who you think you are, how much your equipment costs; you are asked to provide an address ? Do provide an address and I guess no one will complain with you. :-))
I know ... but he sold everything to make the journey for a year. It's just so frustrating that everything is so crazy regulated now. Christopher Columbus wouldn't have approved. Sometimes, these constructions just kind of irritate me. But maybe that's because I come from colonising stock, eh wot ;-)