Viva Las Vegas/Travelling in brown skin/American imigration

A friend's recent trip to Las Vegas, USA, was seriously ruined wwithin 15 minutes of landing at McCarran International Airport.The problem started as soon as she finished queuing to clear immigration. She approached the desk alongside her husband who presented both their British passports to the immigration officer. Her husband was asked was to move along whilst his wife, my friend, was ask to proceed to another area for further questioning. The husband, clearly concerned by the turn of events, immediately asked when his wife would be coming through, but was told not to worry and carry on with his journey.

My friend, an attractive 31 year old woman with dark brown hair, set in large soft curls, began to worry. She wasn't sure why she was being detained. She clearly didn't fit most terrorist profiles and wasn't very dark skinned, a common reason most people are detained by US Immigration these days. Her olive skin would have persuaded most people that she was from Greece, Spain, or even Portugal. Her surname was decidedly English, no hint of any ethnic persuasion. Her husband, a stocky, heavy set, black man, with strong afro-carribbean features was let through without any further questioning.

So why was she stopped? It soon became apparent that she was now in the hands of the kind of Americans we always hear about. Those that have no idea about geography, non-US history, or anything non-US for that matter. It transpired that my friend's birth place had flagged her to the authorities and that she was now going to be "tortured" in the most cruel way, by being asked the dumbest questions anyone can think of.

My friend was born in Pakistan (current US ally in the war on terror,) and all people from Pakistan or born in Pakistan were being stopped at US Immigration and interrogated (Musharraf would be proud.)

She was asked all sorts of inane questions:Why were you born in Pakistan? Where are you parents from? (India as it happens!!)Why were are your parents from India and you were born in Pakistan? (Do you know the history of India?) Answer: No. (a brief lesson in Anglo-Indian history takes place, but leaves our US 'officials' none the wiser.) What is the purpose of your visit? (She's in Vegas for God's sake!! What is she going to say that you can't guess for yourself?) When are you leaving? Can you demonstrate you have sufficient funds to cover the cost of your stay here? (Yes, ask my husband, he has the money and all the details.) Can you confirm where you will be staying during your time here? (Yes, ask my husband, he has all the details.) Can you specify where you will be travelling to during your stay here? (What do you mean?) Will you be visiting any specific places of interest? (I'm sure we will, why?) Can you be more specific? (What do you want to know?) Dates and times please? (We haven't discussed that in detail. We thought we would arrange that here?) Why? (It seemed like the best thing to do. Do all people who come here have to go through this?)

My friend was now clearly stressed out and worried that she was going to disappear and never be seen again. She started questioning her 'captors,' asking them several times why they would interrogate peole in this way. It was clear from their behaviour that 'customer care' was not high up on the agenda.

Two and a half hours later my friend was a wreck. Close to tears and near breaking point. She new that if she lost control and broke down, it would be over and she would no longer see her husband.
Her husband, now outside the airport, was unconsolable. He didn't know what to think. After the first half hour had passed, he knew something was very wrong. He tried speaking to the staff mulling around the airport, but no one would help. He tried going back the way he came, but was stopped. When he explained about his wife, it was suggested that she must have already left the airport (a standard response, and clearly a lie.) I'd heard about this before, on other blogs and from people I know. It's standard policy to separate loved ones and to falsely suggest that people have 'left the building.'

Following our friend's two and a half hour ordeal, she was advised to check back with immigration four hours before her return flight.

Suffice it to say that the experience cast a significant shadow over the entire holiday.
Our friend was so worried about the prospect of dealing with immigration again, that she turned up at the airport at 10am to catch a 4pm flight. Again she was separated from her husband shortly after getting to the airport and was then delayed and interrogated for 5 hours. She was then released and met her husband in the departure lounge 20 minutes before departure time.

Call centre crime

On the BBC website, there is an article on call centre crime in India (Call centre 'scam' details sought.) It's all about a TV exposé on the UK Channel 4, from a programme called Dispatches.

Apparently, call centre crime in India is rife, with sensitive user information being traded for a price on the back streets of India's hi-tech corridor.

Having had advance notice of the programme's air date, I decided to do a little investigating myself, to try to get a better understanding of the bigger picture.

I tapped my connections inside the mobile industry to see what was going on in UK based call centres, given that UK user data was the commodity highlighted in the programme. To my surprise the Indian call centre crime epidemic is not limited to India alone. It has been flourishing in call centres all over the World (much to the relief of Indian power elite.) In fact call centre crime in the UK was actually being "managed" by the large corporations responsible, to hide the true size of the problem.

I've been told that UK mobile users are the most vulnerable to call centre crime. A large number of users upgrade handsets or extend their contracts over the phone. Credit card details as well as other personal information are copied down and then sent on to criminal thrid parties.

When complaints are are made by any customer, the operator/carrier avoids acknowledging the problem. If there is mounting evidence of wrong doing on the company's part, they will recompense the customer using a Goodwill charge.

In the UK Goodwill charges across all of the mobile companies amount to over 1 billion euros. It's clear to see that the fraud problem is huge.

Easyjet thrift

On a recent flight with Easyjet from Gatwick to Southern Spain, I discovered that despite the plane being brand new, Easyjet had decided to omit reclining seats.

The flight was short, only around 3 hours, but it was crowded with families going on holiday. I asked the flight attendant why my seat didn't recline, thinking that mine was broken, but he informed me that new Easyjet planes were no longer being ordered with reclinable seats.

I started thinking quickly as to why someone would drop such a modest amount of comfort on what is already a no-frills airline? 'Cost' was the answer. I then started questioning myself about how much would Easyjet really save over the service life of the plane?

The startling conclusion I reached was that if Easyjet were prepared to save a small amount of money, in the grand scheme of things, on seat comfort, what would their approach to safety be?

I run a decent car and from time to time it requires maintenance and things need replacing. Of late I was informed that the brake discs needed changing at some point but it wasn't urgent, not a high priority given my normal driving pattern. Last month the car passed it's official annual road worthiness test and only needed some replacement windscreen wipers to pass with flying colours.

Let's assume Easyjet behave as rationally as I do, just like most people trying to get the most for their money, and only replace parts or conduct maintenance when it is absolutely necessary or mandated. Where does that leave passenger safety? How often are planes diverted from their normal routes to cover service problems? Very often is the answer!

How comfortable would you be knowing that the airline company you use is doing things for the absolute bare minimum amount of cash?

I recently replaced the brake discs on my car because I've started ferrying my wife and daughter to nursery school. I place a greater value on their safety when travelling with me, than if I were traveling alone. I know Easyjet don't think like that...