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DFW

(60,045 posts)
13. I get singled out at the airports in Amsterdam and Frankfurt all the time
Sun Oct 3, 2021, 09:20 AM
Oct 2021

Sir, you have been selected for a "random" additional security check. The Dutch, in particular, find it highly suspicious that an American like me should speak fluent Dutch without ever having lived in the Netherlands. The fact that five million Dutch citizens speak fluent English without ever having lived in England or the USA apparently doesn't matter. My wife, who is a tall blond German, never is harassed like that--except in the USA. Of all people, the last American immigration officer to harass her at the Atlanta airport was himself an immigrant from either Surinam or the Netherlands Antilles: Dutch nameplate, Dutch/Caribbean accent and all--the last guy you would have thought would harass someone coming into the USA.

His problem with my wife? Her fingerprints didn't match what he claimed he saw on his screen. We protested that she was showing him the same fingers she had on her hand the last time she entered the USA. Nope, he wasn't having any of it. He tossed her passport into a special pouch and led her/us (I went with her, of course) into a detention area. Maybe he himself had been profiled going into Germany, and this was revenge, who knows? After about an hour, she was called in front of a supervisory board who reviews detainees, and decides if they warrant further attention, or if the reason for their initial detention was not justified. The head guy looked through her passport and asked what the problem was. We explained that the guy who had led her/us to detention thought her fingerprints didn't match the last fingerprints she had when she entered the USA. He rolled his eyes, apologized, and let her go. It still wasn't pleasant.

Recommendations

0 members have recommended this reply (displayed in chronological order):

Terrible. Joinfortmill Oct 2021 #1
Why did I Delphinus Oct 2021 #2
This is the same country that has a black face festival tulipsandroses Oct 2021 #4
Europe's racism qazplm135 Oct 2021 #9
No, they did not rule that nonwhites were not Dutch. Hortensis Oct 2021 #3
Ask the British about Windrush malaise Oct 2021 #5
Yeah, well, sleep well without worrying that you'll wake to find nonwhites Hortensis Oct 2021 #7
Sending this to my son in Amsterdam. GF is Dutch and Algerian. GPV Oct 2021 #6
Good idea malaise Oct 2021 #8
As a black man qazplm135 Oct 2021 #10
As a black woman I agree with you malaise Oct 2021 #11
Serious trouble in what way? qazplm135 Oct 2021 #12
Betterthan 100 years ago doesnt mean things are great and that change isnt needed Demovictory9 Oct 2021 #14
Didn't remotely say that qazplm135 Oct 2021 #15
It has all been documented and more than a few of the problems from then have not malaise Oct 2021 #16
Wealth disparity has also qazplm135 Oct 2021 #18
Seriously you have lost me malaise Oct 2021 #19
I'm struggling to get yours qazplm135 Oct 2021 #21
The counterpoint of course is to wake people up; we need a call to action. JudyM Oct 2021 #23
The work never ends qazplm135 Oct 2021 #25
America is not as good as it could be. America is not as good as it should be. Marcuse Oct 2021 #20
+1,000 and not just the USA malaise Oct 2021 #26
Agree with you StarfishSaver Oct 2021 #22
Sure is. :( GPV Oct 2021 #27
I get singled out at the airports in Amsterdam and Frankfurt all the time DFW Oct 2021 #13
My mother was profiled in Belgium back in the 1990s malaise Oct 2021 #17
This article and headline are misleading StarfishSaver Oct 2021 #24
Latest Discussions»General Discussion»YOu may have missed this ...»Reply #13