IMC India - Lonely Indian in Spain

Lonely Indian in Spain
By Mira Kapil Desai 05/08/2002 At 15:43

This is an experiential account of events after being robbed at Barcelona Airport and reactions of Police, Indian Embassy and uselessness of 'Right of Information' as Indian.

LEFT ALONE IN SPAIN

I was coming out with my baggage from the airport and someone from behind threw coins on the floor, I though it was out of my pocket. I bend down to pick up the coins and get up to see my handbag from the trolley had gone.

I was waiting on the airport taxi stand and trying to locate from the map the place I was to reach and someone from behind tapped on my shoulder, I look back and by the time I realise my handbag had gone in front of my eyes.

I was waiting at the airport information counter to know mode of transport to reach the conference venue and someone comes attempts to talk to person on the counter, I move to give him space and by the time I realize my handbag with everything has gone. I report to one my three credit card company to cancel my credit card in an hour’s time and I am told 1000 US$ had already been spent. Another credit card company tells me that someone tried to buy electronic item but the card intelligence system refused to clear the payment since I had in past never bought electronic goods on my card.

You must be thinking this all happened in India? You are wrong. These are the experiences of Indian, Malaysian and American citizens at Barcelona airport on 18th and 21st July 2002. The first one is my own experience. We all landed up in Barcelona to attend 23rd International Association for Media and Communication Research General Assembly and Conference on Intercultural Communication and people across cultures had an identical experience of being robbed at the Airport itself.

After loosing passport, tickets, money, diaries with address of even the conference venue I stand on the airport waiting for the miracle to happen. I decide to take charge of the situation and look for police and believe me its worse than India. After waiting in a queue on the counter supposedly marked with ‘Inquiry and tax claims’ having three police-people in uniform refuses their role in the matter and directed to another end of the Airport for reporting the crime with the comment that it is very common to loose luggage. After one more language struggle one policeman in the impressive uniform could direct me to one more door with no resemblance to Indian Police stations.

I reach in a corridor with photographs pasted on the notice board with ‘wanted’ look assumed it to be police station. Two empty rooms and one more policeman appear from another side door. I tried explaining my ‘problem’ he with his cold look could express his inability to understand me but finally managed to give me one form without much explanation. The form with first Spanish and latter English titles took me few minutes to understand that I was to fill it up. The kindest act the policeman could do was to give me pen to fill up the form. He helped me where I was to sign and had no qualms about if I was providing complete information or had any difficulty in understanding or writing in English.

The task was over, without much communication. He took the form back, photocopied it, stamped it and returned it to me. I tried asking if there is any chance of getting at least the diaries or if he can help me with finding out my conference venue. He was at his best. I recalled my police station experiences back home where the police people would be concerned about who was my father and where I stayed and what I did and here in Spain this man simply took the form and wanted me to leave. I faced with two other crying women and one family seemed to have undergone the similar experience.

The next task was to locate the address where I was to go since the diary had gone. Before the disaster I had inquired at the tourist information counter and bought five-day public transport card from the man. I went back to him, explained him my situation and asked if he could recollect my address, he showed me signboard ‘ take care of your bags’ on the counter stating this is very common. I managed to mark the location on the map and somehow reached the venue carrying my ‘only’ big bag of 14 kg. With clothes and conference papers. The bag was locked and the keys had gone.

For the organizers I was third to report about such incidence. They were more or less trained because of previous two incidences. The next task was to report about loss of credit card, obtaining new passport, asking for money transfer and informing my family back home. The best part of the exercise was Indian Embassy in Spain ‘at their best’. The telephone number of Indian Embassy in Madrid (Capital of Spain) given by telephone information was incorrect. After two days we managed to know (courtesy Internet and efforts by my family) that there is a provision of ‘Emergency Certificate’ incase of loss or stolen passport for six plus 43 euros.

Interestingly Spain has Honorary Consular services at Barcelona, which ‘simply’ guides people and cannot help in any way, as they were ‘honorary’. The telephonic conversation with the Embassy was useless as the man online was at his rudest best. Even if my passport is lost in Barcelona I had to go to Madrid, 500 Km from Barcelona to get document that allow me to get out of Spain. When in a telephonic conversation I told the man in Indian Embassy that I do not have money and I do not know how to reach Madrid his reply was ‘that is not our problem and you borrow money from someone in the conference and reach here with specified documents then we will see what we can do for you’. Experiences of all other people at the conference in dealing with their Consulates were fairly positive.

Finally since the train and bus takes six to seven hours to reach Madrid the organizers decided to help me fly with another local girl. The flight took me to Madrid in 50 minutes and we reached at the Indian embassy at 8.45 am, the gate was open and one Spanish man was waiting for Visa to India. The office time is 9.00 and so the same man who answered telephones shouted from the window telling us to wait outside the gate till office opens. The Spanish man realizing that I was Indian asked me if one could get Euros converted in India or not.

Since the rest of the forms were given to me by Barcelona Consular services and were filled up by me the Embassy counter by giving one more form told me to wait for the Consular. After two hours wait the young Consular mostly from Indian Foreign Service arrived and spoke to me standing next to photocopy machine. He was polite enough to listen to me and told me that he will give me new passport for which I will have to pay 193 euros. When I asked if Emergency Certificate can be issued or not since it is for only 49 euros and if I can pay back in India or not he was of the opinion that it is better if I take new passport and it will be lot of hassle for me and them if I pay back in India.

I was told to pay 193 euros and collect my passport at two o’clock since making a new passport takes a lot of time, he explained. I had no choice but to accept what was said and so I borrowed from the girl who had accompanied me and paid the cash. We returned at two and the Spanish lady working at the Embassy was leaving for lunch so was told to come at four o’clock. Faced with another man from India who was being fired by the Embassy staff for coming in the afternoon I got a new passport at 4.30 p.m., valid for six months costing me almost ten thousand rupees. The man when inquired about my difficulty commented that people wait here for months to get their work done so I got it in a day’s time is an achievement. And I return to India.

It is understood that if you loose your luggage it is not other people’s problem but being alone without money in foreign land as Indian I expected at least my Embassy to be more sensitive. If emergency certificates are of no use, why is it put up on Internet site as one of the alternative? Why cannot we have more sensitive Indian staff at Indian embassy abroad? And on the other hand, why as Indian we blame our Airport security when to my mind the situation is worse in ‘foreign’ land?

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Email:: mirakdesai@rediffmail.com
URL:: http://

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Comments

you are whining

what is your problem 07/08/2002 00:25

I don't think rude treatment during a (working?) vacation is really rising to the level of things that should be on indymedia india. Why don't you check some of the slums when you get back and see if there is anything more important and distressing you could post on indymedia. While its a shame you had trouble, this kind of "report" is shameful, given the mission of indymedia!

slums of spain

what is YOUR problem 13/08/2002 09:08

She is talking about the slum of Barcelona. And how the staff of
the Indian emabassy makes it worse. Who put YOU in charge of
deciding the mission of indymedia?

Crappy Comment on the plight of Ms. Mira

What you will. 16/08/2002 06:45

I strongly object to the first comment on this account. What crappiness prevails dormant Indian minds ! Rather than making things better, fighting the wrongs to make them right they take their misfortunes of having shitty society,government etc. for granted. So ! Why you wonder and whine when you see forces like Jihadis , Naxalites rising against the status quo ?

And hang on a minute ! In the so called world's biggest democracy you ain't even got the right to broadcast your views in the territory ( Only State owned broadcaster can air news) why would you grudge someone posting a message on the internet to convey something that is not possible through traditional means. Direct criticism of government is a complete taboo because media is goverment owned.

PS- I swear buddy I owe you a gruesome fist fight !!! Please post another message with your home address.

call for empathy

shyam 22/08/2002 06:30

I do not understand why one has to react the way people did. There is a person who has undergone some trauma. Imagine being lost in a alien environment with very few clues to go about. What can a person do. Ms. Mira cited that all she wanted was being guided properly. Not much to ask in such a situation.

If we cannot empathise with the predicament of a person, least we can do is not running the person down.

I do understand Ms. Mira's feeling to vent out her frustation or what ever we decide to call it.

Lets us at least uphold the human emotions and feelings even if morals have gone out of the window.

scary reactions

john 22/06/2003 20:26

I agree with the call for sympathy, in the other commons why the insane hate, a product of similar frustrations perhaps, violence causes violence, where have simple human emotions gone, the persons who write the hate comments show signs of sociopathy and phycopathy.

DONT BE SCARED...BARCELONA^S FUN

Indian Traveller 26/12/2005 21:37

sunnymaptrotter@yahoo.com

YEAH.. After reading the experience above one is naturally quite apprehensive and cautious. But on reaching Barcelona, I found the people cooperative and an english speaking guy helped me with the translation(few people speak english). Also adviced me to catch the Aerobus, a very comfortable bus that takes people to and from the airport to Plaça Cataluñya, the main city center for € 3.65. Its better to reach the main Plaça and catch a taxi from there to your hotel\ apartment. There are many home rentals which can be booked online. Pick up some Spanish at the earliest and life´s cool. There are tons of tourists in Barcelona. Indians and Pakistanis share the same apartments at many places. Be careful to keep your camera \ bags closely secured as there are supposed to be snatch-and-run guys. I saw only one incidence of this. These guys usually target weak, old and single people. There are carres or squares all over..like our small gallis, and its easy to vanish into the many narrow lanes.

Night is alive and the flow of tourists to`La Rambla¨never seems to stop. Lot of art architecture and exciting food to be explored. Pulpito- octopus delicacies, Tapas , pestados..and all.. Overall have a great time.

Mira, wish i had read your note before

Manish Porwal 28/01/2006 07:45

mporwal@starcomindia.net

Dear Mira
I wish i had talked to or read your note before [i realise from the address that i know you]. I have just come back home after a dreadful 30 hours in Barcelona and way back. I was robbed of my passport and a video camera while surfing the net at La Rambla on the 26th [day before]. Since this happened in the evening and by then the consulate was shut, and the next day was a friday, i did not take a chance and flew back immediately via Paris to Mumbai. I anyway did not know that i had to go to Madrid for a new passport. Thank goodness i did not stay back. All my further plans for a holiday in Paris and Brussels got trunkated and only i know how i spent the time on the flights and convincing the authorities at each gate, to allow me to travel and enter India. I lived my last moment each of these moments!! I travelled back on just a police complaint and a photocopy of my lost passport!!

This was not the only misery we saw. Children [14 years] making out in a public toilet, sanile people creating problems at the airport, a black man having the guts to try to change the date of a ticket that was bought on a stolen credit card, the police saying they hardly had any authorities etc. was all that made me 3 years wiser in 3 days. I shamefully agree that India is probably much better than these coutries, with little culture and little empathy for humans. I can only sympathise with the 'ignorant' and 'naive' guys who think you have written a crappy piece. Such an incident is like AIDS, you realise the effect it has on you, only when it happens.