dearly beloved polish immigration officer

[SuperX7]

I was just talking about those idiots who suffer from superiority complex and be-little others.

I know Me too!

[tinux]

To be honest, I think you are seeing beloved where there may well not be any, just an immigration officer in a bad mood.

Agreed.

i agree
Although i also argee that there are a lot of dearly beloved everywhere but the USA is the worst if you are a muslim looking . it could simply be a person in a bad mood.

plus stamping passport can be done in any page. no rules say that one must stamp in orders.

[tinux]

Wow !! unbelievable !!
I do feel sorry for you super ! I thought it was only Me getting sh*t like that because of a Pakistani passport !! I have been reading through this post and would like to share my experience in here. I have been coming to Poland to see my girl-friend ( now my wife ) and every time, I have been facing the same attitude.
The first time I came, I was standing in the queue and a couple of guys still ahead of me. The immigration office looked at me and made a face like ( what are you doing here ? ) and he made it very clear. Went to the counter and here it goes.

Flipping through my passport as if he was looking for something

are you from Pakistan ? ( as if my passport was not that of Pakistan )
yes
what are you visiting Poland for ?
to see my girl-friend
Is she from Pakistan ?
no she is Polish
how long are you here for ?
three days
where are you staying ?
I pointed the address of hotel in the booking letter I had
how much cash do you have ?
600 pounds
600 dollars ?
no pounds, british pounds
pound ? what is it ? show me
I took a note out and showed him picture of the queen

then everything goes quite, he scanned my visa for I think 10 times and asked me to write my name and date of birth on a sheet of paper ( God knows what for ) stamped the passport and said ok go. From his face and those of others around me, it was looking like I had a bomb tied to my chest and was going to blow everything up !!

Second time, I came it was even worse !

I went to the counter and gave him my passport. After just looking at it, he asked me to go and sit there and wait. When everyone else was gone, he asked me to come to him. Went there and here we again.

Flipping through every page of my passport

Why are you in Poland ?
to see my girl-friend
is she Polish ?
yes
how long are you staying ?
7 days
what date do you return ? he asked this inspite of my return ticket being in front of him !
told him the date ( I don't remember what was it )
then another guy who was probably his boss and who has been looking at me all the time from inside a glass booth, started walking to him. This guy lifted my passport in his hand to show it to them and then three of them came alongwith this boss. now the boss looking at my passport and as usual checking every page of it, says

what do u do in England ?
I am studying
in London ?
no Birmingham
how long have you been there for ?
4 years
why did you come to Poland ?
to see my girl-friend
when did you meet your girl-friend ?
4 years ago

he then walked off and another guy was in the booth now

Started chacking every page of my passport, looking at the picture and me, as if in a great doubt of the picture being mine

What do you do in England ?
I study there, I just told this guy
yes but now you are talking to me !
oh ok
when did you apply for the visa ?
two weeks ago
You live in Birmingham, why did you apply in London ?
because there is no Polish consulate in Birmingham
where is your family ?
in Pakistan
so how do you live alone in England ?
because I study there and I live with my friends
in a hostel ?
no in a house-share
why not in a hostel ?
because thats too expensive
and coming to Poland is cheap ?
no its not, but I don't mind spending money to see my girl-friend
where do you study ?
University of Birmingham
how long do you still have to study for ?
1 year but I have told all these things to the embassy when I applied for visa...
you go to US, you go germany, you go to france, anyone can ask and this is my right to ask questions. ( this was loud enough to bring others back to the booth )
where does your girl-friend live ?
I don't remember her address
do you remember her name ?
yes
write it here
I wrote her name on a sheet of paper
where does she live ?
I said I don't remember her address, she is here to recieve me, you can ask her
ok wait here

he then went and called on the loud-speaker for my girl-friend who had come to the airport. She later told me that he was asking if I know you, I said he is my boy-friend and then he said ok.he then came to me, scanned my visa again ( something which he has been doing during my entire interrogation ) stamped my passport and said ok. After I took the luggage from the belt, he came running after me and asked for the booking letter of the hotel coz he forgot to note the address !

I don't know how to express my feelings after getting through this because I thought I was being punished for being a Pakistani and a Muslim but I had no idea people from other richer and more respectable countries like South Korea and Malaysia were going through the same misery. Its really ...... don't know the word.

Apart from that, the strange looks is another reality. Again I thought it was only Me because of my skin color but I am shocked to know that people from other countries ( who don't look like terrorists ) also get the same sh*t !

but in the end, I guess we have to live with it.

OMG
If that was me i would put the idiot who ask those questions so low that he would never try again and would simply go back instead.
This is real beloved I am 100% sure

[globocentro]

Wow !! unbelievable !!
I do feel sorry for you super ! I thought it was only Me getting sh*t like that because of a Pakistani passport !! I have been reading through this post and would like to share my experience in here. I have been coming to Poland to see my girl-friend ( now my wife ) and every time, I have been facing the same attitude.
The first time I came, I was standing in the queue and a couple of guys still ahead of me. The immigration office looked at me and made a face like ( what are you doing here ? ) and he made it very clear. Went to the counter and here it goes.

Flipping through my passport as if he was looking for something

are you from Pakistan ? ( as if my passport was not that of Pakistan )
yes
what are you visiting Poland for ?
to see my girl-friend
Is she from Pakistan ?
no she is Polish
how long are you here for ?
three days
where are you staying ?
I pointed the address of hotel in the booking letter I had
how much cash do you have ?
600 pounds
600 dollars ?
no pounds, british pounds
pound ? what is it ? show me
I took a note out and showed him picture of the queen

then everything goes quite, he scanned my visa for I think 10 times and asked me to write my name and date of birth on a sheet of paper ( God knows what for ) stamped the passport and said ok go. From his face and those of others around me, it was looking like I had a bomb tied to my chest and was going to blow everything up !!

Second time, I came it was even worse !

I went to the counter and gave him my passport. After just looking at it, he asked me to go and sit there and wait. When everyone else was gone, he asked me to come to him. Went there and here we again.

Flipping through every page of my passport

Why are you in Poland ?
to see my girl-friend
is she Polish ?
yes
how long are you staying ?
7 days
what date do you return ? he asked this inspite of my return ticket being in front of him !
told him the date ( I don't remember what was it )
then another guy who was probably his boss and who has been looking at me all the time from inside a glass booth, started walking to him. This guy lifted my passport in his hand to show it to them and then three of them came alongwith this boss. now the boss looking at my passport and as usual checking every page of it, says

what do u do in England ?
I am studying
in London ?
no Birmingham
how long have you been there for ?
4 years
why did you come to Poland ?
to see my girl-friend
when did you meet your girl-friend ?
4 years ago

he then walked off and another guy was in the booth now

Started chacking every page of my passport, looking at the picture and me, as if in a great doubt of the picture being mine

What do you do in England ?
I study there, I just told this guy
yes but now you are talking to me !
oh ok
when did you apply for the visa ?
two weeks ago
You live in Birmingham, why did you apply in London ?
because there is no Polish consulate in Birmingham
where is your family ?
in Pakistan
so how do you live alone in England ?
because I study there and I live with my friends
in a hostel ?
no in a house-share
why not in a hostel ?
because thats too expensive
and coming to Poland is cheap ?
no its not, but I don't mind spending money to see my girl-friend
where do you study ?
University of Birmingham
how long do you still have to study for ?
1 year but I have told all these things to the embassy when I applied for visa...
you go to US, you go germany, you go to france, anyone can ask and this is my right to ask questions. ( this was loud enough to bring others back to the booth )
where does your girl-friend live ?
I don't remember her address
do you remember her name ?
yes
write it here
I wrote her name on a sheet of paper
where does she live ?
I said I don't remember her address, she is here to recieve me, you can ask her
ok wait here

he then went and called on the loud-speaker for my girl-friend who had come to the airport. She later told me that he was asking if I know you, I said he is my boy-friend and then he said ok.he then came to me, scanned my visa again ( something which he has been doing during my entire interrogation ) stamped my passport and said ok. After I took the luggage from the belt, he came running after me and asked for the booking letter of the hotel coz he forgot to note the address !

I don't know how to express my feelings after getting through this because I thought I was being punished for being a Pakistani and a Muslim but I had no idea people from other richer and more respectable countries like South Korea and Malaysia were going through the same misery. Its really ...... don't know the word.

Apart from that, the strange looks is another reality. Again I thought it was only Me because of my skin color but I am shocked to know that people from other countries ( who don't look like terrorists ) also get the same sh*t !

but in the end, I guess we have to live with it.

OMG
If that was me i would put the idiot who ask those questions so low that he would never try again and would simply go back instead.
This is real beloved I am 100% sure

\

That's what i did exactly and i still have no guilts about that today. I think the officer was taken aback by by brazeness and she didnt know what to do. She wasnt expecting it and was obviously stunned. These people are so used to people acceding to their dearly beloved intimidation and some assertiveness can always be helpful to the victim

[globocentro]

They emmigrate to a better country, only to be-little and be prejudice against non-white "foreigners". A foreigner in another country making fun of a foreigner for being a foreigner, now that is gold.

You get that in all countries, though, including Asian ones.

I spent a couple of month in India when I was 21 years old, with my best mate from school. Being white in India can attract endless, and not always positive, attention.

I am afraid you have see things from the perpective of the commonwealth citizen. I am not condoning any of these so called"reverse beloved" on the part of the non whites but viewing their perpective will help you to understand the issue better. Many commonwealth citizens are actually in a serious conundrum because they are caught in between two cultures. Many of them received their education in English during the British colonial era and they were also taught the British way of life. They ended up alienating themselves from their own culture as a result becuase English is probably the only langauage they can speak fluently. However, they do not feel a sense of belonging to Uk as well because many British people do regard people from the commonwealth as second class citizen.

[archigabe]

apparently it's a common complaint here that eastern european shop assistants are rude and don't know the first thing about customer service and I recently had a bad experience as well. I can't imagine living in a country full of people who don't seem to have moved on from the communist mentality quite yet.
On the other hand, all the Irish shop assistants i've been served by have been really nice, the exception being the nazis at the immigration bureau.

[avjones]

I am afraid you have see things from the perpective of the commonwealth citizen. I am not condoning any of these so called"reverse beloved" on the part of the non whites but viewing their perpective will help you to understand the issue better.

I understand it - as I try to understand other dearly beloved. But it's all the same thing, judging someone by their race.

I found the older people were fine, it was young men that were the problem.

[Confused!]

Globocentro, I wouldn't necessarily jump to the conclusion that Poland is full of dearly beloved based on 'poor customer service' (if I may call it that) from an immigration officer and rude behaviour from others. It may have had nothing to do with beloved... you might have simply been unlucky enough to encounter grumpy people. I have been to Poland multiple times and I never received any rude treatment at all - in fact many people went out of their way to help me, and I am not white. I certainly have not encountered any 'dearly beloved' treatment from an immigration officer in Poland - or any other country for that matter (at least not yet).

By the way the immigration officers in Poland do appear to have the habit of stamping the back of your passport but they also put their stamps clumped together, which keep them neat. I highly doubt their stamping of the back of your passport was meant to be anything against you. In fact, my passport is more full at the back than at the front - and I also have random stamps scattered near the centre page as well. It's probably better not to read too much into that one.

I have, however, encountered a lot of grumpy immigration officers - including those in my own country, and while there are probably some of them who are dearly beloved, I suspect there are far more who are just poorly trained or downright grumpy, ill-mannered or just don't have the 'customer service skills', or have just heard a bad news and was feeling bad. None of that is a good enough excuse, but there are many other reasons than beloved why people treat others badly. I find that by not taking other people's behaviour too personally or going to the conclusion about their attitude such as beloved, my life gets somewhat easier. I then don't think too deeply about other people's behaviour towards me, unless I feel I am somehow at fault for provoking their behaviour (in which case the reason why I think about it is to change something I did to provoke their behaviour).

[Pakhtoon]

Even though I agree with you in that one should not label Poland and Poles as dearly beloved just because of some few unpleasant experiences but there is no way one could convince me that Polish immigration officers
( at Warsaw airport ) are not dearly beloved or totally ignorant at least, if that may sound reasonable to you. If you read through this post, you will see that its not only Globocentro who had to face those idiots. Besides people on this post, I know a few non-whites in real life who were given sh*t like that including of course myself. You were either very lucky or it was the word 'Australia' on your passport which saved you some respect even when you are not white.

[SYH]

apparently it's a common complaint here that eastern european shop assistants are rude and don't know the first thing about customer service
On the other hand, all the Irish shop assistants i've been served by have been really nice,

If you grew up not knowing customer service, then how would you be able to provide it. My trip to Prague with my mom, she complained of the same thing. While I wasn't so impressed either, I just took it in context or I wouldn't be able to enjoy my trip and experience the wonders the country offers.
As for Ireland, they are too helpful for me. Love their spirit, don't get me wrong. However when I am tried to get directions, they go on for days with the details. I was thinking how am I going to remember all this stuff they are telling me.

[globocentro]

Globocentro, I wouldn't necessarily jump to the conclusion that Poland is full of dearly beloved based on 'poor customer service' (if I may call it that) from an immigration officer and rude behaviour from others. It may have had nothing to do with beloved... you might have simply been unlucky enough to encounter grumpy people. I have been to Poland multiple times and I never received any rude treatment at all - in fact many people went out of their way to help me, and I am not white. I certainly have not encountered any 'dearly beloved' treatment from an immigration officer in Poland - or any other country for that matter (at least not yet).

By the way the immigration officers in Poland do appear to have the habit of stamping the back of your passport but they also put their stamps clumped together, which keep them neat. I highly doubt their stamping of the back of your passport was meant to be anything against you. In fact, my passport is more full at the back than at the front - and I also have random stamps scattered near the ntre page as well. It's probably better not to read too much into that one.

I have, however, encountered a lot of grumpy immigration officers - including those in my own country, and while there are probably some of them who are dearly beloved, I suspect there are far more who are just poorly trained or downright grumpy, ill-mannered or just don't have the 'customer service skills', or have just heard a bad news and was feeling bad. None of that is a good enough excuse, but there are many other reasons than beloved why people treat others badly. I find that by not taking other people's behaviour too personally or going to the conclusion about their attitude such as beloved, my life gets somewhat easier. I then don't think too deeply about other people's behaviour towards me, unless I feel I am somehow at fault for provoking their behaviour (in which case the reason why I think about it is to change something I did to provoke their behaviour).

I will dispute the notion that the way i was treated by the polish immigration officer is merely poor customer service. Poor customer service is generally associated with indifference. Staff that offered poor customer service generally wants to spent as little time as they can with customers. Most of them will just refer the customer to someone else or ignore them all together. However, what i got from the officer was the complete opposite. That officer had every intention of holding me back for as long as she can.

Nevertheless, I've experienced poor customer service by immigration officers before. It is quite common among Asian countries. Most of them wont even greet the passengers. One indonesian officer threw my passport back at me after stamping it. He didnt even looked at face nor greet me. The only thing i got from him was an unpleasent stare at the beginning. It is quite obvious that the officer wanted to spent as little time with me as possible. However, no one wants to answer any questions from immigration officers in an ideal world. Therefore, i am more than happy to receive poor customer service if the rude officer will just leave me alone