For most people, the yearly holiday is one of the few times
when they can truly relax. Unfortunately, many people are
finding their annual break falls foul of Big Brother's diplomatic
wrangles. This situation is best highlighted by the recent
situation of Carol and Stephen Bruntsfield, a Canadian couple who
thought a three month tour Europe in the summer of 1995 would
make a perfect honeymoon. For Carol and Stephen, what should
have been a relaxing and romantic break from the norm turned into
a diplomatic nightmare. Their mistake? Only possessing one
passport, in this case a Canadian passport.
After a year's saving up, the couple embarked on the first
leg of their tour from Vancouver to London. Everything seemed to
be going well until they made the fatal mistake of deciding to
take a cheap flight to Barcelona. Halfway through the flight,
the captain made a rather disconcerting announcement: he asked
all passengers who were travelling on Canadian passports to
identify themselves to the cabin crew.
Carol and Stephen had been subjected to a stroke of
exceptionally bad luck. Only minutes after their flight had
taken off, a visa requirement had been imposed on all persons
attempting to enter Spain on a Canadian passport. The
honeymooning pair had been caught up in the fisheries dispute.
Turbot was responsible for the turmoil.
When they disembarked at Barcelona they were told that they
were fortunate because there was a flight to Canada that
afternoon. The fact that the Bruntsfields had no desire to
return to Canada was neither here nor there. Bureaucratic red
tape prevented them from flying elsewhere, such as Britain or
France where they would have gladly gone.
Sadly, this is not an isolated incident. A case was
reported recently of a Glaswegian family who decided on a trip to
Majora. Upon arrival, the mother was told she had to return
whilst the rest of the family could stay. Again, she had made
the fatal mistake of using her Canadian passport instead of her
British document. Fortunately for the woman, she s\narrowly
escaped being sent back to Canada; a place she had not stepped
foot in for many years.
The above examples illustrate the present situation between
the Canadians and Spanish. No one can afford to become too
complacent though it is becoming increasingly common for
squabbling governments to enlist innocent holidaymakers as pawns
in their squabbles. The imposition of visa requirements is one
such tactic and is by no means a rarity.
No one sees Canada or Spain as particularly unstable
countries. More evidence, perhaps, that it can happen to anyone
and at any time. We should all protect ourselves from this kind
of diplomatic abuse, and there's only one way to do it. Ensure
that you can pick and choose which passport you use for travel.
Choose wisely for each situation and you can ensure that you
never find yourself in the position of Carol and Stephen
Bruntsfield.
Excerpted with permission from The Mouse Monitor, a magazine for
the customers of
Scope International.
