Asylum assault?

Visa regimes that regulate or restrict movement of citizens of two countries appear to live their own lives sometimes. Unfortunately, the necessity to get that visa sticker usually complicates lives and travels of people who were in no way the reason why the visas were introduced in the first place.

The Czechs travelled to Canada freely until 1997 when Ottawa slammed the door due to the high number of asylum seekers. The same issue marred Prague’s relationships with Britain in the past. Apparently, former federal ties were stronger in a certain demographic, as Slovakia had the same problem with Britain, Finland and Belgium – influxes of asylum seekers prompted the harsh response, sometimes in the form of introducing visa requirements. There was an era when keen asylum seekers quickly found a replacement country – sometimes with the help of even more keen for-profit “helpers”. Once the visas were lifted, exodus re-started with varied degree of intensity. Fortunately, within few years it all became pointless since both Slovakia and the Czech republic joined the European Union.

In October 2007, Canada lifted the restriction for Czech citizens and since March 2008, Slovaks could travel to Canada without visas too. Following the pattern known from the past, the Czechs flooded Canada again. And, following all previous exoduses, it’s mostly the Romas who apply for asylum. Or so the Czechs claim, but given their and the Slovaks’ previous experience, it can be taken for granted.

Exodus may sound like an exaggeration, but the word is rather appropriate when things are put into a proper context. In 2008, 861 Czechs sought asylum in Canada. The first quarter of 2009 saw 653 asylum applications (34 succeeded), mostly claimed on the minority related issues. It doesn’t sound like much but it’s more than asylum applications put forward by the Afghans (488), the Iraqis (282) and the Cubans (184). In fact, Czech asylum seekers placed fourth behind the Mexicans, the Haitians and the Colombians. Indirect threat that the visa regime could be reinstated is not entirely out of place.

Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper acknowledged that the current state of the affairs might not be entirely Czech government’s fault. Czech Prime Minister Mirek Topolanek, who used what was perhaps a less diplomatic language, called Canadian asylum system “soft” and suggested that the two countries wouldn’t be discussing the issue if Canada reclassified the Czech republic as a safe country of origin. If that was a case, Czech citizens wouldn’t be eligible to apply for asylum. More on that later.

The Lidove noviny (Czech daily newspaper) reminded that Mr Harper had already admitted that the influx is organized. The daily also mentioned a secret expert report that claimed the mass emigration is coordinated by former Czechoslovak citizens living in Canada. If so, this would not be entirely new situation, since similar “agencies” were suspected to be behind past exoduses of Slovak and Czech Romas to European countries. Profiteers or “employment mediators” operate on both sides of the Atlantic which means that both Prague and Ottawa need to cooperate to eradicate their operations or, at least, limit their influence.

The Czech government cannot restrict the right of Czech citizens to travel – to Canada or any other country. However, as Mr. Topolanek noted, the solution would be to find jobs for the asylum seekers in the Czech republic. Another good thing might be to make sure the message “don’t believe the scams” gets across to those who need to hear it the most. Apparently, an abundance of people who lost a great deal of money to the profiteers is not enough to deter new victims.

The Czech side feels that Ottawa should reclassify the Czech Republic’s safe country of origin status. The problem is, the safe country of origin status is a tricky concept, and, according to Canadian ambassador to Prague Michael Calcott, every applications are considered on a case-to-case basis and everybody can apply (source: Czech Television). If so, a change of attitude is necessary. Sure, Czech republic has its problems, but the country is perfectly safe, certainly no less safer than Canada. It’s Canada’s NATO ally. If Ottawa needed any further assurance it should have found it in 2004 when the Czech republic joined the EU, or at the very latest, in 2007, when it joined the Schengen Area, a part of Europe (26 countries) with no border controls, open for the free movement of more than 400 million Europeans.

Been to show, will travel?

Reviewing the success of a travel show is a tough job. What does one base the rating on? Number of visitors? Number of catalogs, posters and candies taken and/or given away? Nope. Can you count how many people actually purchased a trip? The fact is people were interested and came to the Travel & Vacation Show in Ottawa on April 4-5. It’s impossible to quantify, but one can’t discount an effect the neighbouring wedding show had on numbers and the demographic profile of visitors. To many, it was a distraction. To many others, it was an inspiration and after seeing wedding merchandise they went to pick their honeymoon destinations.

Anyway, despite the surge of wedding-addicts in the area, visiting Ottawa Travel Show was a pleasant experience. Canadian provinces, of course, dominated the floor, while African countries appeared to have the second biggest presence. I was somewhat surprised by the presence of European countries, or the lack of thereof. Strategically positioned next to the main entrance and neatly packed together were the New Europeans – Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland and Romania (in this order). The quartet was divided right in the middle by the good old Blighty or, to be more specific, by a travel agency offering specialized tours mainly to Britain. Scotland and Ireland had their own stands, as did the Spain, Iceland and the European Union. The presence of the European unity was only slightly disturbed by the absence of a Polish representative (at least on the Saturday afternoon).

On the other hand, Slovak stand was well manned by Vladimir Wiedermann (Head of the Trade and Economic Section of the Slovak Embassy), Zuzana Eperjesiova, representative from the Slovak Tourist Board, and by Pavel Dzacko of the Slovak House and Renata Dzackova (Nitra Travel). The Slovak stand was decent in appearance yet not boring and certainly overflowing with every possible type of the feel-free-to-take-it stuff; overall well suited for the location and the importance of the event.

The indoor venue, Aberdeen Pavilion in the Lansdowne park, is a cosy Victorian building although a bit shabby in appearance. It used to host ice-hockey games and agricultural shows (hence the nickname “Cattle Castle”). But then, travelling isn’t only about 5-star hotels. Unfortunately, as teams of exhibitors applied finishing touches on Friday, the skies opened and so did the roof and raindrops poured down quite happily on the merchandise. Mr. Wiedermann was less than impressed by the standards offered in a facility hosting an international travel show in the G8 nation capital. Fortunately, upon Mr. Wiedermann’s complaint, one of the organizers offered to rectify the issue and promptly suggested supplying a bucket… Unfortunately, that only added to the sense of a small-town fair that hung in the air in the hall.

However, in spite of all the limitations of the location and the weather, Slovakia got everything it could from the show. And that’s good thing.