Lost in translation: Chinese tourist taken for refugee in Germany - Polidicks

[QUOTE]BERLIN: A Chinese tourist got tangled up in the red tape of Germany's migrant influx by mistake and was stuck in a refugee home for nearly two weeks, the Red Cross said on Monday (Aug 8).Officials thought the 31-year-old backpacker, who spoke neither German nor English, "needed help" after landing in Stuttgart airport in southwestern Germany on Jul 4, Christoph Schluetermann of the German Red Cross told AFP. The man, who had lost his wallet, was taken to a reception centre in the nearby town of Heidelberg, where he unwittingly filled out an asylum request form, following the local authorities' instructions, Schluetermann said. Then on Jul 6, he was transferred to a reception centre in the western city of Dortmund, where his passport was taken from him, and then to another shelter in Duelmen near the Dutch border. "Machinery kicked into gear from which he couldn't immediately escape," Schluetermann told news agency DPA. Public broadcaster WDR said the man complied with standard procedure for refugees including allowing his fingerprints to be taken, undergoing a medical examination and accepting pocket money. But staff eventually noticed that the man was unusually well-dressed for an asylum seeker and when the likelihood of a mistake dawned on them, sought help at a local Chinese restaurant. The owners suggested Schluetermann try using a Mandarin smartphone translation app and it soon became clear that the man didn't want asylum but to continue his European tour. "I want to go walking in a foreign country," one of the translated messages said, WDR reported.[/QUOTE] [URL]http://www.channelnewsasia.com/news/lifestyle/lost-in-translation/3026222.html?cid=fbcna[/URL] I swear, Germany's handling of immigration is just terrible. Don't the customs check before sending applications out? Also, why is the Chinese guy backpacking through Europe with a poor command of english? Couldn't he at least have a basic language book or google translate with him?

why do people go to countries where they know jack shit about the language?

[QUOTE=ashxu;50852035]why do people go to countries where they know jack shit about the language?[/QUOTE] Why can't they all just learn [del]English[/del] Mandarin? :v:

Does Germany not have any translators?

I think there's something magical, almost adorable, about some unassuming Chinese man backpacking across Europe, mistakenly being taken in as a refugee in Germany for two weeks, and at the end of it all he [I]finally[/I] gets somebody to translate a message for him and all he says is "I want to go walking in a foreign country". This would make a good movie.

[QUOTE=ashxu;50852035]why do people go to countries where they know jack shit about the language?[/QUOTE] Because he's going on vacation? Not knowing the local language shouldn't bar you from seeing the sights and having a good time. If he was moving there I would agree, but he's just there for a short time and owns no permanent property there.

Getting asylum is so easy that someone from a country not even undergoing war can literally 100% accidentally fall into a camp Fucking great "vetting" you've got going on there, Germany. Glad to know that you are paying so much attention to who's allowed to come in as you've claimed.

[quote]But staff eventually noticed that the man was unusually well-dressed for an asylum seeker and when the likelihood of a mistake dawned on them, sought help at a local Chinese restaurant. The owners suggested Schluetermann try using a Mandarin smartphone translation app and it soon became clear that the man didn't want asylum but to continue his European tour.[/quote] uh this is a level of ineptitude I'm not sure I can even comment on

I sure as shit can't [I]speak [/I]Italian, Chinese, Russian or Spanish but at least I can recognise them by the sound. It's pretty fucking dumb that people whose entire job revolves around interacting with foreigners would think that "he doesn't speak english or german, therefore must be a refugee" This wouldn't have happened if I was his first point of contact. Just sayin'.

And it's not like he arrived by boat either. A well dressed, asian looking person landing on an airport. What a gaffe.

It said his passport was taken from him, didn't they see then that he was Chinese? Fuck couldn't they just tell by looking at him?

Poor guy, getting kicked out of getting asylum in Germany and instead having to go back to China.

[QUOTE=ashxu;50852035]why do people go to countries where they know jack shit about the language?[/QUOTE] He's a tourist. What, am I supposed to know Thai if I want to go to Thailand?