This time around, we applied for our visa to Mumbai on the internet. It was the first time for us. In fact, it was considerably cheaper and less effort – without having to go to the visa agency. Consequently, on arrival at Mumbai airport the day before yesterday, we had to proceed to the desk “visa at arrival“.
I was impressed by how smoothly you can enter into a country like India. This is something I write about because, as we know, there are no longer any border controls in Europe. At least officially. Just take, for example, the ferry from Greece to Italy. Or when the G8 will meet in Elmau – then it will be tough going even between Germany and Austria.
And you will easily realize that in Europe, too, there are still border controls – which actually can be rather inconvenient.
Now I hear as a justification for data storage that we need them in order to fight terrorists and organized crime. And another – indirect – reasoning is that this is necessary in Europe since we abolished the border controls.
And then I think that, perhaps, we were a little too fast when we abolished border controls. For me, border controls are lesser of the two evils if compared total surveillance of the citizens is the other option. Using modern technology, it would also be quite easy to realize – as easy as entering the lift when you go skiing.
Incidentally, I currently feel a lot worse about corruption and white-collar crime, a criminal financial policy of the issuing banks, politics without any social responsibility for the present and the future and the like than about some “organized crime” that is certainly very much to be condemned and the frustrating senseless terrorism.
Because in Mumbai, you can see very well what it leads to. I will report.
RMD
(Translated by EG)
P.S.
After a boarding process that – due to border/duty controls – was very time consuming and cost a lot of energy in Patras, I took this picture before leaving Venice.
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