Posted on 01/07/2007 1:51:52 PM PST by Hostage
I married 14 years ago and just had my firstborn, a son, this past September.
I met my wife in medical school. She was originally from Lithuania and when I met her she was on a H1-B visa working as an adjunct professor of internal medicine.
She had made significant contributions to medical science and had been asked to lecture at med school for the year. That was 16 years ago in the afterglow of the world of Ronald Reagan. She became a naturalized US citizen in 1996.
We've had a real love affair ever since but children did not come easy for us and we had given up hope the year before last when suddenly our prayers were answered with a 'miracle'. There were no fertility treatments, nothing artificial, just natural in its occurance but unexpected.
The birth of our son has been a joy without limit and it continues to be so. But prior to knowing of the miracle to come we had lived for years in despair (most couples with fertility problems will know exactly what I am talking about).
During those years of despair there was one other person whose despair seemed greater than our own, that was my wife's mother who still lives with her family in Lithuania. She wanted so badly to be a grandmother. She prayed and prayed and prayed. When my wife would call her on Sundays, her mother would always cry and it always fell to my wife to calm her down. This constant weeping, in addition to our own despair, was more than we could take and as a result my wife began to look for excuses not to call her mother.
News of the coming arrival of our son made my wife's mother a changed person. She wanted to come immediately but my wife's father has a herniated disc and cannot move unless heavily dosed with painkillers. We are trying to save money to get for him an operation that we hope will give him many years of freedom to move his body. He would also like to see his grandson.
But grandmother was able to get her sister and her son to look after grandfather while she travels to the US to see her blessed treasure, her grandson.
So we bought her a roundtrip ticket on Scandinavian Airlines and she connected in Copenhagen before setting foot in Seattle last night.
Her son had taken her to the US consulate last week to make sure her visa was in order. As she does not speak English, he wrote her a note (he is fluent in English and works as an IT professional throughout Europe) to present to customs that she was traveling to see her grandson and numbers to call if there were any problems. On the note he wrote our names, address, telephone numbers. He also gave her a cell phone and called me the day before she left to make sure I had her cell number.
Last night grandmother was making her way through customs and we were outside waiting for her with our 3 month old son. We were waiting a longtime when suddenly my cell phone rang and it was a customs official telling me that they needed to contact the daughter of a person they were holding. Knowing they were referring to my wife's mother I said "no problem, her daughter is right here waiting with me" and I handed the phone to my wife.
The customs official asked my wife to talk to her mother and to tell her to answer the questions they were asking her. My wife said she does not speak English and asked what questions did they have for her. They said to ask her if she had any cigars, weapons and so on in her possession. My wife was then put on the phone with her mother and repeated what the customs official had asked. They then let grandmother go.
Grandmother came up an escalator into the international baggage claim area with tears in her eyes and she at once saw me, then my wife and the baby. I thought the tears were of joy but my wife later told me they were tears of fear, fear that customs was going to send her back to Lithuania. But there were also tears and smiles of joy as grandmother and grandson immediately fell in love.
Here's the story and the reason we are "fed up".
Customs had asked grandmother a series of questions and she could not answer. She kept telling them "no English, no English" but they took her out of line and then called for a detail to escort her to a retention room, a room that was according to grandmother a long long way through many doors and up and down many floors. In this room they made her strip to her bra and panties and would not allow her to make any phone calls. She was left in this room crying when the customs lady called us on my cell phone.
She was let go out of the retention room but no one escorted her back to the customs line. She had no idea where she was and how to get back to where she was, in other words she was lost. I haven't asked yet how she found her way out because she is bonding with her long awaited grandchild and I don't want to spoil the happiness we all have now by pressing her for details.
Today she is doting on her grandson and both are all smiles. But her impression of America or at least Seattle SeaTac airport is forever a memory of fear.
I asked her if things went well when connecting in Copenhagen and she said "Copenhagen good, Seattle no good".
I think she's just one woman.
Nobody could seriously believe this old women is trouble.
Again, I think she is just one woman.
Are you trying to imply that she has multiple personalities?
She came in last night. Her internal clock is 10 hours ahead of hours. Today is Sunday. I will first contact the Airport manager tomorrow, then I may take it to the media.
The only thing I would like is for someone to apologize to her. And make it a nice apology, like an invitation to the airport manager's office or some official, where they shake her hand and express their regrets for what happened to her.
I don't want the swing shift customs employees disciplined. I think they were doing their job, I hope there was nothing else. But the policy they were following should be changed.
The idea raised in this thread to have telephone interpreters accessible to every customs office counter should definitely be looked at further.
But for my wife's mother, I just want someone in authority to invite her to meet with them and to let her know it was a mistake. Then she can go back home later knowing she was treated with respect and she can tell family and friends the Americans were kind to her after the incident.
Back at you Paulat... hugs ~~Pandora~~
It's over. It shouldn't have happened, but it did. Mistakes happen. Get over it.
I would think Grandma would be overjoyed at meeting her new Grandchild. Not in pursuing this unfortunate mistake.
Hi, Hostage...
Just wanted to be sure here...are you absolutely SURE she was stripped down...
I don't think so (I could be wrong)...like I said...my 75-year-old mother was wanded.
If you want help contacting the media...I can help you with that. FReepmail me.
What's your point?
Good idea.
Non-English speakers in ERs don't pay for a thing!
She does not lie. She is Orthodox Christian and there is not a bad trait in her other than wanting to spoil her grandson too much.
She has fear in her eyes everytime I ask my wife to get me more detail.
I may ask for help to the media but I want to find out what kind of person the Airport manager is. I just want grandmother to know there are some fine Americans in authority that she can trust. An invitation to an official office with presenting maybe a photo of the manager signed by him or her and expressing regret woud go along way I think (I hope).
Do you want the photo for the law suit?
You'll never get what you want from the government.
This is why conservatives say government is a necessary evil - because only evil comes from giving strangers power over you.
Then we should get the word out right away, so that it doesn't happen to someone else!
I am calling my friends in the media. They will want to talk to you.
I hope we can help others to not have to go through this.
Give us the REAL reason Hostage...
Americans cant have it both ways...we either want to be secured against infiltration, or we want an "easy access, every has a free pass" society.
So it's alright if people from Lithuania don't have to get thru customs answering any questions?
Try that at any American airport in the security line.
Give me a list of countries whose citizens get a free pass thru customs. I'd be interested in seeing your list.
You should have approached the airline for an "escort pass". When the elderly, unaccompanied children, handicapped, etc. travel these passes are issued to the "greeters" if warranted. Your wife could have met grandma and escorted her through customs.
Gosh, it doesn't take a beagles nose to come to this conclusion.
>>An invitation to an official office with presenting maybe a photo of the manager signed by him or her and expressing regret woud go along way I think (I hope).<,
She's so frightened, but a photograph of an airport manager is going to make her feel better??
Paleeeze!!!!
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