30 Marzo 2017

#Brexit +1

Appunti

‪Just landed at Heathrow on a flight from Rome. Some 8 officers in black are waiting just off the plane for us to disembark. One checks my (diplomatic) passport for 2 full minutes, page by page. Using a sort of a magnifier he checks the watermark on each single page. More or less the same happens to all other passengers. The guy looks at my visas thoroughly, same expression on his face as he looks at the US visa and when he passes by the Iranian visa or the Pakistani one. No difference, the countries I traveled to are clearly not the problem. So I ask the policeman: “Is there any problem?”. “Nothing, sir – he smiles – just an operation we’re carrying out”. I leave and go towards the usual-very smooth-fully automatic passport control procedure with a very odd feeling, sensing an intangible boarder built overnight, a slight “no welcome” message to all us, the AZ204 passengers from Rome. I was here for the first time in 1975, 42 years ago, and never felt like this. A new feeling, and not pleasant. I may be wrong, but it’s very hard to believe that all this is happening today at London Heathrow just by a pure coincidence. Yesterday was not good, neither is today.