The Arrogance of the French Embassy
13 Jul, 2008 
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I was supposed to travel to Greece later this month to attend a Middle East Conference at the invitation of the Greek Foreign Ministry. Unfortunately for us poor souls from this area of the world who intend to go to Greece, we have to go through the hallowed and completely arrogant portals of the French Embassy first.
With my documents almost completely in order apart from a stamped letter from the hotel I am supposed to stay at, a requirement that I thought would be dismissed especially that it was specifically mentioned in the invitation letter that it is the organisers who will pay for both the tickets and hotel charges, was not a sufficient excuse for the gatekeepers at the embassy. But when it was explained to the lady behind the bullet-proof glass, she brought out another fillip in that I have to provide a company letter and commercial registration. Apparently the explanation that I was the owner and detailed six months of the company’s bank statements weren’t enough as proof of sources of funds – if that is indeed what they require – or proof of ownership, as I doubt very much that a company would hand such sensitive details to an employee.
Add to all of this that I sat in a sterile room – which contained notices in English which seem to have been translated from Arabic or French by an 8 year old with an attitude – for more than 10 minutes without knowing when I would be called even though my appointment was supposed to be 10AM, a time which I respected but seems to mean nothing to the French Embassy. Nor does time appear to be of much importance to the French Consul, M. Philippe Touieain whatever who scoffed rather abrasively and arrogantly at my complaint of having to wait for that “just ten minutes, pfah!” and demanded rather loudly to give him a valid excuse of why I withdrew my papers and expressed a wish to no longer wanting to go to Europe!
“It is the arrogant attitude of the lady behind the glass. She could have been a bit more customer friendly at least in explaining the missing pieces of information”
“Ah, it is the attituuuuude then! pfah!”
This is when yet another defender of the European Nation jumped up from behind another plate of glass vouching for her colleague in that I had the attitude problem and that I had that right form the moment I stepped into the Visa section because I had the temerity as to enquire why when my appointment was at 10AM was I not called at the prescribed time and why I had enquired – rather politely I might add – as to what the procedure was?
I suppose I should have felt rather privileged to be in their hallowed offices and that I should just sit, shut up and dream up rather beautiful French thoughts and images while whiling away the time taken from running my business or pleasure, for theirs.
I can now completely understand how the French ambassador rejected allegations made by our very own Ministry of Foreign Affairs “over the ill-treatment of Bahrainis applying for Schengen visas to Europe” but only with the proviso that the respected officials at the embassy must still be wearing rather dark and completely opaque glasses as to restrict their vision and have that abject belief that it just cannot be that their staff are actually in error! Oh mon Dieu!
What shock and horror that the peasant Bahrainis complain of ill treatment and the arrogance of particularly M. Philippe Touieain who I am sure looks at himself as the gallant Asterix who, together with his chosen cabal, protect Europe from the invading Bahraini hordes!
What is it that the lovely lady behind the second plate of glass said in parting? Oh yes: “if we had to deal with just three customers like you in a day we would be shut down.”
Well, don’t let me stop you. Shut down. I don’t think a self-respecting person is going to miss you.
You can keep your precious Europe – at least the part that you have put your hands on for some reason – to yourselves. And thanks to the French Embassy, I shall miss participating in the forthcoming conference in Athens.
The French are an arrogant, cold, and lazy people who don’t accept how far behind the rest of the world they have fallen, nor understand how widely disliked they are. Most Detested European Nation award. Mother of attitude problems in fact, a little and worthless people, they always seem to be trying to get one over on you instead of joining in. Some humility would certainly help them to improve matters and their image.
Then you add to that civil servants at a visa desk and you’ll have unbearably snotty nit-pickers. It’s the same for all of us hélas, not just you Mahmoud.
Best thing is transparent procedures administered sensitively on a website accessible virtally with a friendly database behind it containing all your personal details.
But Bahrain? How are we doing? Look at the insulting and bureaucratic treatment reserved for our brothers from N Africa who want to visit.
Wow…I only skimmed through, and this slowly devolved from a discussion about visa applications, civility, and customer service to VERY civil, politically correct, polished, yet essentially bi-polar bickering about calendars?…*phew*…let the bickety-bick-bick resume folks, thanks for the entertainment!
Marking, recognizing and respecting events of cultural, traditional and religious significance and value is everyone’s GOD-GIVEN right! However, for the sake of organizing and managing the human race’s magnificent creation of time, we need something secular and efficient and unclouded. But we’re only human – what were we thinking?! Time! Bah! do away with it all I say!
As for the french, bless their wine, damn their attitude, but this is nothing new, they have always considered themselves the creme-de-la-creme (no pun intended).
Anon: “Steve the American: why do you generalize? in Bahrain and the Gulf in general we have a saying “evil is usually generalized, while the good is not” and maybe thats the case with you.”
I generalize about Muslim nations because Muslims generalize their violence against the rest of the world. The majority of the wars in the world right now involve Muslims making war against their neighbors. This follows Koranic doctrine that demands that Muslims make war on non-Muslims. Change that doctrine of generalized hostility to the world and you will find the world more welcoming.
Anon: “If a few terrorists commited barbaric and unacceptable crimes that doesn’t mean that that rest supported them. I personally do NOT support these crimes and offer my full sympathy to the victims and their families.”
The Muslim world approves of terror done to propagate Islam because it is in accord with the Koran, which demands Muslims make war against the non-Muslim world. We can see Muslims celebrate terrorist acts and support terrorists themselves. We can read translations of your media where such support is freely, even exuberantly given. The last thing I saw from the Muslim world after the Sep 11 attacks was sympathy. All I saw was lying and denial, which is exactly the behavior I expect from guilty perpetrators.
Anon: “Coming to your comment about our culture, come and visit Bahrain. We are a tolerant society which respects other religions and allow them to practice their rituals freely.”
It’s impossible to believe that any Muslim nation is tolerant of other religions. I’ll grant you that Bahrain is not Saudi Arabia but neither is it Canada.
Bahrain chased its Jews out in 1947 and took their property, in classic Muslim fashion. Only 36 Jews remain in Bahrain. That’s hardly a history of respect. While it may be true in a narrow sense that you have allowed Jews a synagogue in Bahrain it doesn’t mean much if its congregation has fled for their lives.
Anon: “All what I’m trying to say it is unacceptable to generalize and label us as terrorists, and our religion does not have anything to do with these terrorist acts, its unfortunate that many people link Islam to these acts and this could be related to the misinterpretation or the lack of knowledge on our religion. I wist that my message is clear: do not generalize.”
Your assertion that Islam had nothing to do with the terror acts on the US, Britain, Spain, India, et al is too preposterous for rebuttal. We need make no effort to tie terrorism to Islam when the Muslims proudly make the connection themselves.
The widespread Muslim slaughter around the world has prompted us to make quite the study of Islam. There is no misinterpreting its bloody and belligerent message to the world it intends to conquer. The terrorists are perfectly following the perfect example of Mohammed in making war on non-Muslims, beheading them, and assassinating critics of Islam. If that wasn’t instructive enough, the Koran provides plenty of warning of your evil intentions to the rest of the world, beginning with the Verse of the Sword.
What is unfortunate here is that you subscribe to this backward and belligerent religion whose hateful doctrine makes you unwelcome in the rest of the world. The non-Muslim world will not exchange respect for contempt. When Muslims respect non-Muslims, they will receive respect in return. However, the Koran forbids you to respect non-Muslims which means we would prefer you stay out of our country while we welcome the more genial and tolerant Indians and Chinese.
Mahmood,
Very few nations view visa applicants as ‘customers’. However, regardless of what you are (immigrant, inconvenience, etc.) there is absolutely no excuse for rudeness.
I have had two recent experiences in the UAE:
* Thai Consulate in Dubai
The staff are overworked and not really interested in helping you. There are too many people applying for a visa and it feels like a fish market.
Did not enjoy that experience, though Thailand itself was a blast.
* Spanish Embassy in Abu Dhabi
The staff were friendly, but the procedure was tedious and absurd. I had to submit a letter from my company to say that they don’t mind me going to Spain. Since it is my company and I am the one who runs it, I wrote the letter and signed it myself. I tried to explain this to them, but they insisted that I provide it to them anyway.
I have found that in a lot of visa/immigration processes, it doesn’t matter how silly the requirements are. Just do it. Don’t overthink it. Don’t try to think of ways of improving its efficiency. Just give them what they want and move on.
I am planning a trip to Europe soon, but now I know that I will avoid the French embassy here as well. The last thing I need is for some idiot to talk down to me like I’m asking him for a favor.
@Steve the American
So because a minority of Muslims are doing all the killing you generalize that we all believe in the same thing and agree with it? What happened in Sept. 11 isn’t something that I approve of and I’m certain that most Muslims don’t approve of it. Many Muslim scholars disapproved this act. And Bin laden himself isn’t even a Muslim scholar therefore he can’t even claim or make a ‘fatwa’ that what he did (assuming he was behind 9/11) was the right thing.
Yet again a minority celebrate terrorist acts and I have yet to hear or see of a celebration of 9/11 in Bahrain or anywhere in the Middle East.
Just because Bahrain is an Islamic country doesn’t mean every action they take is based upon Islamic teachings. If you properly research Islamic teachings you would know that even in the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) there were many Jewish people living in the same city the Prophet was living in. They were allowed to practice their religion without any interference as long as they didn’t break any Islamic rules. If they weren’t forced to leave back then, how come now they’ll be forced to leave due to Islamic teachings?
Can you provide historical evidence where the Prophet Muhammed (PBUH) waged a war and he ordered the mass slaughtering of everyone including innocent people, elderly, women and children? I can provide you with evidence that he specifically asked for that not to happen and that is what we believe in. Those that have killed innocent people in the name of Islam aren’t following Islamic teachings.
Really? Can you provide me with the verse that forbids us from respecting non-Muslims?
Hi anonny,
Could you choose a different alias? You and I differ
in so many ways, I’m sure!
Warm regards,
Anonny.
Hi anonny,
Just a note: I’d rather you chose a nom-de-screen
that doesn’t look so much like mine!
Thanks and regards,
Anonny
What an outrage!!! How ridiculous that you had to wait for TEN minutes!!! They should have rolled the red carpet out for you and escorted you straightaway to the ambassador’s office once you arrived. To think they treated you like they treat everyone else (and like your embassy treats people)… it just makes my blood boil. I mean, how could they not recognize how incredibly important you are?
anonny, why are you wasting your time? Steve says these things just to aggravate you, and insult you with his ignorance of Islam under the banner of “freedom of speech”.
The day he can read the Arabic alphabets, at least, then maybe we can take his words with credit. He cannot read the Quran, how do you expect him to understand it? Too much Bill O’ Riley I guess
anonny / Salman
I was a bit bored so I googled Koran and relationships with non muslims and also terror against non muslims.
This is what it threw up. Not sure how accurate it will be but it said it was versus from the Koran. You can put me right about them.
With regards to friendship / respect to non muslims there were loads of versus. This was one of them :
Sura 3:28
” Let not the believer take for friends or helpers unbelievers rather than believers, if any do that in nothing will there be help from Allah (pbuh)
And as for showing mercy to non believers there were lots of versus to choose from. Here was one of them chosen at random:
Sura 8:12
“I will cast terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve therefore strike off their heads and strike off every fingertip of them ”
I don’t really follow religion as it’s a bit too heavy for me !
Mahmood
I enjoy your blog but heck man your treatment at the French Embassy was sooooooo much better than what I’d expect from Saudi or Bahrain embassies. Pages of paperwork and weeks of waiting for visas is the norm for us non muslim plebs.
I’ve stood behind a plane load of Pakistani muslims and seen them get kicked and punched into line at Dhahran airport. I was scared as I thought “God they’re muslims what will they do to a Christian ! ”
But it worked out ok. I soon realised that money and influence counted in the Islamic world more than religion. Sunni Saudis first, then GCC (Rich countries only), then Americans, then Brits, then other europeans, then Ozzies / NZ, Indians, Filipinos, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Shia Saudis, Palestinians then Jews. Only joking about the Jews. They’re banned.
Even Bahrain discriminates against it’s own Shia population so what hope for non religious types like myself !
@ Steve The Confederate
Hmm, interesting – Was this before or after the US abandoned its Jeffersonian ways and sold its soul to help found an Israeli terror outpost of its own in the middle east? Which then went ahead to kill OUR thousands? Just curious.
You suffer from incessant guerrilla warfare on steroids because your culture is adamant about supporting terrorism until the return of JC. It took 600,000 of your own dead during the civil war until you people realized that slavery was wrong, and yet it still managed to live on and rear its ugly head within other forms for another 100 years. (And Im being conservative here). One wonders how many more of your dead it will take for you to realize that your support of Israeli terrorism and hypocrisy is wrong, and right on par with slavery.
Who’s ‘they’?
Im sorry, were you talking about the Mid-West, or the Mid-East?…hahaha!
I agree! When you export terror to foreign countries, they will place obstacles in your way. Like IEDs.
-Ibn
Let the grilling, begin.
Salman, Steve, et al,
That wasn’t me. That was anonny, I am Anonny. Somebody
has chosen a name that is very close to mine …
The Real Anonny
Salman, Steve the American et al,
That wasn’t me. That was anonny with a lower case ‘a’.
I spell my screen name with a capital ‘A’.
The Real Anonny
Oh dear me, Ibn-The-Wannabe-Slayer-of-Israel, is on another rant against the US. One can only wonder why he chose to study in a country he can’t stop complaining about.
Don’t encourage him– it distracts…
Aliandra,
Oh, I dont know Aliandra…maybe for the same reason you run your SUV on Saudi oil but continue to bitch about them?
-Ibn
Tsk tsk Ibn, you do have a choice of over 190 countries to study in, and most of them aren’t full of whiners riding their H3s to their many dens of Zionist-loving iniquity.
Comment #67 was one hell of a comeback.
Oh Aliandra, the irony. Perhaps if you made more noise prodding your government to stop Israeli support, we would have stayed in our otherwise bulldozed homes instead of coming here. Call it Karma.
But yes, you are right. Studying at a random mathematical sciences program in the US means I must also believe that Iraq has WMDs. How dare I say otherwise. I mean, I study in the US… and… and the US says Iraq has WMDs… so.. so..umm.. yes! Iraq has WMDs! Because I study here! Yes! hahahah!
Tell you what – let me give you my bike – you’ll see where Im going with this – its white, a little rusty, but otherwise works great. I think it has 18 gears as well, medium tires, so you can even do some mountain biking, should the temptation find you. That way you won’t have to refill your SUV with the Saudi’s gas you hate so much, and you can stop living a contradiction.
You dont have to pay me anything for the bike, but just tell me, since I am studying here, which meal from the iconic all American McDonalds combo choices am I also supposed to like? And with or without pickles?
-Ibn
Aliandra: “One can only wonder why he chose to study in a country he can’t stop complaining about.”
Ibn: “Oh, I dont know Aliandra…maybe for the same reason you run your SUV on Saudi oil but continue to bitch about them?”
Glib but empty rhetoric. America creates knowledge while the Saudis create nothing of value, certainly not oil. The phytoplankton from which oil is made were more productive than Saudis and more beneficial to mankind. They only profit from oil because Americans discovered it under their feet, developed it, drilled it, and treated the Saudis fairly enough to allow them the majority of the profit.
You come to America to learn because our system is productive and its lessons worth learning. The lessons of the Middle Eastern countries are not worth learning and their schools produce fools. Despite all your trash talk, you voted for America with your feet. If you really believed your own words, you’d be in a madrassa.
Ibn, calling me Steve the Confederate is as foolish as if I called you Ibn the Rabbi. However, it is of a piece with the rest of your wildly bigoted and fallacious rhetoric. Those who are so foolish to buy it are not worth my time to rebut it. However, thank you for pitching me such an Islamic softball in your earlier post, which I will answer on the weekend.
“Aliandra: “One can only wonder why he chose to study in a country he can’t stop complaining about.”
Ibn: “Oh, I dont know Aliandra…maybe for the same reason you run your SUV on Saudi oil but continue to bitch about them?””
Besides, if Aliandra took it to the same level as Ibn has, she would have to move to Saudi and continue to “bitch and complain” about them while she was driving that big SUV around…….anyone want to guess how long Aliandra would last in the magic kingdom
I prefer to think that Aliandra is driving that sucker around on Canadian oil….go north, lassie!
Ibn;
You lost coherence at 22.16 so here’s the question again. Why does the great defender of the Palestinian Cause™ choose a school in the country that most supports Israel?
M;
I’m taking my entire collection of Hummers to Canada!
Steve;
I think Ibn (pbuh) is really some kind of fleshy Turing test …
Aliandra/M/Steve-The-Confederate
See below.
See below.
When my right foot touched American soil, I voted for American Higher Education. My right hand then preceded to pay for it. Are you suggesting that US Foreign Policy derived from US Higher Education? Haha! Come on, dont be silly – US Higher Education is actually full of really smart people.
But on the other hand, when your right foot touches your SUV’s pedal, you voted for and continue to vote for Saudi Oil, which your right hand then pays the Muslim err, terrorist clerk at the gas station for, thus indirectly also paying for his wages.
It is just then that you notice a bunch of mini-American flags behind that Muslim/terrorist clerk, so you decide to buy one so that you can wave it at tomorrow’s rally in Washington DC against the Mooslims in your country, whom one of which ironically, just sold you that same flag. But this
Mooslim clerk happens to be a real chap, so he decides to remove the “Made In China” sticker from your flag’s wrapper for you, just as he hands you the change to the money you just gave to help prop up Communist China.
So lets see:
1) You prop up Communist China everytime you buy a plastic fork.
2) Send money to the Saudis Mooslims every time you drive to your anti-Moooslim rallies.
3) Pay the wages of and hence support illegal Mexican fruit pickers every time you purchase a basket of vegetables, which this time includes a bucket of the citrus variety on advice of just about every American left-of-Barry-Goldwater you have talked to because they always end up suggesting that you go “suck a lemon” after their encounters with you for some strange reason.
And that, ladies, is why I am here. Because whatever reason you put forward to explain the contradictions you wake up in everyday, I will take that, divide it by ten, and give it back to you as my own answer.
Plus, come on, I have to admit – I get a real kick out of it. Teaching Americans about their native laws in their own native tongue does make for a nice juxtaposition of sorts.
-Ibn
Ibn wrote: “Perhaps if you made more noise prodding your government to stop Israeli support, we would have stayed in our otherwise bulldozed homes instead of coming here. Call it Karma.”
Karma indeed. The Palestininans must have been quite naughty in their past lives.
Friend, to continue your logic, by living in the United States your expenditures directly support its economy and by extension its power to levy its policies and provide aid in favour of whatever nation it likes. As Steve said, you voted in favour of it with your feet and your wallet.
Americans who intensely dislike Saudi or China sure don’t go there to live. America isn’t going to stop its support of Israel anytime soon. Either deal with it or move elsewhere.
“Aliandra/M/Steve-The-Confederate”
Well talk about being in good company; sorry, Steve. I was of course referring to Aliandra.
Ibn,
Gotta tell you this is not some of your best stuff although it did start my day out with a smile. It did make me pause to wonder if you are just saying you are here for the “higher education” when perhaps you are really a closet Hollywood screenwriter sent by the Palestinian underground by day and a “higher education” junkie by night (aka night student for you Hollywood types)
Ibn,
I can not criticise you for choosing to live in the US. It is the land of the free afterall. It is the richest country on earth and I do not mean in money only but in almost every human endeavour. O it is far better than the cultural desert that you left behined.
I can however, criticise you for being unreasonable.
You dig tirelessly through two centuries of a huge country’s history trying to find the odd wrongdoing just to revile it. And guess what you find this time? Slavery!
Well! Well! Well!
America may not be perfect but it admits its mistakes and makes amends. Until few years it had an African American as its top soldier. It is on the verge of having another on top of the helm.
You are not only unreasonable dude but you are also a little bit ungrateful too.
I am Cameroonian and I have travelled extensive but every time I have to go through a lot of stress with the embassy staff and customer officers. Get use to it, makes life easier.
Most of this arrogant embassy employees are locals who just feel very power doing the dirty Job for the Europeans and Americans. Do not give them that satisfaction by backing off. Escalate and ask to speak to other staff if you feel you have not been well treated. It pays off sometimes.
May be we should fix and make our countries comfortable and restrict access to our resources to this people who know just arrogance and injustice. Our Governments allow them to treat us like dogs.
For some reason I’ve read this post and all its subsequent comments from the start to finish and I have just two remarks:
1. long way at the top of this page i could swear that this was a post about a guy that didn’t get treated well at some embassy or the other, but somehow(i’m guessing by the magical intervention of blog-room fanatics, they only have 1 nationality these days btw…… oh wait it was post no. 27 by steve the good american) it has developed into one of those sophisticated net forum fights about how americans are good and muslims are bad or vice versa. Since i love these kinda of friendly chats so much, I personally vote to change the title from “the arrogance of the french embassy” to ” the arrogance of….. a.Muslims AKA(terrorists) or b.Hotheaded Americans ”
2. Hell of a show Ibn, you are great. made it worthwhile reading this.(just a small thing, i would advice that you loose that “haha” part, it ruins what is otherwise a great retort.)
p.s.: For all the good patriots out there, i appreciate your patriotism, i really do. but i think you should understand some things about your posts summarized in the following points:
1.They are really boring.
2.They are very silly and childish.
3.They are irrational and show prejudice.
4.They are hateful.(at least to muslims and arabs)
5.They are overused(seriously, everyone is doing it these days)
6.They just show that you are not very bright.
on these grounds i would ask that the fanatics would stop posting, only i know they will never resign, so all i’m asking here is that when writing hateful or silly things Dear Spammers please do only 2 small things:
1. Please try to be not so boring.
2. Try To keep it in Minimum, so we can scroll through it faster.
Thank You
reminds me when I went to the Japanese embassy in Qatar.
The Japanese and Indians there were SO friendly, however the Syrian man working there to process the visa tried to add ‘more’ rules, although not mentioned on the site nor on the phone. (Luckily I factored in every possible request and came prepared).
He ended the process saying
“Don’t go marrying a Japanese girl while you’re there. You’ll make your parents very sad.”
To which I replied “My fiance is Japanese, please mind your own business” and walked away.
Imagine! He says that and WORKS FOR the Japanese embassy.
Thanks for sharing this very funny but smartt move with us. It made me laugh out so loud
These people should really learn to stop sticking their noses in peoples business and just be the the slaves they want to be doing the dirty jobs for the Europeans and American..
Well done. atleast someone told him the truth.
Thanks,
It is time for us to stop blaming the Americans and Europeans for everything that goes wrong in our countries. Yes they came here they divided us and gave us names but we have since moved on and we have plenty of things that they want from us and may be that is the key to the solution.
It is time to hold our governments responsible for our misery and lack of dignity. These our leaders don’t have the problems getting Visa or being treated like dogs around the world,just because we are Muslims or belive in something. They have invited these ‘people’ and given them every right to kill torture, rape and do what ever they like. Let us hold them responsible now.
Lets start cleaning it from inside. We have what they need so badly, lets put our conditions on the table as well.
THIS IS NOT A HATE MESSAGE AGAINST ANYONE, BUT WE HAVE TO OPEN OUR EYES AND FIND THE ROOT CAUSE OF OUR MISERY AND LACK OF DIGNITY.
i think you are all right but we have to blame our own people you know what i mean,to put on desent life style and stop fooling around