We ’ve all see Hollywood movies about summertime vacation gone wrong — but few trips sound as unfortunate as one Chinese tourist ’s recent sojourn to Germany . On holiday , The Guardianreportshe was unwittingly err as a refugee and transported to a home for displaced people in Dülmen for closely two weeks .
The humankind , who ’s only known as Mr. L , is reportedly in his former 30 and from Beijing . He arrogate his pocketbook was slip after he arrived Stuttgart , the capital of Germany ’s Baden - Württemberg land . The holidaymaker attempt to report the theft to officials , but he was apparently slip for an asylum searcher .
The story ’s detail are a picayune sketchy , but here ’s we know for trusted : A spokesperson on refugee military issue at the Karlsruhe regional council enjoin that on July 4 , the tourist arrived at a refugee reception center in Karlsruhe , Germany . He was part of a radical of seven Formosan residents . Two days by and by , the man arrived at the Patrick Henry Village processing clique outside Heidelberg , Germany . There , he sign an mental home app , and his passport was take in away .
The tourist spoke only Mandarin — but the refugee spokesperson said his papers were lodge in front of a Mandarin interpreter , and he should have been cognizant of the berth . Mr. L was then broadcast miles away — first to a refugee reception center in Dortmund , then to Dülmen — and provided with food and spending money .
The tourer , who finally arrived in Dülmen on July 8 , stood out among the other refugees — not only because he was Taiwanese , but also because of his nice clothing . The confused human beings hold ask for his pass back and essay to explain his situation to German Red Cross ( DRK ) workers . But since none of them spoke Mandarin , they could n’t avail him .
Eventually , German Red Cross official Christoph Schlütermann visited a local Taiwanese eating place for assistance , and worker advised him to use a German - Mandarin translation app on his phone . The app subsequently revealed that the Chinese tourist had really intended to travel on to France and Italy — not to a refugee shelter .
The mental institution practical software was finally scrub after the DRK realise their fault . Eventually , officials were capable to locate Mr L. ’s passport . The tourer eventually left Dülmen on July 20 , after pass 12 days at the camp . He reportedly did n’t issue a complaint against authorities , TheLocal.de writes .
“ It was an extraordinary moment for us all , " Schlütermann toldThe Guardian . " He order Europe was not what he had ask . What would you expect if you had come to Europe as a tourist and spent 12 days sleeping on a tenting layer in a refugee centre ? ”
harmonize toThe New York Times , some Taiwanese critics believe the German serviceman sneakily tried to emigrate . Others have called him brave , or foolish , or simply a dupe of bureaucratic red tape .
[ h / tThe Guardian ]
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