Remember when "Aloha" meant "hello" instead of "up against the wall"?
As reported in The Independent on Monday, two German teenagers got a crash course in American hospitality when border agents decided their spontaneous vacation planning was clearly a sign of something sinister.
Charlotte Pohl and Maria Lepère, fresh-faced 18- and 19-year-olds from Rostock – about 140 miles north of Berlin – made the mistake of thinking they could just island-hop Hawaii the same way they explored Thailand and New Zealand as part of their around-the-world trip after graduating from high school.
Upon arriving in Honolulu on March 18 with hopes of island-hopping Hawaii’s islands, the teens were allegedly denied entry into the US despite holding the required Electronic System for Travel Authorization (ESTA), according to German newspaper Ostsee Zeitung. So, no leis greeted them – instead, they received complimentary interrogations, body scans, strip searches, handcuffs, and green prison uniforms by brave Customs and Border Protection officers.
"It was all like a fever dream", lamented Lepère, who apparently hadn't gotten the memo that America now treats tourism like a terrorist plot.
The teens spent their Hawaiian vacation on moldy mattresses in a freezing cell, sharing space with actual criminals. Which, if you think about it, is a pretty authentic American experience, given the fact that the United States imprisons 580 per 100,000 residents (compared to 68 for Germany).
Their crime? Not booking their entire five-week stay in advance. Apparently, "spontaneous travel" now ranks somewhere between "suspicious package" and "carrying contraband" in the CBP threat assessment handbook.
German tourism to the US has dropped since this kind of welcome became standard operating procedure. Turns out people prefer their paradise without prison uniforms. Who knew?
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