France

Being a landlocked non-European Union country, Switzerland is virtually surrounded by countries belonging to the European Union. Inasmuch as I would like to take the opportunity to have a glimpse of other European countries, my third world status actually prevents me to do so. I have had colleagues who repeatedly invited me to go to France to grocery shop which all ended up in refusal. Not that I am unfriendly and anti-social, it's just that I would be breaking the law and risk the danger of deportation if I sneak into the French border. As disappointing as it could be, it is just how things work. As devoted and law-abiding as you want to be, you are prevented from going to the other side of the fence by a certain technicality. To attempt to put myself in an higher esteem, I would just like to think that it's actually their lost as they lost the chance to have someone who is willing to spend some money (albeit not that big) by travelling to somehow contribute to their economy. They do not deserve my time, effort, and money.

My France-based collegues at the ILO had on many occasions invited me to spend a weekend with them at their homes in France. It was funny because France might be another country but it is just actually a stone throw away from where our offices are. There are actually Geneva public transit plying the route to France that I might as well just sneak in to the bus and get their illegally. Many people in Europe do not realize that for people (usually of colour) from places such as Africa, Asia, and Latin America, travelling outside their home countries was nonetheless an exercise in frustration. And so I took the time to explain to them what exactly it would involve for me to accept their invitations. Some casually told me to just turn up at the border post and simply sneak into France. They even assured me that 'there are many black people in France, and that you could easily pass as one of them.' Excuse me but did I tan that much that I could now pass as a black person? Haha funny, some of my European colleagues are colour blind after all.

For third-world peoples, travelling developed countries is not like a stroll in the park where you just decide to buy a ticket and drive your way through (or ride your way through the train) as you wish. Travelling in the developed world is indeed an exercise in strategic planning, with fortitude, patience, and a thick skin built in. Now, don't get me wrong, as citizens of these countries are partly to blame as well in this predicament as a majority have entered with false pretenses and overstayed their visas. As well, since of the changed world order after 11 September, various countries, specifically the Schengen ones have imposed tighter entry restrictions in the context of protecting their borders to would-be 'anarchists. '

With my frustrations and all that, I ventured to the French border to actually see how does it look like and have a feel of what the other side of the fence is like. I somewhat expected to have some similarities between the North American borders I have seen such as Canada-US but not to the extent between the US and Mexico where they have fences and border guards and tower watches every 15 metres of the border. Moreso, I was surprised that they do not checked each car passing by the post for identification and somehow only checks when the border guard feels like so.

I actually had a funny chance to cross into France. There was just a little tile marker on the road signifying the border.


The left side is Switzerland and the right is France. Officially, I am physically present in two countries all at the same time.

Crossing 10 metres into the French side, I noticed that a couple of things have changed symbolic on the territory's sovereignty.

Entering France, the following sign welcomes you:

The typically blue Swiss street signs turns into white:



And the well-polished yellow Swiss postboxes turn into somewhat a derelict box:



Looking into the French side, here is the view:

It would be nice to walk further to buy a coke or a snack in the somewhat warm day but I worry that I might be questioned with possibilities of being deported back. With that, France lost at least CHF 4 in revenue from me (I know, I know its not that significant).

Walking a few blocks (if there exists such a block in Switzerland) further, I was able to see a bigger border post that looked like this:

I saw pedestrians walking over to the other side not being stopped at all. I am curious to have a look and try but being a coloured person who looks naive and doesn't speak perfect French, I would surely be an object of suspicion which would end my name being entered into some kind of database. I also took the picture as well somewhat discretely as the border guys obviously don't want peeping toms in the practise of their craft. As I took the picture, one guard actually looked into our direction and I backed off further.

At least, I could tell myself that I have been to the EU, in this case France albeit in an unorthodox way.