US's ever-higher walls dispel the 'Free World' narrative

Trump's new travel ban could target 43 countries, more than half of them in Africa

- RAINER EBERT & GUAIONG LI

For some, it's as routine as paying at the checkout counter. For others, it's as nerve-wracking as a prostate exam: an unedifying experience encountered in front of class. Which experience you have depends largely on one thing: where you were born.

We're talking about international travel.

Lately, Western travellers trying to enter the United States have been getting a taste of what it can be like to be a traveler from the Global South since President Donald Trump took office in January. There have been a number of widely publicized incidents of tourists as well as visa and green card holders getting a rough welcome at the United States border.

Racas Vieläff, a German tourist trying to enter the United States from Mexico with his American fiancé, was handcuffed and shackled at the border in Tijuana, and held in detention for 16 days, before being deported at his own expense.

Another German tourist and a Canadian national on six week visas were stopped at the same border and detained for more than six weeks and 11 days, respectively; and Fabian Schmidt, a German national with a green card, was stopped at an airport in Boston, reportedly subjected to harsh interrogation tactics and hauled into a cold, dark room, and ultimately sent to a detention facility.

Other incidents include a Swedish scientist who was planning to attend a conference near Houston but was denied entry, and a British artist who was held in horrendous conditions for three weeks.

The United Kingdom and Western travelers are now thinking twice before booking a flight to "the land of the free," which for many travelers is experiencing a staggering descent into authoritarianism and doesn't seem as free any more.

For German, French, British, and other Western travelers who are used to simply booking a flight, strolling into past immigration counters and into their favourite holiday destinations without visa or other hassles, this is a new thought process.