Schengen Zone Update

The Schengen Zone, in blue (future nations in green)
image via Wikipedia

By Jamie Douglas

The turmoil in North Africa and the Middle East have brought about a rethink of the Schengen Zone, that area in the European Union that allows citizens of the member states to travel freely between the signatory countries.

More and more of the EU has been overrun with refugees from the various conflicts, as well as economic refugees from Africa, many of whom actually trudge across the Sahara desert on foot. With the ensuing economic impact, this is creating a backlash from the citizens of some European countries as the influx of all these migrants is causing grave problems for the EU countries most affected. Much of the problem emanates from Greece which, sharing a porous border with Turkey, is being invaded by refugees from as far away as East Asia.

With the already fragile economic situations encountered by the PIIGS, (Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece and Spain), right wing nationalist forces are at work all over Europe to stop immigration, checked or unchecked.

A few months ago, the French government made headlines when they rounded up a bunch of Roma Gypsies, and unceremoniously deported them to Romania to calm the brewing storm within the right wing party, National Front (FN), formerly led by Jean Marie Le Pen, and now by his youngest daughter Marine Le Pen, who in her own right is a brilliant lawyer and debater.

She is widely believed to have a good chance of unseating French President Sarkozy in the coming French presidential elections with her message of anti-immigrant, anti-Muslim phobia. France, one of the earliest colonial nations, is now paying the price for its exploitation and abuse of the colonies. In order to subjugate the people in the colonies, they made them all French citizens, and now they all want to come “home,” to a home where they are neither needed nor wanted.

Just last week, the Italian government issued temporary Schengen residency documents to a few hundred trans-migrants that they wanted to get rid of, and put them on a train to France, which got as far as Ventimiglia, at the border with France. The train was not allowed to pass, causing a major diplomatic incident between Paris and Rome. Many of the refugees were from North African nations embroiled in their respective civil wars. And most of those on the trains wanted to get to France because they had friends and family there that they hoped would be able to facilitate their integration into the social fabric by just disappearing into the ethnic slums that have sprung up all over the big French cities.

Paris’ refusal to allow them into the country was in clear violation of the Schengen accord that was to allow all people with valid documents to cross all borders between signatory countries without any formalities. Both Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi of Italy and French President Nicolas Sarkozy, and now, Angela Merkel of Germany as well, have publicly stated that they wanted to abandon the Schengen accord and re-establish migratory checks at their borders, something that would affect travelers from all nations, and might actually be beneficial to the nomadic traveler, as one would assume that it would also do away with that 90 day limitation on staying in the combined Schengen area. It could mean a return to “the good old days,” where internationalists with their own means of support could migrate from country to country in Europe for years without running into the migratory brick wall called Schengen.

Several other countries have recently been affected by a massive influx of poor migrants who have become a source of irritation and racism that right wing parties from most Western European nations are trying to exploit, some with more success than others. The violent attacks against Romas in several Eastern European nations also show that popular support is behind the efforts to zip the borders shut again, only allowing for commerce to pass the borders freely, and a return to the times when any person of color could be challenged on the street with the famous old: “Your papers, please!”

Back when the Euro zone was formed, it was a different world, and a lot of what has happened with the realization of a common currency and open borders has proven to be much more difficult to manage than the original founders envisioned in their idealism. Trying to model a united European zone that consists of many different ethnic and cultural varieties is not as easy as founding the USA. In the USA, people from all over Europe came together to rid the continent of those bloodthirsty redskins, declare manifest destiny, and settle the continent.

Stay tuned for changes in the wind, as elections in various parts of Europe are sure to have a great effect on open travel as well as restricted stays in the Schengen countries.

As Rodney King once so famously said: “Can’t we all just get along?” Obviously not! I think the world is not yet ready for full integration between the haves and the have-nots, as those who have don’t want to share with those who are less fortunate, those who were not born as white middle class Western Europeans.

see also:

The Economist, Thursday, April 28

Charlemagne: Another project in trouble

First the euro, now Schengen. Europe’s grandest integration projects seem to be suffering

Jamie Douglas

Patagonia

I encourage you to write to me, jamie@expatdailynews.com with any questions or suggestions you may have, and if necessary, we can establish a voice communication via Skype. Disclaimer: I am not in any travel related business. My advice is based on my own experiences, and is free of charge. (Donations accepted). It is always my pleasure to act as a beneficial counselor to those who are seekers of the next adventure.

Jamie Douglas is an Adventurer, Writer and Photographer with an amazing array of Nikon equipment, and a lifetime of experience traveling and documenting. To contact him for assignments and new adventures, email: jamie.douglas [at] yahoo.com

See more expat articles by Jamie at

Expat Daily News Latin America.

We would love to hear your comments on this article email us at editor@expatdailynews.com

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Living in the Canary Islands: Camels and Cauliflowers

I remember once being told by a zookeeper that there is nothing tastier for a camel to eat than a nice fresh cauliflower. I doubt that many cauliflowers grow in the desert, and remember thinking at the time that it was a tall story intended to satisfy the curiosity of child’s endless questioning. I suspect camels will eat anything that they can get their teeth into.

These majestic yet strange creatures look almost out of place in today’s world, yet still continue their role as a beast of burden in many countries, because of their ability to travel great distances across hot, dry deserts with little food or water. They are perfectly designed to walk easily on soft sand where vehicles could not travel, and to carry people and heavy loads to places that have no roads.

I was looking at some old photographs of life in the Canary Islands a few days ago. I felt a certain déjà vu as I was looking at the old sepia coloured prints, because they reminded me of some old family photographs that I had seen in my mother’s photograph album many years ago. These were of my grandfather and great-grandfather ploughing a field in rural Lincolnshire, with the help of some magnificent looking horses. The photographs of men and animals working the land in the Canary Islands looked remarkably similar, except instead of horses they were using camels. Until relatively recent times, it was camels and not horses that were used as the beast of burden on these islands.

The first camels were brought to the Canary Islands from Africa in the late fourteenth century, and these creatures were essential for the European colonisation of the islands. Being so close to Africa, the camels adapted perfectly to the hot and dry conditions in the Canary Islands, and particularly in the south of Gran Canaria and Tenerife, as well as Lanzarote and Fuerteventura. As well as having an important role to play in agriculture, they were perfect for carrying people and goods.

The Canarian Camel, or Camello Canario, is a dromedary, which as I recall from my early school days, has one hump and can be remembered because of the shape of letter ‘D’ in dromedary. Its cousin, the Bactrian camel has two humps, as in the shape of the letter ‘B’. There are around 1200 camels still on the islands and the indigenous population of the dromedary are the only breed to be recognised as a breed in its own right in Europe and has been recently included in the official Spanish records of livestock breeds.

Nowadays, of course, the Canarian camel is mostly used in the tourist industry as a means of transport on excursions in the islands’ national parks and nature reserves, as well as Maspalomas beach. The islands’ camels are also very busy on the night of the Three Kings in January when they are paraded through the streets of many towns on the islands.

As for camels and cauliflowers, I have since found out from a very knowledgeable camel keeper that desert camels are usually fed dates, grass, wheat and oats. In zoos, camels are fed hay and grain, which is about 3.5 kilograms of food everyday. However, if food is very scarce, a camel will eat anything and even its owner's tent!

About the Author: Barrie Mahoney was a teacher, head teacher and school inspector in the UK, as well as a reporter in Spain, before moving to the Canary Islands as a newspaper editor. He is still enjoying life in the sun as a writer and author.

If you enjoyed this article, take a look at Barrie’s websites: www.barriemahoney.com and www.thecanaryislander.com or read his latest book, ‘Letters from the Atlantic’ (ISBN: 978 184 386 6459).

© Barrie Mahoney

Picking on Hugo Chávez Again

PDVSA El Palito Oil Refinery factory, Venezuela.
(image va Wikipeda)

By Jamie Douglas

I recently wrote an article about the slow but steady decline of Venezuela, which earned me several very positive responses, along with several negative ones that were critical of my calling him a “dictator,” and one even claiming that Chávez was more democratically elected than President Obama of the USA. But Obama did not change the constitution or shut down the free press, or there would not be the farcically named “Fair and Balanced” Fox News, a propaganda outlet for Rupert Murdoch, a man despised on all continents by those who love the dissemination of impartial information.

This week’s news from Venezuela is straight out of an Ayn Rand nightmare. Chávez is preparing to get swept back into office in 2012 by looting the corporate coffers of those who are still drilling for crude in that insane environment. He has imposed a tax on profits of 95% for the corporations that are still playing in his sandbox, the Orinoco Belt, one of, if not the, largest reserves of heavy crude in the world.

The proceeds of this daylight robbery are to go toward social projects to buy him another term in office by placating the poor, whom he just last week priced out of the basic food basket by ending government subsidies, thus causing these costs to rise by 48%.

Placate the poor with the money from the rich oil companies while the price of crude is being driven up by speculators that are only in it for themselves. Very Robin Hoodesque!

Don’t get me wrong here, I have no problem with the crude drillers; they are only doing what the market place demands, with the US’ enormous appetite for fossil fuels. All those workers on the platforms deserve the high salaries they earn. It is dangerous and difficult work that keeps thousands of workers away from their families. And now comes the Dictator of Venezuela, acting like the former Mexican ruling party, the PRI, used to do, leading up to next year elections. Fix the roads, build crappy housing, improve infrastructure etc with the money ultimately extorted not from the oil companies, but from consumers in the rest of the hemisphere who will pay a dear price for his “Bolivarian Dream.”

His reelection attempt utilizing these means will contribute to a higher inflation rate, a double dip recession, and an end to the fictitious “recovery” of the US economy. And presto bingo, the USA will have someone to blame for their miserable failure to balance spending and reduce the deficit. The USA needs to be reminded that you do not cure your economic ills by having your monetary printing presses catching fire, due to overload. And all this is to take place by the end of 2012 at the latest. Of course, the moment the elections are over, all those social programs will come to a screeching halt, and the poor suckers who voted for the Bolivarian Dream will still be living in slums with open sewage ditches.

Chavez seized unprecedented powers after the floods and landslides in and around Caracas, ruling by decree and thus steamrolling the newly elected opposition in congress, all the while sucking up to the poor masses by throwing them a crumb here, an unfulfilled promise there, so they will vote him back to be their dictator for another term. The Venezuelan economy is in shambles, there is a brain drain affecting all sectors of industry and science, and his biggest claim to fame right now is that his two best friends are an unlikely pair, the Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, and la Presidenta de Argentina, Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, who has not announced her intentions for re-election, but all her cronies are busy greasing all the local peronistas kirchneristas to support what is sure to be her bid to extract a second term in office from the electorate of Argentina.

Chávez announced today (4.26.2011) that “a high ranking Libyan delegation” has arrived in Caracas to negotiate, with his assistance, for an end to hostilities in that oil rich North African nation. Just who the hell is this maniacal megalomaniac to think that he has any influence over affairs of the world? He has trouble feeding his own people and keeping his own press repressed! A classical case of delusions of grandeur! But as is usual with the ranks of the self-impressed, he will be the last to know, but probably not until way after he has completely destroyed the Venezuelan economy and its citizens’ self esteem.

And by the way, even though I am not a great fan of Barack Obama’s, I am sure he is the legitimate President of the USA. The problem with the USA is bigger than the Presidency, whether there are war criminals in charge or not, and it has a lot to do with the Senate, the House and all the little politicians that have torn the fabric of the Republic asunder with their own selfish, lobbyist inspired actions.

Jamie Douglas

Patagonia

 

I encourage you to write to me, jamie@expatdailynews.com with any questions or suggestions you may have, and if necessary, we can establish a voice communication via Skype. Disclaimer: I am not in any travel related business. My advice is based on my own experiences, and is free of charge. (Donations accepted).

Jamie Douglas is an Adventurer, Writer and Photographer with an amazing array of Nikon equipment, and a lifetime of experience traveling and documenting. To contact him for assignments and new adventures, email: jamie.douglas [at] yahoo.com

See more expat articles by Jamie at

Expat Daily News Latin America.

We would love to hear your comments on this article email us at editor@expatdailynews.com

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Slow Travel

Don Quixote and Sancho Panza,
Slow Travelers

by Julie R Butler

This idea didn’t have a name, twenty or even ten years ago. Now, it is a movement of sorts, and it is exactly what “nomadic retirement” is all about and what Jamie has been writing about with his slow tour of Europe.

Slow Movement

There is a movement that is focused on slowing everything in our lives down. Perhaps you have heard of “slow food,” which is, of course, the opposite of “fast food” in that it is prepared slowly and carefully, using healthful, organic ingredients, and eaten as a planned meal with family and friends rather than by yourself in the car on your way across town to an important meeting. Its flavors are best savored in a relaxed atmosphere, enhanced by natural herbs and spices and a little good company. It preserves culture by insisting on using as many locally produced ingredients as possible and holding on to traditions that it would be tragic to let disappear. It revels in the processes that make up our lives. It connects people with each other, with their culture, and their ecologies.

The Slow Food movement may have been the first awakening to the idea that slowing down the pace of our lives enhances it in so many ways, but now, ideas such as “slow school,” “slow money,” “slow art,” and “slow travel” are beginning to gain attention as more and more people realize how much more living can occur in the quiet moments and the in between places. These movements are all about paying attention to processes as much as to results, having patience and longer-term vision, and of course, stopping to smell the flowers along the way.

Slow Travel

Slow Travel is not only about the pace of movement, although train travel and even slower ways of getting from here to there are encouraged, because they connect the traveler with the places they are traveling through as well as giving them more perspective about their destinations. Slow Travel also means staying in one place for a while, soaking in the culture, and really getting to know the place.

This idea has always been embraced by travelers who understand the difference between a “tourist” and a “traveler” – the traveler may not know where he is going, but the tourist doesn’t know where he has been. Now, with the Slow Travel Movement, networks of lovers of stopping and smelling the flowers, and those who want to assist them, are sprouting up everywhere, especially in Europe.

Slow travelers who want to stay in one place for over a week can find a “holiday rental” that comes fully equipped with basic crockery and cutlery, and possibly with towels and bedding, as well. These accommodations go by different names, such as “self-catered,”  “agritourism,” or “vacation apartment.” The focus is on “living” in these temporary homes rather than on merely “staying” in them, with an attitude toward joining in a community and being connected rather than on observing from the outside, detached and often irresponsible. (Jamie, who has lived in many a tourist destination, calls it “parking the brain in a locker at the airport.”)

Staying on a farm or in a longer term apartment, eating what the locals eat, and enjoying the gifts of a place like those who live there do instead of rushing from one tourist sight to the next is not only more connective but also more economical, more sustainable, and like grandma’s home-cooked chicken noodle soup, more satisfying than anything that is pre-constituted, pre-formed, and pre-packaged will ever be.

For more, see:

Slowtravel.com

Slow Movement – making the connection to place through slow travel

Slow Travel Europe

Wikipedia – Slow Movement

Jamie's Nomadic Retirement Series:

More About Nomadic Retirement

Nomadic Retirement Part II: The British Isles

Nomadic Retirement Part III: Portugal

The Schengen Visa: Important Travel Info

Paella and Sangria

Andorra for the Nomadic Expat

To contact Julie regarding this article, email: julie@expatdailynews.com

Julie R Butler is a traveler, blogger, freelance writer, and editor who has authored several books, self-published as eBooks, including Nine Months In Uruguay and No Stranger To Strange Lands (click here for more info).

See more expat articles by Julie at

Expat Daily News Latin America.

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Andorra for the Nomadic Expat

Casa de la Vall, Andorran Parliament.
(image via Wikipedia)

By Jamie Douglas

If you are followng my recent postings about visiting Portugal and Spain, you are probably reaching the limit of your 90 day stay in EU countries that are signatories to the Schengen agreement, and need a place to hang in while the clocks ticks on your visa. You may stay for 90 days out of every 180 days and then you have to stay out of “Schengen States” for 90 days after using up your time.

See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_Area for a detailed explanation of the subject.

If that is the case, Andorra offers a scenic and cultural experience outside the Schengen area that can occupy you for a while. Andorra is located between Spain and France in the Pyrenees mountains, sporting a population of a mere 85,000 people, but receiving over 10 million visitors per year. It is a popular destination for winter sports enthusiasts, while offering, in spring, summer, and fall, plenty of opportunities for outdoor activities such as biking, hiking, and soaking in hot springs.

One important thing to know is that with the booming year-round tourism industry, there are few bargains to be had, and short term, self-contained housing is at a premium. Nevertheless, when in Spain and heading to France, you should not fail to visit this little gem that has been an independent nation since 1278 (sort of, if you don’t count the rule of the Church), 13 years longer than Switzerland. Also known by its medieval name, the Principality of the Valleys of Andorra, it is actually a parliamentary co-principality, being ruled by both the President of the French Republic and the Bishop of Urgell, Catalonia, Spain.

Naturally, being located high up in the Pyrenees, this co-principality, the 6^th smallest country in Europe, is landlocked, and doesn’t even have rail or air connections with its neighbors. The only way to get there is by road or by helicopter (very difficult and expensive), and one really has to want to go there deliberately, as it is not on the regular route between France and Spain.

My first visit to Andorra was in 1973, on my return trip from Africa in my expedition-equipped Land Rover after spending a few days of R&R in Barcelona. I made the decision, after consulting the Michelin Maps of the region, to tick Andorra off the list of countries I had to visit, a list that consisted of almost all the nations on the planet. We left Barcelona fairly early in the day, but the winding mountain roads were filled with crawling truck traffic, which made for slow progress, and we did not get to the Andorran border until almost midnight, in a driving snowstorm.

Well, the border guards had little to do that night, so they made us unpack all our expedition gear and we spent about two hours entertaining them with all the weird stuff we had. They had their fun as we froze our backsides off. After they were done with us, I pulled into the truck parking area, crawled in back, and went to sleep.

Morning brought frozen windows, but once I scraped a viewing area out, the sight was breathtaking. Snow covered mountains surrounded us, the road was covered with a thick blanket of snow, ...and a large truck was laying on its side right before the customs house.

Fortunately, a restaurant was located there, with a chimney that was emitting a cloud of smoke that spelled warmth and food. We had 3 adults crowded into the Land Rover: my wife, our 6’2’’ tall lady friend, and myself, so extricating ourselves in the cold was not easy. But we had a great meal, and we warmed up while the Rover was outside with the engine running and the heater on full blast.

After that rejuvenating experience, we started back on the road to the highest capital in Europe, Andorra la Vella, where we secured a hotel room and decided to take in the sights and smells of this unusual and very medieval little country. I could not understand a word of the local Catalan language, but the innkeeper had spent some years in Germany and very much admired the Germans and their language, and he gave us good advice on what to do and see in a language that I do understand.

At the top of the list for us were the hot springs, which we visited daily, interspersed with strolling through various towns and taking untold numbers of photographs of the people and architecture. 

Since that visit, I have been back a couple of times and Andorra has been considerably modernized, with many services to support the tourism industry, accompanied of course by a rise in prices, but the sights, smells, and sounds of medieval Europe are still there. The food is unique to Andorra, and I recommend trying some of those dishes with the unpronounceable names.

While hotels are fairly pricey during the high season, both summer and winter, there are a few guest houses and hostels that are more reasonably priced, and if you are staying longer term, which is very tempting what with hot springs and all, I suggest you find a place that comes furnished with cooking facilities, as constant eating out is not just costly, but also becomes a hassle.

Free yourself from constraints and become a Nomad. Live life, love life and see the world!

Jamie Douglas

Patagonia

I encourage you to write to me, jamie@expatdailynews.com with any questions or suggestions you may have, and if necessary, we can establish a voice communication via Skype. Disclaimer: I am not in any travel related business. My advice is based on my own experiences, and is free of charge. (Donations accepted). It is always my pleasure to act as a beneficial counselor to those who are seekers of the next adventure.

Jamie Douglas is an Adventurer, Writer and Photographer with an amazing array of Nikon equipment, and a lifetime of experience traveling and documenting. To contact him for assignments, email: jamie.douglas [at] yahoo.com

See more expat articles by Jamie at

Expat Daily News Latin America.

We would love to hear your comments on this article email us at editor@expatdailynews.com

If you liked this article and want to receive an email when new content is posted, simply enter your email address below. You will be asked to confirm your subscription before we send you any notifications. You can opt out of receiving emails from us at any time.:
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If you like what you see here on Expat Daily News, we ask you to donate whatever you feel like, to help us to continue producing interesting articles for you. Thank you!

Happy Earth Day

Chinese CRH830A (via Wikipedia)

By Jamie Douglas

This year, Earth Day happened to fall on Good Friday. Now not to get off the subject, but… what makes it “Good” Friday? Is it not the day when Jesus was crucified? And now Christians all around the world cherish that symbol of torture, the cross! Makes no sense to me, but for you who celebrate, Happy Easter. May the Easter Bunny bring you lots of dyed eggs and chocolate bunnies.

My wish for Earth Day every year is that the ever-increasing human population of the planet will somehow magically cease to increase, and that peoples’ intelligence will move up a few notches, to where they realize that their lifestyles are contributing to the degradation of this marvelous planet earth, the only one that we know of that sustains life as we know it.

Much progress has been made in the last 30 years toward saving the environment, but so much more needs to be done. The pollution from automobiles in the developed world has been reduced by making cleaner burning internal combustion engines and adding various devices, such as PCV valves, catalytic convertors, and highly accurately measured fuel injectors. Diesel fuel is being cleaned up, and like gasoline having gone lead free, diesel is becoming sulfur free, which is particularly good news for cities, where a lot of the urban mass transportation is dependent on diesel buses.

Unfortunately, the new and used vehicles marketed in developing nations lack most of the basic anti-pollution devices, and in the big cities in China, such as Beijing, daytime visibility sometimes is reduced to a few hundred yards by the combination of industrial pollution plus vehicular and power plant emissions.

My biggest concern is air travel. With the growing wealth of the developing nations, air traffic is continuously increasing, the planes are getting bigger, but while more economical by seat-mile consumption of fuel, the much bigger problem is that hundreds of millions of gallons of jet fuel are being burnt at altitudes way in excess of 30,000 feet on long haul flights mostly between 35,000 and 40,000 feet, depositing their carbon footprint directly in the most vulnerable part of the sky.

While it is commendable that the major aircraft and engine manufacturers are looking for and experimenting with alternative fuels, it does not matter what the fuel is made from. The end result is still the same: high altitude pollution!

The latest fad of course is to go to a kiosk or the internet and buy carbon credits to offset your long distance voyage, but that is just selfish feel good crap. It does not help one iota toward reducing your own personal carbon footprint, and those selling you that fictitious product must be laughing all the way to the bank.

We of course are way too accustomed to flying from Buenos Aires to Madrid, from New York to London, from Sydney to Hong Kong, to ever go back to the “good old days” of making ocean passages, as most of your vacation time would be used up before you arrive at your destination, while business people are conducting such important business that they have a class all of their own on aircraft so that they can arrive at their transoceanic destinations relaxed and ready to start this business the moment they step off the flight.

OK, I concede that part. We will never go back to anything less than what we have now. But how about transcontinental travel? China is building a railroad system with projected speed of 400 kilometers per hour, all electrified. What if the US were to take its nearly abandoned passenger rail system and start building high-speed railways all across the country that would allow for travel at an average of 250 miles per hour?

You could transport a larger amount of people from New York to Los Angeles, along with some freight, in 10 hours, in much more comfort, having restaurant cars, bar service, possibly even gaming cars and cars for families, and business class with real beds, like the old Pullman cars that are still operating on AMTRAK. If you left New York at say 11 PM, you would arrive in Los Angeles at 8 AM the next morning, without having to pressurize and depressurize, but most important of all, having left a fractional carbon footprint, as opposed to flying. If the Chinese can do such a great job in the little amount of time they have been doing it, surely other developed nations should be able to follow in their footsteps, and just think of all the good paying jobs that would be created!

And as an additional benefit, should such a rail system ever become reality, think of how difficult it would be to drive one of those trains into the coming Freedom Tower, or the Pentagon. Of course this is all just a Utopian dream, in a world where people felt that using the Concorde to go shopping on the other side of the Atlantic was one of life’s necessities.

But regardless of where on the planet you are, the next time you are going somewhere, consider the train, it will make you feel much better than supporting the parasites that are selling you those fictitious “carbon credits” that probably go straight to the Goldman Sachs Executive Compensation fund.

Happy Earth Day, and be good to your Mother Earth, because just like your birth mother, you only have one.

Jamie Douglas

Patagonia

Speaking of trains, see my articles about train travel:
Crossing Patagonia by Train and One of the Last Great Train Adventures

I encourage you to write to me, jamie@expatdailynews.com with any questions or suggestions you may have, and if necessary, we can establish a voice communication via Skype.

Jamie Douglas is an Adventurer, Writer and Photographer with an amazing array of Nikon equipment, and a lifetime of experience traveling and documenting.

See more expat articles by Jamie at

Expat Daily News Latin America.

We would love to hear your comments on this article email us at editor@expatdailynews.com

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On Investing in Latin America’s Emerging Markets

by Julie R Butler

The chief executive of Vale, Roger Agnelli, is leaving Brazil’s giant mining company at the top of his game, and to the investment writer at SmartMoney.com who calls his column, “Common Sense,” this is a signal to sell your high-performing Vale shares. Why? Because, he speculates, Agnelli opposes Rousseff’s desire to have Vale invest in labor-intensive steel making in order to create more jobs for Brazilians. The author laments,

Government interference, especially to advance social and political goals that have nothing to do with shareholder interests, seems paradoxical when the government is one of the largest shareholders. Yet the pattern seems all too common in many, if not most, countries. This is a pervasive risk in emerging markets with high level of government ownership in publicly traded companies. It's one reason why price/earnings ratios in emerging markets are and should be lower than in the United States.

This, after presenting snippets of quotes from the Vale investor fact sheet in the following way:

Vale, in its investor fact sheet, states emphatically that its "main goal is to maximize shareholder value" and stresses the company's "competitive advantages," which include "long life and low cost assets" in minerals and mining and "discipline in capital allocation."

Here is the actual text:

Growth strategy

Our main goal is to maximize shareholder value. We are best positioned to benefit from the strong long-term fundamentals of minerals and metals, given our world-class, long-life and low cost assets, wealth growth options in various segments of the metals and mining industry supplied by an exciting project pipeline and a global multi-commodity mineral exploration program, a long and successful track record in project development, discipline in capital allocation and financial strength.

The implementation over the near future of our investment plans, anchored on our values and extensive competitive advantages, is expected to create significant shareholder value across business cycles and multiple opportunities for economic and social mobility for the communities where we develop our operations.

Just as “emphatic,” is this section of the fact sheet:

Corporate social responsibility

All of Vale’s activities are guided by a management policy of transparency, respect for shareholders’ rights, protection of the environment, employee development, and improving the quality of life in the communities in which we operate. Through Vale Foundation, Vale maintains social programs centered on development that sustains the regions where it operates, oriented at all times by a profound respect for local values and customs.

As reported in The Australian:

Mr Agnelli was ousted, according to widespread press reports, because he fell foul of the government several times since 2008 for laying off employees during the economic crisis, buying new ships in China instead of in Brazil, and delaying steelmaking investments in Brazil.

Investors who see the upholding of corporate values as threats should indeed sell their shares of Vale, because if they trust unsourced “widespread press reports” and columnists who complain about corporate social responsibility, then they probably also don’t get the concept that “shareholder value” can go beyond price/earnings ratios to include creating the kind of social and environmental climates that can lead to long-term sustainability.

My unsolicited advice: wait to hear what Guido Mantega says on May 3rd, and expect corporate responsibility to actually mean something in countries that are redefining the roles that the public and private sectors play in their societies.

To contact Julie regarding this article, email: julie@expatdailynews.com

Julie R Butler is a traveler, blogger, freelance writer, and editor who has authored several books, self-published as eBooks, including Nine Months In Uruguay and No Stranger To Strange Lands (click here for more info). Please contact Julie for writing or editing assignments at: julierbutler [at] yahoo.com

See more expat articles by Julie at

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 Agnelli did raise the ire of the previous Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, and perhaps also current President Dilma Rousseff. However, the government does hold a majority stake in Vale’s controlling shareholder, Valepar, through state pension funds and the state development bank, BNDES. And as a majority stakeholder, the government has every right to exert pressure on the corporation, does it not? It seems to me that what Mr. Agnelli fell foul of, and what the assumed tiff was about, was the call to uphold his company’s own mission statement.Many are joining with the opposition politicians in howling over “government meddling,” and the Senate Economic Affairs Committee has petitioned for Finance Minister, Guido Mantega, to address the committee on May 3 in order to clarify whether the government “interfered” in the affairs of Vale. Investors will be running away in fear of a government takeover, claims the opposition and others.However, the idea that the quoted text is emphasized in the fact sheet is an exaggeration, and what the author of the article left out was the part about the investment plan being expected to create not only “significant shareholder value,” but also “multiple opportunities for economic and social mobility for the communities where we develop our operations.”

The Hazards of Medical Tourism in India

Taj Mahal (image via Wikipedia)

By Jamie Douglas

Last month, I wrote an article about medical tourism to Hungary, a country with clean water and Western European standards of cleanliness. Since then, several disturbing facts have come to my attention in reference to medical tourism to India, which claims to be the cheapest of them all. Perhaps so, initially; last year, over 100,000 people traveled to India for inexpensive medical treatment. To quote a renowned weight loss surgeon, where else can you go to have medical treatment AND see the Taj Mahal? Well the obvious answer is India. But I propose a far less picturesque question: Where else can you go where less than 10% of the population has access to flush toilets, where clean water is, for so many people, non-existent, and where 650 million people have to use fields and alleys to take care of their bodily needs?

All that effluent eventually makes its way into the ground water supply, and with India’s strong monsoon season, it washes right into rivers and lakes, from which drinking water is drawn and distributed, with minimal treatment, leading the population to have all kinds of bacteria in their intestinal flora, which may not affect them directly, but for the people from Western countries, it can prove to be very harmful or even fatal when contracted in a hospital.

Add to that the extensive overuse of antibiotics, which are freely available in India, cheap and in widespread use, and you have the recipe for the now-unfolding health crisis.

There is a new superbug that has come out of New Delhi, the NDM-1, which is sweeping the globe. It has been found all over the European Union Countries, as well as in the US and Canada, and over the last couple of weeks, medical facilities in Latin America have noted its presence as well. NDM-1 is totally resistant to any known treatment or medication, and the diarrhea caused by it is untreatable as well, something that can lead to severe dehydration and the demise of the affected patient.

Unfortunately, the Indian government is doing its best to suppress any information about this problem, flatly calling it discrimination, since the first two letters ND stand for New Delhi (its full name is New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase). Conventional wisdom there is that since AIDS was discovered in the USA, it should have been named after a US city. The Indians have silenced any researchers who worked with Western scientists, so as not to endanger this gigantic medical industry that is bringing in hundreds of millions of US$ at the present, and is projected to become a multi-billion Dollar source of foreign income.

Last year alone in the EU, 25,000 patients lost their lives due to untreatable infections due to bacterium, many of which were brought directly from patients that had medical procedures done in New Delhi hospital, which no doubt are world class. But it is not the standard of the facilities or the personnel staffing them that it at issue here.

It is the simple fact that while hospitalized, the patients are exposed to New Delhi metallo-beta-lactamase, by casual contact with visitors and drinking water, as well as food that may carry this elusive pathogen. In many people that carry it, there are no outward symptoms, as it lives in the intestinal flora, but when surgical patients are exposed to it, it can and will lead to an outbreak of untreatable infections, for which there is no early diagnosis in many medical facilities in the West because it is relatively rare, so far.

My humble recommendation to the Government of India is simple: Take some of the riches gained by having become one of the world’s leading industrial giants and invest heavily in your infrastructure, starting with the very basics, such as clean water and making flush toilets and sewage systems available to the whole population, not just the privileged few. There are millions of street people living in India’s cities (see Slum Dog Millionaire) who don’t have access to even the most basic of human rights: WATER. And I leave it to the imagination of my readers to figure out what they do to take care of their sanitary needs. The government, instead of ignoring the tremendous poverty, could start by creating sanitary facilities in the slums and piping in clean water. By eliminating the basic source of the problem, and eliminating the bacteria’s breeding ground, medical tourism in India will have a future that is not blighted by the patients spreading untreatable diseases upon their return to their home countries.

Stay well and eat healthy, and please, if you smoke, stop as soon as you can! It’s just not good for you or those around you.

Jamie Douglas

Patagonia

 

To contact Jamie about this article, email: jamie@expatdailynews.com

Jamie Douglas is an Adventurer, Writer and Photographer with an amazing array of Nikon equipment, and a lifetime of experience traveling and documenting. To contact him for assignments and new adventures, email: jamie.douglas [at] yahoo.com

See more expat articles by Jamie at

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Transporting Your Pet Abroad



Our Mexican Dog in Costa Rica (photo by Jamie Douglas)

by Julie R Butler 

The rules for bringing animals into a foreign country vary widely throughout the world. In all cases, you will need to take your pet to the vet as close to the date of departure as possible, but talk to your vet well beforehand so that the proper paperwork can be collected and the regulations for each country you will be going to fully understood. Usually, there is a limit to how long of a period before entering the country the veterinary health certificate has been signed.

Although they may not be required for entry, copies of your pet’s health records are always good to have on hand, in case of a medical emergency. Some countries also require an ID tag with the animal’s name plus your contact information, but even if not required, it is also a good idea to have. There are 75 countries that now require a specific type of pet microchip, including all of the European Union nations, many in the Pacific and the Caribbean, and several in the Middle East and Africa, but none of the nations of the American continents.

The vet will issue the appropriate International Health Certificate, also known as a Certificate of Good Health, Veterinarian Certificate, or Zoo Sanitary Certificate, which lists information such as the breed, age, country of origin of the animal, and as many details about inoculations as possible, in addition to, of course, certifying that the animal is healthy. Make certain that rabies shots will not have expired by the time of travel, have multiple copies of the rabies certificate, and keep in mind that the three-year rabies shot is not recognized in many countries, so a booster shot may be required. Also, these certificates may need to be translated into another language, certified by the USDA, and/or further legalized in the destination country’s consulate.

Most countries in the world have their own health certificates. If not, then the vet should use the form known as the "United States Interstate and International Certificate of Health Examination for Small Animals" for entry into the country.

Some countries require other health documents, as well. These may include the results of a blood titer test and a form certifying that the animal has been administered treatments for internal and external parasites, i.e. ticks and tapeworms. Other requirements may be more inoculations, and/or an import permit.

For an example, let’s look at Mexico. If the animal is from a country with a low risk of rabies, such as the US or Canada, then no quarantine is required. You will need an import permit only if you wish to bring more than two pets into the country, but only cats and dogs are allowed, and they must be older than three months of age (because they will not have been vaccinated for rabies, yet). Have the vet issue a Mexican health certificate, or have a certificate of health, a document stating that your pet is free of internal and external parasites, a rabies certificate showing that a booster for the three-year vaccine has been given, if necessary, and proof of hepatitis and distemper vaccinations. The time limit that the documents are supposed to be signed by the vet is 72 hours prior to travel.

As for quarantines, it all depends on where the pet is coming from, the destination, and what the risk of rabies is in these countries. There are three classifications of countries: rabies-free, low incidence of rabies, and high incidence of rabies. The rabies-free countries are those that impose quarantines or may even refuse entry to pets, particularly when coming from a high incidence country. In some cases, when coming from a low incidence country, quarantine can be avoided by having a blood titer test done and then waiting for a period of 120-180 days before entry. Travel from a more rabies-free country to a lesser one is always less involving, but remember that returning will probably require a visit with a vet.

The UK is a notable country that is rabies-free, while the rest of the EU, Canada, Mexico, and the USA (excepting Hawaii, which is rabies-free and has stricter regulations) are among those that are low incidence countries. Australia and New Zealand consider themselves rabies-free and also have strict rules about bringing in pets, but are treated as low incidence countries by the EU nations.

Plan well ahead of time and know what the laws are for each country you will be going to, keeping in mind that airlines and train companies also have their own rules and regulations.

For more detailed information, see Pet Passports

 

To contact Julie regarding this article, email: julie@expatdailynews.com
Julie R Butler is a traveler, blogger, freelance writer, and editor who has authored several books, self-published as eBooks, including Nine Months In Uruguay and No Stranger To Strange Lands (click here for more info). Please contact Julie for writing or editing assignments at: julierbutler [at] yahoo.com

See more expat articles by Julie at

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The Flea Market Economy



Photo credit: Luke Larsson.
Used under Creative Commons license.



by Julie R Butler

A big part of moving abroad is downsizing. It seems that this is also a trend for many baby boomers who are coming into retirement age, who are moving out of the multi-bedroom house where they raised their children and into a smaller affair that will require less maintenance, perhaps in a retirement village in some perpetually sunny location, if not actually abroad.

But unfortunately, much like the housing market, the market for fine dinnerware and unwanted antiques is glutted, your grandmother’s beautiful silverware is worth more melted down, and selling your beloved belongings for anywhere near what they should be worth is just not going to happen for a while. The Flea Market Economy is in full swing, and the profit to be made by selling all that carefully guarded stuff in the house will also have to be downsized, despite the hopes that have been driven by the likes of Antiques Road Show (still, it was one of my favorite shows).

My husband, Jamie, and I had it easy. Having lived a nomadic lifestyle, we never did collect very much stuff, and when we made our big move abroad, we were willing to go to the flea market and sell what we had for pennies on the dollar. (My first real post on our blog, Because the World is Round..., was about our preparations to leave, and then our arrival in Buenos Aires.) We had no fancy carpets, fine furniture, or valuable artwork. We sent some key items to family members, gave special gifts to friends, and in the end, all of our priceless and irreplaceable memoirs of our lives, mainly photos, fit into two medium-sized storage bins that now sit in our friends’ house, waiting until some unknown day when we will be reunited with them.

We have expanded and then contracted our lives several times, and each time, we did not give in to the temptation to value our things according to our emotional attachments to them or what we thought they should be worth, letting it all go at prices set to sell. This way, we were happy to have unburdened ourselves and even happier with whatever our take was in the end. Perhaps the key to our success was to not look at everything as an “investment,” despite the overwhelming message that has been broadcast to us all throughout our lives (remember Beanie Babies?).

It is a hard pill for many to swallow, discovering that that monetary value is really only a collaborative thought experiment and not a law of nature. But there have been other lessons learned from the Great Recession, and many people who are changing their value system are embracing the “reuse” mantra and shopping for items they need at yard sales and on eBay and Craigslist instead of purchasing all new items. So the market for reusable stuff hasn’t dried up altogether, it has just shifted to become a buyer’s market.

see also:

from SmartMoney.com:

An Insider’s Guide to the Selloff Industry

You’ve Got It. Now, Can You Sell It?

from Shareable.net:

How to Throw a Successful Yard Sale

To contact Julie regarding this article, email: file:///C:/Documents%20and%20Settings/Julia/Application%20Data/Microsoft/Word/julie@expatdailynews.com

Julie R Butler is a traveler, blogger, freelance writer, and editor who has authored several books, self-published as eBooks, including Nine Months In Uruguay and No Stranger To Strange Lands (click here for more info). Please contact Julie for writing or editing assignments at: julierbutler [at] yahoo.com

See more expat articles by Julie at

Expat Daily News Latin America.

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