Travels with Forty Roses: September 2018

Blacklisted!

Blacklisting is the action of a group or authority, compiling a blacklist of people, countries or other entities to be avoided or distrusted as not being acceptable to those making the list.

Throughout history blacklisting has been a pretty damming label. Apparently, the origin of the phrase dates to 1639 by an English dramatist, Philip Massinger in his tragedy, The Unnatural Combat. Henceforth, the term or phrase has been used to isolate workers from jobs, businesses from operating, screenwriters and other professionals purported to have Communist sympathies from their livelihood, denial of care by multiple medical providers to certain patients…this has been done in some instances where patients could not pay cash in advance. Credit card companies use such a list for payment card merchant accounts that are terminated so that if such a company applies for an account they are very unlikely to be granted one by any provider. And in computing a blacklist is an access control system that denies entry to any range of users, programs or network addresses. Of course there is always the opportunity to be on a person’s ‘blacklist’ or in anyone’s ‘black book’ if one’s behavior is not acceptable or willingly tolerated. And, I find out there is little if anything one can do about being blacklisted.

However, on the positive side, it is good to be back at the boat! (Of course, we had a wonderful summer at home in Canada.) Bernard did his usual brilliant job of looking after Forty Roses III and to him we are deeply grateful. All went well during the summer other than a very severe drought in northern and other parts of France. Valiantly, gardeners have tried to keep flower pots blooming and trees sufficiently watered. At our lovely little marina in Wambrechies the huge containers holding evergreens were sadly not large enough to prevent death by heat. Boaters who garden aboard with tomato plants and flowers and pots of leeks and lettuce have almost given up. My beautiful little clivia lily which I tucked under a hedge, as was recommended, died. I want to find another as the orange bloom in spring is a ray of sunlight!

But back to Blacklisting….As most of you know we retained our French cell phone numbers over the summer. Upon returning to Europe, Free our mobile server, welcomed us with a message when we reached Netherlands, another reaching the Belgium boarder and yet again a message for John as he passed over the French boarder. Strangely, no message for me, but I had data service so I never thought anything about it. We were very busy opening up and scrubbing the boat, getting rid of summer spiders and all in all making Forty Roses ship shape. No real need to make phone calls and of course I could use my phone to send emails, etc. But I did recall, in Canada before we left, some of my emails would not send from my phone. Anyhow, as we were going into Lille to return our rental car, I planned to drop off at the Free centre and check out what was up as I continued to show No Service…that fateful little circle with a line through it.

In Lille I speak with the Free folks and they check this and that, remove the SIM, put it back in etc. and lo and behold I have service. I can call John and he can call me. All good. We head out to take a last look at one of our favourite places… Lille and have a coffee and enjoy the beautiful day. A few hours later I again see that little circle with the line through it! No Service! We return to Free…they know me by now and we wait again for a technician. This time the technician takes much longer and I am asked for my Titre de Sejour card etc. Then the tech gives me the news.. You are blacklisted, he says. You must go to the police, as your phone is stolen. There is nothing you can do without seeing the police. So we trudge to the Euralille Police office where we are greeted and explain my situation. This, by the way, is not done easily. Have owned the phone for 4 1/2 years, purchased in Kuala Lumpur . Lieutenant Brice takes over and does his investigation….to no avail. The phone has been Blacklisted says he…internationally. Not the SIM but the phone itself. Lieutenant Brice says go back to Free, they can resolve? So we lumber back to Free, but sadly they say go back to Canada to sort it or buy a new phone. They cannot remove anything as they have no access…it’s a ‘situation’, a mystery, a conundrum. Happily problems are usually solvable with expenditure! Down the street we trek to SFR and buy a new Samsung A6, put in my old SIM and I’m now off the Blacklist….well not off, but at least untraceable for now.