Tuesday 10 August 2010

Customs: What Else Gets Through Their "Scrutiny"?

A while ago five ancient metal vessels apparently clandestinely entered the European Union from Turkey wrapped in a carpet. The Customs officers who should be guarding our borders did not notice, and the objects are now in Germany and subject to dispute. Looking at the five of them, it seems to me that there is at least a kilogramme of metal there, and together they'd be quite a bulky package in the middle of a carpet. But still the Customs officers did not notice. What else do they not see?

A kilogramme of antiquities means a lot of destruction of archaeology. Possibly no big deal to many people (collectors and dealers included).
A kilogramme of icons stolen from Cypriot churches in the Turkish zone is equally possibly no big deal to many people (collectors and dealers included). Would they be stopped by the same customs officers that did not find five bowls in a carpet?
A kilogramme of blood diamonds however can do a lot more damage, would they be stopped by the same customs officers?
A kilogramme of plastic explosives destined for some terrorist group can do a lot more damage, would they be stopped by the same customs officers?
A kilogramme of plutonium waste is enough for a dirty bomb that could, for example, devastate Hamburg in response to the closing of a 'radical' mosque, would they be stopped by the same customs officers?
A kilogramme of anthrax spores smuggled out of Iraq (remember those "weapons of mass destruction" and Colin Powell's show?) could contaminate more than just Hamburg, would they be stopped by the same customs officers?
A kilogramme of CDs with kiddie porn picture files represents a lot of child abuse and a lot of profit for somebody, would they be stopped by the same customs officers?
A kilogramme of jihadist literature passing to militant groups in Germany through Moslem Turkey could in the long run be very damaging. Would that be stopped by the same customs officers?
A kilogramme of poached ivory or rhino horn means the death of a number of individuals of endangered species, would that be stopped by the same customs officers?
And so on.

The constant ability of the international antiquities market to get illicit antiquities and other stolen artworks across national and international borders (enough to support a multi-million dollar industry it is believed) with very few cases where such traffic is actually detected at the borders, should be raising very real public fears about what else is getting through undetected. In reality you do not need anything like a kilogramme of anthrax spores or plutonium to create a threat to public safety. It seems to me, that despite all the controls we have and the technology that could be brought to bear on the problem, we are woefully unprotected against international movement of all sorts of nasty stuff. Instead of loosening the controls at the borders, as would very much suit the no-questions-asked antiquities market, surely there are a number of very good reasons why in this day and age, we should be tightening them. Just as the amount of antiquities which are, probably daily, getting through undetected are a visible sign of this, so too tightening border controls would cut down the number of illeally exported antiquities and other cultural property that are travelling across international borders.

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