African men in Athens selling their wares

There's a surprising amount of support on here for illegal immigrants selling counterfeit goods. Hmmm.

"you just had to be there" as a famous man once said. I welcome everyones opinion. but #21, we do not all move illegally and live illegally, and sell dubious goods illegally. Do you think I would be welcomed in Africa selling a selection of European curios at tourist attractions?

It is so easy speaking when one is born in the rich part of the world. What would I do if i was born in Niger or Bangladesh, with the little i 'knew' about the rest of the world?

re #23: That would never come up to you because you wouldn't have many customers.

Grecophile, i'd like to respond your #22 but i have no time right now.

Artemis

you said: "re #23: That would never come up to you because you wouldn't have many customers."

Arguementative in my opinion. I wish I lived in your ideal little Utopia. I am not going to argue opinions with you. Your points have become just plain silly. Remember my earlier post here about respecting opinions????? I guess you are used to always being correct, but there you go.

Borrego ;-)) This is an easy one.

I happened to have had a former life as a purchaser of fashion accessories. For that job i have done some travelling in Europe but also in the Far East. In Bangkok (one of the fake goods capitals as everybody knows), i was in the company of 2 colleagues who absolutely wanted to buy fake Rolexes (and i totally agree with you that people who buy imitation goods are to be blamed most of all, without demand - no offer). While they were shopping at the night markets, some vendors said 'real copies, real copies!' They had original Rolex leaflets with pictures to show you that they were selling exact copies of genuine Rolex models. Those watches were the real copies.
Other vendors sold look-alike-type Rolex watches (i would never know as i don't care about expensive watches at all, neither do i care about expensive purses), but also with the name 'Rolex' on it. Those were, what my colleagues called false copies.

Voilà

BTW My accessories (and also sewing things like zippers and buttons) purchasing was of the very innocent kind :)

From OP: It probably doesn't matter, but the only thing I purchased was a football shirt during the Liverpool-Milan championships. They were being sold on every corner by people of every color, and I chose to buy one from an African, hoping the money might filter back to the family. Each African I spoke to was grateful for a 5-minute conversation whether I purchased anything or not.

I agree that these men are getting on the boats in Africa with no idea what is ahead for them and nothing to lose. They only know what they are escaping and are willing to die in the attempt to get to a better place. I appreciate this exchange.

I think there is a bit of naiveté being shown here by some of the posters. People trafficking has become big business in some parts of the world, and the Africans you see selling on the streets in Europe are victims of it. They don't fly to Europe on Kenya Airways or KLM - they are smuggled into Europe by criminals who are exploiting them. I can't vouch for the accuracy of this website, but it illustrates what I am trying to say.

irrelevant!! They are not kidnapped and forced to come to Europe.

"irrelevant!! They are not kidnapped and forced to come to Europe."

Big Iain, very relevant! How much of the money customers pay for those counterfeit goods do you think goes to their families in Africa? Most of it ends up in the pockets of the traffickers. The same criminals who are trafficking adult males are trafficking boys and girls for the sex trade. I feel sorry for the victims of this vile practice, but buying counterfeit goods from them only helps to perpetuate the problem.

Username: Big_Iain
Bio: Whats interesting about me? Well, I only post or reply to posts which I actually know something about.


Hmmm.