Talk:MV Aurora
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[edit] Gibraltar frontier closure
The closure of the frontier was quite un-necessary. It is not the norm for cruise ship passengers to visit Spain, and on this occasion those who were allowed ashore had to surrender their passports preventing them leaving Gibraltar.
The virus had been identified as one in common circulation anyway, far less dangerous than salmonella which is endemic in Spain.
The way they carried on one might have thought it was plague.
But lets stick to the facts, nobody else closed a frontier it was a unilateral act by the Spanish Government, and quite un-necessary.
I Interviewed a number of passengers and talked to lots more returning to the ship, they all said they had had a good trip, praised the crew and said that the media had hyped the whole affair.
I recall the frontier opened in the evening, the ship probably sailed then anyway, it was certainly not the next day.--Gibnews 09:22, 16 January 2006 (UTC)
- Well, I'm pretty sure that the closure was unnecessary. But that's not the matter. If I read the BBC article, I will find the phrase you've removed ("Spain follows Greece's example and seals its border with Gibraltar"). BBC has been always regarded as one of the most respected media in the world, so that I can't see why you insist in removing it. Anyway, it doesn't matter... --Ecemaml 10:28, 16 January 2006 (UTC). PS: dates have been also taken from the BBC article. I don't know whether it's wrong
I had a long chat to the BBC at the frontier, and went out live on Radio 3. However in terms of being factual they are not always correct, often describing Gibraltar as an island etc. There were a number of conflicting reports on the treatment the 'Aurora' received elsewhere. However Greece did not seal its border with anyone AFAIK so whoever made the original comparison was wrong. All in all it was a strange reaction as the nature of the infection was known and mostly over by the time the vessel arrived, and in any event passengers do not normally visit Spain as they are on a tight timeframe and La Lineá has little in the way of tourist attractions currently. As it happened, the TV OB trucks were in Spain to cover another event and diverted to Gibraltar for the Aurora, the publicity that we got from the border closure was priceless :)
What was instructional was talking to one of the news reporters we agreed that the passengers were happy, and then she went on air to describe the 'doomed plague ship' ah well.--Gibnews 20:23, 16 January 2006 (UTC)
I checked my database on this event and the best source is EFE who give times for the frontier closure. The BBC timeline given was total nonsense. Its been reported to them for correction.
There was a period after that when there were 'health checks' on people crossing into Spain, but they were quicky abandoned as worthless--Gibnews 11:08, 21 January 2006 (UTC)
POSTSCRIPT
The BBC have updated their website and it now agrees with the facts of the incident as reported by the Spanish press and the way I saw it happen--Gibnews 20:39, 3 February 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Revisionism
Is this page about the Aurora or on how bad the spaniards are?
Thats for the reader to decide after seeing the facts; its certainly not about covering up what the Spanish did. I have pictures of the medical officer briefing officials in Spain about the situation on the ship, the frontier closing and spent a lot of the day covering this story, including meeting around 50 passengers. The only thing that made me sick was what I saw at the frontier.
There are plenty of 'facts' but in Spain there are only opinions. --Gibnews 08:08, 15 April 2006 (UTC)
Template:Civility Regards, Asterion 14:45, 15 April 2006 (UTC)
style guide --Gibnews 16:08, 15 April 2006 (UTC)
[edit] English Usage and political issues
"passengers were sickened with stomach infections caused by the highly-contagious Norwalk virus. During the epidemic"
is not good English, and the infection was more an outbreak than an Epidemic. Some of the rest of the wording was pretty awful too.
Health in Gibraltar is a matter for the Government of Gibraltar, not the 'colonial power' that the Spanish authorities have their head in the sand is their problem.
However, if anyone feels that there is insufficient evidence for the statement that closing the frontier was a political act, I could include some other instances of Spain refusing entry to cruise ships that have visited Gibraltar to explain the context.--Gibnews 16:22, 15 April 2006 (UTC)
[edit] Revised article
I hope the edit war is over, the quality of the article has improved as a result. It remains a sad fact that the authorities in Spain do not miss a chance to sabotage the economy of Gibraltar and refuse to recognise the competence of our authorities. If you need a question about Gibraltar answered, there is no point asking someone in London. --Gibnews 08:37, 16 April 2006 (UTC)
