A woman from Poland chose Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt as her fall vacation destination and was quickly disappointed in her choice. The reason was the sending of Russians to the resort country, says the letter of the Onet editorial office.
“Although I heard about a large number of Russian tourists, the sun, heat, beaches, and pools tempted me to fly to the Sinai Peninsula. … I saw many tour operators holding signs with inscriptions in Russian and looking at us, hoping that maybe we those tourists they are waiting for,” she said.
The woman was outraged by the fact that everything in the country is prepared to receive citizens of the aggressor country: hotel staff and tour guides know Russian, but not English, and all people of Slavic appearance are perceived as Russians, Russian music is played in local bars and clubs.
“When we settled in the hotel, I was once again mistaken for a Russian woman, like our whole group… It doesn’t matter that we all gave Polish passports at the register because the employee had to enter our citizenship into the system. He saw that the documents were in Latin. After returning gave me my passport, and he handed me a number card with an envelope filled with information about the resort. Copies in English, and we shyly went to our assigned rooms,” the woman complains.
The woman also told about a case when local guides and traders falsely stated that they would be happy to visit Poland if it were not for the war in that country.
“After what war? All the tourists were indignant. … The resident stood his ground and believed that he knew better and that Poland was at war with Russia. I wanted to pack my bags and go home. … Unfortunately for himself, he did not sell a single ticket. We were all outraged! The situation happened again amid the holidays. While packing souvenirs, the seller asked where I was from. I answered that I was from Poland. I was answered with disdain: “You are at war with Russia.” I could not stand it, left everything and left. It was too much!” – says the tourist.
Russians themselves, according to Emilia, behave defiantly and rudely at resorts. And some try to hide from foreigners that they are from Russia, ignoring them.
One evening I was walking through the resort area, looking for a club. My friend and I were suddenly approached by two Russians with their phones set to selfie and said they wanted to take a picture with me. I chased them away. They were very surprised and began to ask why. My friend knows Russian, so she started to explain that we are from Poland, that we don’t want to have anything to do with them, that they are the aggressors in the war… Do you know what their answer was? But we are fighting for peace, we have nothing against Poland, you are cool. We didn’t go to the club anymore, we got to a bar where there were ten Russians per square meter. Russian music played, they sang, laughed, and had fun. Then I realized that there is no place where I can go and not hear this language,” the woman sums up.