A Canadian teen who scratched a name into a wooden pillar at a 1,200-year-old Japanese temple caused a bit of an international furor recently.
Apparently the 17-year-old boy meant no harm. Really.
Neither did the British tourist who carved his and his fiancée’s names into a wall at the Roman Colosseum.
It appears he has written a letter apologizing for what he did, saying he did not realize the antiquity and importance of the site. Duh!
One can only hope the Japanese or Italian official reading each excuse responds appropriately – with a disgusted snort, a hefty enough fine to repair the damage and discourage others, and a strongly-worded suggestion the vandal goes home and stays there for the foreseeable future.
The urge to leave one’s mark on something is not new.
The example that immediately comes to mind is the wartime cartoon figure of a bald head with a large nose poking out over a wall, and the caption “Kilroy was here!” It appeared wherever Allied troops went.
They were only doing what other soldiers have done in the past. Archeologists have unearthed something a Roman soldier had carved into Hadrian’s Wall – a crude insult, with the image of a male appendage. Take that, Secundinus!
Roman graffiti was quite popular, according to the scribbles and scrawls preserved in layers of deadly ash from the AD 79 eruption of Mount Vesuvius.
Generations of students studying those ancient versions of “Kilroy was here” carved their initials into school desks – lesson learned.
Even before writing was invented, people were leaving evidence of their presence. Cave paintings dating back to the time of wooly mammoths and sabre-toothed tigers include human hand prints outlined in paint.
Fast forward to the idiots who defaced the Japanese temple and Roman Colosseum. All one can say is they are fortunate that Japan and Italy are modern nations where people who damage monuments are treated much as they would be in Canada or Britain. Had they vandalized something in a less liberal-minded country, they would be facing much worse than a legal slap on the wrist.
As it is, both face the possibility that the next wall they have the opportunity to deface could be at a local jail, rather than a treasured historic site.
This is something to keep in mind for those fortunate enough to be vacationing abroad this summer. When visiting a foreign country, that country’s laws apply. While some countries make certain allowances for visitors, flouting local laws can get tourists into a lot of trouble. Marijuana consumption may be legal in Canada, but considered a major crime elsewhere.
Canadians who violate laws in foreign countries are sadly mistaken if they think their Canadian passport is a “get out of jail free” card.
A Government of Canada website providing information for Canadians detained abroad states thousands of Canadians are imprisoned in more than 85 countries around the world.
People with dual citizenship may consider themselves Canadian, but the other country could regard the person as a local citizen and refuse them access to Canadian assistance.
Even when there is no problem with citizenship, there are limits to what Global Affairs Canada and consular officials can do to help.
The website states quite clearly that when you break the laws of another country, you are subject to that country’s judicial system – not knowing local laws is no excuse. Global Affairs Canada cannot ask for special treatment for a Canadian detained in a foreign country, try to spare the person due process of local law, or overrule the decisions of local authorities.
By the same token, visitors to this country are expected to obey Canadian laws, for example, they cannot light up a cigarette in a public building, although back home, this may be quite acceptable.
That said, defacing a world-famous historic site, be it in Canada or elsewhere, is not a matter of accidentally violating an obscure local law – it is atrociously bad behaviour anywhere.
Tourists take note: Bring home only good memories; leave behind only your footprints.
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Pauline Kerr is a Local Journalism Initiative Reporter currently working for Midwestern Newspapers. She can be reached at pkerr@midwesternnewspapers.com.
