He who works makes mistakes – but this is monumental
There is a Croatian saying that I particularly enjoy: “he who works makes mistakes”. That is very true. Mistakes will happen. However, try hard and in whatever field you work, we are all human. Whether it’s a multi-billion dollar industry that sends astronauts to the moon or a non-profit charity. No one is perfect, no matter how much you think you are.
On the other hand, some mistakes can be avoided. And this is the story of one such.
When I first read this headline, I thought it must be a very early April Fool’s joke. Or was it somehow lost in translation?
It is about the title – “Exploring Dubrovnik: A city that is not in the European Union, but is closely connected with it.” It was a title that left more questions than answers. Was that an old article? No, just a few days old. And if we are not in the EU, how can we be closely connected?
Was it in a strange newspaper? Not again. A company with an annual turnover between 2 and 5 million dollars appeared in Malaysian Digest.
Intrigued, I read the article and almost immediately wished I hadn’t. I did not edit anything, here is the paragraph about Dubrovnik.
“But is Dubrovnik in the European Union? This question has a complicated answer. While Croatia, the country where Dubrovnik is located, is a member of the European Union, the city itself is not part of the European Union. This means that travelers to Dubrovnik do not have to worry about exchanging money for euros or complying with the same customs regulations as in other EU countries. Despite this, Dubrovnik still has a close relationship with the EU and its citizens enjoy many of the same benefits as those living in the Union.”
What?!? Or rather WTF!?! None of this makes any sense.
And then I started thinking. What will potential tourists from Malaysia think when they show up in Dubrovnik? You could say fortunately that we don’t actually have many tourists from that part of the world, so that will be a small problem. But if you are one of those tourists, it is not a small problem. Naturally, I wrote back to Malaysian Digest for comment, or rather wrote a rather scathing email pointing out their mistakes.
Here is a short transcript of that email. – Let’s go through this short paragraph with accurate information. “But is Dubrovnik in the European Union?” – answer YES. “This question has a complicated answer,” – the answer is not complicated at all, Dubrovnik is in Croatia and Croatia has been a full member of the EU since 2013. “While Croatia, the country where Dubrovnik is located, is a member of the European Union, the city itself is not part of the EU,” – answer, see previous answer. “This means that travelers to Dubrovnik do not have to worry about exchanging money for euros or respecting the same customs regulations as in other EU countries,” – answer if you need euros in Dubrovnik and you must comply with all customs (including visas) regulations of other countries EU countries. “Despite this, Dubrovnik still has a close relationship with the EU and its citizens enjoy many of the same benefits as those living in the Union,” – answer, see all answers above.
Needless to say, I am still waiting for a response from the Malaysian newspaper.
I must add that those were not the only mistakes. How about this one – “Despite the fact that Croatia is a member of the EU, it is not yet a member of the Schengen zone.”
And this article was published on January 19 this year, almost three weeks after we entered the borderless zone of the EU. I apologize once again to all Malaysian tourists who come to Dubrovnik this summer and find a completely different story than this article.
Like I said, we’re all human and humans make mistakes. But this takes it to a whole new level.
I would struggle to write an article about it Kuala Lumpur, so I don’t have any. But since I’ve lived here for almost 30 years, I think I’ve got a pretty good handle on comings and goings in Dubrovnik and Croatia.
Am I making mistakes? All the time. Because, to return to my pleasant Croatian saying, I work. But I’m pretty sure that if I had written this text, it would have been my biggest mistake. A simple five-minute Google walk would have given this reporter all the answers.
I really feel sorry for that tourist from Malaysia who will come this summer with a pocket full of kunas and then spend the day in FINA changing them.
Read more An Englishman in Dubrovnik…well, if you really want to