Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:10):
My hard podcasts, hear more kiss podcasts, playlists, and listen
live on the Free.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
I heard a hate willin what he woulds. I know
there's a lot of fear about going over to the
US at the moment, particularly given that they're you know,
you don't need to be really all that far off
the scale to be getting pulled up, detained, sent back home.
And Alistair Kitchen, who's a thirty three year old writer
and photographer from Melbourne, was pulled from the line at customs,
(00:36):
taken to a back room. His phone was seized. He
was held at LAX for twelve hours, and the US
border agent said that was because he'd written on his
personal blog covering the pro Palestinian rallies at Columbia University
last year. So this is just something he's written in
his blog about something that happened at UNI last year.
His belongings and passport handed over two quondas, not given
(00:56):
back to him until he landed back in Melbourne. Again.
You have a look at this guy. Yeah, I certain
wouldn't pick him line up, and not in a bad way. Alistair,
who joins us right now, I'm glad to hear it.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Matte it's actually just on what we'll saying then, because
you're right for me, you just look like a normal guy. Alistair,
So how did they find you? And when did they
pick you out of the queue and drag you into
a room?
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Yeah? Well, picked out of a lineup is the right idea.
Because I stepped off the plane and within a minute
many Australians will know that lion at Lax where you
go to get your pathport looked at. I didn't even
get into it. The voice came over the radio over
the intercom, they called me to the back. An officer
collected me and whisked me away into a back room
where this twelve hour detention and a series of interviews began.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
So when you are picked out like that, all your
name goes over the speaking it straight into a room.
What's going through your head at that point? Alistair?
Speaker 3 (01:55):
Well, look, I knew that things were getting dodgy, to
say the least in the US, so I had prepared
in advance for some type of superficial search of my phone.
You know, I'd scrubbed my social media, taken down anything
critical of Donald Trump. But that's not I prepared for
the wrong thing, and I want Australian to know that,
because they had before I had taken all these things down,
(02:17):
already read them in the weeks coming up to my
flight to the US. So when I realized that, look, fear,
fear is the right word for it.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Yeah, for sure, man.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
So then what are the kinds of questions they're asking you?
So you just said, then you put in a room
for twelve hours. What questions are they asking you? And
what are they doing to you for twelve hours?
Speaker 3 (02:37):
Well, I can tell you. As soon as they sat
me down and they'd got the prelude, the biographical questions
out of the way, as soon as they were ready
to interview me, the officer turned and said, look, mate,
we both know why you're here. Look, he didn't use
the word mate. He said, look, we both know why
you're here. And I said, I don't know why I'm here,
and he said it's because of what you've written about
(02:58):
the protest of Columbia. And then for the next thirty
to forty minutes he grilled me about my views on
the Israel Gaza conflict.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Yeah, right, do you, Alice? Did? How did they know that?
It sounds like there's been some prep involved for them
to know that you've done this, Like, are they scanning
passenger lists for planes that are inbound to source people
before they land? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (03:26):
Look, I'm not sure. I've got two ideas, and both
of them scamming. The first is an Australian should be
aware of this, that the technological sophistication of customs and
border patrol seems to have got much better than it
used to be. It used to be pretty unsophisticated and
they'll just like scroll through your phone a little bit
if they felt like it. At this point, I'm worrying
that they are matching your s to application to a
(03:50):
search of your online presence.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Yeah right, okay, okay, that's my first fear.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
My second fear. When we were at Columbia, it was
well reported that certain conservative political groups were giving the
names of students who they did not like to the government,
asking the government to follow up with them. And I'm
a little bit worried that I ended up on one
of those lists.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Yeah right, oh my yeah right. And then that flags
on the system when they say that you're flying in
and then they will detain you for twelve hours and
flying your home. So when you're in there, mate, when
you say like intimidation, what what level are we talking here? Like,
I'm kind of you know, I'm kind of envisioning a
bad nineties movie with a good cop bad cop routine
(04:33):
with the guys kind of like slamming on the table
his hands and threatening you with with you know, I
don't know, sending you back to your country.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Fine book, I reckon that.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Yeah, but was there any liked how hectic did it get?
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (04:49):
Look, there are stories of that happening. There are stories
of yelling or swearing, of threatening that didn't happen to me.
And guys, look, I'm going to be perfectly honest. I
didn't need that to already be scared. Yeah, they were
perfectly scary enough to be in the back room in
a basically stateless position. You know where you are before
you've checked in your visa. You have less rights than
(05:12):
a criminal.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, you're nowhere.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
I recognize you can get getting shipped off too. System.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
I was going to say a people getting shopped off
to El Salvador daily for that's right for nothing really, and.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Al Am I right in saying that they took your
phone off you and then demanded your passcode.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
Yes, you are right to say it. And let me
say to anyone listening, when that happens to you, or
if and when it happens to you, you will be
given a choice hand over your past code or immediately
get back, get back on the plane and sent back home.
That was the first question I was given, Do you
want your passcode or do you want to go back home?
And I was still hopeful at that point that I
(05:52):
would get into the US.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
I was wrong to be hopeful, and I was wrong
to give them my passcode. If you're in that situation,
please get on the plane. I don't care if it's
another fifteen hours back in Melbourne, because they are never
going to let you in by the time you to
search your phone.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
Okay, that's great advice.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
Did you meet anyone else who was being detained alistair
with you at that time as well?
Speaker 3 (06:16):
Yeah, well we were put into this detention holding pen.
The thing is we're not allowed to talk to each other.
I was the only man. The women were separated by
a wall. I could see them occasionally. There were five
of them, three women from Latin America, two women from China,
and when I stepped in the door, one of them
was distraught, asking the guard who was guarding us for
(06:39):
any information at all, and he turned to her and
he says, I've got no information to give you. There's
none coming. You should not worry about it. That woman
over there has been here for four and a half
days complaining. And when I heard that, Guys, let me
tell you, my heart sank.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Woh man, that's that is really scary.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
He being fed and like anything like that.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
Yes, I can tell you. There's cup noodles.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
There.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
There's cup noodles. So if you're into that, need as
many as you want. And they're very proud that they're
giving it to your free.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
I'm sure they are. Hey, Aliceair, are you scared about
talking like is it? Or have you just kind of
written off a trip to America for the duration of
the Trump administration.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
I've certainly written off, but I'll tell you that I
am pretty terrified for two reasons. One, the chance that
they implement a lifetime ban as a reprisal for me
talking to guys like you. The second they plugged in
and downloaded the entire contents of my phone. And look,
as any guy or girl will know, there's always stuff
on your phone you don't want getting out there, and frankly,
(07:46):
I don't trust them to release that stuff. When I
get off the phone with you guys, I'm buying a
uphane because who knows what they've downloaded.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
That is totally wild or like they could like doctor
images in your photo gallery to make it look like nudes.
And I'm not just saying that just in case they
ever get my phone and find some nudes on there
is that is crazy.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
I don't think they're doing that, but either way, don't
release my nudes. Alice Deair, that is really wild man. Firstly,
really sorry that happened to you. Yeah, that sucks, but
thank you for joining us. And yeah, a warning shot
for everyone out there that it's obviously I know we
(08:30):
were seeing it on the news and whatnot, but it's
obviously a very different place from from what it has been.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Yeah, it's a different country to the one we were
brought up to believe it.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
Yeah, yeah, mate, thanks for joining us here on William Woody.
Good luck with the phone buying mate, Yeah wow, Alistair
Kitchen there, it's been detained at lax shipped home for
writing an article about Palestine years ago on his personal
blog wild stuff there. Make sure you are dotting your eyes,
(08:59):
crossing your t before you go to the US these days.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
And you can't even wipe your phone now, like it's done.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
You're worried about the nudes, mate, I know you are.
It's Will and Woody kis
My hard podcasts, hear more kiss podcasts, playlists, and listen
live on the Free.
Speaker 2 (00:15):
I heard a hate willin what he woulds. I know
there's a lot of fear about going over to the
US at the moment, particularly given that they're you know,
you don't need to be really all that far off
the scale to be getting pulled up, detained, sent back home.
And Alistair Kitchen, who's a thirty three year old writer
and photographer from Melbourne, was pulled from the line at customs,
(00:36):
taken to a back room. His phone was seized. He
was held at LAX for twelve hours, and the US
border agent said that was because he'd written on his
personal blog covering the pro Palestinian rallies at Columbia University
last year. So this is just something he's written in
his blog about something that happened at UNI last year.
His belongings and passport handed over two quondas, not given
(00:56):
back to him until he landed back in Melbourne. Again.
You have a look at this guy. Yeah, I certain
wouldn't pick him line up, and not in a bad way. Alistair,
who joins us right now, I'm glad to hear it.
Speaker 1 (01:10):
Matte it's actually just on what we'll saying then, because
you're right for me, you just look like a normal guy. Alistair,
So how did they find you? And when did they
pick you out of the queue and drag you into
a room?
Speaker 3 (01:23):
Yeah? Well, picked out of a lineup is the right idea.
Because I stepped off the plane and within a minute
many Australians will know that lion at Lax where you
go to get your pathport looked at. I didn't even
get into it. The voice came over the radio over
the intercom, they called me to the back. An officer
collected me and whisked me away into a back room
where this twelve hour detention and a series of interviews began.
Speaker 1 (01:48):
So when you are picked out like that, all your
name goes over the speaking it straight into a room.
What's going through your head at that point? Alistair?
Speaker 3 (01:55):
Well, look, I knew that things were getting dodgy, to
say the least in the US, so I had prepared
in advance for some type of superficial search of my phone.
You know, I'd scrubbed my social media, taken down anything
critical of Donald Trump. But that's not I prepared for
the wrong thing, and I want Australian to know that,
because they had before I had taken all these things down,
(02:17):
already read them in the weeks coming up to my
flight to the US. So when I realized that, look, fear,
fear is the right word for it.
Speaker 2 (02:27):
Yeah, for sure, man.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
So then what are the kinds of questions they're asking you?
So you just said, then you put in a room
for twelve hours. What questions are they asking you? And
what are they doing to you for twelve hours?
Speaker 3 (02:37):
Well, I can tell you. As soon as they sat
me down and they'd got the prelude, the biographical questions
out of the way, as soon as they were ready
to interview me, the officer turned and said, look, mate,
we both know why you're here. Look, he didn't use
the word mate. He said, look, we both know why
you're here. And I said, I don't know why I'm here,
and he said it's because of what you've written about
(02:58):
the protest of Columbia. And then for the next thirty
to forty minutes he grilled me about my views on
the Israel Gaza conflict.
Speaker 2 (03:07):
Yeah, right, do you, Alice? Did? How did they know that?
It sounds like there's been some prep involved for them
to know that you've done this, Like, are they scanning
passenger lists for planes that are inbound to source people
before they land? Yeah?
Speaker 3 (03:26):
Look, I'm not sure. I've got two ideas, and both
of them scamming. The first is an Australian should be
aware of this, that the technological sophistication of customs and
border patrol seems to have got much better than it
used to be. It used to be pretty unsophisticated and
they'll just like scroll through your phone a little bit
if they felt like it. At this point, I'm worrying
that they are matching your s to application to a
(03:50):
search of your online presence.
Speaker 2 (03:52):
Yeah right, okay, okay, that's my first fear.
Speaker 3 (03:56):
My second fear. When we were at Columbia, it was
well reported that certain conservative political groups were giving the
names of students who they did not like to the government,
asking the government to follow up with them. And I'm
a little bit worried that I ended up on one
of those lists.
Speaker 2 (04:12):
Yeah right, oh my yeah right. And then that flags
on the system when they say that you're flying in
and then they will detain you for twelve hours and
flying your home. So when you're in there, mate, when
you say like intimidation, what what level are we talking here? Like,
I'm kind of you know, I'm kind of envisioning a
bad nineties movie with a good cop bad cop routine
(04:33):
with the guys kind of like slamming on the table
his hands and threatening you with with you know, I
don't know, sending you back to your country.
Speaker 1 (04:42):
Fine book, I reckon that.
Speaker 3 (04:45):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (04:45):
Yeah, but was there any liked how hectic did it get?
Speaker 1 (04:49):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (04:49):
Look, there are stories of that happening. There are stories
of yelling or swearing, of threatening that didn't happen to me.
And guys, look, I'm going to be perfectly honest. I
didn't need that to already be scared. Yeah, they were
perfectly scary enough to be in the back room in
a basically stateless position. You know where you are before
you've checked in your visa. You have less rights than
(05:12):
a criminal.
Speaker 2 (05:12):
Yeah yeah, yeah, yeah, you're nowhere.
Speaker 3 (05:15):
I recognize you can get getting shipped off too. System.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
I was going to say a people getting shopped off
to El Salvador daily for that's right for nothing really, and.
Speaker 1 (05:25):
Al Am I right in saying that they took your
phone off you and then demanded your passcode.
Speaker 3 (05:32):
Yes, you are right to say it. And let me
say to anyone listening, when that happens to you, or
if and when it happens to you, you will be
given a choice hand over your past code or immediately
get back, get back on the plane and sent back home.
That was the first question I was given, Do you
want your passcode or do you want to go back home?
And I was still hopeful at that point that I
(05:52):
would get into the US.
Speaker 1 (05:53):
Yeah.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
I was wrong to be hopeful, and I was wrong
to give them my passcode. If you're in that situation,
please get on the plane. I don't care if it's
another fifteen hours back in Melbourne, because they are never
going to let you in by the time you to
search your phone.
Speaker 2 (06:09):
Okay, that's great advice.
Speaker 1 (06:11):
Did you meet anyone else who was being detained alistair
with you at that time as well?
Speaker 3 (06:16):
Yeah, well we were put into this detention holding pen.
The thing is we're not allowed to talk to each other.
I was the only man. The women were separated by
a wall. I could see them occasionally. There were five
of them, three women from Latin America, two women from China,
and when I stepped in the door, one of them
was distraught, asking the guard who was guarding us for
(06:39):
any information at all, and he turned to her and
he says, I've got no information to give you. There's
none coming. You should not worry about it. That woman
over there has been here for four and a half
days complaining. And when I heard that, Guys, let me
tell you, my heart sank.
Speaker 2 (06:57):
Woh man, that's that is really scary.
Speaker 1 (07:00):
He being fed and like anything like that.
Speaker 3 (07:02):
Yes, I can tell you. There's cup noodles.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
There.
Speaker 3 (07:06):
There's cup noodles. So if you're into that, need as
many as you want. And they're very proud that they're
giving it to your free.
Speaker 2 (07:12):
I'm sure they are. Hey, Aliceair, are you scared about
talking like is it? Or have you just kind of
written off a trip to America for the duration of
the Trump administration.
Speaker 3 (07:23):
I've certainly written off, but I'll tell you that I
am pretty terrified for two reasons. One, the chance that
they implement a lifetime ban as a reprisal for me
talking to guys like you. The second they plugged in
and downloaded the entire contents of my phone. And look,
as any guy or girl will know, there's always stuff
on your phone you don't want getting out there, and frankly,
(07:46):
I don't trust them to release that stuff. When I
get off the phone with you guys, I'm buying a
uphane because who knows what they've downloaded.
Speaker 1 (07:56):
That is totally wild or like they could like doctor
images in your photo gallery to make it look like nudes.
And I'm not just saying that just in case they
ever get my phone and find some nudes on there
is that is crazy.
Speaker 2 (08:08):
I don't think they're doing that, but either way, don't
release my nudes. Alice Deair, that is really wild man. Firstly,
really sorry that happened to you. Yeah, that sucks, but
thank you for joining us. And yeah, a warning shot
for everyone out there that it's obviously I know we
(08:30):
were seeing it on the news and whatnot, but it's
obviously a very different place from from what it has been.
Speaker 3 (08:35):
Yeah, it's a different country to the one we were
brought up to believe it.
Speaker 2 (08:39):
Yeah, yeah, mate, thanks for joining us here on William Woody.
Good luck with the phone buying mate, Yeah wow, Alistair
Kitchen there, it's been detained at lax shipped home for
writing an article about Palestine years ago on his personal
blog wild stuff there. Make sure you are dotting your eyes,
(08:59):
crossing your t before you go to the US these days.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
And you can't even wipe your phone now, like it's done.
Speaker 2 (09:03):
You're worried about the nudes, mate, I know you are.
It's Will and Woody kis
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