Mark Boyle’s Asylum Walk Stopped By Language Barrier
MARK Boyle is a man on a mission.
Mark Boyle pulls on his shoes, his socks and his sandals and sets off on long walk from Bristol to Porbander, Gandhi’s birthplace in India.
Mark Boyle will prove that you can rely on the kindness of strangers and for food and digs.
He carries with him no money.
Mark Boyle will be closely observed by aslym seekers, looking to skip the money-grabbing middle man and a lifetime of bonded labour, and those of looking for greener alternatives to air travel.
Mark Boyle gets to Calais, France. Mark Boyle speak no French. People mistake him for a begger – as if – or an asylum seeker.
Mark Boyle now plans to walk around the coast of Britain instead, learning French as he goes, so he can try again next year.
He will then, one images walk around Italy, learning Italian, Slovenia, learning Slovene, Hungary, learning Hungarian, Romania, learning Romanian and so on and on and on to India, with its 415 languages spoken…
March 1st, 2008 at 3:00 pm
Oh that’ll be a bugger then eeny meeny miny mo……
March 1st, 2008 at 3:45 pm
Bonjour monsieur! Je suis un plonkeur idealistique Anglais; avez vous un handout, silver plate?
March 2nd, 2008 at 9:39 am
Like the French will let him ’speak French’ once he tries to utter his newly learned skill!
March 2nd, 2008 at 10:17 am
This was a “plonkeur idealistique irlandais” in fact. He missed a trick, when he didn’t think of learning Esperanto. The Esperanto movement offers a network of support - including free accommodation through the Pasporta Servo - to young travellers who speak the language. It’s easy to learn too.
March 4th, 2008 at 10:30 am
Mark Boyle should learn Esperanto free through the website, Lernu, then join Pasporta Servo. This will give him free food and lodging in a network of Esperanto-speaking homes on the route he has chosen to India. The only condition is the ability to converse in Esperanto.