Slovak Embassies record many cases of emergency line misuse

Slovaks have already grown used to the fact that upon crossing borders they receive a so-called welcoming automated SMS text message, containing telephone contacts for a respective Slovak representative office in the given country and nonstop service of the Foreign and European Affairs Ministry, to which they could place a call in case of an accident, injury or the loss of papers. According to ministry spokesman Peter Stano, however, the Slovak embassies record a great deal of misunderstandings or even deliberate misuse of telephone numbers. "For instance, the callers demand our consular workers to diagnose their headaches or complain about having their human rights violated over being denied access to a disco at a foreign destination while drunk," Stano told TASR. There are also callers who, when they miss their bus or train, run out of money or see their vehicle break down, demand transportation back to Slovakia in a consular car.