Many non-native plants can happily survive in other regions of the world, which has given gardeners more choice than ever before. However, native flowers and plants can summarize the landscape of a nation, while communicating the identity of a country.
There are nowadays millions of single men, and among those, many dream of meeting a woman from Eastern Europe. Indeed, these women are known to be extremely attractive, faithful, and ready to do anything to come to live in Europe. Many dating and marriage agencies have been created to cater for this niche, specializing in so-called international marriages.
Unfortunately, many scams are hidden among these agencies. The websites use the faces of superb young women as bait. Once the vulnerable bachelor is hooked by some carefully worded emails, he is asked for money to cover the cost of a plane ticket as well as the visa fee. The sums involved can go up to 1,500 or 2,000 €, depending on the naivety of the man, and there is generally no way to fight it legally.
Anti Arnaques, the First community dedicated to fight Eastern Europe romance scams
That’s why Anti-Arnaques was created, in order to provide a reliable verification platform to any man who has doubts about the sincerity of the person he is speaking to. It includes:
Testimony of a scam victim
“Hello, I am Rui, I live in Portugal and I was a victim of a scheme. Nastya or Anastasiya Vorozhnina, living at Lomonosova 97-64, 428000 Novopokrovskoe Russia, deceived me. By mere chance, I only lost 200 €, as well as 24 photos. This scheme lasted about 5 months, but I always resisted to send the full amount of money she requested, which was around 800 € to start with.
I hope to my testimony will help someone, and prevent him to fall into such scheme. These women can be very sweet at the beginning: only after 2 or 3 months she started to ask money. She was an authentic professional, who already appears in your list with other names: if I had knew Antiarnaques.org back then, I would not have wasted so much time.”
Rui, 48 years old, scammed by A.V.
The website Antiarnaques.org (which means Antiscams in French) allows anyone who wants to date a Russian, Ukrainian or Slav women to check the identity of a specific woman. Antiarnaques.org also offers the possibility to check the reliability of any marriage agency, and to consult the black list of Russian women known for fraud.
About Dimitri Berezniakov, the creator of Anti Arnaques
Dimitri Berezniakov launched UKReine.com in 1998: it was the first dating site specializing in international marriages between men from France, Belgium, Switzerland and Canada, and Ukrainian women.
This allowed him have a ringside seat to witness the rise of Russian romance scams: he used to receive emails from men victims of these scams almost daily. Because of the magnitude of the problem, he decided to create Anti Arnaques in 2010, in order to offer a reliable solution to individuals wishing to verify the identity of Russian and Ukrainian women.
Supplemental- Top Social Networks in Russia.
Anti Arnaques, le premier site francophone de lutte contre les escroqueries sur le marché de la rencontre russe
Le site Antiarnaques.org permet à tout individu souhaitant trouver l’amour auprès d’une femme russe, ukrainienne ou slave de vérifier l’identité d’une femme spécifique. Antiarnaques.org offre également la possibilité de vérifier le sérieux de l’agence matrimoniale choisie, et de consulter la liste noire de femmes russes connues pour escroquerie.
La rencontre de femmes russes, ukrainiennes et slaves : un marché florissant mais présentant de nombreux risques
On compte aujourd’hui dans l’Hexagone de 16 millions à 18 millions de célibataires, divorcés et veufs, ce qui représente un marché attractif et porteur (CIDJ.com). Et ce nombre ne cesse d’augmenter : le nombre de seniors et de divorcés étant en hausse, de plus en plus d’individus se retrouvent à chercher l’âme sœur.
Parmi ces millions de célibataires, de nombreux hommes rêvent de rencontrer une femme originaire d’Europe de l’Est. En effet, on leur promet des femmes fidèles au physique extrêmement attractif, prêtes à tout pour venir vivre en France. Une multitude d’agences matrimoniales s’est ainsi positionnée sur ce créneau, en se spécialisant dans les rencontres dites internationales.
Malheureusement, de nombreuses arnaques se cachent parmi ces agences. Les sites utilisent les visages de superbes jeunes femmes comme appât. Une fois le célibataire vulnérable hameçonné par quelques emails soigneusement rédigés, on lui demande de l’argent pour couvrir le montant d’un billet d’avion ainsi que les frais de visa. Les sommes en jeu peuvent monter jusqu’à 1 500 ou 2 000 € selon la naïveté de l’interlocuteur, et il n’existe en général aucun recours devant la justice.
Anti Arnaques, première communauté francophone luttant contre les arnaques sentimentales d’Europe de l’Est
C’est pour cela qu’a été créé Anti Arnaques, dont l’objectif est de fournir une plateforme de vérification fiable à tout homme ayant des doutes sur la sincérité de son interlocutrice. On y trouve ainsi :
Ils ont été victimes d’arnaques et témoignent
« Tout a commencé par un mail, et des conversations dans lesquelles on parlait de tout et de rien. Je lui ai proposé de venir en France pour son anniversaire, et la cascade d’ennuis a débuté : pas d’argent pour payer le passeport, pas d’argent pour payer le visa…J’ai donc payé tous les frais. Une fois à l’aéroport, elle s’est soi-disant faiteî arrêter, on lui a interdit de quitter le pays à cause du crédit de son appartement. J’ai eu moult preuves de sa bonne foi, j’ai cru en elle, je me suis senti responsable, je me suis investi à fond. J’ai donné beaucoup beaucoup d’argent, et aujourd’hui j’ai tout perdu.
Je souhaite simplement que d’autres ne répètent pas les mêmes erreurs : je l’ai donc signalé sur Anti Arnaques, s’il vous plaît allez-voir, et faites attention ! »
Joël, 43 ans, arnaqué par E. T.
“J’ai commencé une relation par email avec Anastasiya, elle m’a complétement séduit en quelques semaines. Elle était extrêmement douce au début, puis a commencé à réclamer de l’argent. Par chance, j’ai flairé quelque chose de louche et ne lui ai envoyé que 200 €. J’ai ensuite réalisé qu’elle était présente sur la liste noire d’Anti Arnaques ! »
J’espère empêcher un autre homme de tomber dans le même piège ! »
Pierre, 48 ans, arnaqué par A. V.
A propos de Dimitri Berezniakov, le créateur du site Anti Arnaques
Dimitri Berezniakov a lancé UKReine.com en 1998 : il s’agissait alors du premier site de rencontres spécialisé dans les mariages internationaux entre des hommes originaires de France, de Belgique, de Suisse et du Canada, et des femmes ukrainiennes.
Cela lui a permis d’être aux premières loges pour assister à l’essor des arnaques sentimentales en provenance d’Europe de l’Est : il reçoit alors des emails provenant d’hommes victimes de ces escroqueries quasi-quotidiennement. Face à l’ampleur du problème, il décide de créer Anti Arnaques en 2010, afin d’offrir une solution fiable aux individus souhaitant vérifier l’identité de leurs interlocutrices.
Facebook and other social media sites are blocking masterpieces of “nude” art from Rubens, Bruegel, Van Eyck and others. In an open letter, several top European Museums are asking social networks to reconsider their policy. Facebook has been in the spotlight recently for blocking content including some parts of the United States Constitution and other historical documents and multimedia content.
Artistic censorship continues to pursue Peter Paul Rubens. In the 17th century, the Flemish Baroque painter was asked by the Catholic Church to paint camouflaging ‘loincloths’ over certain body parts of his Venus figures. Nowadays, social media networks, including Facebook, go one step further. All breasts, buttocks and cherubs painted by artists such as Rubens are banned on these platforms. ‘Bots’ on Facebook use artificial intelligence to screen for nudity, but do not make a distinction between pornographic images or nudity in art. Flanders – the perfect place to enjoy the Flemish Masters in all their glory – is denouncing this artistic censorship in a playful manner. At the Rubens House, ‘nudity viewers’ with a Facebook account were blocked from viewing nudity by a group of “social media police agents”.
The Flemish Masters are best experienced in Flanders, the number one destination for art lovers. After all, this is where Rubens, Bruegel and Van Eyck lived and worked. Their work can often be found still hanging in the very same places for which they were made. “We want to promote this unique experience,” says Peter De Wilde, CEO of VISITFLANDERS. “Our Flemish Masters attract hundreds of thousands of visitors to Flanders each year and we are proud of this achievement.
With our multi-year program focusing on Rubens, Bruegel and Van Eyck, which was launched in 2018, we are aiming for three million visitors by the end of 2020. At the moment it is not possible for us to promote our unique cultural heritage via one of the most popular social media networks. Our art is categorized as being indecent and sometimes even pornographic. This is such a shame as it restricts the promotion of our Flemish Masters.”
The agency in charge of promoting tourism in Flanders, Belgium explains that they have invested 30 million US dollars in 2018 to improve the experience of cultural travelers visiting that region, especially in cities like Antwerp, Bruges, Ghent and Brussels. Now they can’t promote some of those museums due to restrictive policies applied by some online social networks.
‘We are for it and not against it’ is what the people of Flanders say. Peter De Wilde explains, “Social media and art have a lot in common. Art brings people together. Social media brings people together, and our Flemish Masters too. This is why we want to enter into discussions with Facebook so that we can use this platform as one way in which to make our art visible. Surely it’s not that difficult to differentiate between cultural heritage and gratuitous nudity?”
VISITFLANDERS position is supported by several top museums in Belgium and around Europe. In an open letter, the institutions ask Mark Zuckerberg to revise Facebook’s policy related to art, culture and heritage. Click here to read the open letter.
“We tried various channels to bring this matter to Facebook’s attention. Unfortunately nobody listened,” De Wilde explains. Flanders hopes the comedy video produced in Rubens’s House will facilitate a discussion to solve the issue and allow users to view this content that is present in encyclopedias and elementary school grade text books. “Flanders is a unique art destination. But because we are naturally modest in Flanders, we do not shout out about it often enough. This stunt enables us to make our presence felt and also honor the spirit of Pieter Paul Rubens. He was an artistic rebel who was not afraid of engaging in social debate. There’s no finer tribute to honor our Flemish Master than by taking up the battle against unnecessary artistic censorship.” For the Silo, Marcos Stupenengo.
About the Flemish Masters.
For over 250 years, from the 15th to long into the 17th century, Flanders was a figurehead for fine arts in Western Europe and the source of inspiration for well-known art movements of the time, such as the Flemish primitives, the Renaissance and the Baroque. Artists were known for their craftsmanship, creativity and technical innovations and they transformed the prosperous and urbanized Flanders into one of the most refined cultural regions with their impressive artistic and architectural creations.
About Peter Paul Rubens, master of female nudity.
Rubens is the best-known Flemish Master. This Baroque painter, illustrator and diplomat was one of the most celebrated artists of the 17th century. He exerted a particularly strong influence. He was a master of color, composition and painting techniques and also an expert in painting female nudity. His nude figures – which often refer to mythical beings – appear extremely lifelike, made from flesh and blood, with a fair amount of cellulite and with all kinds of body shapes visibly on display.
About Antwerp, the home of the Flemish Baroque movement.
Lonely Planet selected the best cities to visit in 2018 and included Antwerp in its top 10. According to the travel guide, Antwerp is one of Europe’s best kept secrets. And there is certainly plenty to see and do there in 2018. The “Antwerp Baroque 2018. Rubens inspires” festival shows you the finest places in Antwerp: www.antwerpbaroque2018.be
