Sometimes we lose our balance and we may fall but we can stand up again and feel stronger!
***
I had not seen my family and my home country for over four years and I was very excited about going back for a visit. We had a smooth flight and everything went well.
On arrival the immigration office at the airport took away my national passport and I was told that they will give it back to me when I intend to return to where I lived. I was a bit nervous about that but as soon as I saw my father and my younger brother waving at me from a distance I forgot the issue and I immersed myself in the joy of seeing them and holding them tight in my arms. My father looked happy and my brother kept talking with me and making me laugh remembering all the funny things we shared when growing up together.
We went home and I was drowned in the affection of the whole family, the good food and everything that I loved. In the meantime, I called my friends and we arranged for a few get together and going to places that I was eager to go.
When walking in the streets I was looking at everything with deep interest and curiosity as if I was inhaling the trees, the snow on the visible mountains, the blue sky and all that was so familiar to me and I had missed them with all my heart.
In public places I had to cover myself from head to toes which was difficult for me to do. The religious atmosphere and the hardship of daily life was the subject of discussion in every single car that I rented and in every private and friendly gathering that I attended. At the same time, I had to be cautious about what I was saying because I heard that I could get into trouble.
The three weeks of enjoyment was coming to an end and I was getting ready to pack and return. I had a heavy heart because I was not sure when I will be able to see my father and the rest of the family again but it was time to leave and go back to my children who were anxiously waiting for me to return.
On the day of departure my brother took me to the airport and I asked him not to wait for me there. As I was told before, I went back to the immigration office in the airport to take back my passport but to my horror I was told that they don't have it there and I will have to get it from their office in town the next day. That meant I could not leave the country anymore.
I was devastated and I kept questioning one of the officers and he finally told me there are some problems with my passport which have to be resolved first! I said but the passport was issued by your embassy in the country I live and not by me, in response he said you should say "our embassy" and not "your embassy"! I did not respond to what he said because obviously I did not consider them as "my people".
After the above exchange of words I suddenly remembered that, working for an international organization, I had a UN passport with me so I went forward and informed them about that. The man who took the passport from me called his co-worker and said "come and look at this one, she has a foreign passport." The other man approached us and took the passport from him.
While all this was going on I noticed that a high ranking and older officer is entering the room. He looked at us and asked "what's going on here?" I walked toward him with determination and told him my story. He took the passport from the man who was holding it and gave it back to me. He also told the men they should get out of my way and allow me to leave. One of them asked for a written order and he did just that.
To make the story short, I took back both passports and checked in with the airline to leave the country while subbing in distress from my traumatic experience. While in the plane I was in tears for all those people who had innocently come home to visit their family but they were never allowed to go back again for some fabricated accusations. I had heard about those sad stories even before my trip!
That was my last visit ever and the last time I saw my father before he passed away a few years later.
