Passports stolen in Kazakhstan: After the horror of leaving the country, an attack on the plane!

Blue News editor Sven Ziegler and his friend had their passports stolen in Kazakhstan. They experience an obstacle course – and to top it off, they are attacked on the flight home.

blue News editor Sven Ziegler continues his story.

After our passports were stolen in Kazakhstan, we had to wait. The embassies are closed for the weekend and we cannot leave until Monday. We’re stuck in Almaty, the ancient capital, and check into a hotel, knowing we’ll have to stay here even longer.

During this time, the rebooking procedure with Swiss begins. We are told that we will have to pay more than 3000 francs for the change of reservation. That’s out of the question for us. Over the next few days, I called the airline several times, but nothing helped. I make 14 calls in total, but the message remains the same: if I do not pay the 3000 francs, I cannot change my reservation.

On Monday morning, we finally contact the embassies. Both the German embassy and the Swiss representation are helpful and promise immediate support. But I am warned: it will take several days before the Swiss emergency passport arrives in Almaty from Astana, the new capital located 2000 kilometers away. “Probably Wednesday,” said the diplomatic representative. My friend is luckier: the Federal Republic of Germany continues to have representation in Almaty. The same day, she can pick up her emergency passport at the local German consulate.

Swiss representation in the office building

But here too, everything does not go smoothly. Shortly before noon, the process was suddenly interrupted: “They told me it was lunch break and that I had to come back in the afternoon,” my friend told me later. In the meantime, we can only laugh at the absurd situation we find ourselves in.

I too have to report to the Swiss representation. In an office building, the “Swiss Center”, somewhere in Almaty, I am greeted by a kind lady. In her main job, she runs a business, but she is also an honorary consul and helps Swiss citizens in difficulty. She organizes the sending of the emergency passport from Astana to Almaty. I am infinitely grateful to him.

But the hours in between are long. We want to go home, we should work. We don’t know how much time we have left, or how much longer we’re stuck here. On Tuesday I will celebrate my birthday in Kazakhstan. It’s the only day without authorities. What I don’t yet suspect is that Wednesday will be a race against time.

We hurry to get home

On Wednesday morning, I received the long-awaited news: the passport had arrived. I immediately went to the performance, probably jubilant a little too loudly. The employees turn around, questioning. But when we go to the migration police to collect the exit stamp, we have an unpleasant surprise: we need a visa to leave the country, and that takes time. We have to make a request, the official explains to us. Take fingerprints – not here of course, in another building.

For us, it’s a small world that is collapsing. The authorities notice it too. They promise us an emergency procedure as soon as we have gathered all the documents. We leave immediately, rush to the fingerprint center. There is a handwritten list. 70 people are treated per day, we are number 92. Plus, it’s lunch break, no luck today.

We sit in front of the door, in front of everyone else. When the manager comes back from lunch, my partner intercepts her and explains the situation. She invites us to enter her locked office. We can give our fingerprints and receive a form immediately. Then we hurry back to the migration service.

But there, nothing happens. A power outage interrupts procedures. We don’t know if we will get our visa today. We remain seated. An endless wait. Two hours. Three hours. At 5:20 p.m., the lights suddenly come back on. But the end of the working day is approaching – and it is sacred in this Central Asian country.

But we are lucky: the official behind the visa counter actually stays longer for us and processes our application. An hour after the end of his shift, he gave us our visas. We exult – and book flights for the next morning. Via Istanbul, no matter how, no matter where. The main thing is to leave Kazakhstan.

Blows and screams to finish

When we board the plane the next morning at 5 a.m., the relief is palpable. Yet we miss being involved in a fight.

When I open the luggage compartment, a laptop bag falls out – a few seconds later I’m hit. A woman yells at me and asks me what I’m doing, throwing her laptop on the floor. I hold her tightly so she doesn’t continue hitting me. Only her friend manages to calm the young woman. There were no injuries or damaged laptops.

And we return safely. Four days late – but full of gratitude.