While I lost a lot of very important data in the Great Burglary of 2010, the only piece of identification that was stolen was my personal passport.
As government employees (wait, does that mean that I’m employed?), Peace Corps volunteers are issued no-fee government passports to be used while serving. With this passport still in my possession, the loss of my personal passport was negligible; I reported it lost to the U.S. government, and quickly moved on with my life.
I checked my post box this past Monday, after Eid al Adha and my vacation, and found that I had received a response letter from the government regarding my stolen passport. I opened it, read it over, and smiled with relief. Case closed, salaamu aleikum.
Tuesday afternoon, while taking care of some other paperwork, my thoughts drifted back to the letter that I had received. Stamped on the outside of the envelope was “U.S. Government Official Business,” and I decided that the letter would make a nice addition to what’s already decorating my refrigerator: the Al-Massa’ newspaper article written about my burglary, and a Fort Myers, FL newspaper clipping sent by my grandmother, boasting the headline “Tropical Storm Nicole is a No-Show.”
I open the envelope once again, and casually glance at the letter. This time, the number of my now-invalidated passport catches my eye.
I scan at the letter again, this time in earnest, and the number rings familiar for a second time. I’ve never had a mind for numbers, but the red flag that had gone up was too alarming to ignore.
I calmly get up from my seat, go over to my Meijer grocery sack that I lovingly drag everywhere with me, and grab my Peace Corps-issued passport from it.
I cross-check the number of my passport with the one that was invalidated. My flutters for a moment, and then stops cold. The numbers match.
My Peace Corps passport has been invalidated, not my personal passport.
By The Numbers:
-4 March 2009: I arrive in Morocco with 2 passports. How do I identify thee? Let me count the ways.
-21 September 2010: I lose one passport to burglary. As we say in Morocco, machi mochkil — no problem.
-Early November 2010: My only remaining passport is invalidated, leaving me abroad, and without proper identification to get back into the United States.
Sometimes I feel like I’m starring in a comedy of errors.
