Changed the names to protect the innocent

I am writing about my experience visiting the former Soviet country of XXXXXX. I went there in March 2006 for my brother’s wedding. He married a woman from the capital city of AAAAAA. Before I begin, I want to say that the people of XXXXXX were warm, friendly and I truly enjoyed my time with the civilians. My sister-in-law’s family and friends are generous wonderful people. I also want to say that I am a stay at home mother of 3, my husband is an officer in the United States Army and I have lived in Germany for 6 of the 22 years he has been active duty. The only capacity I have ever worked for the US government was as a substitute teacher.

I arrived in XXXXXX with the appropriate VISA requirements, passport and all papers in order. I was told that there was a requirement that in three business days I would have to register at an office in the city as a foreign visitor. I arrived on Thursday, that deadline would be Monday from my calculations.

It became very obvious quickly that we were being watched/monitored. We stayed in an apartment and it was patrolled at least hourly. I could see police and military walking past the building 24 hours a day carrying a weapon. Because of jetlag and wedding I was awake at all different hours to personally see this myself.

On Monday my Mother and I were taken to the government office where we were to sign in as stated when we arrived in the country Thursday. When we arrived there with my sister-in-law’s brother things got very strange. He turned in our paperwork and we sat there for a very long time. My sister-in-law’s family has done this process many times as they have family and friends that come from the Ukraine and other countries to visit. This time was different. There were a few people working in the office and soon our paperwork was being passed back and forth, phone calls were being made etc. I don’t speak Russian which is what they were speaking so I have no idea what exactly was being said but the facial expressions were not good.

My mother and I sat getting more and more nervous at time went on. Vadik (sister-in-law’s 19 yr old brother) was extremely nervous and upset. His face was getting paler by the second. Soon we were told that because we had not come in within 72 hours we would have to go to court and see a judge. It suddenly became not 3 working days but literally 72 hours from the time we arrived. To see the judge we would need an appointment with the court and a lawyer to fill out the paperwork. Our flight to leave the country was Tuesday morning. This all had to be done extremely quickly in order for us to make our flight out of the country.

The people working in the office gave Vadik a phone number of a lawyer. He called the lawyer and we were to meet him outside of the courthouse in a few hours. We walked to the courthouse at the appropriate time and met him. We went inside, he gathered the correct paperwork and with Vadik translating we filled out the paperwork. We were told to beg forgiveness, to explain we were busy with the wedding etc. While sitting waiting for the lawyer to fill out paperwork I showed Vadik pictures in my wallet of my family. One my husband and myself he asked me to quickly put away as my husband was in his military uniform. He was afraid if they didn’t know before that if someone saw that it would make matters worse.

Finally it became time for us to meet with the judge. When we entered the room my sister-in-law’s mother was there, Vadik, my mother a secretary, the judge and I. The judge looked over the paperwork and instantly turned to me. No one else in the room mattered at all. The judge then questioned me over and over why I hadn’t signed in, why I was in the country, what I did in the United States…. On and on he asked me things. He did this speaking Russian and Vadik translated for us. I kept telling him over and over I was in XXXXXX for the wedding of my brother, that I didn’t sign in because I was told it was 3 working days, I was a stay at home mom in the United States. He very obviously didn’t believe me at all. He was visibly angry that I wasn’t telling him the things he wanted to hear. He had no proof that I was anything other than what I said I was so eventually we were made to pay a big fine for our not following the rules and we were released. But we were still being watched very closely.

Monday night very late we got a call that our flight had been cancelled or delayed. We made plans then to leave on a flight that was leaving XXXXXX on Wednesday. We arrived at the airport Wednesday and prepared to leave. The check-in process was a complete mess. I was forced to pay a huge fee for each bag I carried. I was also questioned by the security quite extensively while my mother was waved through again.

We were escorted onto the plane by 3 flight attendants. We were put in the very front of the plane behind the pilot and the 3 attendants sat around us and a curtain was pulled between us and the other passengers on the plane.

Why I was so obviously followed and harassed by the authorities in XXXXXX I really don’t know. My only guess is because I live in Virginia my passport was issued by the state dept. I think possibly because of this they thought I worked for the state dept. in some capacity. The judge very certainly thought I held some sort of government position and I was lying to him about it.

My reason for writing this for Alla is to put a face on the paranoia of the former Soviet countries. If a stay at home mother living in Virginia visiting one of these countries is monitored, taken to court, flights changed, fees charged etc. I only can guess what a citizen of that country would go through if he or she had true knowledge of information that the government deemed critical or dangerous. XXXXXX is a poor country with little resources; YYYYYY is the right hand to Russia. I think the paranoia would be exponentially worse.