Penny’s passport was taken by Interpol!

We had breakfast and lunch in France… and dinner in Sweden.


How does a jobless, newly separated mother living off her savings pull that off, you ask?

Well, after finally finding a permanent home for Penny, I decided it was time. Time for her to meet her grandparents in Kenya for the very first time. We booked our tickets in mid-August and started the long, excited countdown to September.

The day finally came. We set off for our early Air France flight, hearts full and bags packed. Back in Kenya, my parents could barely contain themselves, they were about to meet their granddaughter for the first time.

You should’ve seen us. The excitement was unreal. Even Penny, just six months old at the time, seemed to feel it. She was in her element, charming everyone on the flight like the tiny celebrity she is.

We landed in France and headed straight to immigration, eager to catch our connecting flight to Kenya. I handed over my passport, no problem. Then I handed over Penny’s.

Beep.

They tried again.

Beep.

That’s when the questions started.

“What’s wrong with your child’s passport?”
“Is the baby stolen?”

Excuse me…what?

READ HOW PENNY & I LIVED WITH AN ALCOHOLIC!

My mind immediately spiraled. Had her father blocked her from traveling? Was there some legal issue I didn’t know about? And to make matters worse, this was France, language barrier and all, so answers were few, slow, and unclear.

An hour passed. At some point, I stopped hoping to make the connecting flight. I just wanted to understand what was happening. Eventually, they told me they would be keeping Penny’s passport and handing it over to the embassy. We were to return to Sweden.

They handed me a letter. The passport, apparently, had been reported as stolen in the Interpol system.

I was stunned.

In one moment, I’d lost the flight, the money, the time, and now my baby’s passport. I’d need to apply for a new one entirely. I remember calling my mum and hearing her break down on the other end of the phone. I felt completely helpless.

That was a hard day.

In the end, we counted our losses, flew back to Sweden, and applied for a new passport. Thankfully, it was issued within days, and we traveled again the following weekend.

So what was the problem?

Turns out Penny’s passport was only provisional, and once I registered her in Sweden, I was supposed to apply for a new one.

Lesson learned. The hard way!

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