It has to be said that my departure from Zambia did not go well. I started the morning by waking up with stomach cramps again. Fearing a repeat from the previous week I flung antibiotics and Imodium down my throat with gay abandon, the latter in excessive quantities. Having arranged to have my breakfast delivered to the room early, thereby allowing me to have time to eat it, I discovered that despite it being already included in the excessive rate I was paying for the Sunday night, I had to pay for the breakfast in entirety all over again! Now a charge for delivering it to the room I could accept, but paying for something twice does not sit well with me!! An argument was had at reception, but due to time constraints, I had to give in and pay for the darn thing (which, incidentally, I ate very little off).
However, unbeknown to me worse was yet to come. Having made it to the airport without having to ask the taxi driver to stop at the nearest bush, I sailed through the BA check in, probably because everyone else had checked in at a much earlier (more sensible) hour than me. I duly filled up my departure form and headed for the immigration desk, which is where the proverbial really began to hit the fan!! Immigration insisted I had outstayed my visa, based on the fact that they (not me) had written the date of 9/3/10 on my arrival stamp. This apparently was when they said I should have left and as I hadn’t left on that day I would have to pay a fine that was well in excess of £200. I pointed out that I was never leaving on that date and that I was more than confident I had put the correct dates on my landing /arrival forms. However when I suggested they should check said forms they informed me they couldn’t because that was in arrivals and this was departures. This in an airport you can jog round in 5 minutes!! I showed them my original booking confirmation with my flight dates on it, which they chose to ignore. Some more dialogue ensued, by which time, unlike my normal belligerent self I began to get quite upset, not to mention a tad panicky. More people were brought over who kept telling me it was my fault for not checking my passport (that would be the passport they handed back to me closed after I had a conversation with the lady processing my arrival that 3 weeks + was quite a long time to be in Zambia). They told me on several occasions I would have to pay the fine and on several occasions I told them I couldn’t as I had no money on me and had spent all my kwacha. Eventually I was marched off to a different part of the airport, well ok, not exactly marched as that would imply speed, shuffled would be more accurate. I then had to sit in a room with 3 people talking and laughing over me in Bemba having no idea what was going on with the clock moving rapidly towards my boarding time. In the end they handed me a form to sign which seemed to be an immediate deportation order and told me that they weren’t going to fine me as I had no money but that I had to leave immediately – like that wasn’t gong to happen!!
I have to say I felt a huge relief when those BA wheels left Zambian soil – with me on the plane!! But what a sad and unpleasant end to my stay and what a huge kick in the teeth considering I was there trying to help them. Lots of people asked if I would be coming back to Zambia to visit them again, and up until that point I always thought I might. Now – no chance!! The world is a big place, why would I want to go back to somewhere that treated me like a criminal after helping them!!
General opinion here back in the UK was that it was a deliberate scam to try and get money out of me, and considering they never once gave me the option to pay the fine by credit card that is quite possible. Who knows!!
Several days have past and I know one day I will look back and laugh about my departure debacle, but at the moment I am still not laughing!!
Thank you Zambia!!!
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really good interests and wonderful thought of going abroad why can't u come to India then?
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