Episode # 5 The State Has Decided

Photo by BLUE on Unsplash Travelling with a weak passport means always being prepared for the worst. We imagine worst-case scenarios and rehearse answers to every possible question that immigration officers might ask us. But what happens when reality goes beyond anything you prepared for? When your mind could not even reach that scenario? I […]

Episode # 4 A Week at the Border

Photo by Max-Bohme on Unsplash A few years ago, my family planned a road trip across the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries. The plan was simple: start from the UAE, perform Umrah in Makkah, Saudi Arabia, continue through Bahrain and Qatar, and then return to the UAE. We relied on our multiple-entry Saudi visas to […]

Episode # 3 The Paper Prison

Photo by Steve_ a_ Johnson on Unsplash For the past few years, I have been traveling frequently, sharing a deep love for travel with my father, who especially enjoys planning trips and navigating the visa process alongside me. One day, I casually asked him, “Abu, what is your dream destination?” Without hesitation, he replied, “London. […]

Episode # 2 The First Lesson in Border Performance

Photo by Long (lTiga) Nguyen on Unsplash Growing up in a small town in Pakistan, I imagined foreign countries as distant, almost mythical worlds. Travel felt like a possibility, not paperwork. I had not yet understood visas, permits, or border controls. I only knew that “abroad” meant a world unlike mine. I was still young […]

Episode # 1 Passport Was Never Neutral

Photo by Global-Residence-Index on Unsplash A passport appears simple: a small booklet, some colored paper, embossed text, and minimal biographical details. Yet these elements combine into something extraordinarily powerful. They communicate certain “truths” about a person, their history, and their place in the world. Citizenship is randomly assigned at birth, yet this simple booklet ritualizes […]