How to Lose your Passport

Another beautiful day in Essaouira. The small surf town nestled along the Atlantic coastline is where I spent so much of my time in the north African country of Morocco.

Working, as I had a draft of a project of I was working on due, I decided to take a look at the pouch in my backpack where I keep my passport. Couldn’t find it, rummuged around. Still gone… the scale of the search rapidly expanded from my backpack to my bed to my 8-bed dorm room to the entire hostel, and eventually the whole of Essaouira: dropping a note with my phone number, name and that I had lost my passport in the local post office and police station.

Gone. 1 day. 2 days. Within that time, I looked up everywhere I could, “what to do if you lose your passport?”. I really couldn’t find too many answers.

In retrospect, I understand why this is. Each person has a different travel situation. And the actions you take are dependent on the country you are in and the passport you have.

Appointments with the nearest Embassy were booked until January. By which point, my visa would expire. With little help, I decided to keep looking because as soon as you report your passport stolen, it cannot be used (i.e., you have to get a replacement). With my passport still lost, I went to surf. As one does to clear their mind. My mind flows as follows, “It’s ok, I’m alive. I’m not hurt. I’m not in danger. This is just the most inconvenient thing that could possibly happen”. Then, a few seconds later, “Fuck, fuck, fuck, fuck, FUCK”.

I am not going to downplay the level of anxiety one feels when losing their passport. It is shitty. Excuse my language. You feel stupid when one of your roommates asks, “What are you looking for?”. And you have to respond, “My passport…

…yeah it’s American. Blue with an eagle on the cover.”

That being said, I couldn’t crumble. As much as I convinced myself my physical well-being did not depend on having a passport, deep down, I knew it did.

And I wasn’t in Amsterdam or London or Paris. I was in Essaouira, Morocco.

Days of searching, the filing of a police report, and miles walked around town: I stopped the search. I couldn’t keep telling myself, “It’ll show up”, when it was not showing up and probably was not going to. I did not know how to proceed. Browsing the depths of every .gov website, I came to the conclusion to email the nearest general consulate in Casablanca — a five hour bus ride north.

November 29, 2023:

8am-9am:

Go to the police station, for the third time in the past day, to get signed and stamped the report stating I lost my passport.

9am-10am:

Bodily needs don’t go away just because your passport does. I ate breakfast at Essaouira Beach Hostel (tip: one of the best hostel’s in the world. I would go back right now if I could) and I probably watched some Instagram Reels to soothe my troubled mind.

Fast forward to 2:03pm

A few more walks around town and searches in my hostel, I gave up. I drafted an email to send to the U.S. General Consulate in Casablanca:

I am a citizen of the United States. My name is Michael David Kihanya. I am currently in Essaouira, Morocco. The whereabouts of my passport is unknown as of sending this email. I have filed a police report in Essaouira, which has been validated by the police department. I am hesitant to report my passport lost because I do not know how long it will take for me to get a new one in Morocco. I have done everything I can to find it. I am unsure of my options at this point. I am planning to stay in Essaouira for another day then go to the US Consulate in Casablanca.

I was supposed to fly to London from Essaouira today, but I obviously could not do that.

If I need an emergency passport, when will I be able to get one from the US Consulate in Casablanca?

Thank you,

Michael Kihanya

I send it.

2:13pm

They responded:

Come to the consulate tomorrow at 10 am. The emergency passport is issued the same day.

Then they listed a bunch of forms and documents I should fill out and print I need to bring with me tomorrow.

The next 24 hours felt like the show 24.

I booked a bus. It left Essaouira at 5:30pm and didn’t get to Casablanca until 11:30pm.

I looked at the forms they sent. I had 3 hours to get those done. I wasn’t going to be able to work on the bus and who knows if the hotel I am staying at will have printer capabilites. Ok, but I need a place to stay.

I book a hotel a 20 minute walk from the consulate.

I check out of my hostel and start walking to the bus stop….

Part. 2 IS IN THE WORKS

-Michael