The Zhapaq family’s passports were left miraculously intact.
“For three days they took good care of us, gave us food and clothes, [but] the migration center workers tried to make sure that we didn’t leave the facility,” he said. “Someone would always accompany us even to the kitchen and the toilet. But we didn’t have any intention of trying to go to the United States [at that point]. We only wanted to go home. I forgot about all the loans and told myself that I would find a way to earn money.”
Colombian officials requested that the family leave the country as soon as possible. Three days later, a relative in Kazakhstan purchased them one-way tickets to Almaty. On July 14, Zhapaq and his family arrived back in Kazakhstan.
With no jobs and no money and big loans to repay, the couple are trying to rebuild their lives while also struggling to deal with the trauma they suffered. But they have not given up on their American dream.
But the next time they want to explore legal routes.
“The path we tried isn’t worth the risk, especially with children,” Zhapaq said. “It was our fate to go through that [ordeal].”
Written by Farangis Najibullah in Prague based on reporting by RFE/RL Kazakh Service correspondents in Almaty
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Publish date : 2024-08-13 20:02:00
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