While on the ferry from Sweden to Finland, I ended up sharing a cabin with 3 other guys. Two were from countries that I forget now. Probably Sweden. But the third was from a country that I will never forget. He said “Nowhere” with a very nicotine stained grin. I didn’t understand. I asked him to show me his passport. And there it was…
He said the passport was issued by the Estonian Government. And sure enough, it was an Estonian passport.
I initially thought it was some sort of racism, similar to how the Jews weren’t given a passport with Russian nationality, but rather a ‘Jewish’ nationality. He laughed and shook his head. ‘No, no it’s an advantage!’. Now I was even more confused. He explained that if you have an Estonian Citizenship then while you can visit the other countries sit as Lithuania, Russia, etc, you couldn’t get a job and work there. However, if you get this ‘undefined’ passport, then you can literally be a ghost, drifting from country to country and working. This passport designation is only given to special officers. His father had pull in the government and managed to get that.
As an ambassador of his country working in multiple countries, I wasn’t sure he was the best candidate. He could make a sailor blush with his language, and he drank like a fish. Literally. He was emptying bottles when we were still on our first glass. Oh the people you meet…
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