Editor's Note
On May 29, 2006, the Consular Protection Department of the Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the predecessor of the Consular Protection Center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, was established, marking a new stage of development for China's consular protection and assistance. In the past 15 years, China's consular protection and assistance cause has grown and grown, and has gone through an extraordinary journey.
This late autumn and early winter, the Consular Protection Center of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Station B will present a series of audios entitled "Telling the Story Behind Consular Protection Cases" to take you into the work of consular protection and assistance. Remember, no matter where you are in the world, no matter where you are in winter, summer, spring or autumn, the motherland will always be behind you.
December 24
Frankfurt on Christmas Eve, the chill is thick. The endless flow of traffic carries people to rush home for the festival.
Near the end of the afternoon, the consular protection phone on the desk suddenly rang, and the caller was a female student surnamed Wang, who said in an anxious tone: "One of my friends, Xiao Li, who just graduated from K University in Germany, bought yesterday's ticket to return to China, but his parents did not pick up people at the airport, his phone could not be contacted, the airline checked no booking records, and the border guard had no entry records." His parents were anxious and asked for your help in finding him. ”
Another case of student disappearance! Then, according to the number provided by Wang, I dialed Xiao Li's phone, and I called several times, but I couldn't get through. Then, I called Xiao Li's mother and confirmed that he had disappeared. I asked about some details and knew the general experience.
Xiao Li graduated from a domestic university in 2012 and came to Germany in September to study at K University in Germany for two years, which was supposed to graduate at the end of 2014, but was postponed for one year because one course was not passed, and it was not until the end of 2015. On December 21, Xiao Li told his parents that he would take flight back to China on the 23rd. The parents rushed to the airport to pick up people with great joy, but not only did they not see their son, but they did not even hear from them.
According to Xiao Li's mother, her son has always been very obedient, introverted and taciturn, but he is in good health, reading is also quite hard, and sometimes plays games on the Internet. Usually every one or two weeks, Xiao Li will take the initiative to talk to home.
My colleagues and I immediately started working separately. We first contacted the K City Police Department and got Xiao Li's registered address, but the police responded that they had not received any unexpected reports of Chinese citizens. Our museum entrusted the local honorary consular liaison officer to go to Xiao Li's registered address to look for it, and found that he had moved as early as a year ago, and the current address is unknown. My colleagues and I quickly contacted the Chinese Student Union and overseas Chinese leaders in K City respectively, and mobilized local students and overseas Chinese to help find people.
On Christmas Eve, a large web of searching for people quickly opened.
26 December
K City Student Federation Xiao Xu feedback, on the evening of the 25th, some students found Xiao Li logged in to play games on the Internet, and asked him why he did not go home during the holiday. He replied, "No." "After a while, it was offline.
This news makes me feel a little excited, so to say, Xiao Li should not have an accident.
In the afternoon, the scope of forwarding the search information became wider and wider, and some Chinese-language media in the consular area forwarded the search notice.
December 27
At 11:00 a.m., Xiao Xu of the Student Union called and said that a classmate had met Xiao Li near the train station in the center of K City, and he looked very tired, and there seemed to be white crystals like salt on his pants. The classmate asked for his address and told him that his family was looking for him. Xiao Li only said "I know", saying to himself: "Everything is fake." But he told the classmate that he was now going back to his place of residence and calling home.
I immediately contacted Xiao Li's parents. His mother said that her son had just contacted them using his landlord's WeChat, but the words were unknown, and asked the consulate general to help him ask him what had happened. In addition, I hope that my son will return to China as soon as possible.
Xiao Li's landlord, Mr. Xu, is an enthusiastic Local Chinese. I called Mr. Xu, and Mr. Xu handed the microphone to Xiao Li, who whispered to me, "I lied to my parents and everyone." After I came to Germany, I first applied for a temporary residence certificate, and then I lost this certificate, so I never changed my official residence card, but I was registered normally at the university every semester. I went to class in the first semester and felt like I couldn't keep up, and then I didn't go to class again, spending most of my time playing computer games and watching TV dramas. The previous things I told my parents about my credits and graduation were all fake, because my parents were in a hurry, so I had to lie to them and say that I would return to China on the 23rd. In fact, I bought a train ticket to the North Sea in Germany on the 25th, and planned to jump into the sea to commit suicide. But after jumping into the sea, I felt that the sea was too cold, and I could swim, so I swam ashore again and bought a ticket back. Now the computer, mobile phone, passport are soaked in seawater, I want to return to China as soon as possible, but there is no official residence card, worried about being arrested when leaving the country, do not know what to do, please help me. ”
The more Xiao Li said the lower his voice became, I quickly comforted him and advised: "You are still young, the road ahead is still very long, don't give up on yourself, we will definitely try our best to help you." It doesn't matter if your passport is soaked in seawater, we will find someone to accompany you to the Consulate General to apply for a travel permit immediately. After that, I told Mr. Xu that Xiao Li was very vulnerable now, and asked him to help take care of Xiao Li and accompany him to the Consulate General tomorrow morning to apply for a replacement certificate. I immediately called Xiao Li's parents and told them the truth, asking them not to blame their son anymore, so as not to put too much pressure on him.
December 28
At about 11 o'clock, Xiao Li, accompanied by Mr. Xu, came to the consular hall of our embassy.
A man of more than seven meters, wearing glasses, like most students, it was hard to imagine that a few days ago he was a young man who wanted to jump into the sea and commit suicide.
I told Xiao Li that yesterday we contacted the airline and there was no ticket for today, so I booked the ticket for tomorrow at the earliest. After a while, we accompanied him to the Air China office to determine the ticket, and then Mr. Xu accompanied him back to pack his luggage and take him to the airport tomorrow. The airport border guard has said good, please don't worry.
From Xiao Li's smiling face of repeated thanks, I saw his expression of finally relaxing. He took my hand and said, "When you go into the Consulate General, it feels like you're home." ”
December 29
We successfully put Xiao Li on the plane. Before boarding, he shook our hands, his eyes were red, and he said emotionally: "Thanks to you, I can go home, and I will definitely live well when I go back!" ”
December 30
I called Xiao Li's mother again, and she smiled happily and said, "We have received our son and are now on our way home." Please convey our family's heartfelt thanks to the leaders and colleagues of the Consulate General in Frankfurt! ”
I also wish Xiao Li better and better in the future, and I hope that their whole family will be safe and happy.
This article is excerpted from "The Motherland Is Behind You"
[Original author]: Song Baikun
At that time, he was a librarian at the Chinese Consulate General in Frankfurt
[Voice Actor]: @ Sound Fish Fillet
Bilibili well-known UP master. Chengdu Sound Entertainment Culture Communication Co., Ltd. Representative works: animated film "Nezha's Devil Boy Descending", radio drama "Snow In the Sword Line", "Sword Coming", "Once Upon a Time There Was a Spirit Sword Mountain", "Old Nine Doors", multi-person sound drama "Raw Swallow", anime sound drama "Good and Evil" and so on.
Original title: "The Lost Lamb - The Beginning and End of christmas in search of missing students"