Support NeoGAF

Rest · Dec 12, 2016

Kiwi tourist detained as Kazakhstan officials say NZ is not a country

A KIWI tourist says she was detained in Kazakhstan after immigration officials refused to believe New Zealand was a country, insisting it was actually a state of Australia.

Chloe Phillips-Harris, 28, arrived at Kazakhstans Almaty Airport in May after being assured by the New Zealand embassy she would be able to enter the Central Asian country on her Kiwi passport.

I landed in Kazakhstan on the last flight of the night, and I got to an immigration booth and they asked me for an Australian passport, and told me I couldnt come in without an Australian passport, Ms Phillips-Harris told the Herald.

They said New Zealands clearly a part of Australia.

Ms Phillips-Harris said New Zealand was missing from a map of the world in the room she was interrogated in, which made it impossible for her to convince Kazakhstan immigration officials that her home country really existed.

I wonder what they'd say if you told them that New Zealand was its own continent...

Stinkles · Dec 12, 2016

Throw the kiwis down the well. So my country can be free.

Herr Schwarz · Dec 12, 2016

Borat, huh

yanipheonu · Dec 12, 2016

I would have assumed basic world geography would have been a prerequisite for being an immigration official, but this life thing keeps surprising me.

Not that I can talk. My geography is atrocious. Really should work on that over the holiday break. Any recommendations?

thelatestmodel · Dec 12, 2016

Ms Phillips-Harris said New Zealand was missing from a map of the world in the room she was interrogated in

There is literally a subreddit for this: https://www.reddit.com/r/MapsWithoutNZ/

I can't believe it's so widespread

ElMexiMerican · Dec 12, 2016

yanipheonu said:
I would have assumed basic world geography would have been a prerequisite for being an immigration official, but this life thing keeps surprising me.

Not that I can talk. My geography is atrocious. Really should work on that over the holiday break. Any recommendations?

I used this site just recently because I needed to know every country for a college class. Actually worked, and I ended up acing the test for it.

Strangelove77 · Dec 12, 2016

Wah wah wee wah.

LegalEagleMike · Dec 12, 2016

I thought it was always understood that New Zealand was in the dream realm.

hydrophilic attack · Dec 12, 2016

after visiting it i refuse to believe such a beautiful country is real

Regulus Tera · Dec 12, 2016

Maybe this could have been helped had New Zealand changed its flag but noooooooo

JonnyDBrit · Dec 12, 2016

...hold up, their map didn't have New Zealand on it? How's that work?

Chuck Norris · Dec 12, 2016

JonnyDBrit said:
...hold up, their map didn't have New Zealand on it? How's that work?

New Zealand doesn't exist

Ogodei · Dec 12, 2016

Immigration officials couldn't have just gone to Wikipedia for two seconds?

Piston Hyundai · Dec 12, 2016

do you call Chinese people Jackie Chans, OP

HazySaiyan · Dec 12, 2016

Ogodei said:
Immigration officials couldn't have just gone to Wikipedia for two seconds?

Kazakh Wikipedia doesn't have New Zealand on it

Rest · Dec 12, 2016

Piston Hyundai said:
do you call Chinese people Jackie Chans, OP

?

Loxley · Dec 12, 2016

JonnyDBrit said:
...hold up, their map didn't have New Zealand on it? How's that work?

Yep, apparently it's a surprisingly common thing to omit NZ from maps of the world.

thelatestmodel said:
There is literally a subreddit for this: https://www.reddit.com/r/MapsWithoutNZ/

I can't believe it's so widespread

Xe4 · Dec 12, 2016

Regulus Tera said:
Maybe this could have been helped had New Zealand changed its flag but noooooooo

I can't believe they refused to change their flag. The new options were so cool.

-griffy- · Dec 12, 2016

New Zealand is a fictional land created by J.R.R Tolkien.

yanipheonu · Dec 12, 2016

Ogodei said:
Immigration officials couldn't have just gone to Wikipedia for two seconds?

This world would be much better if people were more aware they can just google something in a minute to clear up a problem.

Not that this avoids the whole fake news problem (googling certain terms can default to right-wing biased definitions!), but hey, it's a start from just our flawed memories.

Maybe as the more tech savvy generations get older...

uncredited male · Dec 12, 2016

Rest said:
?

Your thread title.

HStallion · Dec 12, 2016

The thread title confused me greatly. I thought the Borat character was back and talking about his disbelief in the Lord of the Rings movies.

DorkLord54 · Dec 12, 2016

Obligatory Flight of the Conchords reference:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2gii2nenUg

Rest · Dec 12, 2016

uncredited male said:
Your thread title.

And that question is still nonsensical.

HazySaiyan · Dec 12, 2016

*holds up Kazakhstan visa*

You will never get this! You will never get this! La la la la!

fallengorn · Dec 12, 2016

thelatestmodel said:
There is literally a subreddit for this: https://www.reddit.com/r/MapsWithoutNZ/

I can't believe it's so widespread

So the Island from Lost was New Zealand?

Timeaisis · Dec 12, 2016

Maybe Trump should call NZ to clear all this up.

TAJ · Dec 12, 2016

Piston Hyundai said:
do you call Chinese people Jackie Chans, OP

Your comparison only works if those Chinese people are also stuntmen and/or martial artists.

TissueBox · Dec 12, 2016

New Zealand, the Half-Life 3 of countries.

JonnyDBrit · Dec 12, 2016

Loxley said:
Yep, apparently it's a surprisingly common thing to omit NZ from maps of the world.

...Maps were a mistake, globes only.

Pandaman · Dec 12, 2016

Rest said:
And that question is still nonsensical.

If this story was based in china, would your thread title be 'If you asked Jackie Chan'

TAJ · Dec 12, 2016

Pandaman said:
If this story was based in china, would your thread title be 'If you asked Jackie Chan'

You missed the part where Borat was shockingly ignorant and these officials were too.

lazygecko · Dec 12, 2016

Kazakhstan sticking by their One Australia policy.

stump sock · Dec 12, 2016

Rest said:
And that question is still nonsensical.

He's saying you sound like a Mel Gibson.

vern · Dec 12, 2016

Pandaman said:
If this story was based in china, would your thread title be 'If you asked Jackie Chan'

Jackie Chan is a real person though. Maybe it should be "if you asked Zhu Bajie..."

Rest · Dec 12, 2016

Pandaman said:
If this story was based in china, would your thread title be 'If you asked Jackie Chan'

Jackie Chan is a real person and not a humorous character, so no it wouldn't. And even if he were, I wouldn't call a Chinese person Jackie Chan, just as I haven't called any Kazakhstani person Borat.

Shaanyboi · Dec 12, 2016

Timeaisis said:
Maybe Trump should call NZ to clear all this up.

"The number you have dialed does not exist."

Stumpokapow · Dec 12, 2016

If I had to rank countries, NZ would be in the top 10 and Kazakhstan would be around 140-150.

Vladimir Putin · Dec 12, 2016

There should be a character/actor representative of each country to which we can refer all its people as

AcademicSaucer · Dec 12, 2016

.

stump sock · Dec 12, 2016

Rest said:
just as I haven't called any Kazakhstani person Borat.

well now that the title's been changed, I guess that's technically true

Plum · Dec 12, 2016

How can there be a New Zealand when there isn't a regular Zealand?

... is there a "Zealand"?

lazygecko · Dec 12, 2016

Plum said:
How can there be a New Zealand when there isn't a regular Zealand?

... is there a "Zealand"?

smokeymicpot · Dec 12, 2016

DorkLord54 said:
Obligatory Flight of the Conchords reference:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f2gii2nenUg

Came to post this. They would be so pissed right now.

Tubobutts · Dec 12, 2016

Plum said:
How can there be a New Zealand when there isn't a regular Zealand?

... is there a "Zealand"?

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zealand
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zeeland
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sealand

Rest · Dec 12, 2016

stump sock said:
well now that the title's been changed, I guess that's technically true

By your logic I also called New Zealanders hobbits. See how that's not what I did?

Media · Dec 12, 2016

New Zealand: the New Mexico of the world.

(For New Zealanders, New Mexicans get the opposite: the rest of the US tends to forget or just not know New Mexico is a state, and thinks it's another country)

darscot · Dec 12, 2016

This is pretty funny, I assumed it all worked out. Officials in other countries are not always very educated or informed. There are lots of stories that the best use of Canadian Tire money is for paying petty bribes in third world countries.

jstripes · Dec 12, 2016

Plum said:
How can there be a New Zealand when there isn't a regular Zealand?

... is there a "Zealand"?

God Dayumm · Dec 12, 2016

thelatestmodel said:
There is literally a subreddit for this: https://www.reddit.com/r/MapsWithoutNZ/

I can't believe it's so widespread

That's what happens when you are located at the edge of the world

Support NeoGAF

Kazakhstan officials detain tourist, believing New Zealand wasn't a country

Does New Zealand exist?

All these years later I still chuckle at what a fucking moron that guy is.

Clothed, sober, cooperative

Banned

Member

Junior, please.

Member

Member

Member

Member

Romanes Eunt Domus

Member

Banned

Member

Member

Banned

All these years later I still chuckle at what a fucking moron that guy is.

Member

Banned

Banned

Member

Member

Now what's the next step in your master plan?

Member

All these years later I still chuckle at what a fucking moron that guy is.

Banned

Bitches love smiley faces

Member

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

Member

Member

Everything is moe to me

Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.

Member

Member

Member

All these years later I still chuckle at what a fucking moron that guy is.

Banned

listen to the mad man

Banned

Member

Member

Member

Member

Beat EviLore at pool.

Member

All these years later I still chuckle at what a fucking moron that guy is.

Member

Member

Banned

Banned

Similar threads