At the end of January 2019, Deputy Head of the Migration Directorate of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of the Russian Federation, Andrei Krayushkin, said that there are still about 5,000 foreign citizens in Russia who came to the country on a “fan passport”. The visa-free regime for them expired on December 31, 2018, so now they all stay in Russia illegally.

In the Moscow region, "illegal immigrants" are delivered to the Temporary Detention Center for Foreign Citizens (CICIG). Deliver them here only by court order. The center is not a prison, but there are certain similarities: two rows of six-meter fences with barbed wire, massive gates, security cameras and thick bars on the windows. Foreigners live here until the Russian state decides what to do with them.

Most illegal immigrants send home pretty quickly. Most of the time they don’t have money for the journey, and the journey is paid from the Russian budget. After that, the entry to Russia for a foreigner is closed for at least five years.

RT was able to communicate with several foreign nationals who are in the Center for Human Rights Education. All of them were able to come to Russia on the passport of a fan and lived together in an apartment near the Dobryninskaya metro station. The visit of the local district police officer ended for them with arrest, trial and moving to the center.

"I came to Russia - try to become Russian"

In the room on the first floor of the residential building of the temporary detention center live six black men. Five of them are from Nigeria, they are between 25 and 38 years old. Sixth - 55 years old, he is from Eritrea. Despite the bars on the windows and the guards behind the doors, the men were in good spirits, confused about something with each other. Everyone speaks English with a strong accent.

The first with RT talked Akintomida Olabode Tunda - he is 30, he is from Nigeria. It is dressed simply: a black sweater, work pants and a knitted winter hat. He has a rather moving facial expression and he often smiled.

According to him, at home he received a medical education, but by profession he did not work and was interrupted by odd jobs.

Tunda says that Russia has long loved and always dreamed of visiting her. The 2018 World Cup gave him the opportunity to enter the country in a simplified manner. He gave the travel agent for the flight and fan passport more than $ 400 - decent money by Nigerian standards. At home, he left his wife and little daughter.

  • Akintomide Olabode Tunda
  • © RT

Olabode attended only one match - the final, when the French won 4-2 against the Croats. No one specifically for a man was ill, he just liked the game itself. Upset only suddenly started in the middle of the match rain. According to him, he went home then soaked to the skin.

For the first time in Moscow, he lived in a hostel, then moved to an apartment near the Dobryninskaya metro station, where he sat next to a group of similar guests from the capital of Africa. They lived four people in a room.

Generally, Olaboda knew that after the 2018 World Cup, Russia had to leave, but then he and his roommates heard that Vladimir Putin had extended the period of visa-free stay for foreigners in the country until the end of the year. When asked why he did not leave the country at the appointed time, Olaboda said that he had “financial difficulties” and that he could no longer buy a ticket for himself.

The consulate of his native country Tunda did not ask for help. He did not have to borrow money from anyone a little, to which he lived, the man, according to his own words, was sent by his wife. He could not get a job either.

As such, there was no further action plan for Olaboda. He lived one day and "rejoiced at being." The only thing he was afraid of was the arrival of winter - before the trip to Russia he was frightened that he would freeze to death here. But winter Olaboda unexpectedly liked. According to him, the climate is milder here, and even his skin and hair have become more pleasant to the touch. In Russia, he does not freeze - he managed to buy cheap warm clothes and adapt to the weather.

“If you come to Russia, then try to become Russian,” shared the wisdom of Olaboda with RT.

In general, Olaboda does not hide his enthusiasm from Russia. He praises the Russian people all the time, personally Vladimir Putin and the Russian government, even the staff of the TsSIGIG and the bailiffs: “The best country, a great president, is very cool with you.”

In parallel with this, Olaboda requested to buy him a ticket to his house. He knows that the next five years, entry to Russia will be closed for him, but he is going to return when the sanctions are lifted. Nevertheless, he clarified that "visiting is good, but at home is better." It's cool in Russia, but Nigeria is dearer, although it is sad for him to leave, but he also missed his homeland.

To the last question, whether his wife would kill for the fact that he had not been home for half a year and had not brought a cent back home, Olaboda made a serious appearance and said that this was his personal life and he would refrain from commenting.

He does not regret about his journey and believes that any event in life forms the personality of a person and expands its horizons. Especially when there is an opportunity to touch the culture and life of other countries.

International Affairs Master

The second to talk to RT agreed Agu Shedrack Chinvend. He is 25, and he is the youngest of the African group. He is wearing a gray sweater and a Burger King baseball cap. He speaks English better than Olaboda, but still it is difficult to parse his speech in some places.

In Nigeria, Agu learned to be a specialist in international relations. But I didn’t find any special use for my skills before traveling to Russia.

The guest has long heard about Russia and really wanted to go. The brother gave him the money for the trip. Agu arrived in Moscow by the end of the championship and did not get to the matches - he just watched them in bars on TV. According to him, so "the circumstances."

Agu walked a lot around Moscow, met and had fun with strangers from all over the world on Nikolskaya. This time he remembered as one of the most joyful moments in life. Any holiday comes to an end, and Agu, he said, understood that. But he also heard about the extension of the visa-free regime and decided to stay in Russia longer.

  • Agu Shedrak Chinwendu
  • © RT

According to him, he could not get a job in Moscow and lived on the money sent by his brother. Like Olabode, Agu did not think about how to get out of Russia, so by the end of December 2018 he did not have money for a ticket to go home. He simply sat in a rented apartment or walked around Moscow in expectation that sooner or later he would be expelled from here. He was not worried about this, and did not take any additional steps to return home.

He would like to come to Russia again - this time to work or study. He looks to the future with optimism.

“I’m a young guy, my whole life is ahead,” Agu said. - I sing well, I can become a musician, I can, like you, a journalist or someone else. This is a big world with endless possibilities, I want to look for myself, grow and develop. Oh yes. I should have married again. ”

The house is waiting for death

The third interlocutor RT was Sali Ahmed Mohammed Moussa. He is 55 years old, he is from Eritrea. This is a calm and reasonable man. In Russia, Sali is trying to get political asylum. According to him, in his homeland where the war is going on, he will surely be killed.

Many years ago, he ran with his family from Eritrea to Sudan. There, until recently, he lived with his wife and six children in a refugee camp. According to him, in that camp there are at least 80 thousand people.

The path from Eritrea to Sudan, according to the recollections of a man, was dangerous. Sali paid a lot of money to the conductor and set off with his family. The border was crossed on foot and only at night. According to him, if the border guards had noticed them, they would certainly have opened fire to kill. Would kill both women and children.

The situation in Eritrea, according to Sali, is so deplorable that thousands of people are ready to cross the desert on foot, swim the sea on self-made rafts and crawl under bullets, just to "get out of this hell." Many meet death on their way.

By profession Sali is a teacher of geography, his work experience is about 15 years. In Sudan, he survived solely at the expense of humanitarian aid. When I heard that a championship will be held in Russia, and only a fan passport is needed for entry, he decided to try his luck in our country.

  • © RT

Having collected money somehow, he bought a ticket and flew to Petersburg. There he spent about half a year in order to find a job or somehow gain a foothold in the country. Sali does not hide that he does not care about football. Matches he watched only glimpse on TV.

Toward winter, he moved to Moscow, where he began to live in an apartment on Dobryninskaya. According to him, they lived with their comrades very closely, helping each other out and supporting.

Sali is delighted with Russia, he really liked the architecture of St. Petersburg, and Moscow was fascinated by its scale. The man considers Russia to be a country of great opportunities, where there is a lot of work, nice people and a fair state.

Now he is trying to get political refugee status here. He asks not to send him home. He left Eritrea illegally and on his return will go to prison - at best. However, most likely, sooner or later they will simply kill him, says Sali.

Sali wants to stay in Russia and transport her family here. His relatives know that he is now at TsVSIG, and they are very worried about him.

At the end of the conversation with the "fans" they thanked Russia once again for their hospitality. They all hope to come back here someday and try to fix their lives here. Five of them, except Sali, were deported home on March 1.