So much for toys, we take a thread left hanging. Do you remember the long, tortuous history of visa? To the delight of fans of soap operas, the story is not over yet!
The last time we had heard, in early July, the undersigned, after ten days spent in the corridors of the Ministry of Madagascar, was able to obtain a "receipt of filing the application for a visa," which gave the right to move more or less freely in the country until August 9. "We will send you a notification by mail before the deadline!" I told the nice officer at the door.
few days before August 9, in effect, a notification has arrived. "Dear Madame - read the letter which I paraphrase freely - we have the honor to inform you that, bla bla bla bla bla bla, if you want to get a visa We shall give receipts for payment of very substantial sums, ie, 60 € for the visa more than 92 others for the purpose of issuing the residence. " GULP. It's not that I died from the desire to invest a further € 150 in stamps, here! In addition, I believe that students should be half the price!
need a face to face. Taking advantage of the arrival of my faithful companion of snacks, Vince, I go to the capital. Plano over the offices of the Ministry. The employee is always there. Today, to give the air more busy than usual, is playing solitaire. After I was ignored for about ten minutes, during which I imagine exorcise the wait to pee in middle office or to set fire to all those piles of paperwork that off the shelves, the girl shudder an eyebrow and gives me an annoyed "What are you doing here?" no "she" and without "s' on vous plait. " I explain that I received a notification of the visa fee, but maybe there must be a mistake, because I am a student and you're asking me an exaggerated sum, twice the official one, which not only is publicly posted at ' input but also printed on that alert that dangles in front of the nose. "Sure, sure!" - Says unconvinced our champion of note - "but the fact is that there are different types of students. " "Sure, sure - I think, more than ever determined to not give up -" And where would , this classification of the various types? "" Mmm ... bahhhh ... well .... Let me check ... maybe ... "and leaves by the lonely to pretend to take some time before returning back to reason and give me the discount. Then tear off the notification that I had come, take a clean sheet and is preparing to copy the text by hand. It blocks a time because he can not do 92 divided by 2 without a calculator. Resume writing. "Behold! You can now go to pay. I will pay € 30 directly to the Treasury, the remaining 46 by bank transfer addressed to the Ministry of the Interior. Ah, I forgot! This is the second payment must open a bank account in Madagascar! "-" Excuse me, but I could not do it from my English bank account, the payment? " -" What is expected to return to Spain in the coming days ?.
undecided whether to laugh or cry, I understand that our official familiar with the technology is limited to the solitaire game, so the best, after all cordially, and, now in pieces, we ski to the bank.
Coda.
Hold.
my turn came: "Good morning, I should make this payment" - "Excellent. Here the list of documents to be delivered in order to open a bank account. " Another dozen photocopies, stamps, certificates, photos, cards and papers from one day to splash each. Call
lawlessness.
invite corruption. Call
terrorism.
NO. NO. NO. I DO NOT WANT TO COME AND LIVE IN MADAGASCAR. I DO NOT WANT is for ever. I JUST WANT TO MAKE A SMALL, SMALL, SAFE SEARCH AND THEN BACK TO MY HOME. I DO NOT WANT a residence card. I do not want a bank account. ALREADY HAVE MY TICKET AND RETURN WITH me, I am also ready to use NOW. PLEASE NOT THE WOMEN tortures me, my time is running out.
But you know, the prayers do not help to much, if God which has the visa expired he too. The next day, and then, after long reflection, I resolve to look for someone who has a bank account and can make the payment on my behalf. I find it. We should meet but he is ill. Then, just to start somewhere, I'll do the first of two installments, one at the Treasury. And right there, that he too is doing the line, I Said Ahmed, a student Comorian. I ask him: "But how do you, do all these dies? A bank account you have it? "Ahmed Said It tells me the bank account that he did not have it, but anyone willing to make a deposit in his place, and even if I need my already knows. So I follow Vince and Said Ahmed, who takes us on a little square, where there is a type. He wants the money, but I do not do them daughters. "Go to make the payment before - I say - and then, with the receipt in hand, I will refund the money . Unbelievable but true, and this is Madagascar, the type back after half an hour with the receipt. All right, all in order, do not ask me even a penny, but I think it's because somewhere if its crest must have already done. I still pay the taxy it to him, and then I think the minimum is less than one euro. Thank you. By Ahmed Said we run the Ministry, which has already closed, but let us enter the same. I have all the documents, all payments, all pre-franked envelopes, all the photographs. " Everything in order" - says the increasingly official idling "In a week can go to withdraw the visa. For the residence card, will have to wait about a month. Until then, we keep your passport there us. "
That was August 25. To date, my passport is still there. So in three months I did not ever asked anyone. I hope that the visa is ready, I hope I did not have lost. What should I do? If I had known it was a subject so interesting, I wrote my thesis on the bureaucracy Madagascar!
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