immigration

So you may recall, that in my last blog posting I said that I got my certificates from my parents, and was heading back to Blantyre to get a work permit for real this time. Not so fast. I have certainly read and heard a lot about government agencies in developing countries, but to see one in action is really something. To start with, there were about 5 people waiting to be assisted in one of the offices, three government workers were there. 2 of the workers were sitting at their desks just reading the paper!! As far as my paperwork was concerned, I was certainly not successful. I won't bore you with the details, but the short story is... we were told to fix things/get more forms, etc. several times. We would then fix the "errors" print out new forms bring them back, be sent to a new administrator who would tell us something new that was wrong. In the end we were told that a work permit costs 63,500 Kwacha which is about $460! And that's only if it gets approved. As someone who is volunteering, I found this a bit harsh. We are looking into other means of preventing my deportation. Right now, I'm at an Internet cafe in Blantyre, while Felix and Dickens (MCV people) run errands. I want to scream just a little bit. (Trust me I am giving you all a much shortened version of this immigration saga)