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Showing posts from February, 2010

Red Tape

Visa renewal in Cameroon is a perfect example of this countries insanity. Visa to enter the country are expensive, but the cost and process of renewing a visa while in the country is like something out of a bad movie. First you need to get a small pile of papers prepared for your 'file'. A copy of your passport, a letter from your employing organisation requesting an extension, the registration of that organisation, etc. Then when handing in the papers you might be requested for a copy of someone else's ID, maybe a letter from you previous employer before coming to Cameroon - the more irrelevant the better. The office of course defies belief. Crowed and dirty, with huge sacks of paper lining the walls, broken doors and windows, various people milling around the corridors. The person I was to see today had a Che Guevara T-shirt on and surprisingly spoke excellent english. He explained how in Cameroon there was only yes or no, that there was no way my friend from Belo could