The Price of Departure

I am scheduled to leave for Christmas on Monday--but first, I need a visa--mine expired 2 days ago, and while I think I can sneak out of here, I really don't want to run the chance of getting nabbed at the airport.

The task of getting me a visa has fallen to Bashir, who is one of those guys that can do anything. So, after picking up a ticket at the airline, Bashir took my passport and:

1. Headed over to the Ministry of Interior, to deliver the letter that I had gotten from the US Government that identified who I was and what I was doing.
2. Returned 48 hours later to pick up the piece of paper that was had been prepared. He had been told that it would be ready at 2 pm, so when he arrived they suggested another 48 hour wait. But Bashir prevailed, and they prepared the paper he needed.
3. Took the papers from the Ministry of Interior to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. He only had to wait 2-3 hours for their piece of paper.
4. Took the pieces of paper from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of Interior to the Passport Office.
5. Returned from the Passport Office to inform me that I had to personally appear.
6. I then went to the Passsport Office with Bashir, and was told I needed to go to the Ministry of Economy to get a work permit, then reappear. After a bit of negotiation it was agreed that I would only get an exit visa, and that to do so I (poor Bashir) would need another piece of paper from the Ministry of Interior, that I (poor Bashir) could take back to the Passport Office.

So you get the picture. It is Sunday night. In 12 hours I need to go to the airport. In the morning, Bashir will continue his bureaucratic odyssey and try to get my exit visa.

So gosh you say, that Afghanistan is really a bureaucratic place. Well ya, kind of. But what much of this is about is a not-to-subtle effort to solicit a bribe to get through the system. $20 probably would have gotten us through the whole process in about 30 minutes. Everyone is on the take, and I can't really blame them, as the $200 per month these guys are paid doesn't exactly allow them to live decently. Unfortunately for them, and for Bashir, we just aren't paying anyone for doing their job. Unless of course it looks like I ain't going to get out of here until Easter, in which case I may reconsider.

I leave tomorrow, Insha'Allah.