Friday, May 15, 2009

I Cannot Explain
Reporting from Bangkok, Thailand. After eighteen hours of sharing refrigerated recycled air with hundreds of people on board several planes and obediently providing correct documentation here we are. But for all of our good behavior yesterday we were denied. The Myanmar Embassy rejected Edo's visa application with this, "Go to Washington DC and apply. I cannot take your application. I cannot explain." Huh?!
As I stepped up to the window for my turn, I overheard the clerk speaking with another in Burmese. Apparently, the clerk found it highly unlikely that Edo was a 'student' at his age and therefore refused his application. In very broken Burmese I reassured him that Edo was indeed a student. Surprised that I understood his sideline conversation our friendly clerk bombarded me with questions of who I was visiting, the purpose of my visit, who Edo was, where the people I was visiting lived...an onslaught. With a look of deep suspicion he begrudgingly gave us another application to fill out; a form detailing our past work history. With our new forms filled out, we were informed that our application needed to be approved by higher-ups and that our visas were not guaranteed, i.e. you're not going to Burma. I asked to speak with the boss but he was in a meeting. right. Luckily Bossman appeared and I did my best to charm him. I explained Edo was my 'friend' and that we were visiting my 'cousin' who owns a photo shop in Yangon.
It worked.
We pick up our visas on Monday.
Huzzah, to Burmese bureaucracy!

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